HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience

by Ayesha Rascoe

Overview

In this joyous collection of essays about historically Black colleges and universities—edited by the host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, Ayesha Rascoe—alumni both famous and up-and-coming write testimonials about the schools and experiences that shaped their lives and made them who they are today.

With a distinguished and diverse set of contributors, including Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams, and Branford Marsalis, HBCU Made is the only book of its kind, illuminating and celebrating the experience of going to a historically Black college or university—for proud alumni, their loved ones, current students, and anyone considering an HBCU.

In moving and candid essays about the schools that nurtured and educated them, a wide range of famous alums share their accounts of how they chose their HBCU, their first days on campus, the dynamic atmosphere of classes where students were constantly challenged to do their best, the professors who devoted themselves to the students, the marching bands and majorettes and how they were shaped by their rigorous training.

For some contributors, the choice to attend an HBCU was an easy one as they followed in the footsteps of their parents or siblings. For others, it was a carefully considered step away from a predominantly white institution to be educated in a place where they would never have to justify their presence. And for all, it was an HBCU that took them in and cared for them like family, often helping them to overcome a rough patch. 

A collection that brims with insight and school spirit, HBCU Made is a perfect gift for each generation of prospective students and graduates to come.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643756011
Publisher:	Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Publication date:	01/21/2025
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ayesha Rascoe is the host of Weekend Edition Sunday and the Saturday episodes of Up First.

Prior to her role as host, Rascoe was a White House Correspondent. She covered three presidential administrations. As a part of the White House team, she was also a regular on the NPR Politics Podcast.

Before joining NPR, Rascoe spent the first decade of her career at Reuters, rising from a news assistant to an energy reporter to eventually covering the White House. While at Reuters, Rascoe covered some of the biggest energy and environmental stories of the past decade, including the 2010 BP oil spill.

She’s a proud graduate of Howard University.

Table of Contents

TOC

Introduction: Finding My Voice at the Mecca by Ayesha Rascoe (Howard University)
The Black Woman Artist and her Black-Owned Songs by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Talladega College)
Kid in a Wrinkled Ass Suit by Roy Wood Jr. (Florida A&M)
The Renewing Power of HBCUs by Stacey Abrams (Spelman)
I Love My HU by Lauren Ellis (Hampton)
A Southern Girl in a Complicated World by Shawn Zachery (Southern)
The HBCU of Sisterhood that Changed My World by Tendayi Kuumba (Spelman)
It's About the Culture by Branford Marsalis (Southern)
Howard Is Where I Belonged, But It Wasn’t Easy by Michael Arceneaux (Howard)
Perseverance Every Step of the Way by Rebecca K. Roussell (Dillard)
The Feeling of Finding Home by Marquis Brown (Hampton)
HBCUs Taught Me by Nichole Perkins (Dillard)
Loving You to Success by April Ryan (Morgan State)
Let Your Life Do the Singing by Melonie Parker (Hampton)
Dear Old Morehouse by Brandon Gilpin (Morehouse)
Everybody is Cheering for You by Leoneda Inge (Florida A&M)
Anything Is Possible by Oprah Winfrey (Tennessee State)

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

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

MARCH 2024 - AudioFile

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.

Kirkus Reviews