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1. Alabama A&M University www.aamu.eduAlabama A&M University was founded in 1875 by a former slave, William Hooper Councill at the age of 26. Located in a neighborhood in Huntsville, Alabama called Normal, Alabama A&M University opened as the Huntsville Normal College. Beginning with 61 students and two teachers with a major focus on industrial education Huntsville Normal College soon became State Normal and Industrial School at Huntsville. As one of the first seventeen new land-grant black institutions by the federal government in 1891, the school’s name was changed to The State Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes. In 1919 it became a junior college and named The State Agricultural and Mechanical Institute for Negroes. In 1948, it was renamed the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College and then in 1963, the school adopted its current name.Notable Alumni Include: Recording Artist, Ruben Studdard

2. Alabama State Universitywww.alasu.eduAlabama State University was co-founded by nine freed slaves from Marlon, Alabama who are remembered as the “Marlon Nine”. Joey P. Pinch, Thomas Speed, Nicholas Dale, James Childs, Thomas Lee, John Freeman, Nathan Levert, David Harris and Alexander H. Curtis sought to build a school for African-Americans who were previously denied the right to an education. With the assistance from Marlon community members, these co-founders raised $500 for land and on July 18, 1867 Incorporation papers were filed to establish the Lincoln Normal School at Marlon. On November 13, 1867 The Lincoln School opened with 113 students in attendance. Six years later in 1873 The Lincoln School became Alabama State University, the nation’s first state-sponsored liberal arts Institution for higher education of blacks. Alabama State University has continued their rich traditions and today it is a model of diversity and equal opportunity for all.Notable Alumni Include: stand-up comedian, radio personality, television host and actor, Rickey Smiley and civil rights attorney, activist and preacher, Fred Gray

3.Albany State Universitywww.asurams.eduAlbany State University was founded in 1903 by Joseph Winthrop Holley, the son of former slaves, who was inspired by the writings of W.E.B DuBois. He agreed with W.E.B DuBois and wanted to improve conditions for the South’s African American population by offering industrial and religious education. Initially Albany State University was the Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute with the goal to offer primary and secondary education and to train teachers. In 1917, the school gained

state funding and a board of trustees and was renamed the Georgia Normal and Agricultural College. Also in 1917 it began offering two year post-secondary degrees. In 1932 affiliation with the Georgia University System was gained. Then in 1943, Georgia Normal and Agricultural College became Albany State College and granted it’s first baccalaureate degree as a four year university. It wasn’t until 1996 that Albany State College changed its name to its current one, Albany State University. Albany State University has had a long history and involvement with taking action in the community and it continues to build up leaders for the world.Notable Alumni Include: Rapper, Rick Ross; actress (Family Matters) and singer, Jo Marie Payton; and former Georgia State Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture, Shirley Sherrod

4.Alcorn State Universitywww.alcorn.eduAlcorn State University was founded in 1871 as a solution of the efforts of Mississippi communities to educate the descendants of formerly enslaved Africans. It was named in honor of sitting governor of Mississippi, James L. Alcorn. Alcorn was became governor with help of many Mississippi African-American voters. Alcorn strongly supported public schools for all, although he was a former slaveholder, he characterized slavery as “a cancer upon the body of the nation” and expressed his gratification over its destruction. As a U.S. senator, Alcorn helped Hiram Revels become the first African American Senator to serve in the US Congress. Revels later became the first president of Alcorn State University, which was Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College at that time. Initially the institution’s three major study components were the four year college track, the two year track, and the three year graded track. The students spent the mornings from seven o’clock until noon in classes. In the afternoons they were able to work various campus jobs to earn money to pay for living expenses. Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College was exclusively for males at first. Eventually women were admitted and in 1902 a resident hall was built for the women students. In 1974, Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College became Alcorn State University. Alcorn State University continues to grow in size of acres, eager students and proud alumni. Notable Alumni Include: American Football Player, Steve McNair; Oscar Nominated Actor, Michael Clarke Duncan; Author of the book “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, Alex Haley; and civil rights activist of the Civil Rights Movement and journalist, Myrlie Evers-Williams

5.Allen Universitywww.allenuniversity.eduAllen University was founded in 1871 on a plot of land bought by the clergy of the Columbia District of the AME church. Originally named Payne Institute in honor of Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne, a native South Carolinian, the founder of Wilberforce University and the driving force behind the quest for an educated clergy and laity in the African Methodist Episcopal Church it was later changed after the schools move to Columbia. Allen University is the only institution named after the Right Reverend Richard Allen and the first institution in South Carolina founded by African Americans for the purpose of educating African Americans. Within the first nine years the school produced 75 graduates and introduced a Theological Department named in honor of Bishop Dickerson. Since then Allen University produced eight students who came to be presidents of their own colleges and

universities including Dr. Wardell Nichols, Dr. Sylvia P. Swinton and Dr. Frank R. Veal who all returned to their alma mater and served. Allen University also produced twelve individuals who later became Bishops of the AME Church.

6. American Baptist Collegewww.abcnash.eduSince 1924, American Baptist College has been a Christian College dedicated to educating and developing Christians for worldwide leadership and service. The idea of a seminary for the training of Black Baptist ministers grew out of conversation between National Baptist leaders and Dr. O.L. Hailey, one of the founding fathers of the College. At its annual meeting in 1913, the National Baptist Convention appointed a committee to investigate the possibility of establishing a seminary for the education of its ministers. American Baptist College formally opened its doors for the training of Christian workers under the name of the American Baptist Theological Seminary on September 14, 1924. American Baptist College with the Southern Baptist Convention made a significant contribution to the education of men and women for Christian service in the world during the Civil Rights Movement and has continued over the years. The school continues its commitment to educate students to become leaders in whatever profession of their choosing, instilling in them a passion to advance God's mission of justice, compassion, and reconciliation.Notable Alumni Include: Congressman, John Lewis and Civil Rights Activist and Organizer, Dr. Bernard Lafayette

7. Arkansas Baptist Collegewww.arkansasbaptist.eduArkansas Baptist College, originally named the Minister’s Institute, was founded in 1884 by the Colored Baptists of Arkansas during their annual convention at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Little Rock. The primary objective of the institute was to raise the educational level within the negro ministry. The secondary objective was to aid the state in making higher education available to young negro men and women. Most of the school’s students were trained in the ministry and today, Religious Studies continues to be one of the College’s major areas of matriculation.Notable Alumni Include: Musician, songwriter and bandleader, Louis Jordan and the founder of the Church of Christ USA, Charles Price Jones

8. Benedict Collegewww.benedict.eduBenedict College was founded in 1870 and began as a teacher’s college. The American Baptist Home Mission Society along with a $13,000 donation from Mrs. Bathsheba Benedict, founded Benedict College. Mrs. Bathsheba Benedict and the American Baptist Home Mission Society’s goal was to educate emancipated African Americans and produce citizens who were to be “powers for good in society”. Using the mansion of a former slaveholder as Benedict College’s first campus, students were able to learn about the Bible, grammar and theology. They soon began to train Teachers and Preachers. In 1930, John J. Starks, a graduate of Benedict College became the first African American President president. Benedict College now has over 17,000 alumni around the world and offers 33 baccalaureate degree programs. The Benedict College football team made a

return in 1995 after a 30 year hiatus. The campus has continued to excel in the arts, sports and academically. Notable Alumni Include: Politician, Alma W. Byrd; leader of African American public health reform, social reform and the civil rights movement in South Carolina, Modjeska Monteith Simkins; and the first black president of the United States Olympic Committee, LeRoy T. Walker

9. Bennett Collegewww.bennett.eduBennett College began as a school for young men and woman in 1873 in the basement of Warnersville Methodist Episcopal Church (now St. Mathews Methodist Church). In 1874 the Freedmen’s Aid Society took over the school which remained under its auspices for 50 years. Within five years of 1873, a group of emancipated slaves purchased the present site for the school. College level courses and permanent facilities were added. In 1926, The Women’s Home Missionary Society joined with the Board of Education of the church to make Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C., formerly co-educational, a college for women. The challenges that were overcome to establish Bennett demand that today’s challenges be met and overcome to ensure her survival. Notable Alumni Include: American actress, Mildred Natwick and surgeon, legislature and teacher Dorothy Lavinia Brown.

10. Bethune-Cookman Universitywww.cookman.eduOn October 3, 1904, Mary McLeod Bethune, opened the Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls with $1.50, faith in God, and five little girls. In 1923, the Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, having then been renamed to Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute, merged with Cookman Institute of Jacksonville, Florida (founded in 1872) becoming co-ed Daytona-Cookman Collegiate Institute. In 1931, the college became accredited by the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Southern States as a junior college, and the school’s name was again officially changed to to reflect the leadership of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune-- Bethune-Cookman College. In 1936, Dr. Bethune was appointed administrative assistant for Negro Affairs (her title changed in 1939 to Director of the Division of Negro Affairs) of the National Youth Administration (NYA) making her the first African American woman to head a federal agency. Since 1943, Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) has graduated more than 13,200 students. Many alumni are employed in the fields of education, medicine, business, politics, government, science, religion, athletics and environmental sciences. In 2007, Bethune-Cookman College achieved university status, thusly changing its official name once more to Bethune-Cookman University; an honor to the legacy Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune founded 100 years prior. Notable Alumni: Kimbo Slice; Stevie Baggs- Former NFL player; Yvonne Scarlett-Golden- 1st African American Mayor of Daytona, FL

11. Bishop State Community Collegewww.bishop.eduBishop State Community College started off as the Mobile Branch of Alabama State College (currently University) in 1927. The Mobile Branch offered extension courses to African American

elementary and secondary teachers in Mobile, Alabama. Dr. Sanford. D. Bishop, Sr., joined the teaching staff of “The Branch” in 1938 as an instructor of English and music. In 1941, he was named dean. In 1963 the name was changed to Alabama State College - Mobile Center. In 1965 the name was changed to Mobile State Junior College. Dr. Bishop was appointed president of the new independent junior college. In 1971, the Alabama State Legislature renamed the college to S. D. Bishop State Junior College which he was able to see happen before his death on June 21, 1981. On February 23, 1989, the Alabama State Board of Education re-named the college to Bishop State Community College to reflect its growth in vocational/career offerings, transfer offerings and community service activities. Notable Alumni Include: Former nationally ranked athlete in track and field, led lawsuit against whites-only scholarships at Alabama State University, Jessie Tompkins

12. Bluefield State Collegewww.bluefieldstate.eduFounded in 1895, Bluefield State College was originally known as Bluefield Colored Institute, a high graded school for African American youth nearby Bluefield, West Virginia. Enrollment climbed to 235 by 1920, with annual summer sessions for teacher certification attracting hundreds more Robert P. Sims, leader of Bluefield State College for 3 decades, created the purpose for Bluefield State College, to educate educators throughout the coalfields of West Virginia. It wasn’t until 1943 that the name was officially Bluefield State College.Notable Alumni Include: American composer, lyricist and music publisher, Maceo Pinkard and overseas basketball player who was a two time defensive player of the year, Samuel Ouedraogo

13. Bowie State Universitywww.bowiestate.eduBowie State University was founded in 1865, by the Baltimore Association for the Moral and Educational Improvement of Colored People as a teaching school, making it fall into the category of oldest HBCU in Maryland and one of the ten oldest in the country. Bowie State University offers 22 undergraduate majors and 38 master’s, doctoral and advanced certification programs with select focus on science, technology, business, education and related disciplines. Notable Alumni Include: recording artist Toni Braxton and Wale.

