Nearly two centuries ago, Boston led the way in Black public school education. The same ideals that created the Commonwealth’s Constitution, which led to the abolition of slaves and made Boston a key stop on the Underground Railroad, helped forge a path for Black students in Boston. The Abiel Smith School was opened in 1835 as the first public school for Black children and now stands as a part of the Museum of African American History.

In the present day, Boston is already home to Black excellence. Roxbury Community College is a predominantly Black institution that has served our community well for decades. The John D. O’Bryant School hosts a larger portion of our city’s Black students than our city’s other exam schools, while delivering one of the best educations in Massachusetts.

Yet, Boston, which is home to dozens of world-class colleges and universities, doesn’t have an Historically Black College or University (HBCU) presence. This needs to change. The benefits of having an HBCU satellite campus in Boston are simply too great to ignore.

Boston continues to struggle to break free of a national brand as a “racist city,” an outdated picture of Boston that is driven by the racial tension ignited by busing in the 1970s. Our city has changed a lot since those images covered televisions across the country and while we continue to contend with racial inequities that are baked into our city’s systems, we have come far in terms of representation and repair – and it’s time for our image to follow.

A majority of existing HBCUs exist in the South, created as a response to Jim Crow laws and fostered by a greater sense of community for the Black population. It’s that type of community building that has proven to be successful throughout education – and that result speaks for itself.

The data is undeniable. Half of our Black doctors and lawyers, 40 percent of our Black engineers and elected officials – and yes, 100 percent of our Black vice presidents – graduated from a HBCU.

I urge us all to imagine a new narrative for Boston – a story the welcoming of an HBCU could usher in.

Our Boston Public School students are worthy of seeing the promise of an HBCU and the pathways it can create right in their own city. Currently, Black students in BPS are less likely than their classmates to graduate, take advanced course work, or complete MassCore.

Beyond the value of role models, the school district would also be wise to set up an early college program and pathway with an HBCU once it opens. Under Superintendent Mary Skipper, BPS has expanded these types of programs in recent years, and the upside for a similar program at an HBCU would be incalculable.

An HBCU in Boston isn’t a new idea. A proposed Boston campus of Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design in 2023 would’ve seen an HBCU built in the shadow of the Seaport, a neighborhood often decried as one of the whitest and richest in Boston.

That Detroit-based college saw the value in a Boston campus. And a few weeks ago, the Building Bridges HBCU Program held a summit in Cambridge that explored an HBCU presence in Boston, with a follow-up discussion scheduled for October.

The opportunity is clear. Now, it’s time to bring that reality across the finish line in Boston.

Brian Worrell, the vice president of the Boston City Council, represents Dorchester, Mattapan, and parts of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale.