Vice President Kamala Harris is an alumna of Howard University, a historically Black College and University located in the nation’s capital. The primary objective of the nation’s HBCUs is to educate Black Americans. Historically, HBCUs have had to do more with less financial resources. To some extent, HBCUs remain underfunded compared to Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), but that’s changing. President Biden has made historic financial investments above $11 billion dollars into HBCUs, and $4 billion to HBCU enrolled students, more than any other administration ever committed. Harris has said, “I know firsthand that our Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are centers of academic excellence.” HBCUs, despite being less than 3% of American universities, are engines of social mobility in the African American community.
Most HBCUs are located in the South, which isn’t a coincidence. After Emancipation, Black students were prohibited from attending many public and private colleges. Before education was integrated in the 1950s and 1960s, HBCUs educated most Black college students. HBCUs played a vital role in developing Black social and political consciousness among students. Because of the origins of HBCUs, most students develop stronger connections with their peers and, ultimately, a stronger racial group consciousness, which shapes African American voting behavior and political preferences. But overall, attendance at HBCUs has declined since the 1960s. In 2022, only 9% of Black college students attended an HBCU. Since most HBCUs are located in Southern states that previously sought to suppress student voting, HBCU-enrolled students began and remained at the forefront of voting rights advocacy. (READ MORE)