14. Central State Universitywww.centralstate.eduCentral State University began as a part of Wilberforce University in Tawawa Springs, Ohio in 1856. The Ohio General Assembly enacted legislation that created a Combined Normal and Industrial Department at Wilberforce University. The objectives of this new state-sponsored department were to provide teacher training and vocational education, and to stabilize these programs by assuring a financial base similar to that of other state-supported institutions. The program had it own board of directors and was created to serve the educational needs of African American students. In 1941, the Department expanded from a two- to a four-year program, and in 1947, it legally split from Wilberforce, becoming the College of Education and Industrial Arts at Wilberforce. The name was changed in 1951 to Central State College, and in 1965, the institution achieved university status.

Notable Alumni Include: comedian, television and film producer Arsenio Hall and actor and American football player Hugh Douglas.

15. Cheyney University of Pennsylvaniawww.cheyney.eduCheyney University was established on February 25, 1837, through the bequest of Richard Humphreys, making it the first institution of higher learning for African Americans. At its founding in 1837, the university was named the African Institute. However, the name was changed several weeks later to the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY). In subsequent years, the university was renamed Cheyney Training School for Teachers (July 1914), Cheyney State Teacher’s College (1951), Cheyney State College (1959), and eventually Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (1983). Cheyney University upholds their tradition of academic excellence as well as maintains their historical commitment to opportunity and access for students of all diverse backgrounds. Notable Alumni: James “Big Cat” Williams- Former NFL player; Levy Lee Simon- Award-winning playwright

16.Claflin Universitywww.cookman.eduClaflin University, the oldest historically black college or university in South Carolina, was founded December 18, 1869, and named in honor of Lee Claflin, a prominent Methodist layman, and his son William Claflin, then governor of Massachusetts. With “the only admission requirements for prospective students being the possession of good moral character and a conscientious desire to learn,” Claflin University offered, for the first time in South Carolina, quality higher education for men and women “regardless of race, complexion, or religious opinion.” In an effort to strengthen Claflin’s financial base, an agricultural and mechanical college was established at Claflin University in 1872, the South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute, which assured state funding through the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862. By 1879, the University began enrolling students from all over the state, increased its faculty and curriculum, introduced extracurricular activities, installed a replacement library, and added a school of law and a school of medicine. Another much celebrated occasion came in 1882, when the Board of Trustees approved two students, Nathaniel Middleton and William Bulkley, to receive bachelor’s degrees, making them the first students to complete the four-year college course offered by the University. In 1896 the S.C. General Assembly passed an act of separation, which severed the State Agricultural and Mechanical Institute from Claflin University and established a separate institution. It eventually developed and was named as South Carolina State University. Today, Claflin is still committed to providing students with access to exemplary educational opportunities in its undergraduate, graduate and continuing education programs. Claflin seeks to foster a rich community comprised of students, faculty, staff and administrators who work to nurture and develop the skills and character needed for engaged citizenship and visionary and effective leadership.Notable Alumni: Joseph H. Jefferson- House of Rep; E. Roger Mitchell- Actor; Bryan Andrew Wilson- Gospel Artist; Dr. Gloria Rackley Blackwell- Civil Rights Activist

17. Clark Atlanta Universitywww.cau.eduClark Atlanta University was established in 1988 through the consolidation of its two parent institutions, Atlanta University (1865), the nation's first institution to award graduate degrees to

African Americans, and Clark College (1869) the nation's first four-year liberal arts college to serve a primarily African-American student population. Atlanta University, founded in 1865 by the American Missionary Association, with subsequent assistance from the Freedman's Bureau, was, before consolidation, the nation's oldest graduate institution serving a predominantly African-American student body. By the late 1870s, Atlanta University had begun granting bachelor's degrees and supplying black teachers and librarians to public schools across the South. In 1929-1930, the institution began offering graduate education exclusively in various liberal arts areas, and in the social and natural sciences. Clark College was founded in 1869 as Clark University by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which later would become the United Methodist Church. For purposes of economy and efficiency, during the 1930's, it was decided that Clark would join the Atlanta University Complex. Notable Alumni Include: fashion model and actress Eva Marcille and DJ Drama

18. Clinton Junior College www.clintoncollege.eduClinton College was one of many schools established by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church during Reconstruction years to help eradicate illiteracy among freedmen. Clinton is the oldest institution of higher education in Rock Hill, South Carolina, having operated continuously for 120 years. In 1894, Presiding Elder Nero A. Crockett and Rev. W.M. Robinson founded Clinton Institute and named it for Bishop Caleb Isom Clinton, the Palmetto Conference presiding bishop at the time. Incorporated as Clinton Normal and Industrial Institute in 1909, the school was authorized to grant state teacher certificates. By the late 1940’s, the College attracted 225 students per year and owned approximately 19 acres, several buildings, and equipment valued at several million dollars. Under Dr. Sallie V. Moreland, who retired in 1994 after 47 years of stellar service, the school charter was amended to create Clinton Junior College.

May 2013 the Transnational Association for Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) approved the College to offer two four-year programs; a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. In view of the four-year programs, the school’s name was changed from Clinton Junior College, to Clinton College. In keeping with its 120 year tradition, Clinton College offers an academic environment that not only promotes intellectual growth, but also fosters positive moral, ethical, and spiritual values. The school has a proud heritage as a Christian College, striving to prepare men and women to be lifelong learners, active participating citizens, and good stewards of society.

19. Coahoma Community Collegewww.coahomacc.eduCoahoma County Agricultural High School was established in 1924 becoming the first agricultural high school in Mississippi for Negroes under the existing "separate but equal" doctrine. The junior college curriculum was added in 1949, and the name of the institution was changed to Coahoma Junior College and Agricultural High School. During the first two years (1949-1950), the junior college program was conducted by one full-time college director/teacher and a sufficient number of part-time teachers from the high school division. A full-time dean and college faculty were employed in the third year of operation. During the first year of operation (1949), Coahoma Junior College was supported entirely by county funds. In 1950, Coahoma Junior College became the first educational institution for Negroes to be included in Mississippi's system of public junior colleges and to be eligible to share in funds appropriated by the

Mississippi Legislature for the support of public junior colleges. With the approval of the Board of Trustees of Coahoma Junior College and the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, Coahoma Junior College's name was changed to Coahoma Community College, effective July 1, 1989.

20. Concordia Collegewww.ccal.eduConcordia’s beginning has its roots in the desire Rosa Young, a woman who wanted to provide good a Christian education to the rural African-Americans of central Alabama. In desperation to find financial help, Young wrote to the famed founder of the Tuskegee Institute (Tuskegee University), Booker T. Washington. He advised her to write to the Board of Colored Missions of the Lutheran Church. By the end of 1915, Young had followed Washington’s advice and wrote to the Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America for help. In 1919 African-American Lutheran congregations in Alabama petitioned the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America for funds to open a high school and college to train church workers. The necessity of bringing a college education to African-Americans was realized, and a program of modernization was initiated, which resulted in the formation of Alabama Lutheran Academy and College. Concordia College is now one of 26 U.S. colleges and universities associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and holds the distinctive status as the nation’s only Historically Black Lutheran College or University. Being associated with the Lutheran church means that students receive a college education where faith and intellect are active partners. In 1981 the name was changed to Concordia College Alabama, and in 1994 it gained accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a bachelor's degree-granting institution. Concordia College has created a safe learning environment where personal religious beliefs are examined and nurtured, and religious differences are embraced and explored. Above all, Concordia students learn how to become responsibly engaged in the world with an emphasis on service to others. Notable Alumni:

21. Coppin State Universitywww.coppin.eduCoppin was founded in 1900 at what was then called Colored High School by the Baltimore City School Board who initiated a one-year training course for the preparation of African-American elementary school teachers. By 1902, the training program was expanded to a two-year Normal Department within the high school, and seven years later separated again from the high school and given its own principal. In 1926, this facility for teacher training was named Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School in honor of the outstanding African-American pioneer in teacher education. Fanny Jackson Coppin, born a slave in Washington, D.C., gained her freedom, graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio, and founded the Philadelphia Institute that was the forerunner of Cheyney State University. By 1938 authority was given to the school for the granting of Bachelor of Science degrees, and the name changed to Coppin Teachers College. In 1950, Coppin became part of the higher education system of Maryland under the State Department of Education, and renamed Coppin State Teachers College. In acknowledgment of the goals and objectives of the College, the Board of Trustees ruled in 1963 that the institution's degree-granting authority would no longer be restricted

to teacher education. Following this ruling, Coppin was officially renamed Coppin State College, and in 1967 the first Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred. Today, Coppin State University is a model urban, residential liberal arts university located in the northwest section of the City of Baltimore that continues to provide academic programs in the arts and sciences, teacher education, nursing, graduate studies, and continuing education. Notable Alumni: Bishop L. Robinson- first African American Police Commissioner of Baltimore City; Stephanie Ready- first female coach in professional men's basketball; Raheem DeVaughn- R&B and Neo-Soul artist; Margaret "Peggy" Murphy- first black woman to chair the Baltimore City Delegation

22. Delaware State Universitywww.desu.eduThe Delaware College for Colored Students was established May 15, 1891, by the Delaware General Assembly under the provisions of the Morrill Act of 1890 by which land-grant were granted to colleges for Blacks. The school’s Board of Trustees used part of the initial $8,000 state appropriation to purchase a 95-acre property north of the state capital of Dover to establish the new college. Because there was already a private Delaware College (now the University of Delaware) located in Newark, Del., to avoid confusion new state legislation was passed and enacted in early 1893 to change the black school’s name to the State College for Colored Students. From then the College was launched upon its mission of education and public service on February 2, 1892. A three-year normal course leading to a teacher’s certificate was initiated in 1897. The College graduated its first class of degree candidates in May 1898. The normal course of study (teacher education) was extended to four years in 1911 and the Bachelor of Pedagogy degree was awarded. The College graduated its first class of bachelor-degree candidates in June 1934. In 1944, the College received provisional accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). In 1947, the name of the institution was changed to “Delaware State College” by legislative action. On July 1, 1993, Delaware State College turned another chapter in its history when Gov. Thomas Carper signed a name change into law, thus renaming the College to Delaware State University. Since 1957, the University has grown in stature as a center for teaching, research and public service. The purpose of the University has broadened in keeping with changing times. While recognizing its heritage, the University is among the top premier Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the country, while serving a diverse student population.

