It’s a great time to be at Howard. But what about the struggling HBCUs?

I applaud Hannah-Jones’s decision to reject being tolerated in favor of being celebrated. That said, it continues the pattern of the rich getting richer, which contemplates scholarly talent as well. My soul would have jumped for even more joy had she chosen North Carolina A&T and arranged the philanthropic support to further her career there. I dream of the day when Cornel West, upon being spurned by Harvard leadership, will take his prodigious talents to his home-state HBCU, Langston University, much like how W.E.B. Du Bois taught at Atlanta University. When high-profile scholars elevate an institution, money, attention, enrollments and prestige follow. And a greater base of Black students is served and prepared for leadership.