Loads of people are talking about Senator Elizabeth Warren’s groundbreaking proposal to eliminate (or reduce) people’s student debt burdens. An issue that’s getting less attention, but is just as important, is the Democratic senator’s mission to help keep historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) alive and well. Daily Kos Trending News Editor Jessica Sutherland got an exclusive interview with the senator from Massachusetts, so we’ll use that as a tool to look at what, precisely, the 2020 presidential candidate is proposing and why it matters.
As part of her proposal, Warren wants to create a fund for HBCUs, as well as Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). The goal is to have a minimum of $50 billion in the fund. However, the Secretary of Education would have the authority to increase the amount of money in the fund as deemed necessary. For example, in order to make sure that the spending per-student was equal (or comparable) to that of colleges in the surrounding area.
How does Warren want these schools to spend this money? As she explained to Daily Kos, she trusts their judgment.
“Part of my proposal is to put more than $50 billion directly into HBCUs, and other minority-serving institutions, and to say to those schools, “spend it the way you think is most important,” the senator told Sutherland during an in-person interview on April 24. “For some, it will mean buildings. For some that will mean expanding faculty. For some, it will mean expanding student support. For some it will mean, let's get rid of tuition, even at private HBCUs.”
Amazing! Before we dig into the rest, some foundational information. As of today, there are just over one hundred HBCUs in the U.S., with a total student population of about 300,000. These numbers encompass both private and public colleges. Sadly, many HBCUs are closing, largely due to lack of funding. This means that we’re not only losing important cultural history but present-day opportunities.
“HBCUs [were] a place of access for people, sometimes who had never been to college before,” Warren continued. “It was a place of leadership, where people had a chance.”
As it stands, HBCUs are underfunded. This is a problem for many reasons, not least of which that it’s important for black students to find community, resources, and support in institutions that honor and center them. Whether that involves having black professors, black faculty, or simply an environment where white people are not centered as a default, this experience can be hugely formative. The fact that more HBCUs are shuttering is not only depressing, but simply unfair.
“Those historically black colleges and universities were under-resourced from the first day,” Warren told Sutherland. “They had to make do with pennies when other colleges were getting dollars.”
Supporting communities of color, and specifically, women of color, cannot be stressed enough. While some assume that women of color will vote blue, making them a “safe bet,” this doesn’t mean that issues which involve women of color should be on the backburner. After all, even if a party historically gets a vote, that doesn’t mean those constituents should be pushed to the side in favor of wooing new voters.
Warren, who attended the 2019 She The People forum, seems to understand that.
“For a very long time, the federal government subsidized higher ed, post-high school education, for white people,” she stated. “But they barred African Americans from being able to go to those colleges—either did it formally ultimately did it informally. The consequences have been there's been an education gap at the higher education level, at all levels.”
And like so many issues with Warren, she isn’t just acknowledging the problem. She’s rolling out proposal after proposal to deal with it.
What do you think about her plan to support HBCUs?
This interview and related quotes were edited for clarity and flow.