Fern Gillespie
Since the Reconstruction Era, Black colleges and universities have nurtured generations of Black graduates in scholarly achievement and community pride. Now, a new study has been released observing that attending a historically Black college or university (HBCU) as a young adult may be linked with better later-life cognitive outcomes for Black Americans.

In the study, published in Jama Network Open, the authors sampled 1,978 Black American adults who attended college between 1940 and 1980. This period encompassed Brown v Board of Education ruling that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional; and the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which barred racial discrimination in school. In the study, 35 percent attended an HBCU. The study discovered HBCU alumni outperformed peers from predominantly white institutions in memory, language, and overall cognition decades later.

“HBCU attendees had better cognition across all three of those different time periods,” Dr. Marilyn Thomas, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco told The Guardian. She said at age 62, Black adults who had attended an HBCU had better memory and cognitive function than those who attended a predominantly white institution (PWI).

“What’s really important about this finding is that it suggests that, yes, culturally affirming spaces actually can help promote and protect cognitive health,” said Dr. Thomas, who studies exposures to racism and a variety of health outcomes that are correlated with the stress. “It’s even more than that because it doesn’t just demonstrate that it’s protective against cognitive health, but the benefits to this exposure last well beyond graduation – these are people at mean age 62. These benefits are long lasting.”

During the study’s period of 1940 to 1980, some of the high profile HBCU graduates making major impacts have included: Dr. Martin Luther King (Morehouse), Stacey Abrams (Spelman), Dr. Toni Morrison (Howard), Oprah Winfrey (Tennessee State), Debbie Allen (Howard), Phylicia Rashad (Howard), Mayor David Dinkins (Howard), Spike Lee (Morehouse), Jesse Jackson (North Carolina AT&T), and Reginald Lewis (Virginia State University).

A recent University of Michigan study said 83 percent of HBCU students reported a sense of belonging in their campus community. “We have known for years that students of color feel more at home and perform better in schools where they feel supported and safe.

The student environment fit is very important for student success,” Dr. Michael Lomax, President of UNCF, wrote on the UNCF website. “A recent report reaffirmed just how important campus climate is to student outcomes. The Gallup-Purdue poll noted that Black graduates of HBCUs are significantly more likely to have felt supported while in college and to be thriving afterward than their Black peers who graduated from predominantly white institutions.”

“HBCUs are rooted in faith, community and service,” wrote Dr. Lomax. “That is why I often say that HBCUs offer a true value/values proposition. Not only are they are a great value to their students, but they also produce students with great values.”

For Etophia Lane, President of The Bizness Girl, the goal to attend Hampton University was inspired by her family, friends and church in Brooklyn. “My decision to attend an HBCU was shaped by my faith, my family, my educational experiences and of course the film School Daze,” she told Our Time Press. “My church community also played a significant role.

Our family’s pastor, the late Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Moore of Shiloh Baptist Church in Brooklyn, was connected to the Hampton Ministers Conference, and I was surrounded by family and church members who were proud graduates of HBCUs such as Virginia State University, Hampton University, and Howard University. With these influences combined, attending an HBCU felt like a natural and meaningful path for me.”

At Bizness Girl, Lane creates networking collaborations with other Black women business owners. She balances her business with community outreach as an organizer for New York State Senator Jabari Brisport. The duo mission of business and community is credited to her experience as a Hampton University graduate.

“Hampton’s motto—“The Hand, the Head, and the Heart”—is something every Hamptonian learns and strives to live by. By applying those principles, I’ve been able to build a strong and diverse network across many industries, connecting with people from all walks of life—from multi-millionaires to those living below the poverty line,” she said. “Hampton instilled in me the importance of giving back to my community, continuously learning and growing, and using my network to create meaningful impact while leading with compassion. For over 20 years, the foundation Hampton provided has supported me on my journey as an entrepreneur and now in my work serving Brooklyn residents for New York State Senator Jabari Brisport as Director of Constituent Services and Organizing.”

When New York award winning journalist and TV talk producer, Patrick Riley was a teen, he visited his older sister at Clark College. He became fascinated by the Atlanta University Center, a consortium of HBCUs Spelman, Morris Brown, and Morehouse. “Morehouse looked like me–a campus full of Black, educated and elegant men,” he recalled. “A Different World” gave me the hint of what it might be like at a Black college. “Morehouse Man” Spike Lee’s “School Daze” sealed the deal.”

Riley became well known on the Morehouse campus for his creative leadership. By senior year, he was involved with the Kennedy Center Awards and catapulted into a career as a TV producer, media personality, and published author. He worked as a producer on Oprah’s projects including interviewing celebs at “Oprah Legends Ball,” covering OJ trial for Geraldo Rivera, producing segment for Wendy Williams Show and special projects for clients including BET, NBC and CBS.

“Whether in the streets of New York City, London, Accra, or Athens, I run into Morehouse brothers – and that’s such a solid feeling,” Riley said. “There’s always a Homecoming or Reunion to get you back on the campus – to refuel and remind you that HBCUs produce love, drive and success. HBCUs aren’t everybody’s thing. But they should be.”

The HBCU study was published this year in Jama Network Open with co-authors from Rutgers University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Columbia University, Boston University and Harvard University. These are all institutions whose have DEI programs that have been eliminated or restructured.

“There’s an attack right now on DEI programs, promoting diversity, bringing people in from different backgrounds and different ideologies – all that is under scrutiny right now,” Dr. Thomas said. “But what this [study] does is it shows us actually when you do create environments where socially marginalized people feel more welcome or feel more affirmed, they live healthier lives.”

The author Fern Gillespie, a graduate of Howard University, is a HBCU advocate. She worked with the United Negro College Fund for several years on national public relations campaigns under the late Dr. William H. Gray III, President of UNCF.
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