When the first black colleges were founded more than a century ago they filled an important need for youth who were denied access to all but a few white institutions. Today these same private colleges must compete with more affluent, prestigious white colleges and universities for funding and for black students and teachers. They are losing in this competition. Black colleges should be given special consideration and assistance for two major reasons: (1) they have been dedicated to improving the quality of life for black citizens; and (2) they are the only institutions of higher education controlled by black people, and are thus most responsive to the needs and demands of the community. Without them, blacks as a distinct racial group lose their most effective vehicle for training leaders and for developing an economically and socially mobile middle class. Private black colleges will have to make bold, revolutionary changes to continue their contribution to black progress. Among the recommended changes are mergers, drastic curriculum changes, new approaches to student recruitment, and hiring the most highly trained teachers available. Underlying the proposed innovations is a concept of a "new college" that will address such contemporary issues as the role of values, beliefs, science, traditions, institutions, and social systems. (Author/MSE)