By Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean

As Donald Trump unleashed his attack on Barack Obama’s academic credentials, a small group of high school juniors in Connecticut were having a similar discussion. At the center of their debate: Whether they should apply to and eventually attend historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The discussion turned heated as one of the students, Quincy, questioned whether voters would’ve taken “him [Obama] seriously if his transcript said Howard rather than Harvard.” The student’s question referenced a long-standing debate regarding the role of historically black colleges and universities. Unlike other identity-based institutions of higher learning, the gradual opening of America’s economic and political spheres has placed HBCUs at the center of intense critique.