Content warning: This article briefly mentions suicide and bomb threats.
Coping with all the uncertainties and grieving the loss of our pre-pandemic lives is no small feat, but for Black students, the emotional toll is often heavier, as increases in police brutality and microaggressions plague their day-to-day interactions along with the regular stressors of schooling. This week, we’re exploring how Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have helped
their students prioritize their mental health.
A Port in the Storm
HBCU enrollments have swelled, despite college enrollment overall declining. Many attribute this trend to HBCUs being seen as somewhat safe havens that provide
a better shield from the racial discrimination many Black students face outside their institutions. Yale University graduate Dr. Makunda Abdul-Mbacke spoke to the New York Times about her son Khadim’s matriculation at Morehouse College.
“[Khadim’s] coming-of-age has been Mike Brown and Trayvon Martin and all the litany of young Black men that looked like him that have been killed too soon and taken away from their mothers and their families. There’s no golden key, no golden ticket when
you’re Black in America. You’re going to have to work hard, and if you can have a fair chance then you go for it. And he found that space [at Morehouse],” Abdul-Mbacke said.
Despite the safe haven that HBCUs can provide, there’s still a mental health crisis among Black students. The Center for Disease Control reports that suicide was the third leading cause of death for African Americans ages 15 to 24 in 2020, with COVID-19 being the third leading cause of death for African Americans in 2020 overall.
75% of Black students say they usually keep their struggles with managing college life to themselves, compared to 61% of White students. Institutions,
HBCUs included, must make sincere efforts to overcome the engrained stigma toward therapy and the Black community’s general distrust
of the medical profession.
A Helping Hand
To address these obstacles, many HBCUs offer culturally-competent counseling services to their students amidst the pandemic and its increasing demand for mental health services. Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA began the 2022-23 school year with a “whole student” wellness summit to bring awareness to the University’s full range of support services. The wellness summit emphasized mental health offerings after the University lost a freshman
to suicide in May 2022. Many universities are instituting mental health days as needed. In the wake of Tyre Nichols’ murder, Howard University held a mental health day on
February 3.
Hampton University is using Project SERV funds to hire, “one trauma/resilience mental health specialist and one psychology technician,” and provide Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, MS received $420,000 to hire two trauma counselors.
HBCUs have leveraged partnerships to extend mental health offerings and meet student demand. The Maryland Department of Health has begun operating its Mental Health First Aid Training at the state’s four HBCUs. Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Morgan State University, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore will join the “national certification program providing
skills-based training to identify the signs and symptoms of mental health or substance use challenges.” The program will educate 20,000 faculty, staff and students on effective mental health interventions across the four institutions over four years.
13 HBCUs, including Langston University and Lemoyne Owen College, have partnered with Meta, a telehealth app that provides affordable therapy options to college students. Meta works with health
insurance providers and a diverse range of therapists to accommodate the unique needs of HBCU students. Tuskegee University, along with more than 20 other HBCUs including Delaware State University, have teamed up with Active Minds, a platform to guide school communities in discussing mental health issues and eliminating stigma.
Tuskegee University Professor Dr. Deloris Alexander saw the need for additional support when one of her students confided about
their own suicide attempt. “Out of this came our petition to have an Active Minds chapter at Tuskegee University. I agreed to be one of the advisors for TU’s chapter and, while the students did most of the work, faculty and staff members changed our
posture to that which was supportive for students to talk about mental health," said Dr. Alexander.
Founded as an answer to systematic segregation in academia, HBCUs are still providing effective outlets to help all their students cope with the additional stressors they face today. These institutions provide a cultural sanctuary for Black students to
learn and grow into their authentic adult selves.
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