Gawker: Julian Kimble
I was destined to attend a historically black college or university (HBCU) once my parents met at Delaware State decades ago. Fate resulted in a childhood characterized by religious viewings of A Different World. Aside from sending me on an early quest for my real-life Denise Huxtable, the Cosby Show spinoff helped frame the black college experience that my parents and their friends had long told me about. This made the decision to attend an HBCU simple, especially after dealing with the “too black, not black enough” paradox of growing up in an all-black neighborhood, attending a predominantly white high school, and not fitting perfectly into either environment.
My parents conditioned me to anticipate casual patronization about my decision to attend a black college, so I was war-ready by the age of 18. But what I’ve learned through the years is that I’m often defending my college experience to other blacks the most vehemently. read more…
