Black colleges are as vital today as ever...

[AKA_Monet]

Black colleges are as vital today as ever...

By Julianne Malveaux

I recently became president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C. It is one of 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and one of only two focused on the educational possibilities and aspirations of African-American women. I like to describe Bennett as an oasis where African-American women are educated and celebrated.

But it takes money to educate and celebrate.

Like most HBCUs, my school is fiscally fragile. When our computer server went down recently, estimates to fix it veered into the five figures. Ouch! To pay for it, I had to decide what other maintenance had to be deferred.

To be sure, many small colleges have fiscal challenges that come with small endowments and limited support. But the challenges at HBCUs are especially acute. In just the past decade, several schools have lost accreditation or have closed.

There will be no doors shut at Bennett on my watch.

I often hear the question, "Does a post-integration America really need HBCUs?"