Prior to the Civil War, there was no structured higher education system for black students. Public policy and certain statutory provisions prohibited the education of blacks in various parts of the nation. The Institute for Colored Youth, the first higher education institution for blacks, was founded in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, in 1837. It was followed by two other black institutions--Lincoln University, in Pennsylvania (1854), and Wilberforce University, in Ohio (1856).
Although these institutions were called universities" or "institutes" fromtheir founding, a major part of their mission in the early years was to provide elementary and secondary schooling for students who had no previous education. It was not until the early 1900s that HBCUs began to offer courses and programs at the postsecondary level.
This list of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) lists institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 (Red = founded before 1900)
School City State Founded Type Religious Affiliation Comment Alabama A&M University Normal Alabama 1875 Public Founded as "Colored Normal School at Huntsville" Alabama State University Montgomery Alabama 1867 Public Founded as "Lincoln Normal School of Marion" Albany State University Albany Georgia 1903 Public Founded as "Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute" Alcorn State University Lorman Mississippi 1871 Public Founded as "Alcorn University" in honor of James L. Alcorn Allen University Columbia South Carolina 1870 Private African Methodist Episcopal Founded as "Payne Institute" University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Pine Bluff Arkansas 1873 Public Founded as "Branch Normal College" Arkansas Baptist College Little Rock Arkansas 1884 Private Baptist Founded as "Minister’s Institute"[2] Barber-Scotia College Concord North Carolina 1867 Private Presbyterian Founded as two institutions, Scotia Seminary and Barber Memorial College Benedict College Columbia South Carolina 1870 Private American Baptist Churches USA Founded as "Benedict Institute" Bennett College Greensboro North Carolina 1873 Private United Methodist Church Bethune-Cookman University Daytona Beach Florida 1904 Private United Methodist Church Founded as "Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls" Bishop State Community College Mobile Alabama 1927 Public Originally a branch of Alabama State College Bluefield State College Bluefield West Virginia 1895 Public Founded as "Bluefield Colored Institute" Bowie State University Bowie Maryland 1865 Public Founded as "Baltimore Normal School" Central State University Wilberforce Ohio 1887 Public AME Church Originally a department at Wilberforce University[3] Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Cheyney Pennsylvania 1837 Public Founded as "Institute for Colored Youth" Claflin University Orangeburg South Carolina 1869 Private United Methodist Church Clark Atlanta University Atlanta Georgia 1865 Private United Methodist Church Originally two institutions, Clark College and Atlanta University Clinton Junior College Rock Hill South Carolina 1894 Private AME Zion Founded as "Clinton Institute"[4] Coahoma Community College Coahoma County Mississippi 1924 Public Founded as "Coahoma County Agricultural High School" Concordia College, Selma Selma Alabama 1922 Private Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod Known as "Alabama Lutheran Academy and Junior College" until 1981 Coppin State University Baltimore Maryland 1900 Public Founded as "Colored High School" Delaware State University Dover Delaware 1891 Public Founded as "The State College for Colored Students" Denmark Technical College Denmark South Carolina 1947 Public Founded as "Denmark Area Trade School"[5] Dillard University New Orleans Louisiana 1869 Private United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church Founding predecessor institutions: "Straight University" and "Union Normal School" University of the District of Columbia Washington District of Columbia 1851 Public Founded as "Miner Normal School" Edward Waters College Jacksonville Florida 1866 Private AME Church Founded as "Brown Theological Institute" Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City North Carolina 1891 Public Fayetteville State University Fayetteville North Carolina 1867 Public Founded as "Howard School" Fisk University Nashville Tennessee 1866 Private United Church of Christ [6] Named for Clinton Bowen Fisk Florida A&M Tallahassee Florida 1887 Public Founded as "State Normal College for Colored Students" Florida Memorial University Miami Gardens Florida 1879 Private American Baptist Founded as "Florida Baptist Institute in Live Oak" Fort Valley State University Fort Valley Georgia 1895 Public Founded as "Fort Valley High and Industrial School" Gadsden State Community College Gadsden Alabama 1925 Public Founded as "Alabama School of Trades" Grambling State University