Stories Untold: Counter-Narratives to Anti-Blackness and Deficit-Oriented Discourse Concerning HBCUs

Abstract

Although there is empirical evidence concerning the value of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), broader narratives about these institutions too often overemphasize challenges and depict them from a deficit perspective. We argue that such depictions elide the benefits of HBCUs within the higher education landscape and are rooted in a form of institutional anti-blackness—persistent imagery and discourse that construct Black colleges and universities as institutions devoid of value. In response to such silencing, this study employs counter-narratives rooted in a critical race methodology to illuminate the modern contributions of HBCUs as told by their chief executive officers—HBCU presidents. These contributions include transforming today’s learners into tomorrow’s leaders, a commitment to serving low-income students that is unencumbered by their financial strains, and tapping the potential of students who were marginalized in prior academic environments.