The Blacker the College, The Sweeter the Knowledge: Exploring HBCUs Second Curriculum in Prison

• In Event: Carceral Innovation at the Intersection of HBCU and Higher Education in Prison

Abstract

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established during an era of racial apartheid and became essential institutions for laying the foundation for social, political, and economic mobility for Blacks. Just as anti-literacy laws prevented the education of Blacks during the antebellum South, 21st century neo-enslavement through mass incarceration obstructs pathways to receive formal education. If HBCUs are able to invest in prison education, institutions will continue in the legacy of providing educational access to those who have been denied it. This presentation explores the urgent need for HBCUs to engage in higher education in prison (HEP) but in a revolutionary manner. HEP programming should not only provide the discipline’s instruction but also advance the Black struggle for freedom by vowing to liberate the people's minds through revolutionary education. An HBCU’s second curriculum centers on idealism, race consciousness, and cultural nationalism, and has fed the freedom dreams of Black college students for generations (Jelani Favors, A Shelter in a Time of Storm, 2019). Panelists will explore how the revolutionary second curriculum of an HBCU impacts the Prison to-HBCU-Pipeline beyond academic achievement and can play a pivotal role in driving social transformation, offering pathways to education, opportunity, and redemption.

Authors

• Anthony Jackson, Bowie State University

• Britany Gatewood, Bowie State University