Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been underfunded by $13 billion over the last 30 years according to a just released analysis.

Now, the Biden administration is taking action and they need our help.

The Secretaries of Agriculture and Education have issued letters to 16 governors, urging them to rectify the inequities in state funding for HBCUs.

HBCUs were created by the Second Morrill Act of 1890, when states had a choice of enrolling Black students in their (predominantly white) land grant colleges established in 1862, or creating new, separate colleges for Black students, known as the “1890 universities.”  

The law required that, if states chose to open new colleges for Black students, the universities must be funded equitably.

Now, a federal analysis of state spending per student has revealed that, from 1987 to 2020, 16 of the nation’s 19 HBCUs were underfunded by a total of $13 billion. Only the states of Ohio and Delaware were found to have provided equitable funding to their HBCU land grant institutions.

The funding gaps in other states ranged from $172 million to $2.14 billion over this 33 year period.

The specific actions recommended by the Secretaries of Agriculture and Education vary from state to state, but the departments aren’t just making demands. They’ve offered to conduct workshops on the data in each state and help devise solutions. Their goal is to go beyond one-to-one matching of state to federal dollars, to consider matching at rates of two-to-one or greater to make up for this historically devastating inequity.

They also note that in some states, students and alumni have formed coalitions and filed lawsuits against the states, seeking the legally required parity. Formalizing plans to address the funding deficits, they note, can help the states avoid this costly litigation.

The bottom line is the increased funding will support critical infrastructure, student services, and competitiveness for research grants -- and finally begin to right decades of inequity.

Now it’s our chance to back up the Biden administration’s efforts. The impact of states providing matching funds will be deep and long-lasting for students, faculty, and local economies.

Show your grassroots support for equitable funding for historically Black colleges by adding your name as a grassroots co-signing of the Secretaries’ letter to Governors now!

Full Letter Text