Diversity In Hbcus

Ric Keller once said “Historically black colleges and universities have played an important role in enriching the lives of not just African Americans, but our entire country.” For years all the way up until now African American students are faced with the decision whether to attend a predominantly white institution or a historically black college or university. Many argue that HBCUs lack cutting-edge academic and non academic programs, which tends to devalue HBCUs graduates and their degree. African Americans who graduate from a HBCU tend to have higher academic, social, and occupational aspirations than those who do not attend an HBCU. Today, there are currently 106 HBCUs that are located in the United States (Palmer 2015).The first HBCU

Some African Americans at HBCUs also receive mistreatment form their peers and faculty. A studied that was conducted by New York university in 2014 found that when students contacted professors for mentorship, faculty were significantly more responsive to white men than women and people of color. According to a 2013 Association for the Study of Higher Education students of color reported many instances of faculty suggesting their race affected their interests. It is hard for students to succeed when they are confronting racial bias from their fellow peers and professors. Many African American students at PWIs have to deal with the psychological pressure of proving themselves, not only to faculty and peers but to their entire race (Miller 2015). Students have to try and ignore all the negative stereotypes and that really hurts a students confidence which can also have an affect on their academic performance. A study that was conducted by Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College reported that it is difficult for black students to access mental health service at PWIs to access mental health services.Counselors that are white often ill-equipped to address anxiety that relate to a student’s race or