HBCU vs PWI: Black Woman Says Her Own People Rejected Her After This Choice

[00:00:00]More and more people have been debating whether black students should attend an HBCU or choose a predominantly white institution instead.

[00:00:07]>> Why did you choose an HBCU over a PWI?

[00:00:10]>> For me, I just wanted to be around a culture where everybody >> looked like you?

[00:00:15]>> Uh, something like that. It was like, and I just always wanted the HBCU experience, so that's why I really chose that.

[00:00:23]>> And what about you? What made you choose an HBCU?

[00:00:25]>> Because I wanted the HBCU experience, too.

[00:00:29]>> So, you wanted to go for the culture for and you're right, HBCU is not as glorified as they talk about the Howards, I mean, the Princetons and the Harvards and stuff like that.

[00:00:39]>> Right.

[00:00:39]>> So, I like to see now that it's back to being a thing to do and they're they're getting funded so they can, you know, take care of the the kids that go there because at one point they weren't making any money and so they couldn't offer any activities or good education like they did back in the day.

[00:00:57]>> Let me walk you through why I chose to go to a PWI instead of an HBCU as a black girl. So, if you guys didn't know, I got accepted into a college out of state and I leave mid-August and it's all the way in Massachusetts. And it is a PWI, which means a predominantly white school. And I've gotten questions from some of you guys basically asking why I'm not going to an HBCU. And to be honest, like no shade, a main reason is because I feel like I just wouldn't belong at an HBCU. In my 18 years of living, I don't think I've ever been called whitewashed by a white person, but when it comes to black people, I don't even have enough fingers for that.

[00:01:27]And it generally like irritates me because how are you whitewashed because you talk a certain way or you dress a certain way or you just like certain things? I don't believe you can act a color, but I get told I act white all the time by like black people. And like if I'm being honest with y'all, it's not even like I'm trying to be whitewashed.

[00:01:41]It's just basically like how I grew up.

[00:01:43]Like I've lived in white like suburban neighborhoods my whole life. I don't think I've ever been in a black community. I've also been to PWIs since elementary school. I literally went to a private school when I was like a kid, so. So, needless just I haven't been like exposed to this like certain like black cultures or traditions or just like customs I guess that most black people have. So I feel like I don't belong. Like I feel like I literally stand out whenever I'm surrounded by black people. Like I don't know how to dougie, I don't know how to footwork, I don't get my hair done every 2 weeks, I don't get bust down like wigs. Like and like I'm not even going to hold y'all, I do sometimes wish it was different. Like I do wish I grew up in black communities. Cuz in a way I also feel like I don't fit in with white communities cuz obviously I'm not white.

[00:02:20]Like my friends would be talking about like going tanning and how like greasy and oily their hair is and I'm just like what? And also whenever I bring up things like I don't wash my hair every day, like cuz you're not supposed to, like if you have hair like I do, that like baffles white people. I don't know.

[00:02:33]I low-key just feel like I don't belong like in white communities or black communities, but I do feel like I'm just more like fitted in white communities. I still stand out cuz whenever we take group pictures, I'm like the only black person in the picture. Like my senior year, I was the only black person on my basketball team and you could tell. Like you could tell. All this being said, I do wish and hope and pray that whenever I go to college, I do find my own group of like fellow black people. I guess just for me personally, I feel like it's better for me to go to a PWI and then find like a smaller group of black people from like an ASA or like a black like BSU. There are fellow black kids that also like are going to PWI so they probably have the same experiences that I do. I already probably know that I'm going to be getting like whitewash comments on this video. I don't care.

[00:03:11]It's nothing I haven't heard before.

[00:03:12]>> Some believe HBCUs offer a stronger sense of culture and community, while others say they simply want to study wherever they feel most comfortable.

[00:03:20]>> I always find it interesting when people who went to a PWI have such strong opinions about people who went to HBCUs.

