Yesterday, the Biden administration announced a record $2.7 billion in funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s), funds that derive from the broader rubric of the president’s American Rescue Plan that provides economic relief during the deadly Coronavirus Pandemic!
Specifically, these funds will flow to both public and private HBCU’s through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), one that’s purpose is to ensure that students at HBCU’s are equipped with the financing necessary to further their educations at schools that often serve as bulwarks for surrounding communities of color. As a double HBCU graduate that holds degrees from Morehouse College (B.A.) and Florida A&M University (M.A), I was most pleased to see that FAMU secured the highest dollar disbursement from the Biden administration— with $99,274,125 now heading towards “The Highest of Seven Hills” in Tallahassee, Florida. (Nota Bene: The second largest allocation was granted to North Carolina A&T State University, which will receive $93,092,139).
(U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (D-Fla), a legendary FAMU alumnus and champion for financial earmarks for his alma mater, pictured with President Joe and Dr. Jill Biden)Being a Floridian by birth, and a Georgian by maternal lineage, the breakdown for HBCU’s in Florida and Georgia is as follows:FLORIDA
- Florida A&M University: $99,274,125
- Bethune Cookman University: $33,041,940
- Edward Waters College: $13,228,709
- Florida Memorial University: $10,641,947
GEORGIA
- Morehouse School of Medicine: $56,785,507
- Albany State University: $53,287,476
- Clark Atlanta University: $47,762,468
- Savannah State University: $41,412,308
- Fort Valley State University: $26,524,053
- Morehouse College: $15,541,496
- Spelman College: $13,786,698
- Paine College: $5,557,820
Outstanding!!!Far too often in the public square, there are some commenters who suggest that HBCU’s have outlived their usefulness, but nothing could be further from the truth! The historical legacies of these schools is unrivaled as far as fostering Black excellence, with leading luminaries like Dr. W.E.B DuBois (Fisk), Dr. Martin Luther King (Morehouse), Dr. Lesalle Lefall (FAMU), Thurgood Marshall (Lincoln), Booker T. Washington (Hampton alum/Founder of Tuskegee), Althea Gibson (FAMU), Toni Morrison (Howard), Alice Walker (Spelman), and Oprah Winfrey (Tennessee State), just to name a few, having been critical to the story of Blacks succeeding despite the odds in America. But one needn’t look too far in the past to see that vast numbers of current Black medical and dental professionals pursued their undergraduate degrees at Xavier (La.), and/or earned their professional degrees at Meharry Med, Howard Med, Morehouse Med, and Charles Drew Med! Or, to know that vast numbers of Black engineers earned their degrees at North Carolina A&T and Florida A&M Universities. Or, to know that FAMU Law, Howard Law, North Carolina Central Law, Southern Law, and Texas Southern Law still produce thousands of Black lawyers per year. Or, to know that educators hailing from Alabama State, Alabama A&M, and Bethune Cookman; or journalists hailing from Clark-Atlanta, FAMU, and Howard; and nurses hailing from Jackson State and Southern; or pharmacists hailing from FAMU; and pilots hailing from Hampton and Tennessee State; or veterinarians hailing from Tuskegee all do so in environments that have nurtured Black excellence since the Reconstruction era!
Thus, when it comes to HBCU funding, I find it important that partisan politics take a back seat to ensuring that these schools, most of which were (and remain) critically underfunded on the state and federal levels—or bypassed by major philanthropic organizations—are able to receive ample funding so that they can thrive!Three years ago, then President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act (FUTURE Act) that provided $250 million a year to “Minority Serving Schools” (including Hispanic and Native American schools), with $85 million of that going to HBCU’s.
While the Trump administration’s allotment was a good number that was rather consistent with per annum allocations during portions of the Obama and Bush (George W.) Administrations, President Biden’s $2.7 billion, one that goes solely to HBCU’s, is an EXCEPTIONAL number that couldn’t come at a better time when considering that across America, there’s a resurgence in applications to HBCU’s from top young Black scholars and top young Black scholar-athletes who desire to learn in an environment that’s free from overt racism and covert racial micro-aggressions!
(Picture of Spelman students Mikayla Ross (left) and Mallory Butts during President Biden’s January visit to the Atlanta University Center)Still, while I appreciate the efforts of both the HEERF Act under Biden, the FUTURE Act under Trump, and prior annual HBCU funding from Obama and Bush, all of the above both were (or are) somewhat limited in their long-term scope. Meaning, I would love to see a bipartisan effort to make earmarks like the Biden administration’s $2.7 billion a permanent fixture within the federal budget. I mean, since there are far greater fixed amounts each year for military spending, agriculture, energy, infrastructure and the like, knowing that the U.S. Department of Education’s budget is well in excess of $100 billion only whets my appetite to see a few billion dollars set aside for HBCU’s each and every year—in perpetuity. Such could greatly offset the costs of education that finds many HBCU students taking five or more years to graduate due to funding paucities.
(Vice-President Kamala Harris speaking at her alma mater, Howard University)Remembering that the great Frederick Douglass once quipped, “power concedes nothing without a demand,” consider this blog post my sincere thanks to the Biden administration—and my formal demand for even greater federal funding for HBCU’s over the next decade!
