For Northwestern University alumna Keala Uchôa, the university’s recent decision to restructure its African Studies program and cut two staff positions is hardly surprising. The move isn’t isolated. Over the years, the university and students have clashed over protests, a faculty member has sued over not getting tenure, and some current and former students – […]
Alecia Taylor
Alecia Taylor is the national education reporter at Capital B.
Posted inCriminal Justice, History
A Series of Hanging Deaths Has Black Families Demanding Answers
This story discusses suicide, self-harm, and mental health crises. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, help is available. You can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or use the chat feature at 988lifeline.org to connect with trained counselors 24/7. A teenage immigrant is reported […]
Posted inHBCUs, Higher Education, Mental Health
HBCUs Are Building New Support Systems for Black Male Students
This story was produced with support from the Education Writers Association Reporting Fellowship program. COLUMBIA, South Carolina – Before heading to Howard University in fall 2021, Christopher Davis was determined to be the first Black man in his family to graduate from college. Not even a pandemic or financial insecurity could keep him from his […]
Posted inHigher Education
Black Academics See Their Own Struggles in the Death of a British Professor
The headlines about a Black British professor’s death in London and the plagiarism allegations about his work hit too close to home for Emmitt Riley. Jason Arday, the youngest Black professor in the University of Cambridge’s history when he was appointed in 2023, died Aug. 14 after weeks of intense scrutiny of his background and […]
Posted inHBCUs
Black Colleges Are Building More Dorms Amid Enrollment Growth
Housing has long been a strain on Black colleges, but this summer, several HBCUs flipped that narrative. They are breaking ground on new dorms and announcing housing developments just as enrollment climbs. HBCUs make up just 3% of U.S. higher education institutions, yet they educate more than 10% of Black Americans with college degrees, according […]
Posted inEmployment, HBCUs, Higher Education, The Workplace
A Free D.C. Trade Program Is Connecting Black Students to Higher-Paying Jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Marcus Bruce leaned against the tables where he and his carpentry students paused to answer questions from local middle schoolers on a recent tour of the University of the District of Columbia’s workforce campus. The young students didn’t hold back: “What happens to student loans? Will they take it from your check […]
Posted inHBCUs, Higher Education
Tuskegee Students Say the Dress Code Debate Misses the Real Issues
Payton Arentt didn’t give an extra thought to an email from the Tuskegee University administration announcing a dress code and cellphone policy — but she did wonder why people weren’t talking more about the radio silence around financial aid and housing. As a rising senior, Arentt said there’s always been an understanding on campus about […]
Posted inHBCUs, Politics & Policy
Savannah State Student Keeps Fighting for His Baseball Dream Despite ICE Detention
Savannah State University student Johan Sandoval felt like the world had turned its back on him while he was being held in a New York detention center for two weeks, but God and his love for baseball remained a constant. While in custody, Sandoval and other detainees played baseball using makeshift bases made from sandals. […]
Posted inHBCUs, Higher Education, Student Loans
Hundreds of Howard Students Reinstated After Mass Unenrolling
It’s been a whirlwind summer for the incoming Howard University community. Three months waiting for a housing assignment at her dream school. Unenrolled along with more than 500 other students. And days later reenrolled. “My balance just kept changing, and it wasn’t consistent,” Flanders said. “I paid everything I had to pay, then they just […]
Posted inEducation, HBCUs
Lawsuit Alleges Ohio HBCU Failed to Stop Deadly Underground Hazing
Hours after Wilberforce University freshman Savanna Jones texted her friends that she was “lowkey scared” to join an underground social club, a picture of her passed out on a bed began circulating across the campus. On April 29, the 18-year-old was set to join the Turtles, which she described in text messages to her friends […]