[00:03:26]And their argument is always, well we had better resources. I didn't want to go back and forth with financial aid.

[00:03:31]Okay, that's your experience and that's cool. I personally went to an HBCU because the experience is worth the hassle. I wanted to be surrounded by like-minded black individuals every single day. I thought that was going to be a key point in my life. The amount of things I learned about myself, the African diaspora, all the people around me, unmatched. You can't get that anywhere else. My favorite is when they try to downplay the education. Like, what are we talking about? If you go to a top 10 HBCU, you're getting a better education than if you go to your state school or your community college. And there's nothing wrong with going to your state school or community college. I just always find it interesting that it's a PWI versus HBCU debate. People go to different institutions for different things. I went to an HBCU because I wanted to experience black culture in its entirety. Some people go to PWIs because it's cheaper. That was not my decision. But the conversation is always interesting to me because you cannot compare the two. They are absolutely not same. And as someone who went to the number one HBCU, I will say, for myself, speaking for myself only, that the network, connections, and sisterhood I gained from my institution cannot be beat out by any other institution. Spell House in general is a family. And I'm glad I went to a school that feels like family, and I know that if I were to reach out to any Spelman or Morehouse alum, they would do anything they can to help me. And there's nothing beating that experience for me. So, I think we should kill the conversation of PWI versus HBCU because they're two completely different experiences. You go for different things, but my experience exceeds. I don't care. And like I said, there's nothing wrong with choosing a PWI or an HBCU, but I always find it interesting that people who go to PWIs always have the strongest opinion on those who go to an HBCU. No one is sitting up here bashing PWIs. We don't care. But the fact that you feel like you need to bash a HBCU says a lot.

[00:05:21]>> For many, it's a personal decision based on education, opportunities, or where they believe they'll fit >> Period.

[00:05:28]>> Going to an HBCU was the best time of my life.

[00:05:32]It is the place where I've met some of my greatest friends, learned so much about myself.

[00:05:39]And I think that at HBCU, I would not ever take that experience back. And that's why I'm always so quick to go back for homecoming. I'm always so quick to do like an event that's for black excellence or for the black community because it reminds me of those experiences that I had at my HBCU. Being around a lot of blacks success was very monumental for me and really helped mold me into the person I wanted to be and how I wanted to show up in the world.

[00:06:14]And I don't think I would have seen that as much if I had decided to go to a PWI.

[00:06:20]>> But as this conversation continues to grow online, it also raises a bigger question about identity, belonging, and what happens when the environment you choose no longer feels as welcoming as you expected.

[00:06:31]>> a lot of people ask, how was it going to an HBCU? It was amazing.

[00:06:36]Um, but even being amongst so many people that look like you does not eradicate having any type of obstacles or problems or challenges. And for me, originally, culturally, trying to adapt from going from the West Coast to the South and just learning all of the Southern colloquialisms and culture, it was a challenge at first for me. But once I got into the groove, found a good roommate, then everything was amazing.

[00:07:02]>> Today's discussion isn't about saying one decision is right or wrong. It's about exploring why these debates continue to happen.

[00:07:08]>> There's no better choice that I made than going to a HBCU.

[00:07:13]That to this day I'm in my 30s now.

[00:07:17]There is no better decision that I feel like shifted my whole entire life than attending a HBCU. For so many reasons, that's why I'm so upset that so many kids are starting to decide like they don't want to do school. I understand people say school isn't for everybody. I went to school I went to my HBCU with a lot of kids where school probably wasn't for them. But like you learn so much being around other black people trying to do better for themselves, trying to learn.

[00:07:46]It just It's so contagious and it's like It's a It's a family that you build.

[00:07:53]It's a It's something that happens inside of you when you go to a HBCU. It's something empowering that happens.

[00:08:02]>> Why identity remains such an emotional topic and whether the idea of belonging is really about race, personal experience, or simply finding the people who stand beside you when it matters most.