HBCU Spotlight
Historically Black Colleges and Universities have shaped generations of Black excellence and community leadership — and they deserve more attention than they get. This is a purely informational directory of all 106, built to send more eyes their way. No sponsorship, no partnership — every month we spotlight one.
What this is: founding year, city, and public/private status for every school are public record. Photos, where shown, are freely-licensed campus images from Wikimedia Commons, credited to their source — not official school photography. School names and any future logos appear only with the school's knowledge; we're reaching out to every one directly. If you're with one of these schools and want something corrected, credited differently, or removed, email kelvin@kinvestguidance.com.
Alabama 14
Concordia College Alabama
PrivateSelma, Alabama · Est. 1922
J.F. Drake State Community and Technical College
PublicHuntsville, Alabama · Est. 1961
two-year
Visit website →
Shelton State Community College
PublicTuscaloosa, Alabama · Est. 1979
two-year; HBCU designation via 1993 merger with C.A. Fredd State Technical College
Visit website →
Talladega College
PrivateTalladega, Alabama · Est. 1867
Alabama's oldest private HBCU
Visit website →
Tuskegee University
PrivateTuskegee, Alabama · Est. 1881
founded by Booker T. Washington
Visit website →Arkansas 4
California 1
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
PrivateLos Angeles, California · Est. 1966
health sciences
Visit website →D.C. 2
University of the District of Columbia
PublicWashington, D.C. · Est. 1976
formed by a merger of three institutions with roots to 1851
Visit website →Delaware 1
Florida 4
Bethune-Cookman University
PrivateDaytona Beach, Florida · Est. 1904
founded by Mary McLeod Bethune
Visit website →
Edward Waters University
PrivateJacksonville, Florida · Est. 1866
Florida's oldest HBCU
Visit website →
Georgia 10
Clark Atlanta University
PrivateAtlanta, Georgia · Est. 1988
formed by the merger of Clark College (1869) and Atlanta University (1865)
Visit website →
Interdenominational Theological Center
PrivateAtlanta, Georgia · Est. 1958
seminary consortium
Visit website →
Morehouse College
PrivateAtlanta, Georgia · Est. 1867
one of the nation's few all-male HBCUs
Visit website →
Morris Brown College
PrivateAtlanta, Georgia · Est. 1881
rebuilding after a 2003 accreditation loss; regained accreditation in 2022
Visit website →
Savannah State University
PublicSavannah, Georgia · Est. 1890
Georgia's oldest public HBCU
Visit website →
Kentucky 2
Louisiana 6
Dillard University
PrivateNew Orleans, Louisiana · Est. 1869
formed by a 1930 merger of Straight College and New Orleans University
Visit website →
Xavier University of Louisiana
PrivateNew Orleans, Louisiana · Est. 1925
the nation's only historically Black Catholic university
Visit website →Maryland 4
Mississippi 7
Alcorn State University
PublicLorman, Mississippi · Est. 1871
the first Black land-grant college in the US
Visit website →Hinds Community College - Utica
PublicUtica, Mississippi · Est. 1903
two-year; campus rooted in the historic Utica Institute
Visit website →
Rust College
PrivateHolly Springs, Mississippi · Est. 1866
one of the nation's oldest HBCUs
Visit website →
Missouri 2
Harris-Stowe State University
PublicSt. Louis, Missouri · Est. 1857
formed by a 1954 merger of Harris Teachers College and Stowe Teachers College
Visit website →
North Carolina 11
Barber-Scotia College
PrivateConcord, North Carolina · Est. 1867
operating at reduced scale after an accreditation loss
Visit website →
North Carolina A&T State University
PublicGreensboro, North Carolina · Est. 1891
the nation's largest HBCU by enrollment
Visit website →
Shaw University
PrivateRaleigh, North Carolina · Est. 1865
the first HBCU in the South
Visit website →
Ohio 3
Payne Theological Seminary
PrivateWilberforce, Ohio · Est. 1844
the nation's oldest African American seminary
Visit website →
Wilberforce University
PrivateWilberforce, Ohio · Est. 1856
the nation's oldest private HBCU
Visit website →Oklahoma 1
Pennsylvania 2
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
PublicCheyney, Pennsylvania · Est. 1837
the nation's oldest HBCU
Visit website →Lincoln University
PublicLincoln University, Pennsylvania · Est. 1854
the first degree-granting HBCU in the US
Visit website →South Carolina 8
Tennessee 7
Knoxville College
PrivateKnoxville, Tennessee · Est. 1875
operating at reduced scale
Visit website →
LeMoyne-Owen College
PrivateMemphis, Tennessee · Est. 1862
formed by a 1968 merger of LeMoyne College and Owen College
Visit website →
Meharry Medical College
PrivateNashville, Tennessee · Est. 1876
the nation's oldest historically Black academic health science center
Visit website →
Texas 9
Huston-Tillotson University
PrivateAustin, Texas · Est. 1875
formed by a 1952 merger of Samuel Huston College and Tillotson College
Visit website →
Wiley College
PrivateMarshall, Texas · Est. 1873
the oldest historically Black college west of the Mississippi River
Visit website →US Virgin Islands 1
Virginia 5
Virginia State University
PublicPetersburg, Virginia · Est. 1882
the first fully state-supported four-year HBCU in the US
Visit website →
West Virginia 2
Bluefield State University
PublicBluefield, West Virginia · Est. 1895
retains its historic HBCU designation though enrollment today is predominantly non-Black
Visit website →
West Virginia State University
PublicInstitute, West Virginia · Est. 1891
retains its historic HBCU designation though enrollment today is predominantly non-Black
Visit website →Campus photography sourced from Wikimedia Commons under public domain or Creative Commons licenses. 14 schools currently have no freely-licensed photo on file and show a placeholder instead.
The same directory, on the map.
Every HBCU shows up as a marker in The KIN App, tap for the same write-up. The app launches soon — claim your business now to be ready.
Claim your business Read our mission