I believe my college experience will be both exciting and life-changing. Choosing to attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) is equally as important as going to college. I believe all Americans can gain a sense of heritage, and culture at an HBCU. African Americans have made many significant contributions to the American lifestyle that is known today. HBCU’s high light these contributions by cultivating a diverse learning milieu. HBCU’s are institutions that were established prior to 1964 with the mission to educate African Americans about our unique culture and experiences. Perhaps one of the greatest struggles faced by African Americans in the United States has been the struggle to be educated. This struggle has been guided by the philosophies of African American scholars who believed that without struggle there was no progress; African American revolutionists who believed that education was the passport to the future; and black clergy who sermonized that without vision the people would perish. Education is now, and always has been, a vital weapon in the African American arsenal. Essentially, black Americans used education as their primary source of ammunition in the fight against a segregated society, racism, illiteracy, and poverty. The steadfast desire of the African American population to be educated influenced the development of HBCU, and HBCUs have likewise contributed much to the advancement of America as a whole. Many prominent African Americans from a range of backgrounds and professions have graduated from HBCUs. Historians like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of Morehouse College, Olympian Wilma Rudolph of Tennessee State University, Andrew Young, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former Mayor of Atlanta of Howard University, and one day Kelvin Pruitt from Morehouse College.
As a beneficiary of the awesome legacy that these great Americans have left me, I am honor bound to continue