This week’s episode of NBC’s This Is Us, represents the black community in a powerful way. Oozing with #BlackBoyJoy and #BlackGirlMagic, This Is Us highlights Randall’s college decision as he visits Howard University.

In part three of the three part series on each of his siblings, we learn more about the past and present of Randall (Sterling K. Brown and Niles Fitch), the third triplet adopted at birth by his parents, Jack and Rebecca, after his biological father abandoned him at a fire station.

As the triplets enter their senior year of high school, they explore their college options. Randall, a math prodigy and straight-A student, finds a brochure for Howard University, the famous historically black university (HBCU) in the heart of Washington, D.C. He asks his dad if they can drive to DC to tour the school and visit his childhood friend, Keith. When Randall arrives at “The Mecca,” Howard University, he is in awe.

I love HBCUs and know their impact. As a soon-to-be graduate of the largest HBCU in the nation, North Carolina A&T State University, I shared the excitement Randall felt on Howard’s campus. I come from a legacy of Howard alums who shared their experiences with me and motivated me to attend an HBCU. I considered many different colleges after graduation, both HBCUs and PWIs (Predominantly White Institutions), but A&T felt like home.

In the episode, as Keith shows Randall around and introduces him to his friends, Randall seems worried that he may not fit in at a place like Howard coming from a predominantly white school and white family, but he soon finds out that many of the students at Howard come from predominantly white schools like him. Like Randall, I too attended a predominantly white high school and knew that I wanted an HBCU experience because of that.

At the end of the tour, when Randall’s dad, Jack, rejoins him and his new friends, Randall hesitates to introduce him, jokingly telling him later, “It’s not because you are white, it’s because you are old.”

Though Jack, convinced that Randall will get into Harvard, pressures and wants his son to go there, Randall tells his dad that he wants to attend Howard.

“You know how you felt at Howard, when you thought I hesitated to introduce you because you’re white? How you were kind of mad but couldn’t say exactly why? I feel that way all the time,” Randall tells his dad as they drive home from DC.

“I feel like I’m always going to feel this way — not mad, but like, off-balance. Like everything is just going to be a little bit more complicated for me.”

The truth is, things are complicated. HBCUs offer a solace, strengthening a black student’s self-confidence, allowing us to be ourselves, without the injudicious attention, and preparing us to enter the world young, gifted and black (a reference to the Nina Simone classic).

My decision to attend my HBCU did not come without naysayers. Some people thought I should consider other, more “prestigious” schools. (What are they really trying to say?) Some people, who had never heard of A&T, mistakenly called it “AT&T.” (Seriously?) Some people doubted that I would get a decent job majoring in Journalism & Mass Communications. (I have a great job offer, thanks!)

However, I am proud to say that I will graduate from my HBCU with a nearly perfect GPA, internship experiences in the US government and Fortune 500 companies and friends and memories that will last a lifetime. My HBCU has offered incredible experiences, such as meeting President Barack Obama, joining the lifelong sisterhood Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and representing my school in the nation’s capital as a White House HBCU All-Star. I am grateful for my education at the illustrious North Carolina A&T State University.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of representation in media. This episode represented! We need to see ourselves represented in different aspects of life: media, education, family life and the workforce. I applaud the writers of This Is Us for showing an authentic portrayal of what an HBCU experience can be, and highlighting the black experience throughout the show.

“This Is Us” actress Susan Kelechi Watson, who plays the fierce and loyal Beth, Randall’s best friend and partner in crime, is also a Howard Alum in real life. Check out what she has to say about her experience! HU …You know!

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