Final answer:
The rarity of Africana Studies departments at HBCUs can be attributed to institutional emphasis on practical fields of study, underfunding of these institutions, and societal challenges such as systemic racism and economic inequality
Step-by-step explanation:
The rarity of Africana Studies departments at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) can be attributed to several factors. Originally, these institutions focused mainly on education, theology, and applied sciences due to limited resources and societal pressures related to racial segregation. Additionally, African American history was not widely covered in the curriculum.
Post World War II, with the Lanham Act of 1946, HBCUs received additional funding and began to grow rapidly, but this growth came too late for many black veterans. Nevertheless, the HBCUs began diversifying their course offerings, but factors such as underfunding continued to affect the establishment of specialized departments like Africana Studies.
Additionally, societal forces such as systemic racism and the entrenched social and economic inequality experienced by the black community also pose significant challenges to African American education. These circumstances have historically affected the economic capacity of HBCUs and the affordability of a tertiary education for African American individuals, which in turn impacts the breadth of courses that HBCUs can offer.
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