When Safe Spaces Aren’t Safe: Unmasking Racism in HBCUs

If white nationalists have the audacity to seek out employment at historically Black colleges, is it surprising that “everyday racists” work there?

Photo by Liz Falconer on Unsplash

The prevailing thought in the Black community is that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are safe spaces where Black students get a perhaps once-in-a-lifetime chance to not be a marginalized minority; to experience a discrimination-free higher education; and to be treated as a human-being, as opposed to struggling through the typical “learning-while-Black” experience. This feel-good image of HBCUs was somewhat diminished following two racially charged incidents at the end of 2022.

Winston-Salem State University

The most recent racialized incident took place in December 2022 at Winston-Salem State University, a historically Black college in North Carolina. It involved Black student, Leilla Hamoud and non-Black History professor, Cynthia Villagomez, who got into an argument about an assignment. The police were called, allegedly by a second professor, which resulted in Hamoud being arrested. Some of the video footage shows Villagomez, with a white professor, holding hands in a defiant “us against them” fashion, illustrating…