Brief History on HBCUS

HBCUS were not always part of America's history. Before the 1860s, there were only three universities that served freed slaves, which were Cheney University, Lincoln University (both are in Pennsylvania) and Wilberforce University. After the Civil War, an act called The First Morrill Act  allowed post secondary (college) education to be available to all citizens, including freed slaves. Then the Freedmen's Bureau was established and helped to set up more school around the South. After the Second Morrill Act was passed, there were around nineteen HBCUs, but there were still issues with the treatment of African American colleges versus the treatment of white colleges. Until  the Plessy vs Ferguson case when the court decided that African Americans should be allowed to have "separate but equal" facilities. Then, many HBCUS, like other resources, struggled during the Great Depression. Not until the Brown vs. Board of Education where African Americans were allowed to attend all white institutions. Now there are over 100 HBCUS that serve a purpose for African Americans.