Today marks the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Following his death, administrators at colleges and universities scrambled to issue statements condemning the murder and vowing that they would use the incident as a moment to address systemic racism on their own campuses.

One year later, college leaders reflect on the ways they have confronted race and racism within the higher education sector.

Photo: Meg Vogel 

When Lily Nagengast left her rural hometown in Nebraska to attend college in Boston, she traded a high school class of 18 students—the same 18 students she'd known her entire life—for a class of 1,000-plus. She says a conversation with the dean marked the first time anyone had acknowledged that her path to higher education was unusual.

Because of that conversation—and the rarity of it—Nagengast realized that perspectives like hers are needed to bridge the gap between rural America and higher education.

Photo: Howard University

COVID-19 has disproportionately harmed Black communities. And one year ago today, in the midst of the first COVID-related shutdown, George Floyd was murdered. Just before that came the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.

Since then, Black students have had to grapple with constant, hard-to-process societal conversations about police brutality and racial injustice. During this harrowing year, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) provided a haven—offering students a sense of familiarity, racial relief, and faculty members who resemble them. HBCUs are places where Black lives have always mattered.