Throughout history, education has been a subject of many concerns. Historically, black colleges and universities were established in an attempt to provide freed slaves with an education they could not obtain. For African Americans in the 20th century, attending school was a burden. Children had to endure long walks to their designated schools, being denied lessons that white students had in their schools, out-of-date books, and classroom materials. Across the United States, African Americans fought for the right of their children to receive a good education, an education provided in whites-only schools. There was a time when schools could legally deny a student admission to their institutions based solely on the color of their skin. Many African Americans tried and the majority were turned away. Students at all levels were turned away, from kindergarten to university. After numerous attempts at school integration, parents of children deprived of an education, just like white children, realized that it would be easier to simply build their own schools. Contrary to many beliefs, the majority of HBCUs were not started first by African American educators. The founders were often white slave owners. With the land the federal government received, it built many institutions to help improve public education. Education as a former slave was not provided by the state; so they had to come together and teach each other how to read and write. Any form of education was a death wish. They knew it but they wanted to improve their future and that of those to come. For slaves, this meant getting caught and dying or getting lucky and managing to avoid detection and receive a poor education. Abraham Lincoln was known for ...... middle of paper ...... for Struggle - Separate is not equal. "Preparing for Struggle - Separate is Not Equal. http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/3-organized/hu-law-school.html (accessed March 7, 2014). "The Law Morrill and the Land-Grant Colleges. » The Morrill Act and the Land-Grant Colleges https://www.uky.edu/CampusGuide/land-grant.html (accessed March 12, 2014). “About Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUS)” Thurgood Marshall College Fund Inc. https://www.thurgoodmarshallfund.net/about-tmcf/about-hbcus (accessed March 7, 2014). by Thurgood Marshall” http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122/hill/marshall.htm (accessed March 14, 2014). uk/james_meredith.htm (accessed March. 10, 2014).