Seeking sanctuary: (re)claiming the power of historically Black colleges and universities as places of Black refuge

Historically, Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have consistently functioned as engines of social change and racial uplift and are among the few places where Black culture is placed at the forefront, appreciated, and sustained. Today and in the future, it will be paramount for HBCUs to not only embody their eminent legacies of social change, but to also serve as fierce settings that will ultimately champion action-oriented change for Black communities and the society at large. This cannot happen if Black students with additional oppressed identities feel ‘othered’ or shamed among their own within these unique post-secondary environments. In these tentative moments following the election, this work provides a call and challenge to HBCUs to capitalize on their unique abilities to serve as spaces of refuge for Black students, so long as they embrace the full spectrum of Blackness present.