For blacks, the history of higher education typically indicates a segregated education. Before the Civil War, the social system promoted the belief that blacks would gain nothing from their time in higher education. Brown and Ricard (2007) noted that most Northern institutions were reluctant to allow blacks to enroll in colleges and universities, and in the South, where slave owners were still powerful businessmen, slaves they would never be allowed to become more educated than their owners. The reluctance of white leaders to allow blacks to be formally accepted into higher education programs prevented blacks from achieving what many aspired to and were fully capable of. Through researching the literature, this article will explore the history of Black experiences in higher education and the effects on the field of historically Black colleges. Despite the obstacles, Gurin and Epps (2002) estimated that 28 blacks managed to graduate from American colleges before the Civil War. The first school known to be a black institution is Cheyney University, located in Pennsylvania, founded in 1837. From 1865 to 1877, with the help of whites, a small number of black institutions were founded before the Civil War, with l aim to develop teachers and preachers. After the Civil War, approximately 50 private colleges and universities were founded, with the goal of serving the black community. The North helped create thousands of elementary and secondary schools to provide education to former slaves, and some of the people who taught them were educated blacks. After the Civil War ended, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments motivated states to begin supporting education. for former slaves and black Americans...... middle of paper ......ch like W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, have had on blacks in higher education has influenced the field not only for African Americans . This is the type of transformational leadership needed to revolutionize higher education. Works Cited Anderson, J. (n.d.). Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fromswastikatojimcrow/blackcolleges_2.htmlBrown II, M. C., & Ricard, R. B. (2007). The honorable past and uncertain future of the nation's HBCUs. Thought and Action, 117.Gosda, R. T. (2002). Booker T. Washington. Abdo Publishing Company. Roebuck, J. B., & Murty, K. S. (1993). Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Their Place in American Higher Education. Westport, CT: Praeger.University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research. [Publications]. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Social Research Institute.