By Ranada Robinson, Senior Research Associate.
Two weeks ago, I was afforded the opportunity to attend the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Community Economic
Development Conference hosted by the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (US HUD) and the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition
here in Atlanta. The conference focused on educating attendees on what HBCUs
are currently doing to move forward community development, what opportunities
are available, and other strategic tips on how to maximize HBCU influence in
communities that are often blighted, low-income, and even crime-ridden. I was
especially interested and enthused to attend this conference because it fuses
some of the major passions of my life—economic development, black communities,
and my beloved HBCUs.
I am a graduate of an HBCU—Tougaloo College in Mississippi, and I have
family members, including my mom, who graduated from Jackson State University and Alcorn State University, also in Mississippi.
HBCUs have always held a special place in my heart. I grew up attending JSU
football games, where I was mesmerized by the Sonic Boom of the South
(Jackson State’s award-winning band). I attended summer camp multiple summers
at both Jackson State and Alcorn, where I spent time receiving standardized
test preparation, enrichment in math and science, and connecting with other
black scholars from around the state. I
came into my own as a student at Tougaloo, and I have never regretted my
choice.
HBCUs have been the places where African American students
could receive a well-rounded post-secondary education when other opportunities
were not available. HBCUs provide not only a cultural experience but a
fundamental opportunity to obtain the necessary educational foundations
required in a world that relies on skills and knowledge. As “anchor
institutions,” HBCUs are not just student centers—they have traditionally provided much needed
services to their surrounding communities, including recreational
opportunities, training opportunities for non-traditional students, and even
senior care and early education services. During the Civil Rights Movement,
many HBCUs served as safe havens and provided meeting places for leaders,Freedom
Riders, and the like.
When I hear people ask what value HBCUs have in today’s
world, several statistics come to mind: according to Thurgood
Marshall College Fund, although HBCUs represent only three percent of the
nation’s institutions of higher learning, they graduate nearly 20 percent of
African Americans who earn undergraduate degrees. Additionally, HBCUs graduate
more than half of African American professionals, including 80 percent of
African American judges, 70 percent of African American dentists and
physicians, 50 percent of African American engineers, and 50 percent of African
American public school teachers. HBCU are indeed still necessary because
workforce development is still imperative, and HBCUs are getting the job done –
on meager budgets. According
to Dr. Julianne Malveaux, former president of Bennett College, the combined
endowments of all HBCUs equal less than ten percent of Harvard University’s
endowment. The impact that HBCUs have,
along with the established influence they have in black communities, make them
viable partners for cities and regions around the nation. Making sure HBCU
leaders are at the table when strategizing community-wide plans is imperative
because they have established relationships and rapport with constituencies
that may be otherwise untapped or underutilized.
At the conference, I heard from college presidents as well
as community development corporation directors about their current community
and economic development strategies. Here are a few of the efforts HBCUs are
employing to better the communities near their campuses around the country.
Morgan State
University, Baltimore, MD – Morgan
Community Mile – The university reached out to more than 50 Northeast
Baltimore neighborhood associations around its campus and developed a plan to
improve the quality of life within a 12-square-mile area that is home to more than100,000 residents. Priorities
addressed in the strategic effort include increasing health and safety on and
off campus, providing additional educational and youth development
opportunities within the neighborhoods, increasing economic and business
opportunities, and continuing to create better relationships between the
university and citizens. The school has also acquired land in a blighted area
near campus and are developing three academic buildings, including a center for
its Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management, slated to be completed in
summer 2014. The other two buildings will be a behavioral and social sciences
building and a school of community health. The development has been
instrumental in improving the area, which includes a troubled shopping mall,
Northwood Plaza.
Rust College,
Holly Springs, MS – Home
Ownership Program – Rust College’s Community Development Corporation seeks
to transform the low-income rural area near campus into a vibrant,
self-sustaining community. To do this, they have begun constructing
environmentally conscious homes with US HUD grant funding – to date, they have
completed 11 of these homes. In addition, they have worked closely with the
city to ensure that the area has nice streets, electricity, and water. The
college provides new homeowners with education, counseling programs, and
financial literacy classes.
Winston-Salem State
University, Winston-Salem , NC –
Enterprise Center and Simon’s Green Acre Community Garden – WSSU’s S.G.
Atkins Community Development Corporation has two ventures positively impacting
its surrounding community. The Enterprise Center, which is housed in the
redeveloped former Boys & Girls Club building in a blighted corridor, provides
business development opportunities for small businesses and focuses on
educating business owners on conservation and energy efficiency. The incubator
is full and has a waiting list of entrepreneurs interested in moving in. A
win-win for the university and for the community, students have been hired by
member businesses over the summer, and one student was even hired full time.
The Center has won an Economic Development Administration Award from the U.S.
Department of Commerce. Simon’s Green
Acre is a community garden created to address the status of the community as a
food desert. Through this effort, WSSU students, faculty, staff, and community
residents work to provide fresh produce and improve health outcomes –in just
the past two years, the garden has produced 15,000 pounds of produce. The
university offers hands-on learning opportunities to students and residents in
sustainable horticulture and therapeutic gardening.
Langston University,
Langston, OK – T.G.
Green Park Softball Field and Farmers Market – The Langston University
Center for Community Engagement has leveraged US HUG grant funding to
revitalize a dilapidated park into an NCAA regulation-size softball field and
to construct a 3,600-square-foot Farmers Market. The university and the city
both invested in this effort and have a memorandum of understanding that allows
the university’s softball team to call the field home while also using it to
train local children in intramural sports. The Center also leveraged funding to
open a Farmers Market that provides space for local farmer and craftsmen to
sell produce and other artisan goods.
These are just examples of how HBCUs are taking their role
as anchor institutions in oftentimes low-income communities seriously. HBCUs,
like other universities, are pillars in our communities and should be
considered strong partners in community and economic development efforts.
