Beyond Affirmative Action: HBCUs and the Time For Equitable Funding

Students outside the Supreme Court defending affirmative action as the cases are argued inside. Photo by Victoria Pickering.

On June 29, 2023, in a 6-3 landmark decision in the case of Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v President & Fellows of Harvard College, the Supreme Court chose to align with longstanding conservative efforts and abolish race-based preferences in college admissions. The ruling is a step backward, effectively advancing the exclusion of Black students from premier educational institutions. In light of the decision, a greater burden now rests on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to provide access to higher education to those that are affected by the reversal. HBCUs are incredibly unique and are still immensely important for the Black student. While HBCUs only account for three percent of American colleges, they produce 20 percent of all Black graduates. Additionally, HBCUs enroll a disproportionate amount of first-generation, low-income students relative to predominantly-white institutions (PWI), with 83 percent of HBCU students receiving a Pell Grant compared to 34 percent nationwide. With universities already showing a significant decrease of diversity in enrollment, HBCUs have never been more vital. However, even with the objective importance of these institutions, HBCUs have been underfunded and neglected by the federal government for decades. Therefore, given the newfound importance of HBCUs in a post-affirmative-action world, it is crucial that the federal government allocates greater funding to HBCUs that will allow them to sustain educational operations while they now lead the way in providing higher education to minority students.

In a socially divided America that has, once again, politicized race and ethnicity, another pressure has now been placed on HBCUs. In the post-affirmative action wake, HBCUs are bracing for a dramatic surge in applications. With this dramatic influx of applicants, HBCUs are approaching a tenuous future. They must honor their mission to the Black community with admission inclusivity while ensuring educational excellence. Balancing these responsibilities is further complicated considering the insufficient attention from the government. A history of purposeful federal neglect has stifled the growth of these institutions by failing to provide funding that would have been immensely beneficial in raising their educational status.

It was only 80 years ago that seemingly race-equitable policies were enacted while holding notions of de facto inequality. The 1944 G.I. Bill, containing policies promising to provide equal higher education access to both white and Black veterans, was built on foundations of racial resentment that ensured obstacles for former Black servicemen in obtaining degrees. In pre-1965 America, practically every higher education institution had segregationist principles, leaving the “race-neutral” G.I. Bill to be basically reserved “for white veterans only.”

Consequently, this led to a cumulative impact on the socioeconomic racial gap: white-serving higher education institutions experienced immeasurable growth from the plethora of its federally funded veteran students, culminating in a rise of the white middle class. This governmental funding of PWIs meant greater opportunities for the white working class to gain knowledge that was leveraged into economic security, leading to the racial disparity seen in America’s middle class today. For Black people, higher education didn’t provide that growth; Black veterans were forced to attend underfunded and overcrowded HBCUs. Even after Black people were permitted to attend higher education, these neglected HBCUs offered little in the way of educational avenues. The majority of post-WWII HBCUs could only offer students degrees in either pedagogy or clergy, stemming from discriminatory vocational philosophies that Black people could only “preach and teach.” 

And the discrimination is ongoing. In 2023, officials found that 16 states have underfunded HBCUs by $13 billion over the course of three decades. That neglect is further underscored by the endowment gap between PWIs and HBCUs which currently stands at 100:1. In essence, for every $100 a PWI gets in endowment money, an HBCU gets a dollar. When comparing PWI land-grant universities to land-grant HBCUs, the disparity is equally as staggering: $45 billion in endowment assets for PWIs compared to $1 billion for HBCUs. Only a concerted federal government effort can resolve the inequalities that have plagued HBCUs, making increased federal support vital for leveling the playing field and enhancing their role in higher education.

The history of disparate attention and current educational access limitations for Black students underline the necessity of more federal funding to these institutions. Importantly, the investment would not only constitute reparations for the decades of under-funding but would serve as a broader investment of our higher education system. ​​A good place to begin reconciling the historic inequality would be a federal endowment fund that invests $50 billion in HBCUs, allowing them to eliminate their student debt, and provide sufficient scholarships to meet the needs of their many low-income students. Succinctly, it is imperative that the federal government afford HBCUs the same kind of investment that PWIs have seen for decades.

Regrettably, following the decision, HBCUs have had to adopt more selective admission policies. Facing a significant increase in applicants, many HBCUs have revamped their admissions policies; the Court’s decision thereby forcing a traditionally inclusive institution to become objectionably selective. And yet, even with greater selectivity, HBCUs are already seeing rising enrollment, with one research center finding nationwide HBCU undergraduate enrollment rising four percent. Therefore, with the double burden of historical underfunding and the Court’s reversal decision, the federal government must reconcile existing inequities with an increase in funding for HBCUs.

Ultimately, the reversal is a systematic obstacle, one that is masked as a leveling of the playing field. Consequently, Black students will face greater challenges. And yet, there is a place that institutionally seeks to nurture the Black student’s success. Even amidst the federal neglect, HBCUs have produced 80 percent of the country’s Black judges, as well as half of its Black doctors and lawyers.

Conclusively, federal policymakers must give HBCUs what they are owed. There must be greater financial commitments made, ones that address the historical inequities and highlight the HBCU’s role in creating future Black leaders. In a post-affirmative-action America, HBCUs matter more than ever. It’s time that the nation recognizes their worth.

River Alexander (GS ‘26) is a staff writer for CPR studying political science. In his free time, you can find him sailing the Hudson, playing chess, or playing billiards.