About HBCU Matters Magazine

Richard L. Williams founded HBCU Matters Magazine in 2020 as he recognized a void in the celebration of the nation’s 100-plus Historically Black Colleges & Universities and the diversity and inclusion roles their graduates play in many facets of everyday life – from science and medicine to the fine and performing arts.

For nearly 20 years, Mr. Williams has been publishing Black Business Ink, a magazine focused on African-American-owned businesses and the men and women who lead them in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. The publication also celebrates the contributions of community leaders, entrepreneurs, and the HBCU impact on businesses and communities throughout North Carolina and beyond.

When the first edition of Black Business Ink first rolled off the presses in May 2003, Mr. Williams had a reasonably good idea the publication would be well received – and it has been. He holds the same belief for HBCU Matters Magazine.

An alumnus of North Carolina A&T State University, Mr. Williams knows firsthand the impact and value of an HBCU education. Through his extensive career as an award-winning journalist, corporate public relations executive, entrepreneur, and magazine publisher, he honors his HBCU education as the foundation for his professional career. His education journey also includes being a graduate of the MBA program at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and obtaining certifications from the Tuck School of Business Executive Leadership Program at Dartmouth College.

He puts his educational and professional experience to work in several ways that impact and influences the lives of his readers, the communities they live in, and the people and programs featured in his publications.

In each issue of HBCU Matters Magazine, readers will discover the impact HBCUs have throughout the county, learn of their programs, join in the celebration of their diversity, and understand their challenges and what they’re doing to overcome them.

HBCU students will also be celebrated in each issue, and readers will see how their schools are impacting their lives.