Pardon my ignorance but a "historically black college" is an euphemism for what once was an "inferior" blacks-only college that had to be created out of necessity because of Jim Crow laws isnt it? By inferior I mean they werent as well funded as whites only colleges.
I wouldn't say 'inferior,' but just, distinct. I mean, in some respect, almost every college today started as an 'inferior' college for some group that wouldn't be able to attend another school. For instance, Catholic Colleges were initially founded in the United States because Catholics wouldn't have been welcome at schools like Harvard or Princeton, which typically accepted Protestants only from specific European-American backgrounds. So, colleges like Georgetown and Notre Dame opened as Catholic higher education colleges. Is Notre Dame
inferior to William & Mary? No, they both developed distinct programs throughout generations.
SImilarly, women's colleges started because women typically weren't admitted to all-male elite colleges, so schools like the 'Seven Sisters' opened, most of which are still women only (Simmons, Smith, Wellesely, etc) or are predominantly women's colleges (but accept men into some programs IIRC). Was Mount Holyoke
inferior to Dartmouth ~170 years ago? I suppose, but women wouldn't have been allowed to go to Dartmouth, and so they both developed distinct programs and specialties. Today, a Dartmouth education is probably "worth more" than a Mt. Holyoke education, insofar as people in specific professionals probably favor an Ivy League education versus a Seven Sisters education (even though Mt. Holyoke was the associated sister school to Dartmouth), but their programs are different, and you could still get strong opportunities at a Mt. Holyoke that you might not get at Dartmouth.
When it comes to education, especially when we're talking about elite colleges or exceptional colleges, it's really tough to rank them in "inferior" or "superior," because what they're trying to achieve is different. Is MIT inferior to Brown? Sure, Brown has a better economics program, while MIT has a better engineering program, but what they're trying to achieve is different. At Traditionally Black Colleges, saying whether one is inferior to another non-TBC college isn't the right comparison... Is Howard inferior or superior to George Washington? No, because they focus on different things, and while you could get two excellent educations at either Howard or GWU, there are things you can get at Howard that you can't get at GWU.