PWI vs. HBCU

There have been people with negative opinions and comments about what the students at University of Missouri standing up against racism at their school.  Some even going as far as saying the students should have just gone to an HBCU. As a person who has attended both types of institutions, telling a black student they should've gone to one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) instead of a Predominantly White Institution (PWIs) is ignorant and unfair.

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You cannot avoid racism, you may try to delay the exposure to it, but you cannot avoid racism if you are interacting with people on a day to day basis.  Both HBCUs and PWIs serve a purpose. These institutions allow you to get a great education and exposure to different experiences and people from all walks of life. An HBCUs in my opinion allows Black students an environment of learning that's still culturally diverse, and psychologically comforting. When I mean culturally diverse, at an HBCU, majority of the students are Black, but we all do not come from the same background and/or upbringing.  Our economic status varies as well as different things were were exposed to are varied.  

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We get the opportunity to learn from other black students about our culture and expand our horizons. The environment is psychologically comforting because even though you have these different walks of life coming together, there is still some sense of community and familiarity. Attending A&T was different than attending NC State, but a good different. I felt comfortable, I traveled, I became apart of professional organizations and I was apart of a group of students where we all helped each other succeed. I most definitely developed a strong sense of AGGIE PRIDE after attending NC A&T. 

Uninhibited Praise Gospel Choir NC State.

        I chose NC State because of it's diversity of races and ethnicities.  I grew up in a town where my interaction was with Blacks majority of the time and I knew that wasn't going to be the case in my career field. My experiences at NC State University have prepared me for what I expect in the real world. I've been the only black person and black woman in my engineering classes. I also have had people judge me based off of my appearance.  I also have had some great experiences there. I have traveled the country and the world and met many amazing people from many different races and cultures.

         The truth is as Black people, we will have to come out of the comfort zone regardless of where we attend college.  Attending an HBCU does not make you exempt from racism. Looking down on Blacks who did not choose the same path you did, doesn't make you any better than those who treat Blacks unfairly. There were many different people (not just Black) who fought for our right to choose. I am grateful for that opportunity and took advantage of that right to get the best education possible and I did that from two of the best institutions in the country.  I salute and support those students at Mizzou for fighting for what is right. 

NC State Basketball game.

Society of Women Engineers NC A&T University.