A look at historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S.

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A man stands in front of the Djingareyber mosque on February 4, 2016 in Timbuktu, central Mali.
Mali's fabled city of Timbuktu on February 4 celebrated the recovery of its historic mausoleums, destroyed during an Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012 and rebuilt thanks to UN cultural agency UNESCO.
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SEBASTIEN RIEUSSEC / AFP / SÉBASTIEN RIEUSSEC

African Peoples Before Captivity

Shackles from Slave Ship Henrietta Marie

Kidnapped: The Middle Passage

Image of the first black members of Congress

Reconstruction: A Brief Glimpse of Freedom

The Lynching of Laura Nelson_May_1911 200x200

One Hundred Years of Jim Crow

I Am Somebody! The Struggle for Justice

NOW: Free At Last?

Memorial to the Victims of Lynching

The Freedom-Lovers’ Roll Call Wall

Frozen custard in Milwaukee's Bronzeville

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October 2, 2024

BY JENN HATFIELD AND MONICA ANDERSON

DURHAM, NC – MAY 4: Students celebrate during the North Carolina Central University Spring 2024 Baccalaureate Ceremony at North Carolina Central University on May 4, 2024 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by DeAndres Royal/North Carolina Central University via Getty Images)

The nomination of Howard University graduate Kamala Harris for president has brought new attention to historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, in the United States.

The oldest HBCUs have been in existence for over 150 years, and HBCUs continue to play an important role in the U.S. higher education landscape. As of fall 2022 – the latest semester with available data – there were 99 HBCUs nationwide, and they collectively enrolled just under 290,000 students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

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