Abstract
The Higher Education Act of 1965 defines a HBCU as any historically black college or university, recognized prior to 1964, with the principal mission of providing higher education to African Americans. Many such HBCU’s were also established for the purpose of ameliorating the remaining consequences of slavery (Boland & Gasman 2014). Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have an enrollment of more than 300,000 students on an annual basis (U.S. Department of Education, 2013), of which 80 percent are Black students (United Negro College Fund, 2017). This accounts for 10 percent of Black college students throughout the U.S.A (UNCF). A majority of HBCUs are in southern states in areas that are at an economic disadvantage (UNCF). The economic impact of black private and public colleges and universities stands at $14.8 billion annually. Of this nearly $15 billion, only $1 billion has a direct effect on the host communities where these HBCUs reside (UNCF). HBCUs create almost 58,000 on-campus jobs and just over 76,000 off-campus jobs annually (UNCF). Over the span of a lifetime, this accounts for $130 billion of earnings for graduates of HBCUs (UNCF). Concordia College, a HBCU in Selma, Alabama, ceased all operations in May 2018. Utilizing a theoretical framework of Critical Race Theory (Crenshaw et al.1988), I conduct an ethnographic inquiry; The focus of my study is specifically to examine factors which contributed to this closure and subsequent social, cultural heritage, and economic implications of the closure.
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KEYWORDS
Community Development, Gentrification, Culture, African American, Urban Spaces, Revitalization, Social Justice, Urban Planning, Diversity
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