Ask not what HBCUs can do you for you....

Morris College founder J. J. Durham
From Wikipedia

I concluded my AMS article on James Solomon by emphasizing the important role that HBCUs have had in broadening participation in mathematics and encouraging readers to learn about how the AMS is currently collaborating with HBCUs and to think of ways for further collaboration.

When I made my suggestion, I (embarrassingly) did not know what the AMS was doing, so I emailed the AMS Executive Director Catherine A. Roberts. She helpfully provided a detailed description of existing efforts to promote diversity, some of which are directly tied to HBCUs.  Here are some of the things the AMS is doing:

1. the AMS maintains a website with information about diversity issues;
2. the AMS published (with the MAA) the book "Living Proof: Stories of Resilience Along the Mathematical Journey" which is available online as a free PDF.
3. the AMS has a book program that annually offers an AMS published book to each HBCU.  If you work at or near an HBCU, make sure the school takes advantage of this program.
4. the AMS provides free posters that you can order here.

Other suggestions are:

• Donate to the National Association of Mathematicians.  NAM is a strong advocate for HBCUs, and much of their leadership is faculty at HBCUs.
• Donate to the Mathematically Gifted & Black website.  They do a great job of highlighting the achievements of African American mathematicians, many of whom work at HBCUs.  Details on how to do this at the bottom of the page.
• Have the AMS offer reciprocal membership with NAM.
• Have the AMS provide funding to organizations running an AMS Special Session if at least X% of the speakers are from HBCUs.  Somebody should do research to estimate a good value for "X."
• Ask the American Mathematical Society Council to acknowledge and apologize for the society's complicity with de jure discrimination.  Details on how to do this here. 
• Ask for similar apologies from the Mathematical Association of American and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.  (Not sure what exactly to do as I am less familiar with these organizations.)
• Installing programs at the k-12 level in minority and low income schools.  Expand efforts to make existing programs more accessible to African Americans.
• Ask the AMS to maintain a list of grants and fellowships aimed at improving the advanced STEM participation of groups historically underrepresented in STEM.  Examples are the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, the Ford Foundation Fellowship Program, and the GEM Fellowship Program.
• Ask the AMS to maintain a list of college and university programs aimed at improving the advanced STEM participation of groups historically underrepresented in STEM.  Examples are the Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellows Program at the University of Chicago, the MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars Program at MIT, the Grace Jordan McFadden Professors Program at the University of South Carolina.
• Ask the AMS to create a program similar to aforementioned programs with the goal of increasing the number of African American mathematicians.  Alternatively provide greater support to existing programs.
• To help increase the number of African American students in STEM fields particularly African American males, it is most effective to reach students by 5th grade. An idea would be to develop regionally (ex: begin in the Southeast then expand) an educational partnership between local elementary schools and Universities/Colleges. To increase the number of African American males pursuing STEM fields and pursuing a Ph.D. in STEM fields, African American males need to gain exposure at an early age to rigorous content in a successful environment.
• One way to develop an educational partnership is: Local universities/colleges can develop summer programs where students are bused in during the summer for a 12-week program (free of charge with breakfast and lunch provided). Students can be exposed to rigorous content that will help them develop cognitive skills needed for higher order thinking. The consistent development of these cognitive skills will help prepare students to succeed in middle school, high school, and college. The consistency portion can be met through the ongoing educational relationship between elementary schools and Universities/Colleges. The elementary schools provide the students while the Universities/Colleges provide the curriculum taught by college professors and graduate students. The Universities/Colleges know what type of mindset they are looking for in college on both the undergraduate and graduate level so what better way to cultivate a mindset for success than to nurture a mindset of a 5th grader and to continue this nurturing over time
• Similar to the summer programs, local universities/colleges can develop year-long programs where students are exposed to rigorous content after school that will help them develop cognitive skills needed for higher order thinking. The Universities/colleges must work with the local state department and local schools to change the societal thinking where more emphasis is placed on sports than education. The change begins with universities and colleges. When high schools, universities, and colleges, place a higher importance on sports than education then the youth also.  High schools, universities, and colleges must change their perspectives for society to change their perspective.

Roberts also mentioned several administrative things (e.g. hiring a consultant to write an advisory report) which might not be of direct interest but may produce future efforts.

I encourage you to think about how ways for further collaboration.  Even a cursory examination of the history of HBCUs like Morris College shows that these institutions have played an essential role in broadening participation in higher education.  Most obviously these institutions provided educational opportunities to African Americans during periods when they were excluded from most college and universities, but these schools also played less obvious but important roles.  For example, during the 1950s Red Scare, a number of HBCUs provided employment to (white) academics who'd been blacklisted from many universities.

Thanks to Matthew J. Madison, Carol McCain, Catherine A. Roberts, Ikhalfani Solan, Dylan Thurston, Chelsea Walton, Talitha Washington, and Shelby Wilson for contributing ideas and information!

Details on how to donate to the Mathematically Gifted & Black website