Notable Alumni: Clifford “Brownie” Brown- Jazz Trumpeter, John Taylor- former NFL player, Emanual Davis- former NBA player; Jamila Mustafa- Media Correspondent

23. Denmark Technical Collegewww.denmarktech.eduDenmark Technical College is a public, comprehensive, Historically Black, two-year institution established by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1947 and began operating on March 1, 1948, as the Denmark Branch of South Carolina Trade School System. At its inception, the institution functioned under the South Carolina Department of Education and was mandated to educate black citizens in various trades. In 1969, control of the Denmark Area Trade School (now known as Denmark Technical College) was transferred to the South Carolina Advisory Committee for Technical Training under the supervision of the SC State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education (SBTCE) which is now known as the South Carolina Technical College System. During the same year, the College’s name was changed to Denmark Technical Education Center. In 1979, the institution was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and assumed its present designation as Denmark Technical College. In 1987,

Denmark Technical College was named the first and only Historically Black Technical College in the State of South Carolina. Since 1948, the College has experienced significant growth and annually serves approximately 1,770 credit and 425 continuing education students. As a comprehensive two-year institution, DTC serves to provide students the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and maintenance of employment as technical, semi-professional, and skilled workers in engineering and industrial technologies, business, computer technologies, and public service; to prepare students for transfer to senior institutions; to provide graduates with competency in written and oral communication, computer literacy, information processing, mathematics, problem-solving and interpersonal skills necessary for lifelong learning; and to enhance the economic development and growth of the service area and the state.

24. Dillard Universitywww.dillard.eduIn 1869, with support from the American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church (now the United Church of Christ) and the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (now the United Methodist Church), Straight University and the Union Normal School were founded. They were subsequently renamed Straight College and New Orleans University, respectively. Gilbert Academy, a secondary school, was a unit of New Orleans University. In 1935, New Orleans University and Straight College merged to form Dillard University. The trustees of the new university called for the implementation of a coeducational, interracial school, serving a predominantly African American student body adhering to Christian principles and values. The university was named in honor of James Hardy Dillard, a distinguished academician dedicated to educating African Americans. A new era began with the appointment of William Stuart Nelson as Dillard’s first president in 1936. A noted educator and administrator in higher education, Nelson became the first African American to lead the institution. During his four-year tenure (1936-1940), Nelson took to heart the missionary ideal of liberal arts education in a manner that would leave a lasting impression on the university’s curriculum. He was instrumental in the implementation of a major arts festival. The gathering created a venue for local artists and national figures to enjoy and debate the nature of African American art – past, present and future. Nelson sought to foster a sense of “cultural enlightenment and participation.” His dedication to the arts laid the foundation for a tradition at Dillard that extends to the present day. Dillard’s president today, Dr. Walter Kimbrough is the seventh president in the history of Dillard University. Known as the “Hip-Hop Prez,” he has demonstrated a commitment to emerging higher education trends, social media and, above all, the youth of today.Notable Alumni: Harold Battiste, Jr.- Accomplished jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger; Jericho Brown- Award winning Poet; Ellis M. Marsalis, Jr.- accomplished jazz pianist and music educator; Garrett Morris- Comedian/ Actor; Alice Dunbar Nelson- Women's rights activist and wife of Paul Lawrence Dunbar; Beah Richards- Broadway Actress

25. Edward Waters Collegewww.ewc.eduEdward Waters College (EWC) is, distinctively, Florida’s oldest independent institution of higher learning as well as the state’s first institution established for the education of African Americans. Founded by blacks, in 1865, following the Civil War, the Reverend Charles H. Pearce, a presiding elder of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, was sent to Florida to start an education ministry, as no provision had

yet been made for the public education of Florida’s newly emancipated blacks. From the beginning, EWC was faced with both abject poverty and widespread illiteracy among its constituents resulting from pre-war conditions of servitude and historical, legally enforced non-schooling of African Americans. However, the school met the needs of its community by offering courses at the elementary, high school, college, and seminary levels. In 1892 the school’s name was changed to Edward Waters College in honor of the third Bishop of the AME Church. With a history beginning in the dark yet hopeful days of Reconstruction, today’s Edward Waters College is living, thriving proof of the power of education and the resilience of deeply rooted educational institutions.

Notable Alumni: Jim "Cannonball" Butler- Former NFL player

26. Elizabeth City State Universitywww.ecsu.eduOn March 3, 1891, Hugh Cale, an African-American representative in the N.C. General Assembly, sponsored a House Bill that established a normal school for "teaching and training teachers of the colored race to teach in the common schools of North Carolina." The school was the beginning for Elizabeth City State University. By 1937, the institution had transitioned from a two-year normal school into a four-year teachers college. Two years later, Elizabeth City Teachers College was adopted as the name--until it was changed again in 1969 to its current name. By the time ECSU had joined the University of North Carolina System, it was much more than a teaching college--with 11 academic majors. Today, ECSU offers 22 undergraduate and 4 graduate programs of study.Notable Alumni Include: Reggie Langhorne, NFL player and Mike Gale, NBA player

27. Fayetteville State Universitywww.uncfsu.eduA year after the Civil War ended, the Phillips School provided primary education to Fayetteville, North Carolina’s Black citizens, and the Sumner School provided intermediate education for this population. The two schools were consolidated in 1869 and jointly named the Howard School. Seven prominent African-American men pooled $136 to purchase two lots for the first building that housed the Howard School. Geography and science classes were added to the already established reading, writing and arithmetic, and practical skills classes. Students were specifically trained to become teachers, particularly in small rural schools in Cumberland and surrounding counties of North Carolina. In 1969, the school was renamed Fayetteville State University as its programs are expanded. By 1988, Fayetteville State University had increased to offering 36 disciplines in the arts and sciences, business, economics, and education.Notable Alumni Include: former pro basketball player, Darrell Armstrong; former MLB player, Jim Bibby; and actor, Affion Crockett

28. Fisk Universitywww.fisk.edu

Founded in 1866, shortly after the end of the Civil War, Fisk University was named in honor of General Clinton B. Fisk of the Tennessee Freedmen's Bureau and established as the oldest institution of higher learning in Nashville, Tennessee. In October 1871, a group of traveling Fisk students known as the Jubilee Singers, set out to use their music to raise enough money to keep open the doors of their debt-ridden school. Their success eventually led to the building of Jubilee Hall, the South’s first permanent structure for the education of Black students, built on campus in 1876. As a designated National Historical Landmark, today, Jubilee Hall remains the dramatic focal point of Fisk's campus.A school of many firsts, Fisk became the first African-American institution to gain accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1930, and the first such institution to be placed on the approved lists of the Association of American Universities (1933) and the American Association of University Women (1948). In February, 1978, the Fisk campus was designated as a National Historic District in recognition of its architectural, historic, and cultural significance. Since its inception over 150 years ago, Fisk University's faculty and administrators have emphasized the discovery and advancement of knowledge through research to produce graduates from diverse backgrounds with the integrity and intellect required for substantive contributions to society.

Notable Alumni Include: social critic and co-founder of the NAACP W.E.B. Dubois; educator and founder of Tuskegee University, Booker T. Washington; and journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett.

29. Florida A&M Universitywww.famu.eduFlorida Agricultural and Mechanical University was founded as the State Normal College for Colored Students, and on October 3, 1887, it began classes with fifteen students and two instructors. Today, FAMU, as it has become affectionately known, is the premiere school among historically black colleges and universities. Prominently located on the highest hill in Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee, Florida A&M University remains the only historically black university in the eleven member State University System of Florida.Notable Alumni Include: Sportscaster, Pam Oliver; American tennis player and professional golfer, and the first black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis, Althea Gibson; recording artist, actor, poet and film producer, Common; Singer and Songwriter, K. Michelle; Movie Producer, Will Packer and Pro Football Hall of Famer and Olympic sprinter, Bob Hayes

30. Florida Memorial Universitywww.fmuniv.eduFlorida Memorial University is a private, co-ed, and Baptist-affiliated institution. It was founded by members of the Bethlehem Baptist Association in 1879, then called the Florida Baptist Institute. The purpose was to create “a College of instruction for our ministers and children.” Then-President Rev. Matthew Gilbert and other staff members fled Live Oak for Jacksonville after an unknown person fired shots into one of the school’s buildings. In Jacksonville, he founded the Florida Baptist Academy in the basement of Bethel Baptist Church. The next president, Nathan White Collier, tapped the help of renowned composer J. Rosamond Johnson to teach music at the school. While employed by the institution, Rosamond composed music for “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” a poem written by his brother, James Weldon Johnson, creating the “Negro National Anthem.”

Students from Florida Memorial joined the efforts during the Civil Rights Movement, participating in sit-ins, wade-ins, and swim-ins, orchestrated by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Notable Alumni Include: gospel singer Freddie Lee Peterkin and the first and youngest Black pilot to fly solo around the world, Barrington Irving, Jr.

31. Fort Valley State Universitywww.fvsu.eduFort Valley State University was formed in 1939 when Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School merged with the State Teachers and Agricultural College of Forsyth. Its origins as a public school for school children in 1895 provided the pretext for its growth into a secondary school, offering general and industrial education to Black students. The State Teachers and Agricultural College of Forsyth had been established nearby in 1902 and also led with the goal of educating African American students to be teachers. Today, the school has an international lean that includes USAID grants for projects in Africa and the Caribbean. To date, Fort Valley State University has sent more students of African descent to medical and dental programs than any other Georgia state school.Notable Alumni Include: NFL Hall of Fame Inductee, Rayfield Wright and former Georgia House of Representative, Calvin Smyre.

32. Gadsden State Community Collegewww.gadsdenstate.eduGadsden State Technical Institute began in 1960 as Gadsden Vocational Trade School, a private vocational training school for African Americans. It was founded by Eugene N. Prater, director of the Veterans General Continuation Program for Negroes, in response to discontent expressed by black veterans of Etowah County for being denied admission to the all-white Alabama School of Trades. The new school was approved by the Veterans Administration for training under the G.I. Bill and began to enroll black veterans. By August 1961, enrollment was at 71, and course offerings included auto mechanics and repair, plastering and cement finishing, brick masonry, woodworking, dry cleaning and laundry, general business, and tailoring. The school was identified as part of the state's network of vocational/technical schools and appointed Prater as the director. In 1962, the state of Alabama assumed ownership of the school, and in 1972, it was renamed Gadsden State Technical Institute. The U.S. Department of Education designated this institution as a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in 1997. The facility now serves as the Valley Street Campus of Gadsden State.

