Faith Goes to College

This chapter is concerned with the spirit and mindset of Black denominational leaders at the end of the Civil War regarding the building of HBCUs. It argues that Black church leaders across denominations were interested in providing a foundation that would outlive them and the formal education of their children and posterity would be the key component of that foundation. Structurally, this chapter addresses the vision of Black denominational leaders by looking at the lessons learned from the history of bondage, how that history informed the pragmatic thrust of the building of HBCUs, and how they desired those HBCUs serve the community for each subsequent generation where racial antagonisms are concerned. The chapter gives ultimate attention to the theological implications inherent in Black denominational leaders starting “secular” institutions like HBCUs and how that commitment challenges long-standing theological assumptions about Black religious leaders and the Black church regarding asocial and escapist tendencies.