A new organization has been established to advocate for the nation’s historically Black and predominantly Black community colleges. The nonprofit organization Complete College America has created a national network of 22 historically Black and predominantly Black community colleges across eight states. Leaders at member institutions will share research and best practices to strengthen the career and economic outcomes of community college students of color.
Nationally, there are 12 historically Black community colleges and 49 predominantly Black community colleges. Under the definition created by the federal government in 2008, predominantly Black community colleges must have student bodies that are at least 40 percent African American and have at least 50 percent of students from under-resourced households or first-generation students.
“For the first time ever, we are bringing together this critical – and overlooked — set of institutions to not only enhance their impact and effectiveness but also expand the national evidence base on supporting community college students of color,” said Nia Haydel, vice president of alliance engagement and institutional transformation at Complete College America. “The creation of this network will elevate the powerful contributions that HBCCs and PBCCs make in supporting social and economic mobility for Black Americans, particularly those in underserved communities.”
The members of the PBCC-HBCC Network include:
- Alabama: Bishop State Community College, Chattahoochee Valley Community College, Gadsden State Community College, H. Councill Trenholm State Community College, J.F. Drake State Community and Technical College, Lawson State Community College, Shelton State Community College, Wallace Community College Selma
- Arkansas: Arkansas State University Mid-South, Southeast Arkansas College, University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College
- Georgia: Atlanta Metropolitan State College
- Illinois: Olive-Harvey College (City Colleges of Chicago)
- Louisiana: Baton Rouge Community College, Delgado Community College, Southern University at Shreveport
- Massachusetts: Roxbury Community College
- Michigan: Wayne County Community College District
- South Carolina: Central Carolina Technical College, Denmark Technical College Northeastern Technical College, Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College