33. Grambling State Universitywww.gram.eduGrambling State University opened on November 1, 1901, as the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School. A group of African American farmers wanted to organize and operate a school for African Americans in their region of the state. In response to their request, Booker T. Washington sent Charles P. Adams, the school’s founding president, to help them organize an industrial school. The school was renamed the North Louisiana Agricultural and Industrial school in 1905. By 1928, it had become a state junior college and was awarding two-year professional certificates and diplomas. The school became Grambling College, named after P.G. Grambling, the white sawmill owner who

had donated the parcel of land where the school was constructed. In 1974, the addition of graduate programs in early childhood and elementary education gave the school a new status and a new name – Grambling State University. For the next 30 years, the institution would grow significantly into a 384-acre campus, including a business and computer science building, school of nursing, student services building, stadium, stadium support facility and an intramural sports center. Notable Alumni Include: NFL Hall of Famer Willie Brown; New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow; and jazz artist Lovett Hines.

34. Hampton Universitywww.hamptonu.eduIn 1861, the origin of Hampton University begins when Mary Peake, a free Negro, teaches refugees of the American Civil War under an oak tree. This tree would later be known as the Emancipation Oak--the location of the first Southern reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In 1863, General Butler founded the Butler School for Negro Children where students were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and grammar, as well as various housekeeping skills. Funding was procured from the American Missionary Association and on April 1, 1868, Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute was opened. The purpose of the institution was “to train selected Negro youth who should go out and teach and lead their people first by example, by getting land and homes; to give them not a dollar that they could earn for themselves; to teach respect for labor, to replace stupid drudgery with skilled hands, and in this way to build up an industrial system for the sake not only of self-support and intelligent labor, but also for the sake of character." In essence, practical experience in trades and industrial skills were emphasized over more liberal arts studies. This was the educational home of Booker T. Washington, who later helped found Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. After expanding its programs significantly, Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute became Hampton Institute. The school didn’t become Hampton University until 1984.Notable Alumni Include: Harlem Renaissance muralist John T. Biggers; DJ Envy; and comedian, Wanda Sykes.

35. Harris-Stowe State Universitywww.hssu.eduHarris-Stowe State University traces its origin back to 1857 when it was founded by the St. Louis Public Schools as a normal school and thus became the first public teacher education institution west of the Mississippi River. The earliest predecessor of Harris-Stowe State University was a normal school established for white students only by the Public School System of the city of St. Louis. This school was later named Harris Teachers College. The College began offering in-service education for St. Louis white teachers as early as 1906. In 1920, Harris Teachers College became a four-year undergraduate institution authorized to grant a Bachelor of Arts in Education Degree. In 1924, the college received accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Accreditation from other agencies followed, including accreditation by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the National

Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. A second predecessor institution was Stowe Teachers College, which began in 1890 as a normal school for future black teachers of elementary schools in the city of St. Louis. This normal school was also founded by the St. Louis Public School System and was an extension of Sumner High School. In 1924, the Sumner Normal School became a four-year institution with authority to grant the baccalaureate degree. In 1929, its name was changed to Stowe Teachers College, in honor of the abolitionist and novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe. These two teacher education institutions were merged by the Board of Education of the St. Louis Public Schools in 1954 as the first of several steps to integrate the public schools of St. Louis. The merged institution retained the name Harris Teachers College.

36. Hinds Community Collegewww.hindscc.eduEstablished in 1917, Hinds Community College is located in Raymond, Mississippi, five miles west of the state capital. The college started out as Hinds County Agricultural High School, with 45 acres of land purchased by the town of Raymond. Today, with six campuses and 12,000 students, it is the largest educational institution in the state--having enrolled over 16,000 students.

37. Howard Universitywww.howard.eduHoward University has grown from a single-frame building in 1867 to more than 89 acres, including the six-story, 400-bed Howard University Hospital. Named after Civil War General Oliver Otis Howard, who became commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Up until 1926, every one of Howard’s presidents was white–until the arrival of Morehouse Alum Mordecai Wyatt Johnson. In 1974, it expanded to include a 22-acre School of Law West Campus, a 22-acre School of Divinity East campus, land in Northeast Washington and a 108-acre tract of land in Beltsville, Maryland.Today, Howard is a private research university comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Among HBCUs, Howard has produced the greatest number of graduates with advanced degrees–thus, its nickname the “Mecca” of Black education. Five of the eight African American Greek letter fraternities and sororities within the National Pan-Hellenic Council were founded at the University: Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority (1908), Delta Sigma Theta sorority (1913), Zeta Phi Beta sorority (1920), Omega Psi Phi fraternity (1911), and Phi Beta Sigma fraternity (1914). Student activism has played a major role in the school’s history. It is the reason for Mordecai Johnson’s appointment to president of the university. From Howard University students like civil rights pioneer Stokely Carmichael to activism around Hurricane Katrina and post-earthquake disaster in Haiti, social activism and community service have led the university student body since the early 1900s.Notable Alumni Include: Congressman Elijah Cummings; actor Ossie Davis; and Nobel Prize and Pulitzer-Prize winning author Toni Morrison.

38. Huston-Tillotson UniversityWww.

Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute was chartered as a coeducational school in 1877 by the American Missionary Society of Congregational churches and its namesake, George Jeffrey Tillotson. It opened on January 17, 1881 and of its 12 presidents. J. T. Hodges, the first African American to be president (1924-29), was followed by Mary E. Branch, and William H. Jones. Tillotson College was a women's college from 1926-1935. Samuel Huston College developed out of an 1876 Methodist Episcopal conference. An 1883 agreement with the Freedmen's Aid Society led to the development of the college.

The college was named after Samuel Huston of Marengo, Iowa and the college opened in 1900. On October 24, 1952 Tillotson College and Samuel Huston College merged to form Huston-Tillotson College. It then became Huston–Tillotson University on February 28, 2005. Before the merger, future baseball legend Jackie Robinson accepted an offer from his old friend and pastor Rev. Karl Downs who was president of the college, to be the athletic director at Samuel Huston College, then of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Before joining the Kansas City Monarchs, Robinson coached the school's basketball team for the 1944–45 season. As a fledgling program, few students tried out for the basketball team, and Robinson even resorted to inserting himself into the lineup for exhibition games. Although his teams were outmatched by opponents, Robinson was respected as a disciplinarian coach, and drew the admiration of, among others, Langston University basketball player Marques Haynes, a future member of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Notable Alumni Include:

39. Interdenominational Theological Centerwww.itc.eduThe Interdenominational Theological Center is a Christian, ecumenical, graduate professional school of theology, founded in 1958. It is located in the heart of the Atlanta University Center and today is one of the most significant ventures in theological education in America. The center came about with the combined efforts of four denominational seminaries: Baptist School of Theology (then Morehouse School of Religion, Gammon Theological Seminary, Turner Theological Seminary, and Phillips School of Theology. They were later joined by Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary and Charles H. Mason Theological Seminary. The Interdenominational Theological Center accepts students with connections to denominations beyond its six affiliate seminary denominations through the Harry V. and Selma T. Richardson Ecumenical Fellowship, named in honor of its founding president.

40. J.F. Drake State Technical Collegewww.drakestate.eduIn 1961, Huntsville State Vocational Technical School was one of a group of state, two-year technical institutions founded by Governor George Wallace to support the technical/vocational career education needs of African Americans. Huntsville State Vocational Technical School opened its doors in 1962 with four programs: auto mechanics, cosmetology, electronics, and masonry. In 1966, the school’s name was changed to J.F. Drake State Technical School in honor of the late Joseph Fanning Drake, long-time president of Alabama A&M University. Today, the school has made it possible for Drake State graduates with technical associate degrees in various business programs to transfer seamlessly to these other universities like Alabama A&M University, Oakwood University, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The school is both a community college and a technical college. Today, J.F. Drake State Technical College courses provide industry-based training, non-credit short-term courses and continuing courses, and continuing education course.

41. Jackson State Universitywww.jsums.eduJackson State University was founded in 1877 as Natchez Seminary by the American Baptist Home mission Society. Its purpose was “for the moral, religious and intellectual improvement of Christian leaders of the colored people of Mississippi and the neighboring states.” In 1882, the school was moved to Jackson, Mississippi; seven years later, the name is changed to Jackson College. The

state assumed support in 1940, the name was later changed to Jackson State College. The school achieved its university status in 1974. Five years later, Jackson State was officially designated the Urban University of the State of Mississippi.Notable Alumni Include: Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, Tony Yarber; NFL Hall of Famer, Walter Payton; and actress Tonea Stewart.

42. Jarvis Christian Collegewww.jarvis.eduJarvis Christian College is a private, church-related institution, one mile east of Hawkins, Texas. It was founded in 1912 and renamed Jarvis Christian College in 1927. It was white Disciples of Christ and African American Disciples of Christ that brought the institution into existence. The Jarvis Christian Institute was the institution’s original name. It was agreed that if the Negro Disciples of Christ in Texas were to raise $1,000 for a school, the Christian Woman’s Board of Missions would contribute $10,000. Meanwhile, Miss Virginia Hearn, State Secretary for Women’s Work, would work to convince Mrs. Ida Van Zandt of the need for such a school for Black youth. She, in turn, would persuade her husband, Major James Jones Jarvis, to donate land--456 acres, when it was all said and done. Major and Mrs. Jarvis made their donation under the condition that it “keep up and maintain a school for the elevation and education of the Negro race… in which school there shall be efficient religious and industrial training.” to produce “useful citizens and earnest Christians.”

43. Johnson C. Smith Universitywww.jcsu.eduJohnson C. Smith University is one of the oldest African American Universities in North Carolina. In 1867, the Rev. S.C. Alexander and the Rev. W. L. Miller saw the need to establish an institution for freedmen. The Freedmen’s College of North Carolina was chartered as a result, originally for men only. The institution was first named Biddle University for its financial support from Mrs. Mary D. Biddle. Mrs. Jane Berry Smith of Pittsburgh. The school later adopted the name of “Smith” for the financial support from Mrs. Jane Berry Smith who donated a total of $702,500 for the erection of 9 buildings. In 1932, Johnson C. Smith University became the first HBCU in North Carolina to receive regional accreditation by the southern Association of Colleges and Schools. That same year, women students were accepted for the first time. Today, the school has over 27 majors and approximately $1,300 students. It is well-known history that Johnson C. Smith University (still known as Biddle University at the time) played Livingstone College in the first intercollegiate football game between two HBCU. The game continues today as the “Commemorative Classic.”Notable Alumni Include: the only African American to become president of the American Chemical Society, Dr. Henry Hill; Tennessee State Senator Avon Williams; and jazz clarinetist Skeets Tolbert.

44. Kentucky State Universitywww.kysu.eduKentucky State University is a land-grant and liberal arts institution, chartered in 1886. It began as a small normal school, the State Normal School for Colored Persons, for the training of Black teachers for Black schools in Kentucky. Departments of home economics, agriculture and mechanics were added to the schools’ curriculum by 1890. The term “for Negroes” wasn’t dropped from the school name until 1952. With an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and 135 faculty members--the lowest among public institutions of higher learning in Kentucky--today, Kentucky State University maintains a 311-acre agricultural research farm and a 306-acre environmental education center.

