From the Publisher
Ayesha Rascoe is a tour de force, bringing the readers' hearts and mind into the experience of attending an HBCU. This collection of essays is a moving testament to the power of HBCUs and how they shaped remarkable lives and helped foster great talent. I felt transported to these campuses experiencing these raw, honest, funny, hopeful, and inspiring stories.” —Paula Patton, actress and producer
“One of my greatest life regrets is not attending an HBCU. I was accepted to Howard, the Mecca, when I graduated high school in 1989, but due to family concerns was unable to attend. This glorious book by Ayesha Rascoe reinforces everything I dreamed the experience would be. If only I had a Time Machine! #ShouldHaveBeenABison” —Yvette Nicole Brown, actress
“If you know firsthand the joy, the pride, and the promises fulfilled on an HBCU campus, you will smile in recognition. If you don’t, this collection of essays is a wonderful introduction to that HBCU magic!” —Beverly Daniel Tatum, President Emerita, Spelman College and author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
"Warm testimony about critically important experiences."
—Kirkus Reviews
"A nostalgic, jubilant ode to HBCUs, their breathtaking histories and devoted alumni. HBCU MADE gives clarity and scope to the impact these historical institutions have made in the lives of some of our nation’s brightest and most dignified talents."
—Wayetu Moore, author of The Dragons, the Giants, the Women
"NPR host Rascoe’s powerful collection of essays… presents a resounding rebuttal to doubters, revealing the unique joys, challenges, frustrations, and rewards of the HBCU experience… Essential reading for our cultural moment. YAs thinking about college will find these perspectives on HBCUs illuminating."—Booklist
Named a Most Anticipated Book of January/2024 by BookRiot and Ebony.
“These stories not only affirm the value of these particular institutions but also help graduates of any school recognize the scale of their accomplishments. You may find them inspiring yourself.”—Oprah Daily, 10 Best Books to Give a Recent Graduate
MARCH 2024 - AudioFile
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are celebrated in this moving, inspirational audiobook. Karen Chilton, Adam Lazarre-White, and original contributors, including author Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, narrate passages about what brought individual students to HBCUs and how their lives were changed. The result is a seamless listening experience. Contributors consistently point out that the HBCU environment provides a space to be challenged and focus on development without the burden of being "other," as is the case at predominantly white universities. Among the recurring themes is the embrace of cultural curriculum. For example, one student learned history through Max Roach and John Coltrane, rather than studying only Eurocentric texts. As one contributor notes, the HBCU environment is a place where faculty "love you to success." S.P.C. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2023-10-05
Graduates praise their education at historically Black colleges and universities.
Rascoe, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, gathers 16 essays testifying to the significance in the writers’ lives of attending an HBCU. With contributors from the arts, academia, the tech world, popular culture, and politics, the essays represent a wide range of experiences, achievements, and schools. Rascoe, who grew up in North Carolina, went to Howard, where, she recalls, “I didn’t have to worry about trying to break into spaces that Black people had been shut out of. That was a relief. It allowed me to focus on what those unburdened by racism generally focus on in college: figuring out who the heck I was!” Stacey Abrams went to the all-women’s Spelman, which she chose partly because she hoped to date a Morehouse boy from the college across the street, partly because her mother urged her to attend. Like Rascoe, she chose an HBCU to immerse herself “in a singular experience, one where race and gender ceased to be wielded as weapons against us or used to justify questions about our capacity.” After attending the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, jazz artist Branford Marsalis opted for Southern University, attracted by its marching band. Shawn Zachery went there, too, studied computer science, and became a dancer. MSNBC political analyst April Ryan applauds her years at Morgan State. HBCUs have also nurtured famous TV personalities: Roy Wood Jr., with aspirations to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a journalist, went to Florida A&M because it had—besides a journalism program—a baseball team. Oprah Winfrey was one credit short for graduation from Tennessee State; reading news for a local TV station got in the way of finishing her degree. Other contributors include Nichole Perkins (Dillard University) and Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Talladega College).
Warm testimony about critically important experiences.
