Reimagining Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Survival Beyond 2021. Gary Crosby, Khalid A. White, Marcus A. Chanay, and Adriel Hilton, eds. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing, 2021. 217p. Hardcover, $95.00 (ISBN: 978-1800436657).

Abstract

I have a sentimental connection to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and remain deeply invested in their survival. I attended Winston-Salem State University and have chosen to work at HBCUs professionally because of their storied history and commitment to Black excellence. While the first HBCU was founded in Pennsylvania in 1837, most Black colleges were founded after the Civil War in the South to educate the formerly enslaved and their descendants. Today, two-year and four-year colleges, public and private institutions, medical and law schools make up more than 100 HBCUs—102 to be exact. Reimagining Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Survival Beyond 2021 offers a kaleidoscopic view of these diverse institutions, combining historical analysis, theoretical interventions, and case studies with an eye toward the future. Across the text’s 16 chapters, leadership, innovation, transformative justice, sustainability, student success, and inclusion are some themes that emerge.