Sen. Bernie Sanders held a campaign rally Thursday at Morehouse College outlining his plan, if he’s elected president, to provide $1.3 billion per year to private, nonprofit HBCUs and other institutions serving Black people and people of color.
The senator from Vermont seeks to energize young Black voters who spurned his presidential bid three years ago, AJC reported.
Sanders says he wants to eliminate or reduce college tuition and fees, according to his website. The $1.3 billion in funding would help support about 200 schools that serve at least 35 percent low-income students.
HBCU graduates account for 40 percent of African American members of Congress, 40 percent of African American engineers, 50 percent of African American professors at non-HBCUs, 50 percent of African American lawyers, and 80 percent of African American judges, according to Sanders.
Sanders promised to establish a dedicated $5 billion fund at HBCUs, other MSIs (minority-serving institutions) and tribal colleges and universities to increase the number of Black doctors, dentists, nurses, and mental health providers.
His College for All plan will allow any student to receive a tuition-free education from any HBCU, including private institutions, regardless of income.
“We will do everything humanly possible to end all forms of discrimination in this country,” Sanders told the crowd.
Earlier this week, Mayor Pete Buttigieg campaigned for more Black votes and talked about his own HBCU plan at an event also held the historically Black, all-male Morehouse College. Read more.
