"This nation owes a profound debt of gratitude to its HBCUs,” he said in a speech to more than 40 representatives from HBCUs across the country gathered in Washington for the White House’s Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Trump alsoannounced that his administration would lift a ban on federal funding for faith-based Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
"This week our Department of Justice has published an opinion declaring such discriminatory restrictions as unconstitutional. It's a big step," Trump said at the conference, which included HBCU leaders from around the country. "And from now on faith-based HBCUs will enjoy equal access to federal support."
However, one HBCU President said “I just read the entire 28-page opinion and I don’t know what problem it “fixed.” Most HBCUs including church related ones have had access to the capital finance program. The rule only prohibited funding for religious services, facilities or schools that primarily teach religion.
Many HBCU presidents aren't confident the Trump administration, which they say sends mixed messages at best and at worst is outright insulting, is really listening to their calls for help.
Under the Trump administration, federal funding for HBCUs has increased by more than $100 million over the last two years, a 17% increase since 2017.
While HBCU officials have welcomed the funding, they've also been quick to point out that White House efforts to decrease funding for other federal programs like work-study and college counseling for low-income students and to eliminate the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants – though unsuccessful – would have canceled out any good done by increased institutional funding.
They also called foul when the administration challenged the constitutionality of the HBCU Capital Investment Fund, for example, and took an unprecedented seven months to name an executive director for the White House HBCU Initiative.
Then there was Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who made headlines for calling HBCUs "real pioneers when it comes to school choice" in a speech to HBCU presidents. When in truth, HBCUs were born out of the Jim Crow era when Black people had little to no options for higher education.