Destiny Waters 20th Century African American Histo Essays

Destiny Waters 20th Century African American History Professor Morehand-Olufade February 2018 The role of African American institutions for higher learning was to further the lives of each African American at the end of slavery. Once freed, all of the black people needed to find ways to get by and be bale to provide for themselves as well as their families. The most optimal way to do so was to educate themselves the same way that blacks in the North were doing as well as the same fashion of the white people who were going far in the education world. In order to attain the education they needed, they had to create the very environments to foster adequate development starting with the elementary and high school level then progressing to collegiate level and finally graduate school and so on. We can see that many African Americans were attending predominantly white institutions and trying to get by as best they could with the discrimin ation in their way. Despite this, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU ' s) were created but the black people-for the advancement of black people and eventually other peoples as well. These institutions gave them a proper education, chance for bigger and better opportunities on the work force and also established them as their own people with a platform and way to represent themselves. There were two types of formal higher education for the African Americans in the self help era. One was primary school and the other was secondary school or college. Their main goal was to make sure everyone had an elementary and high school level of education completed first since many of the people who would be attending university did not have any prior school knowledge. They needed to begin with the foundational basics in order to better prepare all of the African American people for the broad categories of schooling they would receive once put in the collegiate fie ld. HBCU ' s for the most part had all black authorities in charge of running the colleges and universities. Because of them being run by an all black board- they kept the control in their court and made sure they were keeping the success of their people in their hands so that they could not be put down by anyone. In addition to having all the control in their court, they could ensure that each and every individual was doing their very best as well as making it the best environment for them to succeed without the deep involvement of white people. The only involvement of white people was the philanthropists who, although did not care for the livelihood and lives of black people, saw the importance of them having their own schools to procure the doctors, scientists and educators they would need to add to the success of the entirety of the African American community. The African American people had a desire and need for knowledge that they hadn ' t realized they did not have previously and the were able to take advantage of the people willing to help them do better for themselves. Where there was once slavery and outright oppression of the black people, there was now endorsers and supporters of the very people they tried to keep down. In my opinion the African American people were better served by the coexistence of both primary and secondary education. It is better to have both kind of institutions available because it gives more of an opportunity to get as much knowledge as they can possibly get. By having both available at their disposal, they are able to acquire a sturdy foundation to which they can build on and become professionals or entrepreneurs or activists to continue to stand up for the rights of all black people.