Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

It was originally called the African Institute.

It is now known as Cheney University of Pennsylvania.

And what's unique about 1837 is we were still, I mean, like slavery was still popping.

Like Pennsylvania was one of the early states to eliminate slavery.

This is federal funding that went to create schools like Howard University, Clark Atlanta University.

And then finally, there were five that were founded by individual donors who were just motivated by their own religious views.

So Cheney University would be an example of that, which was founded by a philanthropist who was a Quaker who gave $10,000 in his will to create that organization.

So we're talking today about the power of HBCUs for generational wealth, for how they transform us from whatever we were before to the great things that we do after.

And finally, three HBCUs in the Philadelphia metro are standing tall in new national rankings.

Delaware State, Lincoln, and Cheyney Universities all earned top spots in the 2027 US News and World Report HBCU rankings.

Delaware State came in at number 16, Lincoln tied for 17th place and ranks number 10 among public HBCUs, and Cheyney is tied for 45th place.

The rankings take into account graduation and retention, student success after college, social mobility, and faculty resources.

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So I've been really crossing the South.

Uh, about 80% of our schools are in the South, and of course, um, you know, we have some incredible schools, um, northward, um, whether we're talking about Cheyney or Central or, you know, we're talking about Howard or Hampton or Morgan.

So I've been deep in the library, deep in the archives, um, and doing as much as I can to uplift.

So that's really been my summer, is, is trying to get to, so far, um, almost 30 of those schools.

Former basketball player, HBCU graduate from the first HBCU in the nation, 1837.

If you do not know, it is Cheney University.

I am also a proud member of a Black fraternity.

Can I say the fraternity?

I enjoy being a mom.

I enjoy being a new Mimi of a grandson.

I am a college graduate as well from Cheney University, the first.

Class of 92.