"I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I do not mind at all." -Zora Neale Hurston
This post is not just for Black people. I think we all do a good job of having conversations in our quiet, inner circles but we do not do a good job of having those conversations out loud. In the open, where not only people like me can hear but people who are not like me. In this, "like me" doesn't only mean skin color, nor does it only mean "poor" or "middle-class". "Like me" can mean female, intelligent, medium height, or just human. We have more in common than we would like to put on.
Yet, there are differences and for those differences are the very reason why I will continue to sing praises to HBCUs.
I remember the day I fell in love with HBCUs. It was during Spelbound, an over-night stay at Spelman for girls who are considering attending, and I still wasn't sure if I would go to Spelman or Agnes Scott. I wasn't raised in a family that helped you prep for the SATs or who even had a long line of people that attended traditional colleges. I was pretty much alone on figuring out what route I was going to take. Thank God for divine order, because the only reason I even got to Spelbound was because Spelman sent me and application in the mail, I filled it out and later found that I was accepted.
I wanted to go to UGA. For what reason, I don't really know. I think that at that point that's where most of my counterparts (of lighter persuasions) were considering, so I figured it was the best school for me. The issue is that UGA would be perfect for them because they knew who they were and their history. They knew that the only thing standing between them and their goals was the motivation to get there. They could do anything. As much as I believe the same for all people, that we ALL can do ANYTHING. . . There's a lot more standing in the way for some of us than others.
I remember driving up to Spelbound with my mom, looking out the window at the women of Spelman cheering upon our arrival. When I tell you it was like stepping into a time-zone. . . I thought I was in a different world. The campus was beautiful, but even more beautiful was that this was the first time in my life I was surrounded by so many beautiful, educated, Black women. When I tell you, I was sold when I got home, I didn't even think twice about going to Agnes Scott's over-night. Again, nothing against Agnes Scott but this "Spelman" was unique.
In my 18 years of education, the most I learned about the wonderful things that Black people could be capable of was in my 4 years at Spelman. After Honors classes, predominantly white schools, the news, and the history I was taught, I knew that some Black people could be great but somewhere in my heart I also felt that we as a people were condemn to mediocrity. I still feel that education is one of our most powerful weapons as people but in education, we need to know the answers of why: Why do Black people have a history of not voting? Why do Black people perm their hair and bleach their skin? Why is Black ugly?
I love HBCUs because, in my opinion, it's the one place in the world tailored towards the success of Black people and breaking the cycles of our history. HBCUs give Black people the education to understand and to communicate the issues of our community to make the change.
I once heard someone say "Well, why would you go to a HBCU when the world is not like that. You have to learn how to deal with other people." I believe the answer is in the argument. I went to an HBCU because the world is not like it. It's unique in that it was the only time that I could be free to learn on my own terms and feel good about being who I am. I believe HBCUs cultivate Black people with the confidence to go into a society that the more successful you get, the lighter you are, and stand firm, knowing that they are still capable beings.
I believe that the majority of the institutions that are Historically White, meaning at some point people of color were not allowed in and even after are still very limited, have been doing the same thing HBCUs are doing for decades. Yet no one says to them, "Well, why would you have a school that's predominantly white, when in the world you are the minority. Don't you have to learn to deal with everyone?" Of course there are laws that aim for percentages but that doesn't change the culture. The difference is that they are already in their "HBCU," we are the outsiders.
I understand not every Black person will want to go to an HBCU, nor should they have to, nor can I say that it is best for them. I can only speak from my experience. This is just why I love HBCUs.
My only advice is that we all be aware of where we came from so that we don't repeat ourselves. I ask that we all check ourselves for inklings of self-hate and we all find a space where we can be free to grow with out the unnecessary hindrances that someone long before you set up to trap you. I hope that one day, schools teach ALL history and there would be no need for places that only focus on one group, but until that day. . . I believe in HBCUs.
No comments:
Post a Comment