Jelani M. Favors. Shelter in a Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and Activism. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2019. 368p. Hardcover, $29.95 (ISBN 978-1-4696-4833-0).
Shelter in a Time of Storm by Jelani M. Favors explores the story of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and how they fostered student activism. In some ways this critical, but often overlooked, aspect of HBCU history has been part of my own understanding of the schools since childhood. I attended preschool and elementary school on the campus of South Carolina State University (SCSU), an HBCU in Orangeburg, South Carolina. My school lay in sight of Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center, which was named in honor of three students—Henry Smith (19), Samuel Hammond Jr. (18), and Delano Middleton (17)—shot and killed by South Carolina Highway Patrolmen during a 1968 student protest of a segregated bowling alley. The “Orangeburg Massacre,” as it came to be known, also resulted in injuries to 28 other protesters, all students from SCSU. While the sit-ins staged by the Greensboro Four or organizations like Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) might be the most well-known example of HBCU student activism, the truth is that the tradition of protest goes back much further. For those familiar with HBCUs or those with no prior knowledge of Black colleges, Shelter provides a powerful, insightful examination of the critical role HBCUs have played in fostering generations of foot soldiers in the struggle for freedom.