Historically Black Colleges and Universities are institutions of higher learning that were originally built to provide education to African-American students. They were built in the late 1800s to early 1900s and were intended to grant Black people access to education during a time when they were forbidden or discouraged from doing so at White owned and operated colleges. Many of these schools were started by missionaries or religious organizations.http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872844.html

The first historically Black college in the United States was Cheyney University, located in Pennsylvania. It was built in 1837. Howard University was the nation's first black law school, founded in 1869. Meharry Medical College, in Nashville, Tennessee, was the first medical school for African-American students. It was established in 1876. Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia was established in 1881 as the first college for Black women in the country.http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872844.html

On September 19, 2010, the United States' historically Black colleges and universities will send a group of singers, one for each school, to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The performance will be organized as part of the 105 Voices of History program. Honorary chairs of the program include actress Phylicia Rashad, a graduate of Howard University and Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, President Emeritus at the Morehouse School of Medicine.http://www.washingtoninformer.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4193:hbcus-featured-at-the-kennedy-center&catid=64:entertainment&Itemid=136

The following are the historically Black colleges and universities in the United States. They are primarily concentrated in the American South and on the East Coast.http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872606.html http://www.edonline.com/cq/hbcu/

• Alabama A&M University - Normal, Alabama
• Alabama State University - Montgomery, Alabama
• Albany State University - Albany, Georgia
• Alcorn State University - Lorman, Mississippi
• Allen University - Columbia, South Carolina
• Arkansas Baptist College - Little Rock, Arkansas
• Barber-Scotia College - Concord, North Carolina
• Benedict College - Columbia, South Carolina
• Bennett College - Greensboro, North Carolina
• Bethune-Cookman University - Daytona Beach, Florida
• Bishop State Community College - Mobile, Alabama
• Bluefield State College - Bluefield, West Virginia
• Bowie State University - Bowie, Maryland
• Central State University - Wilberforce, Ohio
• Charles Drew University of Medicine - Los Angeles, California
• Cheyney University - Cheyney, Pennsylvania
• Chicago State University - Chicago, Illinois
• Claflin College - Orangeburg, South Carolina
• Clark Atlanta University - Atlanta, Georgia
• Clinton Junior College - Rock Hill, South Carolina
• Coahoma Community College - Clarksdale, Mississippi
• Concordia College - Selma, Alabama
• Coppin State College - Baltimore, Maryland
• Delaware State University - Dover, Delaware
• Denmark Technical College - Denmark, South Carolina
• Dillard University - New Orleans, Louisiana
• Edward Waters College - Jacksonville, Florida
• Elizabeth City State University - Elizabeth City, North Carolina
• Fayetteville State University - Fayetteville, North Carolina
• Fisk University - Nashville, Tennessee
• Florida A&M University - Tallahassee, Florida
• Florida Memorial University - Miami, Florida
• Fort Valley State University - Fort Valley, Georgia
• Grambling State University - Grambling, Louisiana
• Hampton University - Hampton, Virginia
• Harris-Stowe State University - St. Louis, Missouri
• Hinds Community College - Raymond, Mississippi
• Howard University - Washington, D.C.
• Huston-Tillotson University - Austin, Texas
• Interdenominational Theological Center - Atlanta, Georgia
• J. F. Drake State Technical College - Huntsville, Alabama
• Jackson State University - Jackson, Mississippi
• Jarvis Christian College - Hawkins, Texas
• Johnson C. Smith University - Charlotte, North Carolina
• Kentucky State University - Frankfort, Kentucky
• Knoxville College - Knoxville, Tennessee
• Lane College - Jackson, Tennessee
• Langston University - Langston, Oklahoma
• Lawson State Community College - Birmingham, Alabama
• LeMoyne-Owen College - Memphis, Tennessee
• Lewis College of Business - Detroit, Michigan
• Lincoln University - Lincoln, Pennsylvania
• Livingstone College - Salisbury, North Carolina
• Mary Holmes College - West Point, Mississippi
• Meharry Medical College - Nashville, Tennessee
• Miles College - Birmingham, Alabama
• Mississippi Valley State University - Itta Bena, Mississippi
• Morehouse College - Atlanta, Georgia
• Morehouse School of Medicine - Atlanta, Georgia
• Morgan State University - Baltimore, Maryland
• Morris Brown University - Atlanta, Georgia
• Morris College - Sumter, South Carolina
• Norfolk State University - Norfolk, Virginia
• North Carolina A&T State University - Greensboro, North Carolina
• North Carolina Central University - Durham, North Carolina
• Oakwood College - Huntsville, Alabama
• Paine College - Augusta, Georgia
• Paul Quinn College - Dallas, Texas
• Philander Smith College - Little Rock, Arkansas
• Prairie View A&M University - Prairie View, Texas
• Rust College - Holly Springs, Mississippi
• Saint Augustine's College - Raleigh, North Carolina
• Saint Paul's College - Lawrenceville, Virginia
• Saint Philip's College - San Antonio, Texas
• Savannah State University - Savannah, Georgia
• Selma University - Selma, Alabama
• Shaw University - Raleigh, North Carolina
• Shelton State Community College - Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Shorter College - North Little Rock, Arkansas
• South Carolina State University - Orangeburg, South Carolina
• Southern University and A&M College - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Southern University - New Orleans, Louisiana
• Southern University - Shreveport, Louisiana
• Southwestern Christian College - Terrell, Texas
• Spelman College - Atlanta, Georgia
• Stillman College - Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Talladega College - Talladega, Alabama
• Tennessee State University - Nashville, Tennessee
• Texas College - Tyler, Texas
• Texas Southern University - Houston, Texas
• Tougaloo College - Tougaloo, Mississippi
• Trenholm State Technical College - Montgomery, Alabama
• Tuskegee University - Tuskegee, Alabama
• University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff - Pine Bluff, Arkansas
• University of Maryland, Eastern Shore - Princess Anne, Maryland
• University of the District of Columbia - Washington, D.C.
• University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
• Virginia State University - Petersburg, Virginia
• Virginia Union University - Richmond, Virginia
• Voorhees College - Denmark, South Carolina
• West Virginia State University - Institute, West Virginia
• Wilberforce University - Wilberforce, Ohio
• Wiley College - Marshall, Texas
• Winston-Salem State University - Winston Salem, North Carolina
• Xavier University of Louisiana - New Orleans, Louisiana