Given their history of socio-economic peripheralization and continued struggles for success, one would expect African Americans--especially highly educated ones--to be adept at the various forms of mobilization and advocacy, especially that of labor unions, which have not only provided them access to opportunities but also given them a voice in the governance of organizations. But they are not, and this is especially true of faculty members in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In fact, on some HBCU campuses faculty members have no mechanism to participate in the governance of their own universities. In this article, after briefly summarizing the history of HBCUs, the author will examine the role of unions as an agent of faculty representation and a conduit of shared governance between faculty and administrators. Specifically, her aim is to examine unionization as a form of advocacy for meaningful participation and representation by HBCU faculty in decision making at HBCUs, whether in the form of dispute resolution, collective bargaining, or the promulgation of operational policies.