Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities

Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities is a documentary about the creation and significance of Historically Black College and Universities in the United States.  It starts from the end of slavery in the 1860s when freed slaves are quenching for knowledge that have longed been denied from them.  Then it moves through the years of students protest coinciding with protests with the Civil Rights Movement.  Finally, it ends with a look at contemporary HBCUs and their lack of enrollment, funding, and thus closing of dozens around the country. The importance of this documentary is to showcase how significant HBCUs have been for the development and production of black excellence in our history. The need to continue and help rebuild the deterioration of how HBCUs are still needed in the United States even 150 years after slavery has ended.

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/tell-them-we-are-rising/