HBCUs intentionally underfunded and under attack

Bishop William J. Barber II speaks during a press conference on the underfunding of HBCU’s across the country.

Bishop William J. Barber, II, co-chair of the National Poor People’s Campaign and founder of the Repairers of the Breach, joined Tennessee State University (TSU) student leaders and national faith and civil rights leaders at a national press conference on April 1, to sound the alarm about Republican state legislatures across the country that are leading the charge to defund historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

The press conference was organized by TSU student leaders after Tennessee’s Senate Education Committee voted to vacate the TSU board of directors and allow Republican Gov. Bill Lee to appoint eight new members to the 10-member body. The former TSU trustees were removed at the end of March under legislation signed into law by Gov. Lee, despite major pushback from Black lawmakers and community leaders.

Shaun Wimberly Jr., a senior agricultural business major at Tennessee State and a former student trustee for the TSU Board of Trustees noted, “What has happened in these past two years is a reflection of our community. It shows the current state of the Black community. The state that our university is in right now is simply a product of us not thinking as strategically, moving as quickly, or being as unified as our ancestors. We’ve allowed others to determine our path and we’ve almost forgotten that HBCUs are our home here in America.”

Derrell Taylor, senior business administration major and the 83rd Student Government Association President at Tennessee State University added, “I should not be able to look at other state institutions that are governed with the same state dollars that we are, and their campuses look 10 times better than ours.”

According to a press release from Repairers of the Breach, a 2023 Biden administration study shows that TSU is owed more than $2.1 billion in state funds that have been held back since 1987. The study shows how historic land grant colleges have been historically underfunded by state legislators across the United States.

“These same state legislatures are also suppressing the vote, attacking women’s rights, and refusing to raise the minimum wage while undermining HBCUs, which have a long history of promoting equality for all people,” the press release read. “While President Biden, Vice President Harris and progressive congressional leaders have taken action to get more resources to HBCUs, extremist-led state legislatures like this one in Tennessee are trying to dismantle HBCU leadership and disenfranchise these schools by holding back critical funding.”

That same study also revealed that North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro is also owed more than $2 billion in state funds that have been withheld since 1987. The study states that HBCUs across the nation are owed at least $13 billion in funding.

“We’re here today to say to all alumni and students that it’s time we sound the alarm and fight back in every state,” said Bishop William Barber.

“All the colleges that are underfunded, except for the Black University of Oklahoma, are in former Confederate States. All of them underfunded almost 13 billion dollars. We’re here today to say that everybody that’s concerned about this issue and especially students, need to be registered to vote and use those votes to determine who sits in these legislatures and where they stand on HBCUs should be a major factor in whether they get our votes,” said Barber.

Barber also noted that every university Board of Trustees should have a seat represented by the students and chosen by the students. He also added that there should be voting precincts on every campus.

Rev. Dr. Frederick Haynes III, president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition reiterated that the underfunding of HBCUs is a nationwide issue.

“Even though Tennessee State and the Tennessee legislation is now the face of this civil rights issue, it is a nationwide issue. I come from Texas. We have a land grant institution in Texas – Prairie View A&M University. As a proud alum of an HBCU, our HBCUs have always performed in an outsized fashion. Outperforming in a real sense, with the limited resources that they have been given. Imagine what we could do if we had equitable funding.”

LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, called out the Tennessee state legislature for conducting five audits in one year at TSU, which cost taxpayers $2 million, over financial discrepancies of under $4,000.

“This is not about a discrepancy and there are discrepancies at other universities. This was not about this. This is an attack and what we’re seeing all across this nation. This is an attack on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). It’s not just an attack on DEI as a program, it’s an attack on diversity all across this nation. It’s an attack on equity all across this nation and it’s an attack on inclusion all across this nation,” said Brown.

Roland Martin, national journalist on Black Star Network, spoke on his doubt that Republican and Democrat leaders in the state have ever visited the campus of TSU, yet feel comfortable in making decisions against the will of the students and administration.

“You should be asking every single Republican and Democrat, how many of you have ever stepped foot on the campus of Tennessee State? But I can guarantee you nearly every Republican and Democrat in this legislature has been to the University of Tennessee.”

He added, “We cannot have strong institutions if they are constantly under attack. The fact of the matter is this, HBCUs nationally are under attack. And what has happened in this state, I promise you, you’re going to see this happen in other states,” said Martin. “You cannot say that you are against DEI, but you don’t mind DEI Saturdays at the University of Tennessee.”

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, of the 99 HBCUs operating in 50 states, they enroll more than 300,000 students, 80 percent of whom are Black. Fifteen percent of bachelor’s degrees earned by Black graduates are from HBCUs, with six percent of masters’ degrees and 12 percent of Ph.D. degrees being earned by Black graduates from HBCUs.

Tamika D. Mallory, co-founder of Until Freedom said, “This is just not a college issue. It’s not just a student issue, it’s a community issue. The other piece is that the narrative is shifting around Black folks and our needs and our contributions to this nation. There is an attempt to erase us, and we must be clear that it is coordinated, and it is very strategic.”