HBCUs require Contextual Perspectives not Reductionist Interpretations
I find it quite (conceptionally) reductionist to assume one can capture, through definition and substance as well as linguistically, something of the kind "HBCU" above some historically constituted similarities. Might it be asking too much to have colleges and universities referred to with/by this pervasive moniker to be viewed from their respective specific structures and extant definitions and aspirations. We really DON'T all look alike. This phenomenon is made less tolerable in light of individuals who wish to (or have made) make careers on the back of this erroneous structure. They purport expertise as scholars of (ALL) HBCUs. What would it mean to be a scholar of ALL non-HBCUs? That seems so cognitively dissonant and frankly, impossible. Historical and contextual specificity are key. Thorough going contextual articulations are the minimal requirements for redressing the structural and substantial challenges as well as accounting for the accomplishments made by...