Grambling Louisiana 1901 Public Founded as "Colored Industrial and Agricultural School" Hampton University Hampton Virginia 1868 Private Founded as "Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute" Harris-Stowe State University St. Louis Missouri 1857 Public Founded as "St. Louis Normal School"[7] Hinds Community College at Utica Utica Mississippi 1903 Public Founded as "Utica Junior College" Howard University Washington District of Columbia 1867 Private Huston-Tillotson University Austin Texas 1881 Private United Methodist Church /United Church of Christ Founded as "Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute" Interdenominational Theological Center Atlanta Georgia 1958 Private Interdenominational J. F. Drake State Technical College Huntsville Alabama 1961 Public Founded as "Huntsville State Vocational Technical School" Jackson State University Jackson Mississippi 1877 Public Founded as "Natchez Seminary" Jarvis Christian College Hawkins Texas 1912 Private The Disciples Johnson C. Smith University Charlotte North Carolina 1867 Private Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Founded as "Biddle Memorial Institute" Kentucky State University Frankfort Kentucky 1886 Public Founded as "State Normal School for Colored Persons" Knoxville College Knoxville (Mechanicsville) Tennessee 1875 Private United Presbyterian Church of North America Lane College Jackson Tennessee 1882 Private Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Founded as "Colored Methodist Episcopal High School"[8] Langston University Langston Oklahoma 1897 Public Founded as "Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University" Lawson State Community College Bessemer Alabama 1949 Public LeMoyne-Owen College Memphis Tennessee 1862 Private United Church of Christ Founded as "LeMoyne Normal and Commercial School"[9] (elementary school until 1870) Lewis College of Business Detroit Michigan 1928 Private Founded as "Lewis Business College"[10] Lincoln University Chester County Pennsylvania 1854 Public Founded as "Ashmun Institute" Lincoln University of Missouri Jefferson City Missouri 1866 Public Founded as "Lincoln Institute"[11] Livingstone College Salisbury North Carolina 1879 Private AME Zion Founded as "Zion Wesley Institute" University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne Maryland 1886 Public Originally: Methodist Episcopal Founded as "Delaware Conference Academy" Meharry Medical College Nashville Tennessee 1876 Private United Methodist Church Founded as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College Miles College Fairfield Alabama 1905 Private CME Church Known as "Miles Memorial College" until 1941 Mississippi Valley State University Itta Bena Mississippi 1950 Public Founded as "Mississippi Vocational College" Morehouse College Atlanta Georgia 1867 Private Baptist Founded as "Augusta Institute" Morehouse School of Medicine Atlanta Georgia 1975 Private Founded originally as a part of Morehouse College Morgan State University Baltimore Maryland 1867 Public Originally: Methodist Episcopal Founded as "Centenary Biblical Institute" Morris Brown College Vine City Georgia 1881 Private African Methodist Episcopal Church Morris College Sumter South Carolina 1908 Private Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention Norfolk State University Norfolk Virginia 1935 Public Founded as "Norfolk Unit of Virginia Union University"[12] North Carolina A&T State University Greensboro North Carolina 1891 Public North Carolina Central University Durham North Carolina 1910 Public Founded as "National Religious Training School and Chautauqua" Oakwood University Huntsville Alabama 1896 Private Seventh-day Adventist Founded as "Oakwood Industrial School" Paine College Augusta Georgia 1882 Private United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Founded as "Paine Institute" Paul Quinn College Dallas Texas 1872 Private AME Church Named for William Paul Quinn Philander Smith College Little Rock Arkansas 1877 Private United Methodist Church Founded as "Walden Seminary" Prairie View A&M University Prairie View Texas 1876 Public Founded as "Alta Vista Agriculture & Mechanical College for Colored Youth"[13] Rust College Holly Springs Mississippi 1866 Private United Methodist Church Known as "Shaw University" until 1882 Saint Paul's College Lawrenceville Virginia 1888 Private Protestant Episcopal Church Founded as "Saint Paul Normal and Industrial School" Savannah State University Savannah Georgia 1890 Public Founded as "Georgia State Industrial College for Colored Youth" Selma University Selma Alabama 1878 Private Alabama State Missionary Baptist Convention Founded as "Alabama Baptist Normal and Theological School" Shaw University Raleigh North Carolina 1865 Private National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Shelton State Community College Tuscaloosa Alabama 1952 Public Founded as "J.P. Shelton Trade School" South Carolina State University