Africa and America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities

This book focuses on the history and prospects of the strategic alliances between African nations and America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Drawing on extensive archival and original research, this book fills critical gaps and provides a compelling, data-driven case for further collaborations. HBCUs have played a vital role in American history, nurturing change-makers from the US Civil Rights Era and the African Independence Movements, but today funding constraints and shifting student demographics are threatening their future. The African continent has the world's largest youth population, and many nations are seeking greater partnership with the US. This book argues that expanded strategic alliances between HBCUs and African nations offer a unique opportunity for mutual benefits, such as capacity building, knowledge exchange, and the overall advancement of nations and institutions on both sides. Based on extensive original research, this book combines archival materials, documentary analysis, survey research, and interviews with senior-level HBCU leaders and African educational and civil society leaders to inform its recommendations. Offering a timely analysis of the conditions, challenges, and opportunities for collaboration between American HBCUs and African nations, this book will be an important resource for researchers across Education, African studies, and African American studies. It will be especially valuable for policymakers and higher education leaders, as well as for professionals in international development and philanthropy working at the intersection of education, equity, and global engagement.

Kelisha B. Graves is an Assistant Professor of Education at Virginia State University, United States. She is also the Chief Research, Education, and Programs Officer at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, United States. She completed her doctorate at Fayetteville State University, United States. Noran L. Moffett is currently a Full Professor of Education at Fayetteville State University, United States. He is also CEO of The Edumind Corporation, an educational consulting firm. He completed his doctorate at Clark Atlanta University, United States.

Part 1. Mapping the Landscape - The Current State 1. Africa and America's HBCUs: Framing the Existential Challenge 2. World Powers and the New Arena for Influence in African Higher Education 3. What Africa Wants: Charting the Continent's Higher Education Agenda Part 2. Middle Passages: The Shared Past 4. "A Way Out of No Way:" The Story of America's Black Colleges- A Brief History 5. Sacred Missions: Faith-Based Transnationalism and the Making of HBCU-Africa Connections 6. Architects of Possibility: How African American Educational Leaders Globalized HBCU Missions, 1881-1976 7. Coming to America: The Journeys of African Students to HBCUs, 1870-1963 8. Organizing for Africa: African American Educational Organizations that Shaped Transatlantic Exchange in the Mid-20th Century Part 3. Where Do We Go From Here? The Future of HBCU Africa Engagement 9. The Next Chapter in the Story: Contemporary Perspectives from HBCU and African Leaders 10. The Case for an Education World Bank: A Beloved Community Concept of Educational Justice for All People Appendix: The HBCU-Africa Story: Developing a Polyangular Research Framework