Historically black colleges and universities in the context of "Tuskegee Institute"

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite.

Born into slavery on April 5, 1856, in Hale's Ford, Virginia, Washington was freed when U.S. troops reached the area during the Civil War. As a young man, Booker T. Washington worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute and attended college at Wayland Seminary. In 1881, he was named as the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, an institute for black higher education. He expanded the college, enlisting students in construction of buildings. Work at the college was considered fundamental to students' larger education. He attained national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895, which attracted the attention of politicians and the public. Washington played a dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community of the South and among more liberal whites. Washington wrote an autobiography, Up from Slavery, in 1901, which became a major text. In that year, he dined with Theodore Roosevelt at the White House, which was the first time a black person publicly met the president on equal terms. After an illness, he died in Tuskegee, Alabama on November 14, 1915.

Chicago State University (CSU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Founded in 1867 as Cook County Normal School by the Cook County Board of Commissioners, it was established as the first teacher training school in Cook County. In 1949, when it was known as Chicago Teachers College, the institution was divided into two branches, with one eventually becoming Northeastern Illinois University. The state government of Illinois began funding the institution in 1951 and assumed full control in 1965. It was renamed the current name in 1971. CSU is a predominantly black (PBI) university. As of 2025, CSU had an 11 percent graduation rate within a four-year period of study.

Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a privately governed, state-assisted historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four colleges and a diverse population of undergraduate and advanced-degree students. Delaware State University is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas, United States. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Texas Southern University is an important institution in Houston's Third Ward. Alvia Wardlaw of Cite: The Architecture + Design Review of Houston wrote that the university serves as "the cultural and community center of" the Third Ward area where it is located, in addition to being its university. The university also serves as a notable economic resource for Greater Houston, contributing over $500 million to the region's gross sales and being directly and indirectly responsible for over 3,000 jobs.

Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September 19, 1865, as Atlanta University, the first HBCU in the United States to confer graduate degrees to African Americans. In 1988, the school consolidated with Clark College (established 1869) to form CAU. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1866 and its 40-acre (16 ha) campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1930, Fisk became the first historically black institution to gain accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Fisk is the oldest institution for higher education in Nashville.

Virginia University of Lynchburg (VUL) is a private historically black Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia. VUL offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs primarily focused on religious studies, business, and the liberal arts. Academically, VUL is structured into three main schools: the School of Religion, School of Business Administration, and School of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

VUL is accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). The campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.