Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) constitute only 3 percent of U.S. colleges and universities, yet they enroll 28 percent of all African American students in higher education and educate 40 percent of the black Americans who earn doctorates or first professional degrees. Just fifteen HBCUs accounted for half of the institutions that ranked highest in graduating African Americans who obtained a PhD in 2003-04. These statistics show just how important the black colleges are for producing African American PhDs and training black leaders. These colleges are struggling to survive, and the loss of HBCUs could mean the disappearance of African American professors from U.S. classrooms. In this article, the author discusses the role of HBCUs in providing opportunities for African American students to develop their career paths. The intellectual exchanges that are unique to the the HBCU classrooms that open a space for freedom of discussion available almost no where else are described as is the need for mentoring and affirmation among African American Students. The author concludes by saying that without African American faculty in a system that does not promote success, African American students are more likely to fail.