Notable Alumni Include: first African-American Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice, Tom Colbert;Pulitzer prize winning photographer, Moneta Sleet, Jr.; and former civil rights leader Whitney M. Young Jr.

45. Knoxville Collegewww.knoxvillecollege.eduKnoxville College was founded by the United Presbyterian Church of North America in 1875. Its purpose is to promote religious, moral and educational leadership. The school originally opened as a normal school for teachers and wasn’t designated as a college until 1877. There were classes in agriculture, industrial arts, and medicine. Notably, students of the school helped construct most of the buildings on campus, such as Wallace Hall and McMillan Chapel. Since so few Blacks had been prepared for higher education at the time, Knoxville College initially offered classes from first grade through college level. By 1931, the school had become a fully operating liberal arts institution.Notable Alumni Include: legendary FAMU football coach Jake Gaither; first female president of the National Medical Association, Dr. Edith Irby Jones; and actor Palmer Williams, Jr.

46. Lane Collegewww.lanecollege.eduLane College then called the “C.M.E. High School,” was founded by the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America in 1882. The school’s name was changed to Lane Institute on June 22, 1884, when it was chartered. By 1961, Lane College had been admitted into the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Many of the school’s buildings, Cleaves Hall, J.K. Daniels Building and the Old Central Heating Plant comprise the Lane College Historic District. Today, the school seeks to gain recognition as a major producer of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program graduates. And in 2007, the college opened the Lane College Evening Accelerated Program (LEAP, a way for working adults and other nontraditional students to attend the college.Notable Alumni Include: pioneering Liberian educator Fatima Massaquoi; civil rights lawyer Donald L. Hollowell; and legendary Musician Chuck Rainey.

47. Langston Universitywww.langston.eduBlack citizens living in Oklahoma Territory appeared before the Oklahoma Industrial School and College Commission in July 1892 to petition that the city of Langston have a college. The school was established as the Colored Agricultural and Normal University in 1897 with a purpose to instruct “both male and female Colored persons in the art of teaching various branches which pertain to a common school education….in the agricultural, mechanical and industrial arts.” There was, however, a stipulation that the land on which the college would be built would have to be purchased by the citizens. As a result, picnics, auctions and bake sales were held to raise money--penny by penny, members of the community contributed to the founding of Langston. Within a year, the land was purchased. The school opened in a Presbyterian Church with an initial budget of $5,000. Both the town and the school were named for John Mercer Langston, a black Virginia educator prominent in public affairs who organized the first Department of Law at Howard University.Notable Alumni Include: the first African American woman pilot Bessie Coleman; singer Jennifer Hudson; and former president of Fisk University Dr. Henry Ponder.

48. Lawson State Community College

www.lawsonstate.eduLocated in Birmingham, Alabama, Lawson State Community College was first established as the Wenonah Vocational and Trade School in 1949. The initial funding was for the technical division; the academic division didn’t begin as Wenonah State Junior College in 1965. In 1973, Wenonah State Technical Institute and Wenonah State Junior College merged to become Lawson State Community College. Bessemer State Technical College, initially known as a state vocational school, was created in 1966 with six programs of study. It merged with Lawson State Community College in 2005, bringing Lawson State Community College into some of its most celebrated years. In 2011, LSCC was featured as a top 50 community college. President Obama, during his 2015 visit to the campus, announced he named President Perry W. Ward a “White House Champion of Change” for the work he’s done at Lawson State Community College.Notable Alumni Include:

49. Lemoyne-Owens Collegewww.loc.eduLemoyne-Owens College is the product of a merger between LeMoyne College and Owen College in 1968. The two institutions both had rich traditions as private, church-related colleges aimed at developing Black students and providing education to them in the Mid-South. The precursor to the LeMoyne Normal and Commercial School opened in 1862 when the American Missionary Association sent Lucinda Humphrey to open an elementary school for freedmen and runaway slaves to Camp Shiloh. The school was moved to Memphis in 1863 but was destroyed by fire during the race riots. The school was reopened in 1867 but was met with financial problems. The name LeMoyne is in honor of Dr. Francis J. LeMoyne, a Pennsylvania doctor, and abolitionist who donated $20,000 to the American Missionary Association.Owens College began in 1947 when the Tennessee Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention bought property to build a junior college. The School opened in 1954 as S.A. Owen Junior College but later changed to just Owen Junior College. The merger of Owen and Lemoyne Colleges combined a mutual commitment to a liberal arts education with career training in a Christian setting. Notable Alumni Include: former Washington, DC Mayor Marion Barry; former NAACP executive director Benjamin Hooks; and Wisconsin legislator and civil rights activist Lloyd Barbee.Notable Alumni Include:

50. Lewis College of Businesswww.marshall.edu/cob/At the beginning of the Great Depression, 1928, Violet T. Lewis founded Lewis College of Business in Detroit. It started with just a $50 loan, bringing Michigan its only HBCU. The school is a two-year college with both academic and technical programs, providing career areas in Business Administration, Computer Info. Systems and Office Info. Systems. Unfortunately, in 2013, Lewis College had to close its doors.

51. Lincoln University of Missouriwww.lincolnu.eduAt the close of the Civil War, soldiers and officers of the 62nd United States Colored Infantry, primarily composed of Missourians, established an educational institution named Lincoln Institute. The purpose of the school was to benefit freed African Americans and combine study and labor as its focus. Lincoln Institute became a state institution in 1879 with the with the deeding of the

property to the state. And then in 1890, the school became a land-grant institution; soon after, adding industrial and agricultural courses to the curriculum. In 1954, when the Brown v. Board ruling was handed down, Lincoln University responded by opening up to all applicable meeting its entrance criteria.Notable Alumni Include: Lloyd L. Gaines, first African American federal judge in Arkansas; Jazz Musician Julius Hemphill; and actor Joe Torry.

52. Lincoln University of Pennsylvania www.lincoln.eduOriginally founded as The Ashmun Institute in 1854, Lincoln University is the nation’s first degree-granting HBCU. Horace Mann Bond, Lincoln’s first African American president once said that the school is the “first institution found anywhere in the world to provide a higher education in the arts and sciences for male youth of African descent.” Founders John Miller Dickey and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson founded the institution for the purpose of scientific, classical and theological education of colored youth of the male sex. The institution was renamed Lincoln University in 1866 in honor of President Abraham Lincoln. During its first 100 years, Lincoln graduated approximately 20 percent of the African American physicians and more than 10 percent of the African-American attorneys in the nation. Alumni have led more than 35 colleges and universities.Notable Alumni Include: educator and one of the most significant modernist poets Melvin B. Tolson; world-acclaimed poet Langston Hughes; and the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall.

53. Livingstone Collegewww.livingstone.eduLivingstone College is a private, four-year co-ed HBCU liberal arts university. Located in Salisbury, North Carolina, Livingstone was founded by the AME Zion Church in 1879 as Zion Wesley Institute. In 1887, the school changed its name to Livingstone College in honor of Dr. David Livingstone, a missionary, and philanthropist. Livingstone was originally created to educate African Americans who were denied access to educational opportunities but now prides itself on being welcoming of all backgrounds, colors, and countries of origin. The institution is housed on 272 acres of land, with 20+ buildings--many of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Notable Alumni Include: NCL All-Pro Ben Coates; Philip A. Payton, Jr., known as the father of Harlem; and Rev. John Kinard.

54. Meharry Medical Collegewww.mmc.eduMeharry Medical College began as a promise kept by Samuel Meharry. Originally named the Meharry Medical Department of Central Tennessee College. In 1876, when the college welcomed its first 11 students, two faculty members taught classes in the basement of Clark Memorial United Methodist Church. Within ten years, programs for nurses and dentists were added. Meharry Medical College was the first medical school in the South to offer four-year training.Notable Alumni Include: Dr. James Monroe Jamison, the first African American physician to formally be trained in the south; President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda; and former President of the National Medical Association, Dr. Sandra Gadson.

55. Miles College

www.miles.eduMiles College is a senior, private, liberal arts HBCU founded in 1898. Located in metropolitan Birmingham, Miles College is the only four-year institution in the city. Miles college is a STEM institution and a member of the United Negro College Fund. Its brand focuses on civic engagement and activism. During the planning stages of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), when members were deciding what test city to implement the Civil Rights Movement, it was proposed to go to Birmingham, Alabama because the students at Miles College were already engaging in civic protests and boycotts against segregated public facilities.

56. Mississippi Valley State Collegewww.mvsu.eduMississippi Valley State College, originally named Mississippi Vocational College, was established in 1946 to train teachers for rural and elementary schools and to provide vocational training. The institution was granted university status in 1974; two years later, it offered its first master’s degree. Mississippi Valley State College is the nation’s youngest HBCU, consisting of four colleges and more than a dozen undergraduate degree-granting departments.Notable Alumni Include: Katie Hall, former U.S. Representative from Indiana; pro-football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice; Dr. Gary A. McGaha, president of Atlanta Metropolitan State College.

57. Morehouse Collegewww.morehouse.eduMorehouse College, named after Henry L. Morehouse, began as the Augusta Theological Institute in the basement of Springfield Baptist Church--the oldest independent African-American church in the United States. Two years after the Civil War ended, in 1867, Morehouse was born; its primary purpose was to prepare Black men for ministry and teaching. The school relocated to its current site in Atlanta’s West End community in 1885. Under the leadership of the College’s first African-American president, noted educator and civil rights activist Dr. John Hope, the school took on a particular view that education for African Americans should emphasize more than just vocational and agricultural skills. Today, Morehouse has opened a $20 million Ray Charles Performing Arts Center and Music Academic Building, the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel and currently ranks #4 HBCU in U.S. News Best Colleges Report.Notable Alumni Include: President and COO of Lockheed Martin, Arthur E. Johnson; Howard University’s first African American President, Mordecai Johnson; and theologian Howard Thurman.

58. Morehouse School of Medicinewww.msm.eduMorehouse School of Medicine is one of two historically black medical schools created in the 20th century. It was established in 1975 with former US Surgeon General David Satcher serving as its first president. Originally, Morehouse School of Medicine was meant to be a two-year medical education program at Morehouse. Yet in 1981, Morehouse School of Medicine became an independent institution. The school has always focused on training primary care practitioners, emphasizing the need for urban medicine and serving underserved communities. Morehouse School of Medicine is not-for-profit, unlike many private institutions. And contrary to Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine has a majority female student body.

