(Morehouse College via Facebook)
A number of HBCUs are seeing an increase in Black students applying and enrolling.
According to NPR, the percentage of Black student enrollment fell from 18% in 1976 to 8% in 2014, and then increased by 9% in 2020. This comes after years of declining enrollment.
A number of factors contribute to the increase but one includes that some Black families view these schools as a safe learning environment, according to the outlet.
That includes Sherrille McKethan-Green, whose son Gideon Green is attending Morehouse.
“I felt that after he graduated from college, he would have time to be a minority, but at Morehouse, he would be a majority,” she told NPR.
“He needed to be around people … that had his best interest at heart and would also tell him that ‘You’re going to be great. You’re going to be a success,” she added.
Paulina Webber, an incoming senior at Dillard University, saw more students choosing HBCUs as a racial justice movement caught hold of the nation’s attention amid the pandemic.
“We saw the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, and then we saw students say, ‘Hey, I want to go to a Black school. I want to be safe. I want to enjoy my time,'” she said.