The 1954 Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision sent a clear message to White educators, particularly southerners, that they were legally bound to admit Blacks to their public schools. Although history shows that it was many years before this mandate was followed by most southern states, it did lay the foundation for desegregation.

It also sparked a continuing national debate. Whites and Blacks alike viewed the Brown decision as a call for the eradication of all-Black institutions. The Whites consisted mostly of philanthropists who used the new legislation to justify their declining contributions to the Black schools. There were also Blacks who saw the existence of Black institutions as hypocritical in the wake of the Brown ruling. The question they raised was critical to Black schools in the South, where most HBCUs were located: How could Blacks justify the existence of historically Black schools when Whites are now constitutionally bound to admit Blacks to their schools? Concerned Blacks feared that the days of these much-needed institutions were numbered. Some were forced to close; still others, such as Atlanta and Clark universities, merged; but for the most part, Black colleges survived. The survival of Black institutions is, once again, being debated. This time, because of desegregation and changing enrollments, a new hysteria regarding the cultural and historical endurance of Black institutions has arisen.

Despite competition from predominantly White institutions (PWIs) for the brightest Black students, Black enrollment remains significant at HBCUs. About one-fifth of all college-going Blacks choose to attend one of the 103 HBCUs, and these institutions are responsible for more than a fifth of current bachelor’s degrees granted to Blacks. With such documented successes these schools are in no danger of ceasing to exist. However, the newest concern is that increases in White enrollments will cause HBCUs to lose their “cultural identity,” and their historical significance to the Black community.