Unapologetically Black and Unforgettably Bold: Reclaiming Resistance and Reimagining Political Futures at HBCUs

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Reimagining HBCU Pedagogies and Policies for Black Futures

Abstract

Amid growing state repression of race-conscious education, this study examines how Black students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) resist calls for political neutrality (Freire, 1996). Drawing on Freirean theory and Digital Political Socialization Theory, the study centers students’ lived experiences to illuminate how HBCUs function as historical and future-facing ecosystems of civic learning. Findings from campus-based focus groups reveal that students view neutrality as a political weapon, strategically deployed to suppress dissent and depoliticize Black agency. Through peer organizing, digital messaging, and critical reflection, students reject silence and construct counter-narratives grounded in memory, resistance, and radical hope. This study not only “unforgets” the long tradition of Black student political engagement but imagines HBCUs as transformative spaces for democratic renewal.

Authors

• Amanda Wilkerson, University of Central Florida

• Shalander L. Samuels, Kean University