Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were formed out of a need for institutions of higher education that catered to members of the black community. Traditionally, blacks were barred from attending white schools. Now, a special honor has been bestowed to HBCU’s that have been instrumental in adding to the talent of black professionals.
The HBCU museum is now open in the District of Columbia. The mission is to “highlight the accomplishments of not only HBCU’s, but some of their most accomplished graduates. Our mission is to align ourselves with HBCU’s, collect partial and full/partial scholarships from them, and award them to qualified underprivileged applicants.” Additionally, “In addition to our scholarship program we will provide free weekly tutoring sessions for local high school and college students.”
The formation of the museum was led by Terrence Forte and his family members. It is maintained in a 638-square-foot storefront building that includes a welcoming center, artifacts from different black universities and pivotal moments in black history.
There are plans to expand the museum by relocating to a larger venue and opening another branch in Atlanta. “The planning for this has been going on for a long time. But [the financial struggles] make it ever so much more important to have it now, so people understand exactly how important HBCUs are not just for the people attending them but for culture in general” Forte mentioned to Essence Magazine.
Forte is in the process of garnering corporate sponsorship to actualize his plans of expansion.
