The Most Powerful Moments in HBCU History

In January, Billionaire couple Ronda Stryker and William Johnston donated $100 million to Spelman College. Stryker has been a Spelman trustee since 1997. She and her husband have donated to the school before, but this $100 million sets the record for the largest single donation to an HBCU in history.

According to the college, $75 million of Stryker’s donation will go directly to scholarships for students. The other $25 million will be used for developmental purposes.

This year also marks the centennial anniversary of Spelman Baptist Seminary becoming the Spelman College we know today.

Many professional baseball players came from HBCUs, including Joe Black, who graduated from Tennessee State University in 1950. Black played in the minor leagues until 1952 when he was called to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The New Jersey-born player was the first Black pitcher to win a world series, doing so his rookie year at 28. Black was also roommates with Jackie Robinson, the Black man responsible for breaking the color barrier in the MLB.

Black died in 2002.

Several U.S. presidents have spoken at HBCUs. But throughout his terms, America’s first Black president made sure to show Black colleges extra love. President Barack Obama is the only president who has spoken at an HBCU six different times, setting the record with the most HBCU visits, according to Clutch Points.

Obama has given speeches at Morehouse College, Howard University, Hampton University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Benedict College and Lawson State Community College.

We know him for his fiery roles on the big screen, but apparently, Samuel Jackson has never been afraid to speak his truth and take action.

Back in 1969, Jackson was kicked out of Morehouse College in Atlanta for his role in a protest on campus. The story goes that he, along with other radical students, held members of the school’s board hostage in a negotiation attempt to change curriculum. The stand-off lasted for two days. One of the members held hostage was none other than the father of Martin Luther King Jr.

“My mom showed up and put me on a plane to L.A. She said, ‘Do not come back to Atlanta,’” Jackson told Parade. “The FBI had been to the house and told her that if I didn’t get out of Atlanta, there was a good possibility I’d be dead within a year. She freaked out.”

In 2020, Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman died from colon cancer. Boseman, known for his roles as the Black Panther, James Brown and Jackie Robinson, graduated from Howard in 2000 with a bachelor of arts degree in directing.

After his death, Howard University renamed their School of Fine Arts in honor of Boseman’s life and contributions to the school. Boseman spoke at Howard’s commencement ceremony in 2018.

You know she had to make the list. Howard University graduate Kamala Harris became the first Black vice president in American history in 2020. Harris is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., which was first established on Howard’s campus in 1908.

Who said Black folks cant flip?

In 2022, Fisk University made history when it became the first and only HBCU to have a competitive gymnastics team. Since its inception, Fisk’s women’s gymnastics has made tremendous strides, including sophomore Morgan Price winning the all around national title this year. The program is headed by Corrinne Tarver, a former gymnast and the first Black woman to win the NCAA All-Around Gymnastics Championships in 1989.

It’s great to be the first HBCU,” Tarver told NewsOne. “What it does is open up opportunities for girls who want to have an HBCU experience and do gymnastics at the same time because it just wasn’t something that was an option before.”

Many HBCUs were founded by white educators, businessmen, or military leaders, but not Tuskegee University. In fact, one of America’s brightest minds in history, Booker T. Washington, is responsible for the Alabama school we know and love today.

Washington graduated from Hampton University in 1875, and he was appointed by his mentor, Samuel Chapman Armstrong, to head Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in 1881. Washington led Tuskegee as the university’s first president until his death in 1915.

In 2023, Texas Southern University’s cheer team made history as the first team from an HBCU to win a national title at the National Cheerleaders Association’s College National Championship. The Lady Tigers scored a 96.1 performance score and a 95.5875 event score to take home the title and put respect on their HBCU’s name!

Beyoncé is no stranger to supporting HBCUs. As the first Black woman to ever headline Coachella in 2018 — which will forever be known as “Beychella” — Beyoncé made it her duty to show love to some of the best parts of HBCU culture. From majorette dancing to marching bands, Beychella was one for the history books.

In 2019, Robert F. Smith, CEO and founder of the private equity firm, Vista Equity Partners, spoke as Morehouse College’s commencement speaker. During his speech, Smith surprised students saying “my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans.”

After receiving a standing ovation from shocked and emotional students, parents, and staff, Smith urged “his class” to pay the kind gesture forward.

On April 29, 2020, Saint Augustine University in North Carolina announced it would add cycling to it’s list of competitive sports. This marked the first time an HBCU ever formed a cycling team.

In 2024, the university announced it would begin an HBCU cycling initiative called the Cyclone Racing League (CRL), which launched during the Spring of 2024.

Author and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Toni Morrison graduated from Howard University in 1953. After getting her masters degree, the writer returned to the Mecca to teach English for seven years.

She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Obama and a Pulitzer Prize.

The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is the only HBCU located off the US mainland. With a total enrollment of 1,600 students, UVI has two campuses: one in St. Thomas and the other in St. Croix.

UVI was first chartered in 1962, making it one of the youngest HBCUs in history. In 1970, the first ever graduates of the university walked the stage. Since then, UVI has continued to prove itself to be a small but mighty school for science and research.

According to “We Are HBCUs” statistics, one-third of HBCUs received their largest donations after George Floyd’s murder. This solidifies 2020 as a historic year for the Black Lives Matter Movement and for total HBCU admissions. Although Floyd’s tragic killing was a reminder of the nation’s ongoing battle with racism, many people took the opportunity to show HBCUs much needed financial love.

With a total of 14 HBCUs, Alabama is the first state to have this number of Black colleges formed before 1964, according to AL.com. HBCUs are a vital part to the state’s history and even to its economy.

With schools like Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University, it might be surprising to note that HBCUs have contributed more than one billion dollars to the state’s economy, according to UNCF.