Optimism for transformational funding for the nation’s historically Black colleges was running high after the Biden administration included $45 billion for the schools in its massive multitrillion-dollar spending plan.
That outlook quickly soured as the funding became ensnared in Democratic infighting over the size of the economic package and what it should cover. The latest iteration of the bill includes just $2 billion that can go toward educational programs and infrastructure for Black colleges, and even that amount would be reduced to competitive grant funding rather than direct allocations.
