Although African language programs have witnessed an appreciable growth in the US over the past three decades, most of this increase has been concentrated in the majority White institutions, mainly the large flagship state universities, and the elitist Ivy League institutions. Unfortunately, however, the traditionally small Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have not benefited from this overall growth. This paper addresses some of the initial challenges facing the establishment of an African language program at an HBCU and makes recommendations for overcoming such problems. It is the strong belief of this author that in spite of the difficulties, it is possible to establish new programs if certain fundamental time-tested principles are faithfully followed.