Founded in 1882, Virginia State University was one of the nation’s first Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It was also the first to offer a four-year degree. As an agricultural and mechanical school, it provided training and offered opportunity to the first generation of Black Americans to be born free. In fact, the parents of that first VSU class couldn’t have dreamed when they were younger that their kids would have a chance like this.
In this special episode, we look at the impact and legacy of VSU and HBCUs on American agriculture. We’ll talk about how far VSU has come and what’s happening today. We’ll meet past and current students, talk to a professor who went to school there and returned to work and stay, and meet the woman who has started the first accredited university program to teach the legacy of America’s HBCUs.
