Experience the Legacy HBCU College Fair was established to educate local students on the history and significance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Our mission is to bring the excellence, innovation and pride of the HBCU experience directly to students. Our goal is to encourage, influence and raise awareness about these institutions through our college fair to promote an experience that is educational, resourceful and enjoyable.
Through Experience the Legacy HBCU College Fair, we bridge the opportunity gap for Black and Brown students, combining some of the fun of the iconic HBCU homecoming with the essential information that traditional college fairs provide. Students will network with current HBCU students and alumni, have the opportunity to speak with financial advisors, view live exhibitions and speak one-on-one with recruiters from an assortment of HBCUs. Parents, students and teachers have the opportunity to visit multiple colleges without leaving the state.
Eleise Richards launched Experience the Legacy in 2016 to bring the historically black college tour experience directly to students, many of whom cannot afford or do not have access to the traditional chartered trips that travel down the east coast and throughout the south visiting these illustrious institutions.
An Irvington, NJ native and Howard University alumna, she knows first-hand how much of a life-changing and identity affirming experience attending one of these institutions can be, but also how challenging it can be to learn more about HBCU life conveniently and affordably. She is dedicated to reducing those barriers for others.
The future of college admissions without affirmative action disproportionately impacts deserving and qualified applicants of color. Now, more than ever, HBCUs, with their asset-based admission policies, are an inclusive and safe space to nurture the minds of students of color. Not only do HBCUs continue to produce many of the top performing African Americans across different fields, they provide a sense of community and empowerment through true self-awareness.
If you want to walk in the path of some of the most notable African Americans in history and unlock an exclusive network of alumni from all across the globe then we invite you to Experience the Legacy.
Before the Civil War, higher education for African American students was virtually nonexistent. The few who did receive schooling, such as Fredrick Douglass, often studied in informal and sometimes hostile settings. Some were even forced to teach themselves entirely. As a result of African-Americans generally being denied admission to traditionally white institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) became the principle means for providing them postsecondary education. These institutions were founded and developed in an environment of legal segregation and, by providing access to higher education, contributed substantially to the progress African-Americans have made in improving their status.
In 1837, 26 years before the end of slavery, Richard Humphreys a Quaker philanthropist founded the Institute for Colored Youth to train freed African-Americans to become teachers. It became the first higher education institution for African-Americans founded in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. It was followed by two other institutions--Lincoln University, in Pennsylvania (1854), and Wilberforce University, in Ohio (1856). By 1953, more-than 75,000 students were enrolled in such well known public and private HBCUs such as Fisk University, Hampton Institute, Howard University, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Tuskegee Institute, as well as a host of smaller black colleges located in southern and border states. HBCUs also enrolled 3,200 students in graduate programs and these private and public institutions mutually served the important mission of providing education for teachers, ministers, lawyers, and doctors for the African-American population in a racially segregated society.
From institutions formed to serve former slaves, today there are more than 100 HBCUs with nearly 300,000 students enrolled. About half of these institutions are under private control, and the other half are public colleges and universities. Most (87) of the institutions are four-year colleges or universities, and 20 are two-year institutions. In the past, more than 80 percent of all African-American college graduates have been trained at HBCUs and although they were originally founded to educate African-American students, HBCUs have historically enrolled students of all races and ethnicities. In 2014, non African-American students made up 21 percent of enrollment at HBCUs and this diversity continues to increase over time. Over 100 years later, HBCU graduates are still thriving even more today than African-American graduates of other schools recent studies show. Thus, it is evident that Historically Black Colleges and Universities continue to be a vital resource in the nation's educational system providing pivotal academic and life experiences to those who attend.
Among African-Americans, HBCUs are responsible for graduating:
40% of all Congressmen
40% of Engineers
50% of Professors at non-HBCUs
50% of Lawyers
80% of Judges
The best of the best have come from Historically Black Colleges or Universities. Swipe through to see some of your favorite people!
Check out more HBCU Alumni here:
DAVID DINKINS
Howard University
1st African-American Mayor of New York City
TONI BRAXTON
Bowie State University
Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter
REV. JESSE JACKSON
North Carolina A&T State University
Civil Rights Activist
PAM OLIVER
Florida A&M University
FOX Sportscaster and Journalist
SPIKE LEE
Morehouse College
Award-Winning Film Director, Producer, Writer, and Actor
SIMONE MISSICK
Howard University
Film and Television Actress (famous for role in Luke Cage)
MARQUETTE KING JR.
Fort Valley State University
NFL Punter for the Oakland Raiders
KESHIA KNIGHT PULLIAM
Spelman College
Film and Television Actress
ANTOINE BETHEA
Howard University
NFL Safety for the Arizona Cardinals
JAMES A. SILLS, III
Morehouse College
CEO of Mechanics & Farmers’ Bank in North Carolina
GLADYS KNIGHT
Shaw University
Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter and Actress
THURGOOD MARSHALL
Howard University
1st African-American Justice of the Supreme Court
EVELYN F. SMALLS
North Carolina Central University
CEO of United Bank of Philadelphia
KIMBO SLICE
Bethune-Cookman University
Mixed Martial Artist, Boxer and Occasional Actor
JACQUE REID
Clark Atlanta University
Journalist, Television and Radio Personality
TERRENCE J
North Carolina A&T State University
Actor, Television Host, and Entertainment Reporter
DEBBIE ALLEN
Howard University
Actress, Choreographer, Television Director and Producer
JB SMOOVE
Norfolk State University
Actor, Writer and Comedian
ERYKAH BADU
Grambling State University
American Singer
ROBERTA FLACK
Howard University
Award-Winning American Singer, Songwriter and Musician
RICKEY SMILEY
Alabama State University
Stand-Up Comedian, Actor, and Radio Personality
WENDY RAQUEL ROBINSON
Howard University
Television Actress (famous for role in The Game)
GEORGE ALCORN
Howard University
Inventor of the Imaging X-ray Spectrometer
SAMUEL L. JACKSON
Morehouse College
Award-Winning Actor and Film Producer
LANCE GROSS
Howard University
Actor, Model and Photographer
DAVID BANNER
Southern University
Rapper, Record Producer and Activist
CHARLES OAKLEY
Virginia Union University
Retired NBA Athlete
DENISE YOUNG SMITH
Grambling State University
Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Human Resources
TOM JOYNER
Tuskegee University
Radio Host
YANDY SMITH
Howard University
CEO of EGL, Author and Film Producer
W.E.B. DUBOIS
Fisk University
African-American Scholar, Activist and NAACP Co-Founder
TONI MORRISON
Howard University
Novelist and Nobel Prize Winner
EARL G. GRAVES, SR.
Morgan State University
Founder of Black Enterprise Magazine
SUSAN KELECHI WATSON
Howard University
Television Actress (famous for role in This Is Us)
BEN WALLACE
Virginia Union University
Retired NBA Athlete
ALTHEA GIBSON
Florida A&M University
1st African-American Tennis Player to Win Wimbledon, French and U.S. Open Titles
SHANNON SHARPE
Savannah State University
Hall of Fame NFL Tight End and Super Bowl Champion
PHYLICIA RASHAD
Howard University
Actress, Singer and Stage Director
LANGSTON HUGHES
Lincoln University
Poet, Social Activist and Playwright
WALE
Bowie State University
Award-Winning Rapper
WANDA SYKES
Hampton University
Comedian, Writer and Actress
MARLON WAYANS
Howard University
Actor, Comedian, Screenwriter, and Film Producer
JOYCE M. ROCHÉ
Dillard University
CEO of Girls Incorporated
DR. DEBORAH A. COLE
Tennessee State University
President of Citizens Bank in Nashville, Tennessee
KASIM REED
Howard University
Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
YOLONDA ADAMS
Texas Southern University
Award Winning Gospel Singer
JOHN W. THOMPSON
Florida A&M University
1st African-American Chairman of Microsoft Corporation
WILMA RUDOLPH
Tennessee State University
World-Record-Holding Olympic Track and Field Champion
DMITRI STOCKTON
North Carolina A&T State University
Chairman, President and CEO of GE Asset Management
SYLVIA TRENT ADAMS
Hampton University
Current Acting Surgeon General of the United States
BOB HAYES
Florida A&M University
1st and Only Athlete to Win an Olympic Gold Medal and a Super Bowl
LIONEL RICHIE
Tuskegee University
Award-Winning Singer, Songwriter, and Actor