The foundation of HBCU Love

Tuesday Talking Points!

As August begins, there's an excitement that I’m experiencing almost daily from seeing parents beam with pride as their children prepare to fly from their nests to begin their collegiate journeys! 

Washington, D.C. area Morehouse Alumni with soon to be Morehouse freshmen at the DMV sendoff…

I can't help but admit that the pictures that are flooding Instagram and Facebook take me back to August of 1990, when my parents dropped me off in Atlanta to begin my own journey—one that led me to become a double HBCU grad as a Morehouse Man (BA-’94), and a Florida A&M Rattler (MA-’95). 

Florida A&M football players and cheerleaders are already putting in work weeks in advance of the Fall semester…

With an enrollment renaissance occurring at America's HBCU's, there are still skeptics who wonder "why" so many students are choosing to shun what they perceive to be better educations and better facilities at predominantly white institutions (PWI) to attend a Black college or university.

Atlanta area Morehouse-Spelman alumni threw a grand sendoff for the entering freshman classes this past weekend.

Now, I will be the first to admit that back in my day, many of the buildings at HBCU’s were not nearly as well appointed as those at PWI's like the University of Florida, a school that recruited me in the late '80's. In fact, when I was at Morehouse, there were times in Graves Hall, my freshman dorm, when the hot water was not working during the 20 degree winter—and the lights would flicker on and off to the point where we sometimes had to read our books by flashlight (or use the emergency lights in the hall). On a daily basis, the cafeteria would close at 6 p.m. and if you had not eaten because you were late coming from some practice or studying, unless you had a few bucks to spend at The Commons or Steagall's, you were just hungry until the caf opened back up at 7 a.m. 😆.

My “Legendary '94” SpelHouse classmate Jamie Bennett with her son, Bryce, who will begin his freshman studies at Morehouse this month.

But before Covid, the last time I was in S.W. Atlanta back in 2019, it was clear that the modern students at Morehouse, Spelman, Clark Atlanta, and Morris Brown have far better amenities than those we were used to back in the day. Well, the Spelmanites ALWAYS had nice amenities because that Rockefeller and other philanthropic money ran long 😆. 

But even back then, despite those physical plant limitations, we all were blessed to be taught by some of the most amazing educators in American history—educators who imparted wisdom upon tens of thousands of young men and women who, to this day, are healing, preaching, teaching, designing, building, leading, and defending our communities across the globe!

Today, amazing teachers are still producing amazing students at the very institutions that were designed to lift the veil of ignorance from the Black masses after slavery ended! 

Miss Amaya J. Loubeau, daughter of one of my childhood best friends, Nikki Hill Loubeau, and Antoine Loubeau, earned a full scholarship to attend Spelman College this Fall…

So yes, it is true that at many HBCUs, that the buildings are not always ornate, navigating online registration can be an odyssey, and time spent in the financial aid office is akin to completing a Herculean Labor.

But the end results are undeniable, including such luminaries as Dr. Martin Luther King (Morehouse), Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (Lincoln University/Howard Law), tennis legend Althea Gibson (FAMU), entertainment moguls Sean Combs (Howard), Oprah Winfrey (Tennessee State), Will Packer (FAMU), and Kenya Barris (Clark Atlanta University); award winning authors Alice Walker (Spelman), Toni Morrison (Howard), Georgia Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams (Spelman), and Montgomery Mayor Steve Reed (Morehouse), to name a few.

Actress Angelina Jolie (center) with my old friends/Spelman Sisters Dawn Jones (far left), Meta Smith (far right) and other Spelman alums at the Los Angeles Spelman sendoff. Jolie's daughter, Zahara, will be a Spelman freshwoman this Fall.

With such a rich legacy to lean on, many of the next generation of prominent Black leaders will be taking their first steps into a larger world at their respective HBCU's in the weeks ahead; best wishes, young freshman Brothers and Sisters!