In 1831, abolitionists attempted to establish a higher education institution for Black men in New Haven, Connecticut; however, the city and the state of Connecticut blocked the plan. Over 50 years later, the state passed a law prohibiting Black people from out of state from attaining an education in Connecticut.
Recently, the City of New Haven’s Board of Alders approved a proposal to apply for state funding to establish a New Haven-based satellite campus for an existing historically Black college or university, according to a report from the New Haven Independent.
With support from the Connecticut Historically Black College & University Alumni Network, the City of New Haven is seeking $250,000 from the state’s Community Investment Fund to support a feasibility study, community engagement process, and additional planning for the proposed HBCU campus. If accepted, the grant would be matched with $50,000 in city funds. While the planning is underway, some $55,000 of the grant funding would be used to support college tours and fairs to connect New Haven students to HBCU opportunities.
The proposed HBCU satellite campus would be located on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University and focus its academic offerings on STEM and healthcare fields. Notably, the campus cannot be an independent historically Black college, as an institution must have been established before 1964 to be considered an official HBCU under federal law. Instead, the campus in New Haven would be a satellite location of an existing HBCU located somewhere else in the country.
