The HBCU family experience is second to none!

The Hobbs Sunday Sermon

You may recall back in 2019 the following viral photo of Morehouse College Professor Nathan Alexander holding five month old Assata Hayer so that her father, Wayne Hayer Jr., could take notes in Alexander's Algebra class.

Well, this time last week, the younger Hayer (now a toddler), walked beside her father as he completed his journey from being a studious "Man of Morehouse," to a full-fledged "Morehouse Man!"

Congratulations, Brother Hayer! As a proud Morehouse Man, I join thousands of other Brothers in welcoming you to our Fraternity, and I extend kudos to your entire family for their parts in supporting your educational trek!

Over the past few years, as overt racism has reemerged in all of its pernicious forms, particularly with regards to police brutality against unarmed Black citizens, there has been a renaissance as far as young Black students coming home to America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Even casual observers know that luminaries like Dr. Martin Luther King  (Morehouse), Tuskegee University Founder Booker T. Washington (Hampton), Alice Walker (Spelman), Dr. Lesalle Lefall (Florida A&M), Oprah Winfrey (Tennessee State), Thurgood Marshall (Lincoln/Howard Law), and Toni Morrison (Howard) were/are among many other leaders in Black culture, politics, and civil rights to attend HBCUs. But I am proud to note that these hallowed institutions STILL remain at the vanguard of producing Black teachers, pharmacists, doctors, lawyers, entertainers, and engineers who are blazing trails well into the 21st Century—not to mention a certain resident of Blair House, Vice-President Kamala Harris (below), who is a proud Howard University alumna!

While it may sound cliche, just as Florida A&M grads are fond of referring to each other as "FAMUly," and Grambling alumni call themselves "GramFam," the truth is that each of the 100+ HBCUs in America provides their students with a familial, nurturing environment that not only raises their intellectual aspirations—but imbues each graduate with the confidence to withstand and overcome the hostile racism—and the soft bigotry of low expectations—that Black people writ large still face across the globe each and every day. 

So, lest we forget to encourage our Black children to learn about the rich histories of our institutions so that they, too, may one day matriculate within the very halls of the schools that have done so much, with so few financial resources, for so many people—for so very long!

Chuck Hobbs (center), Morehouse College, BA, ‘94; Florida A&M University, MA, ‘95, on the campus of Spelman College during the 2018 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge quiz bowl tournament in Atlanta, Georgia.

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