10 Interesting Facts You May Not Know About HBCUs

5234638_origThe First and Second Morrill Acts

The Morrill Acts were federal land grants that guaranteed funds for colleges. The first federal land grant in 1862 did not apply to HBCUs. The only HBCU to be considered for a land grant is Alcorn University in Mississippi. The second Morrill Act of 1890 granted federal funds to HBCUs and provided 25,000 acres of land for collegiate development.

bwshieldOmega Psi Phi

This fraternity was the first to be created at an HBCU. Educator Ernest Everett Just along with students Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman founded the fraternity on Nov. 17, 1911, at Howard University. It is still a major organization today with headquarters in Decatur, Georgia.

Independent journalism doesn't fund itself.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top