Several black church schools were founded before the Civil War but became colleges after the war ended. A number of black churches and denominational boards were involved in the development of such schools. The Cincinnati Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church founded Wilberforce University, Tawawa Springs, Ohio, (1856); the African Methodist Episcopal Church founded Allen University, Columbia, South Carolina (1870); Paul Quinn College, Waco, Texas (1872); Edward Waters College, Jacksonville, Florida (1883); and Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia (1881). The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church founded Livingstone College, Salisbury, North Carolina (1879). The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church founded or supported Lane College, Jackson, Tennessee (1882); Paine College, Augusta, Georgia (1882); Texas College, Tyler, Texas (1894); and Miles College, Birmingham, Alabama (1902). The Negro Baptist Convention founded or supported Arkansas Baptist College, Little Rock, Arkansas (1884); Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina (1865); Virginia College and Seminary, Lynchburg, Virginia (1888); and Morris College, Sumter, South Carolina (1905).

These schools prepared persons for the ministry and trained teachers to educate the struggling black community.