“Where I Can Breathe”: Examining the Impact of the Current Racial Climate on Black Students’ Choice to Attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities

While some in the higher education community have used anecdotal evidence to argue that Black students were attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) because of the broader racial climate due to Donald Trump’s rise as a political figure, few studies have provided empirical evidence to support this notion. Therefore, in this current study, we interviewed 80 Black students, who were engaged in the college search process in 2016 to 2018 to understand to what extent, if any, did the racial climate under Trump’s presidency influence their choice to enroll in HBCUs. Data were collected in the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 from across four diverse HBCUs. Findings indicate that the racial climate under President Trump played a salient role in participants’ selection of HBCUs. Implications for research and practice are provided for both HBCUs and PWIs.