My first encounter with the term HBCU — the acronym for historically Black colleges and universities — came on Thursday nights with the sitcom “A Different World,” which aired from 1987-93. A spin-off of “The Cosby Show,” it followed Denise Huxtable’s journey at Hillman University (a fictional HBCU in Virginia) and it planted in me and many Black students across the country the desire to attend an HBCU.
But for California students, going to an HBCU means costly travel expenses and out-of-state fees, which for some families (like mine) made attending an HBCU nearly impossible.
This year, the possibilities have opened up — with satellite campuses of Huston Tillotson University, an HBCU in Austin, Texas, opening in Los Angeles and San Diego. Theresa Price, CEO of the National College Resources Foundation (NCRF) and Melba Wallace, president of Huston (HTU), partnered with the University of La Verne and San Diego County of Education to bring this new HBCU to California. Notably, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in the Watts-Willowbrook area (founded in 1966) is classified as an HBCU, but while it trains health professionals, California’s newest HBCU confers undergraduate degrees in a variety of fields, including environmental studies, music, communication, psychology and more. It also offers graduate programs in business administration and educational leadership.
“We are so excited to partner with NCRF, the San Diego County Office of Education and the University of La Verne to open an HBCU in California,” Wallace says.
For more than 25 years, Price, a Compton native and graduate of California State University, Long Beach, has worked to give students access to HBCU culture, as well as many other higher-education institutions. She founded NCRF, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, in 1999 in response to the passing of California’s proposition 209 that banned affirmative-action programs in public California colleges. Since its inception, the organization has secured and distributed more than $3 billion in scholarships and grants, helped more than 600,000 students get into college and hosted more than 200 college expos produced by NCRF. The expos, held across the country, give students a chance to meet one-on-one with admissions counselors, have their transcripts evaluated and, in some cases, gain immediate acceptance, forgoing application fees.
PHOTO COURTESY THE JENNIFER HUDSON SHOW
Students enrolling in HTU’s 2024-25 school year were required to attend I.D.E.A.L Summer Academy, a six-week program that was held this summer on HTU’s campus in Austin. The immersive program gave students a taste of the culture of an HBCU — and they earned nine college credit hours. After the program, students could then enroll at HTU’s satellite California campuses in Los Angeles/Inland Empire or San Diego.
The program is designed for incoming college freshmen or transfer students with no more than 60 credits. Price says, “This is what our youth need — to see others that look like them in an environment that is cheering them on…”
I remember “A Different World” brilliantly providing an inside peek at college life for young Black students while tackling tough themes such as colorism, civic engagement and activism, community and sexism. While at the time college seemed like a distant future, what I took away from that show were representations of myself and people I knew, our stories mirrored in these fictional narratives.
Ask any HBCU alum what they love about attending an HBCU, and you’ll hear a repeating theme: the sense of community, familiarity and family.
When asked what it is that drives her mission, Price says: “Growing up in Compton, especially how it was when I grew up, I knew it was important for young people to know I see you — and you matter.”
Cherie Cofer is a writer, mom, educator and frequent contributing writer for L.A. Parent.