59. Morgan State University

www.morgan.eduMorgan State University was founded in 1867 as the Centenary Biblical Institute by the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The institution’s original mission was to train young men in ministry. The school was renamed Morgan College in 1890 in honor of Reverend Lyttleton Morgan, the first chairman of its Board of Trustees, who donated land to the college. Morgan remained a private institution until 1939 when the state of Maryland purchased it. In 1975, Morgan was designated as a University. A founding member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Morgan’s campus covers more than 143 acres and awards more bachelor’s degrees to African-American students than any campus in Maryland.Notable Alumni Include: NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier; Black Enterprise Magazine publisher Earl Graves; and historian Rosalyn Terborg-Penn.

60. Morris BrownNo websiteMorris Brown is a private liberal arts college located in the Vine City community of Atlanta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Founded in 1885, just 20 years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Morris Brown took in 107 students and 9 teachers as the first educational institution in Georgia under sole African American patronage. Its naming was to honor the second consecrated Bishop of the AME Church, to produce an “institution for the moral, spiritual and intellectual growth of Negro boys and girls.” The college, at that time, was largely dependent upon a denomination whose constituency was primarily unskilled, untrained, and economically unstable. Today, the school has less than 100 students enrolled and seeks reaccreditation after facing a very public bankruptcy.Notable Alumni Include: author James Alan McPherson; aviation pioneer Charles W. Chappelle; and comedian Sommore.

61. Norfolk State Universitywww.nsu.eduNorfolk State University is a public four-year, coed, liberal arts school based in Norfolk, Virginia. A member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Norfolk State University was founded in 1935 in the midst of the Great Depression. At its founding, it was named the Norfolk Unit of Virginia Union University. Norfolk State University was originally a part of Virginia State College; in 1969, the school became fully independent and separated from Virginia State College. Today, the school is one of the largest HBCUs in the nation.Notable Alumni Include: violinist Karen Briggs; Evelyn J. Fields, the first woman and African American to hold director of the Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and comedian J.B. Smoove.

62. North Carolina State A&T Universitywww.ncat.eduA public co-ed and 1890 land-grant doctoral university, North Carolina State A&T University is located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Originally named The Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race, North Carolina State A&T University was established as a separate college for the colored race--as an annex to Shaw University. The school was elevated to university status in 1967 and became a constituent university of the University of North Carolina in 1972. Today, there a major

emphasis on preeminence in STEM; for the fiscal year 2010-11, A&T generated more than $6 million in appropriations for agricultural research and cooperative extension.Notable Alumni Include: physicist and NASA astronaut Ronald McNair; North Carolina Representative Alma Adams; and the Greensboro Four, who staged sit-in demonstrations at the Greensboro Woolworth’s lunch counter.

63. North Carolina Central Universitywww.nccu.eduNorth Carolina Central University is a public HBCU in the University of North Carolina system and located in Durham, North Carolina. The university was founded in 1910 under the vision of Dr. James E. Shepard, a Durham pharmacist, and religious educator. The National Religious Training School and Chautauqua for the Colored Race were the names of his schools. In 1915, after a financial struggle, the school was sold and reorganized as the National Training school. In 1923 the state bought the school and renamed it the Durham State Normal School only to be converted to the North Carolina College for Negroes--dedicated to liberal arts education and the preparation of teachers and principals. It was the nation’s first state-supported liberal arts college for black students.Notable Alumni Include: Andre Leon Talley, Editor-at-Large of Vogue Magazine; civil rights activist Ben Ruffin; and singer Sunshine Anderson.

64. Oakwood Universitywww.oakwood.eduA private HBCU, Oakwood University is located in Huntsville Alabama and owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Founded in 1896, Oakwood University’s purpose was to educate the recently freed African-Americans in the South. Its original name was “Oakwood Industrial School” and based on a 380-acre former slave plantation. Its early days consisted of faith-based industrial training. It wasn’t until 1904 that the school expanded to include a broader curriculum. Oakwood University offers a Christian education that “promotes the harmonious development of mind, body and spirit, and prepares leaders in service for God and humanity.Notable Alumni Include: Florida State Representative Ronald Brise; author and pastor, Dr. Stephen L. Williams; and singer Brian McKnight.

65. Paine Collegewww.paine.eduPaine College was founded under the leadership of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, now United Methodist Church and the then Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine Institute came into being after Bishop Lucius Henry Holsey convinced the ME Church South for help in training Negro teachers and preachers. The idea was for those newly educated Negroes to pay it forward and address the educational and spiritual needs of other newly freed people. The financial basis for the school came penny by penny from former slaves and a gifted lump sum from a white minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.Notable Alumni Include: first African American archaeologist, John Wesley Gilbert; Louis Lomax, first African American to appear on television as a newsman; and acclaimed author Frank Yerby.

66. Paul Quinn Collegewww.pqc.edu

Paul Quinn College is a private, faith-based, four-year liberal arts-inspired college founded on April 4, 1872, by a group of African Methodist Episcopal Church preachers in Austin, Texas. The original purpose was the educate freed slaves and their offspring. Today, as the school enters its 144th year, the institutional ethos of “WE over Me” takes precedence; students of all races and socio-economic classes are welcomed and accepted. Notably, following the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, it was reported that Paul Quinn College and OCG PR would partner to offer a new $7,500 scholarship for Social Justice to a student who focuses on bringing change into the community and justice system.Notable Alumni Include: notable theater producer and director Dick Campbell; Texas Representative Toni Rose; and Negro Leagues pitcher Andy Cooper.

67. Philander Smith Collegewww.philander.eduPhilander Smith College is a small, privately supported four-year liberal arts institution, in close relation to the Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1877, Philander Smith College was the first attempt west of the Mississippi River to make education available to former slaves. The schools’ predecessor, Walden Seminary, received $10,500 from the late Philander Smith College. Today, the school manages The Social Justice institute with the mission to transform the college into a social justice institution of higher education.Notable Alumni Include: former Surgeon General of the United States Joycelyn Elders; prominent psychologist Robert L. Williams; and former Harlem Globetrotters player and coach “Geese” Ausbie.

68. Prairie View A&M Universitywww.pvamu.eduPrairie View A&M University is a member of the Texas A&M University System. It’s the first state-supported college in Texas for African Americans, located in Prairie View, Texas. Conceptualized in the Texas Constitution of 1876, the school was established as a separate school for colored children. Originally named the Alta Vista Agriculture & Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth, the school welcomed eight young African American men as the first students--the first of their race to enroll in a state-supported college in Texas. The school was named Prairie View University by 1945, authorized to offer, “as need arises,” all courses offered at the University of Texas. During the university’s 130-year history, some 46,000 academic degrees have been awarded.Notable Alumni Include: Hip Hop artist, Kirko Bangz; Blues legend, Charles Brown; and comedienne, Loni Love.

69. Rust Collegewww.rustcollege.eduA liberal arts college, Rust College is located in Holly Springs, Mississippi. It is the second-oldest private college in the state, founded in 1866 by the Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1870, the school was chartered as Shaw University, honoring Reverend S.O. Shaw who gave $10K to the new institution. By 1915, the name was changed to the more realistic Rust College. The college’s first president the Reverend A.C. McDonald, stated the purpose of the school was “not do hot-house work, seeking to hurry students through a college curriculum, as do many mushroom schools in the South” but to prepare “our pupils for long lives of usefulness to themselves, their race, and the church.”

Notable Alumni Include: composer Lucie Campbell; activist and newspaper editor Ida B. Wells; and journalist Clinton LeSueur.

70. St. Augustine’s Universitywww.st-aug.eduSt. Augustine’s University is located in Raleigh, North Carolina and was founded in 1867 by clergymen of the Freedman’s Commission of the Protestant Episcopal Church. It was meant for the education of freed slaves. The first year in which postsecondary instruction was offered, the name changed to Saint Augustine’s Junior College. The school later established the St. Agnes Hospital and Training School for Nurses to provide medical care for and by African Americans. The university was also the first HBCU to own an on-campus commercial radio station (WAUG-AM Power 750) and television station (WAUG-TV 168). In 2012, the school transitioned from “college” to Saint Augustine’s University.Notable Alumni Include: pro-footballer Chaz Robinson; American civil rights pioneer and one of the first appointed African-American judges in New York City, Hon. Hubert Thomas Delany; and best-selling authors Bessie and Sadie Delany.

71. Saint Paul’s CollegeNo WebsiteLocated in Lawrenceville, Virginia, Saint Paul’s College is a private HBCU, originally focused on training students as teachers and for agricultural and industrial jobs. The school was founded on September 24, 1888, by James Solomon Russell, a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church. By 1941, the institution had adopted the new name of St. Paul’s Polytechnic Institute as the state granted it the authority to offer a four-year program. The school wasn’t named Saint Paul’s College until 1957. The school has maintained its unique Single Parent Support System (SPSS), a program designed for single parent households. The school has been shut down since 2013.

72. St. Phillip’s Collegewww.alamo.eduJames Steptoe Johnston, a bishop of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church of the West Texas Diocese, founded St. Philip’s Normal and Industrial School to educate and train recently emancipated slaves. Opening March 1, 1898, the school began as a weekend sewing class for six black girls, taught by Miss Alice G. Cowan, a missionary with the Episcopal Church. In 1902, Artemisia Bowden, daughter of a former slave, joined the school as administrator and teacher. Miss Bowden served St. Philip’s College for 52 years. Under her supervision, the school grew from an industrial school for girls into a high school and later, a junior college. In 1942, the school, retaining the St. Philip’s Junior College name, affiliated with San Antonio College and the San Antonio Independent School District, marking the end of the college’s era as a private institution.

73. Savannah State Universitywww.savannahstate.eduSavannah State University is a four-year, state-supported school located in Savannah, Georgia. The school reigns as the oldest public HBCU in Georgia. Founded in 1890, Savannah State University was originally named Georgia State Industrial College for Colored youth. The college became a full-time degree-granting institution in 1928, changing its name to Georgia State College four years later. The school was renamed Savannah State University in 1996. In the early 21st Century, the university

helped develop local small business development programs to assist in the economic development of the local community and train students. Today, the school maintains exchange programs in China and Ghana. During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the campus was a center of activity.Notable Alumni Include: James E. Wright, flight instructor for the WWII Tuskegee Airmen; Edna P. Jackson, Mayor of Savannah, Georgia; and civil rights leader, W.W. Law.

74. Selma Universitywww.selmauniversity.eduSelma University is a private Bible college located in Selma Alabama and affiliated with the Alabama State Missionary Baptist Convention. Founded in 1878 by the Reverends W. H. McAlphine, James A. Foster and R. Murrell, the purpose of the school was to prepare better leaders for the church and school. In the Fall of 2000, Selma University began its transformation from a Christian liberal arts college to a Bible college.

75. Shaw Universitywww.shawu.eduShaw University was founded in 1865 by Henry Martin Tupper in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the first historically black institution of higher education in the south and among the oldest in the nation. Shaw was the first college in the nation to offer a four-year medical program, the first HBCU to open its doors to women, and the first historically Black college in North Carolina to be given an “A” rating by the State Department of Public instruction. Shaw is the birthplace of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960.

