Beginning in church basements and old schoolhouses, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), were defined in Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as...
”any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized organization accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education]…”1.
According to pewresearch.com, there are currently 101 HBCUs in the United States, Washington D.C. and U.S. Virgin Islands2. Founded in 1837, the Institute for Colored Youth, now known as Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, is the oldest HBCU in the United States3.
For more information about HBCUs, go to http://www.americanradioworks.org/segments/hbcu-history/, https://www.britannica.com/topic/historically-black-colleges-and-universities, https://www.tmcf.org/about-us/our-schools/hbcus
1. https://sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/one-hundred-and-five-historically-black-colleges-and-universities/
3. https://hbculifestyle.com/oldest-hbcus-in-the-united-states/