Last weekend, I attended a college reunion at my alma mater, Fisk University. It was also graduation, and the Class of ’75 was celebrating their 50th Anniversary. I have two more years to go, God willing. The Class of 2025 was graduating, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Fisk University or any other HBCUs would be around for their 50th?
Colleges and Universities serving all people of color are coming under fire. This isn’t new, but the intensity has grown. President Trump recently signed a symbolic Executive Order expressing support for HBCUs. In the small print, Trump rescinded the previous 2021 order signed by Joe Biden, which was more expansive. On his first day in office, Trump removed support from tribal colleges and schools with over 25% Hispanic populations. You may be unaware that over 65 tribal colleges are offering two and four year degrees, and over 400 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) that Trump just screwed. The “pause” in federal funding that Trump initially proposed would have forced many institutions to close. That pause is on hold, but those schools realize they are on the cutting block should it resume. Like almost all American colleges and universities, they depend on federal funds for survival.
“We’re certainly in quite a predicament should that funding freeze happen, because we wouldn’t be able to complete the mission that we’re set out for,” said Leander R. McDonald, president of United Tribes Technical College. “We would need time in order to stop operations, and we’d be liable for that, and with the treaty and trust responsibility, just begs the question is that, do we file suit as a result of that, for the liability that we’re incurring as a result of a pullback of federal funds? And I think that’s where the majority of us as tribal colleges would fall in my mind.”
Several HBCUs are quoted as praising Trump’s Executive Order. I liken it to Mayor Eric Adams of New York praising Trump’s immigration policies because he was given a pardon. HBCUs know that if they condemn Trump, he will attempt retribution. Who in Congress can HBCUs count on for support?
It isn’t only Trump. The effort to end HBCUs goes back decades, and states have billions of new reasons to try harder. Several larger state-run HBCUs were established as land-grant colleges and were legally required to receive equal funding as their white counterparts. This, of course, didn’t happen, and several Black colleges are owed over $13 billion, which the states have no desire to pay. One solution would be to close or merge the HBCUs into Primary White Institutions (PWIs).
I’ve seen a couple of mergers of different types of schools take place up close. My private high school (University High) merged with a larger public school (Marshall High), and almost immediately, University High lost its identity and culture. In 1979, HBCU Tennessee State University was merged against its will with UT-Nashville, an extension of the University of Tennessee. This shows that state-run HBCUs can be merged against their will. While Tennessee State retained its culture as the much larger institution, the same wouldn’t be true if Florida State University absorbed Florida A & M (FAMU), or Alabama State became part of the University of Alabama.
Georgia has considered merging three HBCUs into one (Savannah State, Albany State, and Fort Valley State). In discussions, State Senator Seth Harp called HBCUs an “unconstitutional system of continuing segregation.” A Mississippi State Senator introduced a bill requiring the state to shut down three of its eight publicly funded colleges and universities. John Polk never used the word HBCU, but the focus immediately went to Alcorn State, Mississippi Valley State, and Jackson State Universities.
If a university system were designed today, it’s unlikely there would be any Black colleges. They do represent segregation, although 30% of students now attending HBCUs aren’t Black. HBCUs exist because white colleges would not admit Black students. A separate but unequal system was built to educate Black students out of necessity.
While at Fisk last week, I spoke to current students and some who graduated half a century ago. Across the spectrum, they understood the value of an HBCU education and the history that many are trying to eradicate. The existence of HBCUs serves as a reminder of the hateful past some are trying to forget.
Eliminating public HBCUs will be the easiest, given the supermajorities held by Republicans in several state legislatures in the states where most of them are located. Students and graduates of HBCUs tend to vote Democratic, which is one more reason to break them up. Private schools can be pressed out of existence by changing accreditation requirements or removing federal programs. Fisk receives research grants and participates in joint programs with Vanderbilt University. How long before someone perceives joint programs between HBCUs and PWIs as DEI, therefore unworthy of funding? Some of the strongest private HBCUs like Spelman, Morehouse, and Howard might survive, but their mission might change.
I saw a new science building and a new dormitory at Fisk. I pray the institution lasts long enough for them to be remodeled or replaced. If you are an alumnus or friend of an HBCU, I suggest you donate, as the school's future depends on it.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.