76. Shelton State Community Collegewww.sheltonstate.eduShelton State Community College is part of a state system of public colleges, established by the Alabama College System Department of Postsecondary Education in 1979. The school was a combination of the existing Shelton State Technical College and the Tuscaloosa branch campus of Brewer State Junior College. The school later consolidated also with C.A. Fredd State Technical College. In recognition of its contributions to and potential in the music, dance, and theater, the Alabama Legislature designated SSCC as the Alabama Junior College of the Fine Arts.

77. Shorter Collegewww.shortercollege.eduShorter College is a private, faith-based, two-year college, founded in 1886 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It is the only two-year HBCU in the state of Arkansas with a spring 2013 enrollment of 236 students. Shorter College came into existence twenty years after the end of the Civil War. The college was initially named Bethel University, housed in the basement of Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church. The name was changed to Shorter College in 1903, the same year the first building was erected and named Tyree Hall.

78. Simmons College -Kentuckywww.simmonscollegeky.edu

A few months after the end of the Civil War in 1865, members of the Kentucky State Convention of Colored Baptist Churches proposed the establishment of Kentucky’s first post secondary educational

institute for its “Colored” citizens. In 1879 the State Convention purchased four acres of land in Louisville to serve as the campus for the Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute.

Dr. William Simmons became the second President in 1880 and led the Institute through a period of rapid growth in enrollment and facilities. His efforts led to the addition of a competitive sports program and the attainment of university status. Although Dr. Simmons’ tenure ended in 1990, he set the foundation for continued growth which included a dramatic expansion of the liberal arts program. It was proudly proclaimed by State University that most of Kentucky’s African American attorneys, physicians, teachers and degreed ministers were former students. In 2005, Dr. Kevin W. Cosby was selected as the 13th President of Simmons beginning a resurgence that continues today. Under his tenure, Simmons has reacquired its original campus, secured accreditation, and been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a member of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

Student enrolled is increasing at an unprecedented rate resulting in an expansion of class offering and degree programs. Simmons College of Kentucky is well positioned for bright future as a thriving institution of higher learning serving traditionally underserved communities.In the period of 1893 to 1922, student registration increased from 159 to over 500. In recognition of Dr. Simmons’ leadership, the University was renamed Simmons University in 1918.

Unfortunately the Great Depression interrupted this period of educational prosperity. Course offerings were substantially curtailed and many of the buildings were lost to foreclosure. In 1935 the University relocated to a smaller location in West Louisville. Faced with the continuing decline in student enrollment and the loss accreditation, the 1950s brought a change in operations. The university was renamed Simmons Bible College and shifted focus to a limited set of theology courses.

79. South Carolina State Universitywww.scsu.edu

Founded in 1896 as the state's sole public college for black youth, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY has played a key role in the education of African-Americans in the state and nation. As a land-grant institution, it struggled to provide agricultural and mechanical training to generations of black youngsters. Through its extension program, it sent farm and home demonstration agents into rural counties to provide knowledge and information to impoverished black farm families. The University has educated scores of teachers for the public schools. It provided education in sciences, literature, and history. The support of the Rosenwald Fund and the General Education Board helped the institution survive the Depression. After World War II, the state legislature created a graduate program and a law school at SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY to prevent black students from enrolling in the University of South Carolina's graduate and legal education programs. The legislature also dramatically increased funding at the college in an effort to make "separate but equal" a reality in higher education in South Carolina. During the 1950s and 1960s hundreds of S.C. STATE students participated in local civil rights demonstrations and were arrested. In 1968 three young men were slain and 27 wounded on the campus by state highway patrolmen in the Orangeburg Massacre.

Since 1966, S.C. STATE has been open to white students and faculty, but it has largely retained its mission and character as an historically black institution. In 1971, the agricultural program was terminated and the college farm was transformed into a community recreation center consisting of a golf course as well as soccer and baseball fields. Today there are nearly 5000 students majoring in a wide

range of programs that include agribusiness, accounting, art, English, and drama as well as fashion merchandising, physics, psychology, and political science.

80. Southern University and A&M Collegewww.subr.eduSouthern University and A&M College, also known as Southern University at Baton Rouge, Is a historically black 1890 land-grant institution. It was chartered in 1880 in New Orleans as a state-supported institution for the education of Black Louisianans. The campus is located on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. From the late 1930s to the Early 70s, Southern became one of the largests historically black colleges, by enrollment, in the nation. Racial segregation in higher education is said to have promoted Southern’s growth and development. For example, Southern opened a law school after civil rights activists demanded admission to the Louisiana State University Law School in 1947.Notable Alumni Include: record producer Randy Jackson; first African American mayor of Baton Rouge, Melvin “Kip” Holden; and jazz artist Maurice Brown.

81. Southern University at New Orleanswww.suno.eduSUNO was founded as a branch unit of Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College in Baton Rouge (SUBR) in 1956. A member of the Southern University System, SUNO is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The school first opened its doors on September 21, 1959, on a 17-acre site located in the historic Pontchartrain Park. Post Hurricane Katrina the school came back with physical and academic damage done to the university. Several of the programs were stripped due to the loss of students and faculty. The spring of 2006, when the university returned near the Park campus, saw a boost in SUNO’s enrollment again, including online students.Notable Alumni Include: The Reverend Avery Alexander, civil rights activist and former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and Dr. Louis Westerfield, J.D., first African American dean at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

82. Southern University at Shreveportwww.susla.eduAs part of the historically black Southern University System, SUSLA functions as a two-year campus with an emphasis on providing typical college and university work. The institution was opened for instruction on September 19, 1967, after Governor John H. McKeithen signed ACT No. 42. Today, the school occupies eleven buildings on 103 acres of land in Northwest Shreveport.

83. Southwestern Christian Collegewww.swcc.eduSouthwestern Christian College is located in Terrell, Texas, 30 miles east of Dallas, Southwestern Christian College is a private college founded and operated by the Churches of Christ. It was the fall of 1948 when some forty-five students attended the original school, Southern Bible Institute. The name Southwestern Christian College came when the Trustees purchased the property from the Texas Military College in Terrell.

84. Spelman College

www.spelman.eduA four-year liberal arts women’s college, Spelman is located in Atlanta, Georgia and is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium. Spelman was founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary by Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles and officially became Spelman College in 1924. The origin of the name “Spelman”, however, comes from Mrs. Laura Spelman Rockefeller and her parents, longtime activists in the antislavery movement. Many of Spelman’s students participated in fighting for civil rights, including Alice Walker and Marian Wright Edelman. Notable Alumni Include: Janet Bragg, aviation pioneer; Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr; and actress Esther Rolle.

85. Stillman Collegewww.stillman.eduStillman College is a liberal arts college founded by Rev. Charles A. Stillman in 1876 and located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was authorized by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church and chartered in 1895. In 1948, the school was changed from Stillman Institute to Stillman College and, the following year expanded itself into a four-year college. Over the years, Stillman has garnered national attention in the areas of tech and athletics. It is one of the leaders in wireless computing and has received the National Innovation in Technology Award by Apple Computers.Notable Alumni Include: NFL players, Junior Galette, Sammie Lee Hill and Brian Witherspoon.

86. Talladega Collegewww.talladega.eduTalladega College, located in Talladega Alabama, is a private liberal arts college and Alabama’s oldest private historically black college. On November 20, 1865, two former slaves, William Savery and Thomas Tarrant, met with a group of freedmen and pledged to provide education to Black youth. They started with children of former slaves, with the school soon overflowing with pupils. Swayne School was erected after General Swayne persuaded the American Missionary Association to buy the nearby Baptist Academy building and 20 acres of land for $23,000--the same building Savery and Tarrant, along with other slaves, had built. Thus, a building constructed with slave labor for white students became the home of the state's first private, liberal arts college dedicated to servicing the educational needs of blacks. Swayne school was chartered as Talladega College in 1869.Notable Alumni Include: biologist and cancer researcher Jewel Plummer Cobb; UNCF president Dr. Herman H. Long; and Margaret Bush Wilson, first Black woman to chair National NAACP Board of Directors.

87. Tennessee State Universitywww.tnstate.eduTennessee State University is a public land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee and founded in 1912. It is the largest and only state-funded HBCU in Tennessee. It was created out of three normal schools, including the Agricultural and Industrial Normal School. William Jasper Hale, the head of the school at the time, worked with students, faculty, and staff as a family to keep the institution operating--from harvesting crops to carrying chairs from class to class. In the 1920s and 1930s, as the school grew, it took on the charge: “Enter to learn; go forth to serve.” The school took on its current name under Walter Davis’ leadership. A court order later combined the former University of Tennessee at Nashville with Tennessee State University.

Notable Alumni Include: Former Tennessee State University track coach and head coach of two Olympic Teams, Coach Ed Temple; Oprah Winfrey; and hip-hop star Young Buck.

88. Texas Collegewww.texascollege.eduTexas College is an affiliate of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and the United Negro College Fund and located in Tyler Texas. It was founded in 1894 by a group of ministers affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church. The direction of the school was to educate male and female students in literary, scientific and classical education--all to be taught theology, normal teachers training, music, commercial and industrial training and agricultural and mechanical sciences. In an effort to discuss and address collegiate athletics in the south and respective challenges, Texas College, along with five other historically Black colleges in Texas, met and created the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Since its inception in 1920, SWAC has become considered the premier HBCU conference.

89. Texas Southern Universitywww.tsu.eduEstablished in 1927 as the Houston Colored Junior College on September 14th, Texas Southern University is located in Houston, Texas. The college was one of two junior colleges funded by the Houston Public School Board; the other school was for whites. In 1934 the school was changed to a four-year college with the name of Houston College for Negroes. The addition of a new law school for Negroes led the school to be named Texas State University for Negroes for 3 years before students petitioned the state legislature to remove the phrase “for Negroes.”Notable Alumni Include: Former NFL player and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan; singer Jennifer Holliday; and Leslie D. King, Mississippi Supreme Court Justice.

90. Tougaloo Collegewww.tougaloo.eduFounded in 1869 by the American Missionary Association, Tougaloo College is a private liberal arts college located in Madison County, Mississippi. In 1954, the school was combined with Southern Christian Institute (SCI) to initially form Tougaloo Southern Christian College but was later renamed again to Tougaloo College. In the 1960s, the college was on the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, serving as a safe haven for the Freedom Riders and other Civil Rights workers. It’s current president, Dr. Beverly Wade Hogan, is the first female to take the post.Notable Alumni Include: civil rights activist Anne Moody; Reuben V. Anderson, first Black judge to sit on the Mississippi Supreme Court; and actor Aunjanue Ellis.

91. Trenholm State Technical Collegewww.trenholmstate.eduFounded as a community college, Trenholm State Technical College has been merged with John M. Patterson Technical School, making them H. Councill Trenholm State Community College. Focusing on healthcare and technical disciplines, the school is located in Alabama with two campuses.

