Vice President Kamala Harris represents a number of important firsts for our country. She is the first woman, the first Black individual, and the first individual of South Asian descent elected to national office in the United States. Additionally, she is the first VP to graduate from a Historically Black University, specifically Howard University in Washington D.C. According to Harris, “When you’re at an HBCU, and especially one with the size and with the history of Howard University… it just becomes about you understanding that there is a whole world of people who are like you.”

Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, are institutions of higher education that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when segregation laws prevented Black students from attending most schools. The principal mission of HBCUs was and still is the education of Black Americans; however, today, around a fourth of HBCUs’ student populations are non-Black students. According to the United Negro College Fund, “HBCUs outperform non-HBCU institutions in retaining and graduating first-generation, low-income African American students. Diversity within college graduates is vital because more voices from all corners of the United States makes us a better formed, positive, successful society.”

There are currently 101 HBCUs in the United States, including two in Missouri: Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis and Lincoln University in Jefferson City.