Attending an HBCU is not similar to attending just any other college or university. We mainly share similar surroundings, such as dorms, classrooms, professors, and student lounges; however, HBCUs share so much more.
We share unity.
It may not seem like it at times, but when you place people with the same color and background in the same environment, it creates an oasis conducive for learning, producing and building.
Being at an HBCU is comparable to having siblings around constantly. We argue and fight, but at the end of the day, you know you will have to see that person and build with them.
Unity is an important aspect when it comes to building someone’s future. Many people leave school or feel that it is not for them when they do not have someone constantly showing them that it does make a difference whether they attend school.
Being at an HBCU makes it easier for this to be understood because the people around you are like family and will not leave you high and dry. The support you have will convince you that this is home.
Outside of HBCUs, we see black people killing one another and always rejecting someone who may have less than they. It does not stop there because we have people of other backgrounds killing us too.
HBCUs give you the opportunity to not have the desire to kill or “beef” with someone that may share a life similar to your own. We always find out that the person we dislike the most always has more in common with us than we think.
The support and unity does not stop when you graduate from an HBCU. The people who have already been where you are and graduated are willing to help. They know what it took for them to get there and when they see that you are a persistent student at an HBCU they show you the steps they used to succeed and want the same for you.
HBCUs prepare you for your life outside of college. They show you the road to finding a career in your field and encourage you to get an early start instead of waiting on others to catch up. At an HBCU, that head start is critical because we must accomplish more than necessary in order to succeed.
HBCUs build you and teach you to build the oncoming generation. That is why this cycle of unity never ends.
Yunique Murphy is a sophomore mass communication major from Norman, Oklahoma.