This monumental, essential, and compelling survey of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) arrives during a period of financial stress when the future of some is in jeopardy. Filmmaker Stanley Nelson thoroughly covers roughly 170 years of American history, presenting an impressive array of archival photos, video clips, and letters enlivened with personal and informative interviews from educators, historians, and present-day students. Nelson sets up a series of vignettes delving into topics such as Booker T. Washington’s push for black academia (to detrimental effect, the film proposes), the Greensboro sit-ins, and the 1972 Southern University protests that left two students dead. HBCUs are credited with facilitating the creation of the black middle class and professionals of color. The film is a dynamic depiction that stresses the necessity of keeping them functioning, for communities of color to have safe spaces devoted solely to their growth and higher education. KR