American Heritage Celebrating Black Colleges and Universities and Black Culture

When we think of some of the best historically black colleges and universities the following names might
come to mind: Howard University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Florida A&M University, Tuskegee University, Xavier University of Louisiana, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Hampton University. All are great schools that have produced giants for America. But the school that doesn’t necessarily come to mind is the one that was the very first, Cheney University in Pennsylvania. On February 25, 1837, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania became the nation’s first Historically Black College å University (HBCU). The University was established through the bequest of Richard Humphreys, a Quaker philanthropist who bequeathed $10,000 — one-tenth of his estate — to design and establish a school to educate people of African descent and prepare them as teachers. Cheyney University boasts more than 30,000 graduates. Well-known alumni include the late Ed Bradley, a correspondent for the CBS program 60 Minutes. Bayard Rustin, a prominent civil rights activist. Robert W. Bogle, publisher and CEO of the Philadelphia Tribune, the oldest newspaper continuously owned and operated by an African American.