Typically, historical black colleges and universities like Delaware State, attracted students who were raised in an environment where going to college wasn't the next natural step after high school.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Delaware State is no longer a college for African Americans without other choices, it is a university of choice.
During the days of segregation, there was not a place of higher learning for African Americans. They were simply not welcome in many of the traditional schools. And from this backward policy grew the network of historical black colleges and universities.
When I got into Stanford in high school, I had some friends from school who told me that I just got in because I was black and whatnot.
Enrollment in colleges, especially black colleges, across the country increased tremendously during the five-year run of 'A Different World,' and I don't think you could have a better legacy than that.
College was where I got to actually experience the difference between black and white.
They were often the first students in their family to go to college and the very idea of higher education was still foreign to them. They had to make a conscious and often difficult decision to come to college.
I have a father who was the first black student at his junior high and high school and had to do a lot to get to that point.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, have played an important role in enriching the lives of not just African Americans, but our entire country.
Their families helped them realize that there was more out there for them. These students came to Delaware State because of its inexpensive tuition, closeness to home, and solid reputation.
The last state to admit a black student to the college level was South Carolina.