Them: "So what college do you go to?"
Me:
This is the typical grin on my face whenever someone asks me what college I attend. It's a mix of pride in my college and also a mental prep for the discussion to come. That's because I attend a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). These are the top seven reactions HBCU students receive whenever we tell someone our alma mater.
1. Bewilderment/Confusion
This reaction usually comes from two separate groups of people. The first usually with a white person, and the conversation goes like:
Stranger: What college do you go to?
You: ABC University, in XYZ state... it's an HBCU.
Stranger: A what?
You: *snickers* A Historically Black College/University.
Stranger:
The latter, which is my favorite, is usually a Black high school student that HBCU students often run into through mentoring program. Mentors are often told "students like them never see college students like us." When we tell students that there is an entire college for people like us, students react with a mix of shock, excitement and disbelief. Then they apply to their local HBCU in their senior year.
2. Them: Is it, like, ghetto?
You:
That has to be the single most infuriating assumption about HBCUs. Because Black people congregating automatically has to be a ghetto social event right? HBCU's have constantly produced top black professionals in their respective fields. Notable alum include Booker T. Washington, Debbie Allen, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., George Washington Carver, Lance Gross, Langston Hughes, Oprah Winfrey, Phylicia Rashad, Samuel L Jackson, Taraji P. Henson, Spike Lee, Toni Morrison, and the current Miss USA. So no, we aren't ghetto, we are Black and elite.
...but we do have Soul Food Thursdays or Fried Chicken Fridays.
3. Seasoned Haters that think HBCUs don't prepare you for the real world.
This is the second most infuriating assumption about HBCUs. This is usually an uncle or cousin at the family bbq that's at the bottom of the chain at his job and not too involved in the Black community. Meanwhile, tomorrow you'll be brunching with members of the National Society of Black Engineers. And because of your Black network, you've been interning at Fortune 500 companies since you're freshman year. But let your uncle continue on his rant.
4. I went to one too
Break out in your happy dance because every now and then you find one of your own. You can always find an HBCU alum in the most random places, like at work or when traveling abroad. It's a breath of fresh air after constantly explaining and defending your HBCU. Now you guys have your own secret Black elite club at the office.
5. Oh you mean like Howard or Hillman?
Yes, like that but remind them that there are other HBCUs too. Over 100 HBCUs in over 19 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
6. Impressed
If you ever tell someone you went to an HBCU and they are immediately impressed, be prepared for a pop quiz about everything you ever learned in your African-American studies class. This person is probably a fellow woke member of the Black community that wasn't able to attend an HBCU for whatever reason. But they are about to make up for it by listing off everything they know about HBCUs and African-American history.
7. Envy
This reaction usually comes from a Black student that attended or is attending a PWI. They faced racial issues in their own school that HBCU students would never face. But don't rub that fact in, these are our fellow Black friends. We need some Black kids at PWIs to become the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, and we need some at HBCUs to grow and prosper in their own community first.
