What if black colleges, the last cultural jewels black people have left in this country, were no longer the hosts of events made to uplift students, alumni, faculty and staff and fans of HBCUs and to show those who has never been to an HBCU homecoming what it is like to live the black college experience for an entire week? That is to say, what if HBCUs no longer existed, because we had taken for granted our nation’s 107 black colleges by not supporting and giving back to the many places we once called home. What if?
I know, it is hard to imagine; we do tend to cherish the black college experience which is valid. But we also have to live in reality, and sadly—though a certain few of HBCUs are finding ways to keep its doors open, especially for those who are underserved and underresourced—the majority of black colleges are struggling to stay afloat financially and some has closed their doors forever (not to mention the help or lack thereof offered from the government which is not enough to sustain these institutions in their mission to provide its students with a high-quality education, no matter their background). In addition, and, perhaps, in part, to the hundreds and thousands of student loan debt graduates face post-college, many alumni of HBCUs that gave and continues to give a host of opportunities to its students are not able to give back as much as they should and want to.
So, what if there were no more homecomings at Howard, or at GHOE, or at Central State University, where several students and alumni travel all across the states and flock to come back home on campus at CSU? What would happened if there were no more black college homecomings? Fortunately for us we can make sure that this dream will never be our reality, if only we take action now, but what if?
