Reading this thread is further proof that we have a ton of people on this board that haven't sniffed a college campus, nor understand certain things about the collegiate experience.
HBCUs serve an important societal purpose, because unlike a lot of PWIs, that serve as incubators of entrenched class distinctions, HBCUs and HSIs(Hispanic Serving Institutions) serve as a refuge for those that have been systematically ignored. Keep in mind, HBCUs and HSIs have larger percentages of first generation college students than their PWI counterparts. That's something that is extremely important because the proven way to break the cycle of poverty is through education. HBCUs and HSIs have proven that they are good at getting kids that may have not had optimal educational environments growing up through school, and out into the workforce. HBCUs have and will continue to be one of the more affordable higher education options for many, and for a Black person, living in an environment where you aren't shamed for merely existing can be life changing. One of the best quotes about the HBCU experience came from Earl Lloyd, the first Black man to play in the NBA "Attending West Virginia State was a refuge from a mostly racist world. It was a place where I was safe to be myself". Even though Earl attended school decades before the Civil Rights Act, his words ring true today.
I looked at a couple of HBCUs as well as Miami when I was selecting a college, and even though I chose UMiami, I could easily see the benefits of an HBCU. HBCUs should be preserved, point blank period.