I'm confused. Why is it that HBCU's aren't just seen as institutions that offer a higher education. They were founded in the same manner that Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish institutions were founded, to provide an education to members of these groups when other options did not exist. Today the reason that students attend HBCU's might not be directly linked to segregation, and in many cases are similar to the reasons they attend other institutions (i.e., location, programs, faculty). Face it, unless you are attending an IVY league University, most schools are lacking in many departments, so why the heavy criticism of HBCU's or the question of their continuing existence? Sure a lot of black kids don't attend HBCU's, and so what? A lot of them aren't attending college at all.