Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have played a pivotal role in shaping the conversation around constitutional rights, civil liberties, and social justice in America. As we commemorate Constitutional Day, its important to recognize how HBCUs have been at the forefront of promoting constitutional principles, particularly the fight for equal rights, voting rights, and justice for African Americans.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC):
A Civil Rights organization formed in 1960 by students, many of whom were enrolled in HBCUs, including John Lewis, Diane Nash, and Julian Bond. SNCC lead many sit-ins, voter registration drives, and protest throughout the South.
Image sourced from https://sncclegacyproject.org/legacy/
Freedom Rides which challenged segregation in interstate bus travel. Many of the riders were from schools such as Howard University, Tennessee State University, and Fisk University.
These rides tested the Supreme Court's decision in Morgan v. Virginia (1946) and Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which ruled that segregation in interstate travel was unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause. Freedom Riders used these rulings to demand that federal laws protecting constitutional rights under the 14th Amendment be enforced. The federal government's failure to protect travelers from segregation, despite the rulings, were a direct violation of the Constitution.
Image sourced from https://politicaldictionary.com/words/freedom-riders/
Initiated by four students from North Carolina A&T University who protested segregation at a Woolworth's lunch counter. This protest sparked similar sit-ins across the country.
The sit-ins invoked the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The protests called attention to the fact that segregated public facilities violated African Americans' constitutional rights to equal protection under the law. This led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation in public places.
Image sourced from https://lasentinel.net/60-years-ago-students-launched-sit-in-movement.html
Led by HBCU students and alumni, including John Lewis ( Fisk university) and Hosea Williams (Morehouse College), the marches in Selma and Alabama were pivotal in securing the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.These marches highlighted the violent repression of African Americans attempting to exercise their constitutional right to vote, led to the enforcement of the 15th Amendment.
Image sourced from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/civil-rights/selma
HBCU alumni, A. Philip Randolph (Bethune-Cookman College) and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Morehouse College), who were leading figures in the organization of this historic event. The march called for economic justice, equal voting rights, and the enforcement of constitutional protections for African Americans.
Image sourced from https://dp.la/item/a9917ff4868a7e124aac2b01e05a2f40