Orangeburg South Carolina 1896 Public Founded as "Colored, Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina" Southern University at New Orleans New Orleans Louisiana 1959 Public Founded as a branch unit of Southern University in Baton Rouge Southern University at Shreveport Shreveport Louisiana 1967 Public Part of the Southern University System Southern University and A&M College Baton Rouge Louisiana 1881 Public Conceptualized by P. B. S. Pinchback, T. T. Allain, and Henry Demas Southwestern Christian College Terrell Texas 1948 Private Church of Christ Founded as "Southern Bible Institute"[14] Spelman College Atlanta Georgia 1881 Private Founded as "Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary" St. Augustine's College Raleigh North Carolina 1867 Private Episcopal Church (United States) St. Philip's College San Antonio Texas 1898 Public Episcopal Church Founded as "St. Philip's Sewing Class for Girls"[15] Stillman College Tuscaloosa Alabama 1876 Private Talladega College Talladega County Alabama 1867 Private United Church of Christ Known as as "Swayne School" until 1869 Tennessee State University Nashville Tennessee 1912 Public Founded as "Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School" Texas College Tyler Texas 1894 Private Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Texas Southern University Houston Texas 1947 Public Founded as "Texas State University for Negroes" Tougaloo College Hinds County Mississippi 1869 Private American Missionary Association Founded as "Tougaloo University" Trenholm State Technical College Montgomery Alabama 1947 Public Founded as "John M. Patterson Technical School"[16] Tuskegee University Tuskegee Alabama 1881 Private University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix & St. Thomas United States Virgin Islands 1962 Public Founded as "College of the Virgin Islands" Virginia State University Petersburg Virginia 1882 Public Founded as "Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute at Petersburg" Virginia Union University Richmond Virginia 1865 Private American Baptist Churches USA Founded as "Wayland Seminary"[17] Virginia University of Lynchburg Lynchburg Virginia 1886 Private Baptist Founded as "Lynchburg Baptist Seminary" Voorhees College Denmark South Carolina 1897 Private Episcopal Church Founded as "Denmark Industrial School" West Virginia State University Kanawha County West Virginia 1891 Public Founded as "West Virginia Colored Institute" Wilberforce University Wilberforce Ohio 1856 Private AME Church Named for William Wilberforce Wiley College Marshall Texas 1873 Private Methodist Episcopal Church Named for Isaac William Wiley Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem North Carolina 1892 Public Founded as "Slater Industrial and State Normal School" Xavier University of Louisiana New Orleans Louisiana 1915 Private Roman Catholic Founding predecessor institutions: "St. Katharine Drexel" and the "Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament"
School  | City | State | Founded | Type | Religious Affiliation | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop College | Dallas | Texas | 1881 | Private | Baptist Home Mission Society | Founded in Marshall, Texas; later moved to Dallas. Closed in 1988. |
| Daniel Payne College | Birmingham | Alabama | 1889 | Private | African Methodist Episcopal Church | Closed in 1979 |
| Guadalupe College | Seguin | Texas | 1884 | Private | Texas Missionary Baptist General Convention | Ceased operation in the 20th century |
| Kittrell College | Kittrell | North Carolina | 1886 | Private | African Methodist Episcopal Church | Closed in 1975 |
| Mount Hermon Female Seminary | Clinton | Mississippi | 1875 | Private | American Missionary Association | Closed in 1924 |
| Storer College | Harpers Ferry | West Virginia | 1865 | Public | Closed in 1955 | |
| Western University (Kansas) | Quindaro | Kansas | 1865 | Private | African Methodist Episcopal Church | Closed in 1943 |
The Reconstruction Amendments are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, adopted between 1865 and 1870, the five years immediately following the Civil War. This group of Amendments is sometimes referred to as the "Civil War Amendments" or the "Three Reconstruction Era Amendments".
The Amendments were intended to restructure the United States from a country that was (in Abraham Lincoln's words) "half slave and half free" to one in which the constitutionally guaranteed "blessings of liberty" would be extended to the entire male populace, including the former slaves and their descendants.
The Thirteenth Amendment (both proposed and ratified in 1865) abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment (proposed in 1866 and ratified in 1868) included the Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. The Fifteenth Amendment, (proposed in 1869 and ratified in 1870) grants voting rights regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude".
