hbcu week
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Oh, North Carolina A&T, How I Love Thee
Oh Ayantee, how I love thee. I love you because you loved me when I arrived not remembering that both my grandparents attended Ayantee when it was A&T College, not University, and that I was standing on the backs and prayers of my ancestors and that my mother worked there as well. Not remembering who…
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Florida A&M University: Activism Since Day 1
I marched a hole in my shoes the first time. It was 2006. His name was Martin Lee Anderson and he was 14 and had been sent to boot camp in Panama City, Fla. He had stolen his grandmother’s car. She sent him to be redirected. Instead, he was killed. Seven guards. One nurse. Eight…
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The Story of Tuskegee University and the Normalcy of Black Black Blackity Black Sisterhood
I learned to trust black women at Tuskegee University, not to be confused with the Institute, as the old heads would point out upon hearing that. The paradigm shift that we now lovingly acknowledge as Black Girl Magic is nothing new to me because of the acts of support and sisterhood I experienced as a…
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There’s Nothing Like That Morris College Love
Once upon a time, on a network where a digital stereotype host named Miss Cita lived, there was also a show called Hits From the Streets. It was a silly sketch show on the BET network that sometimes visited popular colleges and coined phrases like “Moo Phi Moo.” The show was kind of dope for…
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The Sloping Hills and Verdant Greens of North Carolina Central University
Just the thought of “the sloping hills and verdant greens” of North Carolina Central University makes my soul smile. Even though walking those sloping hills was no joke. So many people talk about their college experience like the best and worst years of their lives. NCCU only holds good memories for me; even the bad…
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Black, Hamptonian and Ain’t With the Shits
When I was in high school, the laws in my small, white Virginian hometown were simple: Jesus is the reason for every season: Christmas, football, deer and killa. Platinum FUBU is the Gucci of country-Negro couture. Black politics are just like good white folks like ’em: respectable, self-deprecating and don’t hold white people accountable for…
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Carrying On Mary’s Legacy at Bethune-Cookman University
I was lucky to find my Bethune-Cookman hoodie just before my Uber arrived to carry me to the airport. Well-worn and worn with pride, it always creates conversations on planes with folks who’ve never heard of it. “Bethune-Cookman College,” my row mate read slowly. “It’s University now,” I said, wishing I wasn’t desperately looking forward…
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The Mighty, Mighty Panthers of Clark Atlanta University
I was 8 years old when A Different World premiered, and after watching the first episode, I knew without a doubt that I would be attending an HBCU. I didn’t know much about life, or even where or what exactly an HBCU was, but I was absolutely certain that I was going to a school…