Tom Joyner: Are School Shootings Killing HBCUs?

College homecomings and encouraging studies about African-Americans graduating from high school being more likely to attend college than other races, was overshadowed recently by more school shootings and other violence on or near the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

According to a Nielsen study on the changing profile of Black consumers, 70.9 percent of Black high school grads enroll in college.

But, in recent weeks alone there have been shootings at Tennessee State University, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central University, Texas Southern University, Delaware State University and Winston-State University.

Whether the shootings were perpetrated by HBCU students or not, and whether they took place at off-campus events or sanctioned school activities the bottom line is the school’s names are in the headlines and the violence is damaging the institution’s reputations.

Once again, we hear the comparison of school violence on mainstream campuses, but mainstream campuses will not suffer the way HBCU’s have or will if this trend doesn’t stop.

Most HBCUs are suffering from poor enrollment and poor enrollment equals loss of accreditation and loss of accreditation means lack of government loans. The majority of HBCU students are dependent on government loans and if they dry up, the schools will have to shut their doors.

As school presidents become primarily fundraisers forced to do everything they can to convince benefactors and alumni to contribute money and invite high school graduates to consider choosing a HBCU – many are facing an uphill battle, even without the shootings.

The struggle was already real.

Not only are HBCU’s competing with mainstream colleges and universities, they’re competing with online universities, community colleges, technical schools and the military. The President and several candidates propose ways to make community college and even some four-year colleges free to attend. What will this do to my beloved HBCUs?

And now this rash of bad publicity could be the final nail in the coffin.

But it doesn’t have to be. Sadly, I’m certain that more HBCUs will shut down in the coming years, but not all. But the survivors will have to become stronger than ever.

We can see to that by:

Making candidates aware of how important HBCU’s are to us as voters.
Being committed to sending our children to HBCU’s that are meeting the standards we require for our children.
Giving back to HBCU’s with our money, our time and our talent. Let’s not give our best to everyone else!

My children, both HBCU grads, are parents now and the plan is for all five of the babies to attend HBCU’s. We will have the same concerns as any mom or dad or grandparent with students currently enrolled at HBCUs.

But at the end of the day, we won’t be able to ensure their safety on campus, at off-campus housing or at a homecoming parade any more than we could ensure it in a movie theater, a pre-school or a church. That’s the way of the world.

Guns are too easy to get in this country, and with the easy purchase of firearms come the shootings of innocent people.

Historically Black colleges and universities will have to find ways to become more competitive. That’s a given. But those of us who have a vested interest in HBCU’s succeeding must do our parts too.

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