At Howard University, the traditionally African-American school where Kamala Harris studied four decades ago, students dream of how their victory in the U.S. presidential election could advance the institution—and their own ambitions.
“I like to see people who look like me doing great things like Kamala,” said Serena Evans, who said she experienced racism at majority-white schools in her native North Carolina before enrolling at Howard University two years ago.
Evans followed in the footsteps of Democratic presidential candidate Harris, who began her studies in 1982 at the university in the capital – one of about 100 institutions across the country that cater primarily, though not exclusively, to African Americans.
For many, these so-called “Historically Black Colleges and Universities” (HBCUs) are a safe haven in a country that is still marked by racism – even if these racist attitudes lead some to doubt Howard’s credibility.
“People think we’re underdeveloped compared to Ivy League universities like Harvard,” says Evans, who studies classics.
But with Harris aiming for the White House in November’s election, Howard students are feeling “overjoyed,” 20-year-old Jomalee Smith told AFP.
“I feel like if Kamala wins, (Howard) will not just be an American cause, but a global cause,” said Smith, a student of international relations.
“More people will know about Howard. It will highlight more job opportunities overseas, not just domestically,” Smith added.
• “She loves Howard” –
Among the red brick buildings and their tall columns, white students are a rarity, and it’s hard to find someone who isn’t proud to study at the vice president’s alma mater.
Harris, 59, for her part, regularly returns to the Washington campus – and was there earlier this month to prepare for her September debate against Donald Trump, according to the New York Times.
“She loves Howard,” said Yusuf Kareem, who came from Texas on the advice of a cousin who was disappointed with her experience at a predominantly white university.
“People must not get the idea that a black woman could become president of the United States and attended Howard University – they must not take us as a joke,” Kareem said.
Other important personalities also influenced Howard, including Nobel Prize winner for literature Toni Morrison and the first black Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall.
“All we want is a fair chance, you know, a foot in the door,” says Kareem, a second-year finance student.
• ‘Refuge’ –
Access to education remains an ongoing struggle for ethnic minority groups in the United States.
According to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center, 28 percent of black adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with about 40 percent of all Americans.
In June 2023, the Supreme Court effectively stripped colleges and universities of their right to consider race when admitting applicants.
MIT, a prestigious university in Boston, said admissions of black, Hispanic, Native American or Pacific Islander students fell by nine percentage points following the ruling.
Developments like these make Howard stand out more than ever – in a country where African Americans make up 14 percent of the population and 82 percent of last year’s class was black.
For Howard law student Opeyemi Faleye, colleges have always offered black people “a refuge, a sanctuary where you don’t have to pretend, you don’t have to perform, you’re just accepted, and that allows you to thrive.”
Sitting on a bench on campus with a laptop on his knees, he said the colleges were “kind of the hallmark of a black-centered education.”
“And I think if things continue as they are and other institutions become increasingly hostile or discriminatory, then universities will become even more of a place of refuge for black people historically,” Faleye said.
Reuters.