92. Tuskegee Universitywww.tuskegee.edu

Established by Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee is a private HBCU located in Tuskegee, Alabama. Washington was the first teacher in a “one-room shanty, near Butler Chapel AME Zion Church” with 30 adults in the first class. TU’s predecessor, Negro Normal School in Tuskegee, was the result of an agreement between W.F. Foster (a candidate for the Alabama Senate) and Lewis Adams (a former slave and community leader). In exchange for the Black vote, Adams asked for an educational institution for his people. Washington continued Adams dream and brought Tuskegee into national prominence. The Tuskegee V.A. was the first and only staffed by Black professionals. Notable Alumni Include: civil rights activist and SNCC member Sammy Younge; singer Lionel Richie; and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, founder of Voorhees College.

93. University of Arkansas at Pine Bluffwww.uapb.eduFounded in 1873 as Branch Normal College, a branch of Arkansas Industrial University, UAPB is an 1890 land-grant HBCU and the second oldest land-grant institution in Arkansas. Seven years later, it was said that the first colored student to ever graduate and receive a degree in the state had graduated from Branch Normal College. The school went through two name changes before becoming the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.Notable Alumni Include: pastor and singer Smokie Norful; jazz musician Jamil Nasser; and U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis.

94. University of the District of Columbiawww.udc.eduThe only public university in DC, University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and has roots as a “school for colored girls” in 1851. It’s original name was the Miner Normal School. After desegregation, in 1955, the then Miner Teachers College and Wilson Teachers college merged to form the District of Columbia Teachers College. Today’s UDC is a combination of The District of Columbia Teachers College, The Federal City College, and the Washington Technical Institute.Notable Alumni Include: Ambassador Denis G. Antoine; Cathy L. Lanier, DC Chief of Police; and Richard Pennington, Chief of Atlanta Police.

95. University of Maryland Eastern Shorewww.umes.eduFounded in 1886, University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a land-grant HBCU and a part of the University System of Maryland. UMES is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, originally named the Delaware Conference Academy. The Maryland Agricultural College at College Park (now University of Maryland, College Park) didn’t admit African Americans, so UMES was created as part of the State of Maryland's Land-Grant program.Notable Alumni Include: rapper David Banner; Morgan State President Earl S. Richardson; and saxophonist Clarence Clemons.

96. University of Texas at El Pasowww.utep.eduThe original University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) was founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy in El Paso. UTEP is a Hispanic-serving institution. The name was changed another 4 times before attaining its current name. When the school was named Texas Western College of the

University of Texas, it trained the nation's first Peace Corps class and sent its 1966 men’s basketball team to the NCAA National Championship--the subject of the Hollywood movie “Glory Road.”Notable Alumni Include: NASA astronaut John “Danny” Olivas; NFL Hall of Famer Fred Carr; and poet Estela Portillo-Trambley.

97. University of the Virgin Islandswww.uvi.eduA public university located in the heart of the Caribbean, University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) was founded in 1962 as a public land-grant HBCU. Its original name was the College of the Virgin Islands. It was renamed UVI in 1986 to reflect its growth and academic curricula. The institution offers 47 undergraduate and graduate degree programs across 5 colleges and schools. UVI boasts more than 7,000 alumni who excel as physicians, attorneys, judges, politicians, university administrators, teachers, nurses and many other professionals.

98. Virginia State Universitywww.vsu.edu

Virginia State University was founded on March 6, 1882, when the legislature passed a bill to charter the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. The bill was sponsored by Delegate Alfred W. Harris, a Black attorney who represented Dinwiddie County in the General Assembly. A hostile lawsuit delayed opening day for nineteen months, until October 1, 1883. In 1902, the legislature revised the charter act to curtail the collegiate program and to change the name to Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. In 1920, the land- grant program for Blacks was moved from a private school, Hampton Institute, where it had been since 1872, to Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. In 1923 the college program was restored, and the name was changed to Virginia State College for Negroes in 1930. The two-year branch in Norfolk was added to the college in 1944; the Norfolk division became a four-year branch in 1956 and gained independence as Norfolk State College in 1969. Meanwhile, the parent school was renamed Virginia State College in 1946. Finally, the legislature passed a law in 1979 to provide the present name, Virginia State University. Virginia State University has a long history of outstanding faculty and administration. The first person to bear the title of President, John Mercer Langston, was until 1992, he was the only black ever elected to the United States Congress from Virginia (elected in 1888), and he was the great-uncle of the famed writer Langston Hughes.

99. Virginia Union Universitywww.vuu.eduLocated in Richmond Virginia, today’s Virginia Union University (VUU) was established in 1865 but acquired its current name in 1899 when Richmond Theological Institute and Wayland Seminary merged. The first mass arrests of the Civil Rights Movement was on February 22 1960, when 34 VUU students staged a sit-in at Richmond’s most exclusive dining establishment and were arrested for “trespassing.” The arrests of the “Union 34” set the stage for the Campaign for Human Dignity that ended racial segregation in Richmond within two years.

Notable Alumni Include: Roslyn M. Brock, chairman of NAACP; Eugene Kinckle Jones, Founder of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc; and Charles Spurgeon Johnson, first Black president of Fisk University.Photo via: Virginia Union University Archive

100. Virginia University of Lynchburgwww.vul.edu

Virginia Seminary and College was organized in May 1886 during the 19th annual session of the Virginia Baptist State Convention at the First Baptist Church in Lexington, Va. Just 21 years out of slavery, African American Baptist leaders, among them Rev. P.F. Morris, pastor of Court Street Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va, founded Lynchburg’s oldest institution of higher education for men and women to meet the growing demands of our community for better-educated and trained ministers, missionaries, and public school teachers. The school was opened on Jan. 18, 1890, by Professor R. P. Armstead with an enrollment of 33 students . Through Biblical principles and the philosophy of self-help, VUL has been committed to training and developing the leaders and scholars of tomorrow since its inception 125 years ago.

101. Voorhees Collegewww.voorhees.edu

Inspiration, determination, imagination, faith. All four have been pillar principles in Voorhees College's century-long history of changing minds and changing lives. That history started with Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, who at 23, came to Bamberg County after studying at Booker T. Washington's famed Tuskegee Institute. Knowing the importance of education, and envisioning a better future for blacks through education, she founded Denmark Industrial School in 1897, modeling it after Tuskegee. New Jersey philanthropist Ralph Voorhees and his wife later donated $5,000 to buy the land and build the first building, allowing the school to open in 1902 with Wright as principal. It was the only high school for blacks in the area. In 1947, the school became Voorhees School and Junior College, and in 1962, it was accredited as four-year Voorhees College. In accordance with its mission statement, Voorhees students today combine intellect and faith as they prepared for professional careers. They learn to thrive in a diverse global society while pursuing life-long learning, healthy living and an abiding faith in God. They aim to improve their communities, society and themselves. Those long-held values set the standard by which the college judges its teaching, scholarship and service programs today.Notable Alumni Include: Professional Chicago Bulls Basketball player, Jackie Dinkins

102. West Virginia State Universitywww.wvstateu.eduA member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, West Virginia State University (WVSU) is one of the original African-American land-grant colleges founded by the second Morrill Act of 1890--

the smallest land-grant institution in the country. Following Brown v. Board, the school went from an all-black college to a predominantly commuter school with mostly whites. WVSU is located in Institute, West Virginia, only recently gaining university status in 2004.Notable Alumni Include: NASA scientist Katherine Johnson; Antoine Fuqua, writer, and director of “Training Day”; and Earl Lloyd, first African American to play in the NBA.

103. Wilberforce Universitywww.wilberforce.eduWilberforce University is the oldest private African-American university in the U.S., founded in 1856. Before the Civil War, Wilberforce served as a destination along the Ohio Underground Railroad. During the late 19th century, Wilberforce spawned two other institutions--Central State University and Payne Theological Seminary. It’s 20 fully accredited liberal arts concentrations and mandatory Cooperative Education Program reigns true as a symbol of dedication to the schools’ deeply rooted commitment to education--founded on the perspective that education is the neutralizer of “slavery’s first rule: ignorance.”

Notable Alumni Include: Leontyne Price-- Grammy Award-winning Soprano

104. Wiley College Logo/ No edit www.wileyc.eduFounded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church’s Bishop Isaac Wiley, Wiley College is one of the oldest predominantly Black colleges west of the Mississippi river. During the Civil Rights movement, students from Wiley, along with Bishop College, helped launch some of the first sit-ins in Texas. Notable Civil Rights activist and leader James L. Farmer Jr., one of the Big Four civil rights leaders in the 1960s, graduated from the college. He later served alongside Martin Luther King Jr. The Wiley College Debate Team has accumulated major recognition over the years, including numerous film projects.

Notable Alumni Include: James Farmer- Civil Rights Leader; James Wheaton- actor

105. Winston-Salem State University Donewww.wssu.eduWinston-Salem State University (WSSU), now doubly named after its city home, Winston-Salem, NC, started out as the Slater Industrial Academy founded by Dr. Simon Green Atkins--son of former slaves-- on September 28, 1892. Atkins had an audacious vision to create an institution where every student would meet the challenges of the day equipped with an education designed to intellectually prepare the “head, hand, and heart.” In 1925, the General Assembly of North Carolina recognized the school’s curriculum above high school, changed its name to Winston-Salem Teachers College, and empowered it under authority of the State Board of Education to confer appropriate degrees. Winston-Salem Teachers College thus became the first black institution in the nation to grant degrees for teaching the elementary grades. In recognition of the university’s growing curriculum and expanding role, in 1972, WSSU became one of the 16 constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina. The university is now number one in the UNC system for North Carolina job placement for graduates and number one in the UNC system for the

average salary for triad-area graduates. It is home to an award-winning student activities center, top 25 division II football, basketball and baseball programs, and offers students 100-plus student organizations.

Notable Alumni Include: Louis Farrakhan- leader of the Nation of Islam; Earl “The Pearl” Monroe- NBA Champion; Lorraine H. Morton- the first African American and longest-serving mayor of Evanston, Illinois; Stephen A. Smith- Sports Columnist/ ESPN host.

106. Xavier University Logo/ No editwww.xula.eduEstablished in 1915 initially as a co-ed secondary school, Xavier University in Louisiana is a private liberal arts college--distinct in being the only historically black Roman Catholic institution of higher education in the United States. Saint Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament founded the school in an effort to quell the lack of Catholic-oriented education available to Blacks in the south. During the Civil Rights Movement, the school aided the civil rights activist group the Freedom Riders after city locals refused to accommodate them, through the permission of the then Men’s Dean, Norman C. Francis and University President Sister Mary Josephina.

Notable Alumni Include: Ernest Nathan Morial- First African-American Mayor of New Orleans, Candice Steward- First African American Miss Louisiana USA; Alexis Herman- First African American U.S. Secretary of Labor; Annie Easley- Mathematician/Computer & Rocket Scientist for NASA