In celebration of the new subcategory of HBCUs in CC, here is a short list of illustrious HBCU alumni and their alma maters: Please feel free to add other great HBCU alumni to the list.
Martin Luther King Jr./ Morehouse College
Baptist Minister & Civil Rights Leader
Toni Morrison/ Howard University
Acclaimed Author
Thurgood Marshall/ Lincoln University and Howard University
Civil Rights Lawyer & Supreme Court Justice
Stacey Abrams/ Spelman College
Lawyer, Voter rights activist, & Current Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate
Wanda Sykes/ Hampton University
Actress, writer, & comedienne
Earl G. Graves/ Morgan State University
Founder of large Multi-Media company (Black Enterprise)
Jesse Jackson/ North Carolina A&T
Baptist Minister, Civil Rights Leader, & Rainbow/Push Coalition Founder
Ed Bradley/ Cheyney University
Journalist and Reporter with 60 Minutes
W.E.B Dubois/ Fisk University
African-American Scholar & NAACP Co-Founder
Lionel Richie/ Tuskegee University
Singer, songwriter, and actor
Michael Strahan/ Texas Southern University
Athlete and Media Personality
Langston Hughes/ Lincoln University
Poet, social activist, novelist, & playwright
Kenya Barris/ Clark Atlanta University
Film and TV writer, producer, director, & actor
John W. Thompson/ Florida A&M University
Former Chair of Microsoft & Current Chair of Illumina
Rosalind Brewer/ Spelman College
Current CEO of Walgreens
Steven A. Smith/ Winston-Salem State University
ESPN Sports TV Personality, radio host, & journalist
Janice Bryant Howroyd/ North Carolina A&T
CEO & Founder of ActOne (1st African American women to build and own a billion dollar company)
Ruth Simmons/ Dillard University
Former Brown University President & Current Prairie View A&M University President
This page from Dillard University goes into more detail beyond just “famous” people, but it’s interesting to see people who have big leadership positions in famous or important organizations, even if their names aren’t “known” to the majority of citizens. But Ellis Marsalis (jazz musician & professor) was a Dillard grad.
Erykah Badu/Grambling University
Singer-Songwriter, record producer, actor
Charles M. Blow/Grambling University
Journalist, commentator, political analyst
Randy Jackson/Southern University
Singer, record producer, entrepreneur & tv personality
Keenan Ivory Wayans/Tuskegee University
Actor, comedian, filmmaker
Ralph Ellison/Tuskegee University
Writer, literary critic, & scholar
Oprah Winfrey, Tennessee State
Talk show host, producer, actor, media mogul
Medgar Evers, Alcorn State
Veteran, civil rights activist
I love talking about the famous people who have attended my HBCU (and others), but the most amazing aspect about my own journey has been my friends made and their impact in the communities that they reside. I have kept up with a core group of about 15 Morehouse brothers for almost the last 20 years on a group text. Among us are teachers, a college professor, a couple of doctors, corporate middle men (like myself), engineers, and a couple of high level executives and the one thing that shocks me is that we all have contributed in some way to giving back to our communities. About half of us grew up in poverty or in single parent households, and to see how we are raising our families and are making a real difference within our communities may be the greatest advertisement how SERVICE is a core component of a being a HBCU alum.
Were you a member of a fraternity at Morehouse? I have found that alumni from the traditionally black sororities and fraternities have a greater (or at least more open) attachment to their Greek affiliations than alums from the primarily white sororities and fraternities, but also that the way the black Greek alums gather is 95% service work. Although the traditionally white Greek system does tout its commitment to service, I’m not sure how present that remains after graduation in terms of doing communal service for others.
This one is only half serious, but I add it because for little kids, the character of Doc McStuffins is FAMOUS. Anyway, the mother character on the show (Dr. Myiesha McStuffins) is based on a real person, Dr. Myiesha Taylor, who did her undergrad at Xavier University of Louisiana, and is a prominent physician leader. I tell all the parents of kids who worship Doc McStuffins about XULA.
I did not join a fraternity at Morehouse, mainly because I felt like I was already a part of one just being at Morehouse. But the fraternity brothers amongst my friends are all still very active with their fraternities and community service. I often make fun of one of my friends in a fraternity for “soliciting” donations all of the time for some cause or scholarship because it almost seems like a 2nd job for him (but I still always make a donation). The Black sorority and fraternity members of the “Divine 9” that I know have a life-long commitment to their Greek affiliation, their line sisters or brothers, and to service and are openly proud whether they attended HBCUs or schools where they were in the minority.