Source: WRAL
Under the Biden-Harris administration, historic federal funding and investments have been made for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the country.
These historic funding levels – the most by any administration – have demonstrated President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ commitment to HBCUs.
“While many have suggested that they comprehend the importance of America’s HBCUs, no administration, and we do mean NO administration – in the history of our republic – has done more for HBCUs than the Biden-Harris Administration,” wrote Tony Allen, the Chair and Glenda Glover, Vice Chair of the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges & Universities, in a written statement to the administration. “Delivering more than $17 billion in investments to the HBCU community in less than three and a half years is unprecedented.”
The work to further invest in HBCUs will not stop under President Biden. For the HBCU community, Vice President Harris has become a beacon of hope for the future of the nation’s historically Black institutions.
“She has shown the world that graduates of our esteemed HBCUs are leading the way to a more just and equitable society,” Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), told The Hill in a statement. “She is a vanguard for women and HBCU graduates everywhere.”
After accepting the Democratic nomination in August, Vice President Harris became the first presidential nominee from a major political party to also have graduated from an HBCU.
This historic moment has put HBCUs in the spotlight, like North Carolina’s very own St. Augustine’s University and Shaw University, which have had trouble with funding over the years.
“Infrastructure is one of our biggest issues. We have not been funded at levels that have allowed us to keep our campuses up to date, and we all suffer from deferred maintenance and those kinds of things,” Dr. Paulette Dillard, President of Shaw University, told WRAL.
It’s easier for her to advocate on our behalf, and not based on what she’s being told, but what she’s experienced,” Dillard continued. “So if they continue, or she continues, along the path that they’re already on, I think HBCUs will benefit enormously from her presidency.” According to the Biden-Harris administration, despite representing only 3% of colleges and universities nationwide, HBCUs play an outsized role in supporting the economic mobility of African Americans — producing 40% of all Black engineers, 50% of all Black teachers, 70% of all Black doctors and dentists, and 80% of all Black judges.
