A Morehouse Man is criticizing alma mater and inviting conversation about the relevance of HBCUs. Cue the video tape.

Statistics, emotions and history bear out that Black people have been and will be well-served by HBCUs, just as millions of students seek the infusion of religious or gender-focused study in their curriculum.

Black people deserve to learn about Black history, Black people and Black culture in college; it’s a matter of if the rest of the country is comfortable with that. And it isn’t. Black people shouldn’t seek to make outsiders comfortable, or to be less critical of their schools with worry of what outsiders may think.

We should all be free enough to publicly comment on what we think about HBCUs, and to not have mainstream media spin change the financially or politically impact on these schools as a result. Our society hasn’t reached that place yet, so until it does, we as advocates for black colleges should keep strong judgments and perspectives close enough that we don’t threaten their existence in the effort to make them better.

Morehouse College