HBCU EXPERIENCE
NEWARK, N.J.
Thank you to everyone that celebrated othe opening of "Heritage Hall: HBCU Experience at the historic Hahne Building in Newark, N.J. An incredible, inspiring cross generational HBCU event.
VISION
Celebrating the legacy and powerful impact of HBCUs.
Heritage Hall welcomes the community to a unique space co-curated by high school mentees and artist/mentor David Byre-Tyre. Featuring beautiful portraits of HBCU graduates who live or work the city of Newark.
*Made possible by a generous financial support from the NJ Devils Youth Foundation and The Newark Alliance.
All photography is by Newark based
RESULTS
HBCU's produce:
40%
of all Black Engineers
50%
of all Black Lawyers
70%
of all Black Doctors
80%
of all Black Judges
HBCU
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
What is a HBCU?
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are uniquely American institutions. Just as the U.S. would not be the culturally dynamic country it is without jazz music and hip-hop culture, its intellectual and political landscapes would be weaker without the contributions of HBCU colleges.
Although HBCUs have been around since the 1830s, they have received newfound interest in the past few years thanks to HBCU alum Kamala Harris’ election to vice president of the United States and the recent Black Lives Matter movement.
While HBCUs account for less than 3% of America’s colleges and universities, they enroll 9% of America’s Black college students, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
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Take a brief visual tour of our latest mentoring lab initiative Heritage Hall: the HBCU Experience. Featuring the Heritage Hall High School Fellows from Newark New Jersey. This is an engaging HBCU preparatory experience for high school students
Heritage Hall High School Fellows from Summer 2024 share their experiences and thoughts about HBCU Culture and their own journey. This summer there were 17 Heritage Hall High School Fellows. MENTOR Newark partnered with the City of Newark Summer Youth Employment Program to ensure that each of the youth were paid for their work at Heritage Hall. Fellows learned about HBCU culture, watched movies and documentaries about HBCU culture and met with many HBCU alum and current students. Fellows also presented tours and workshops about HBCU culture to grade school students from Newark, college interns from our partner NJ Devils Youth Foundation and other local organizations. In addition, the summer coordinator of this initiative is a MENTOR Newark alum , Science Park High School graduate and a current Howard University sophmore.
Heritage Hall Mentors
(HBCU Graduates)
Heritage Hall is a space where HBCU graduates that live or work in the city of Newark and surrounding areas cab celebrate their common HBCU experience.
COLLABORATION
Our Partners
Heritage Hall Fellows 2024
Exhibit + Student Center
What is Heritage Hall?
Heritage Hall fellow and Bard Early College high school student Princess Octavia Clarke said it well..."Heritage Hall is an HBCU prep program for Newark high school students."
A Unique HBCU Installation in Downtown Newark
Heritage Hall is a space that celebrates the legacy of HBCU culture and individuals that live and work in the city of Newark that are HBCU graduates. It also features:
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An incredible gallery of portrats curated by Tamara Fleming Photography.
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An interactive Student Center designed for high school students that plan to attend an HBCU.
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A student lounge for Heritage Hall Fellows.
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Meeting space for local alumni organizations, Divine 9 organizations and local community organizations.
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A small theatre for screening of films and other events related to HBCU culture.
Engaging Peer Mentoring and Mentoring Initiatives