The Black Ivy League is a colloquial term that at times referred to the historically black colleges in the United States that attracted the majority of high-performing and affluent African American students prior to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Similar groups include: Public Ivies, Southern Ivies, and the Little Ivies, among others, none of which have canonical definitions. Generally, these schools have avoided using the term "Black Ivy League" to describe themselves.