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Did you know that there are 105 historically black colleges and universities in the United States?
Many were established after the American Civil War; the majority of which are in the
southern U.S.
With the passage of the Morrill Act of 1862, each state was granted land on which to build
educational institutions. Because many of the southern states generally excluded blacks
from these so-called "land-grant colleges," an amended Morrill Act was passed in 1890
to establish separate land-grant colleges for black students.
Several of today's historically black colleges and universities stemmed from these land grants.
These colleges and universities were defined by the U.S. Higher Education Act of 1965 as: "any historically black college
or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is,
the education of black Americans." These institutes were created as a way to educate African Americans
during a time when many were barred from attending other prestigious colleges and universities.
Historically black colleges and universities in the United States boast famous alumni.
These include noted civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, who went to Fisk University;Supreme
Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who attended both Lincoln University and Howard University;
and Martin Luther King, Jr., the preeminent leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America,
who is a graduate of Morehouse College.
Today, America's historically black colleges and universities are responsible for 22% of
bachelor's degrees granted to African American students. Similar to other colleges and universities,
historically black colleges and universities offer a variety of options for students. The
all-male Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the most well-known universities
in the southern U.S. Morehouse offers an academically challenging curriculum similar to other Ivy
League schools. Spelman College, also located in Atlanta, is an all-female school that offers
an excellent pre-medicine program. Another well-known, prestigious historically black
college is Howard University in Washington, D.C., which connects students with African
American leaders in business and politics.