$235 Million to HBCUs Sounds Like Good News — Until You Follow Where It Came From

The Trump administration pledged $235 million to HBCUs and tribal colleges this month — $174 million to HBCUs, announced by Education Secretary Linda McMahon at a White House summit on September 22, plus $61 million for tribal institutions. On its face, that's real money for schools that have been underfunded for generations.

Follow the money further and the story changes. The administration redirected these funds away from other minority-serving institutions — schools serving Hispanic, Asian American, and Pacific Islander students. And this isn't the first time: the same shell game moved $495 million in 2025.

The Congressional Black, Hispanic, and Asian Pacific American Caucuses issued a joint statement calling it a "cynical ploy" — money for one community of color funded by cutting another, instead of the pool actually growing. The NAACP went further, calling the announcements "photo ops."

Notice the pattern: take money earmarked for underserved communities, move it from one underserved community to another, hold a press conference, and let two groups that should be allies end up competing for a shrinking pool instead of the pool actually expanding.

Source:

• The Emancipator: theemancipator.org