MILWAUKEE — After the Civil War, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) emerged to provide Black Americans with the most basic human rights, including access to a full education.
They were established to educate the children of formerly enslaved people who were not allowed to attend white institutions.
The tradition of those 100-plus schools lives on today. As a graduate of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, I was interested in talking to a few local HBCU graduates like Courtney Kelly who attended Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Florida.
"I went to Rufus King (High School) which is for the college-bound, so they really exposed us to a lot of colleges and were very inclusive of HBCU Reps coming to the school," said Kelly.
Courtney majored in economics and works today as a coordinator at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
"I wanted to experience something outside of what I knew and what I was used to," said Kelly.
Valerie Daniels-Carter attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, and majored in business with a minor in chemistry.
"Just a phenomenal experience, had the opportunity to go to what I would tell you is one of the greatest historical Black colleges in the country," said Daniels-Carter.
Today, Valarie serves as the president of V&J Foods, the largest female-owned franchise in the country. She's a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, a board member of the Green Bay Packers, and a proud member of the Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ.
"Life experiences at a historically Black university is unprecedented, you can't even explain it, but it is so rich with experiences of all types," said Daniels-Carter.
Tarik Moody is a proud graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C.
"I grew up in and out of Atlanta. I went to a predominately white high school and out of 460 kids there were only eight Black students that graduated, and I wanted a different experience and I wanted to study architecture," said Moody.
Now known as "The Architect", Moody serves as the program director of HYFIN Radio Milwaukee.
Xavier University in New Orleans is America's only historically Black and Catholic university. Tiffany Henry, who is the Milwaukee office director for U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, graduated from Xavier with a degree in political science.
"My father, the late Hugo H. Henry was a product of an HBCU. You're going to get an experience like no other, you're going to have smaller class size, you're going to have somebody who's dedicated to you, but who's also going to hold you accountable," said Henry.
And last but not least, Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama is where Milwaukee Alderman Russell Stamper II attended. He majored in computer science.
"After three college tours and a bunch of fun and meeting so many people, I decided to go to a historically Black college that one that stood out to me the most was Alabama State University!" said Stamper.
HBCUs' doors have always been open to all races and creeds. The camaraderie and memories they created for people like me and so many others are hard to put into words.
"You know when you're making greens and have to put a little seasoning there to make it taste good? That's really what a historically Black college does. It makes you look good; it makes you feel good and makes you proud," said Daniels-Carter.
