TM C F F E AT U R E
POP CULTURE, POLICY & PARTNERS: HBCUs HAVING THEIR MOMENT BY DR. HARRY WILLIAMS
We are currently witnessing an exciting cultural moment for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There is a renewed level of public interest, fundraising, and corporate partnerships within the HBCU community from a diverse host of people and organizations. In the 1980s, HBCUs had a major cultural moment. For the first time, these institutions were showcased in popular culture with A Different World, the first TV show to focus on the HBCU college experience, and several popular movies. Today, we are experiencing a renewed pop-culture focus on HBCUs. In November 2019, through its #Change4Change Radiothon, the syndicated morning show The Breakfast Club raised over $708,000 to benefit the newly created Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) | The Breakfast Club HBCU Scholarship which will be awarded through TMCF for students attending both publicly and private HBCUs. Donors for this successful radiothon included The Breakfast Club’s incredibly generous listeners, as well as Cardi B, Andrew Yang, Fabolous, Lena Waithe, Atlantic Records, Columbia Records, and Epic Records. Major donations came in from Michael Rubin ($125,000), Byron Allen ($100,000), Chadwick Bozeman ($100,000), Robert F. Smith ($100,000), and many more celebrities and companies, who all believed in the importance of preserving access to HBCUs and supporting the next generation of HBCU students. 36 | HBCU Times 2020 Summer Issue
We all remember the now iconic way in which Beyoncé paid homage to HBCUs in her 2018 Coachella performance and 2019 documentary Homecoming. Kanye West brought his Sunday Service to Howard’s homecoming, giving even more global attention to the rich HBCU homecoming tradition. TV and movie characters are donning HBCU apparel more often as seen in the hit movie Us. And, alumni are singing the praises of HBCUs, giving back, and creating scholarships and partnerships with their alma maters like never before. Even black fraternities and sororities are supporting HBCUs in a major way as seen in the AKA sorority’s day of giving raising $1 million for HBCUs in 24 hours. Congressional leaders, through the Bipartisan Congressional HBCU Caucus, and the White House value the work that HBCUs do to educate millions of Americans every year and are showing that through meaningful legislation. In December 2019, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the FUTURE Act, critical legislation to provide funding support for HBCUs. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed by President Trump, includes provisions from the HOMECOMING Research Act, which requires a national study to review defense research at HBCUs with the goal of increasing engagement and research partnerships between the Department of Defense and HBCUs.
TMC
There are 101 HBCUs across the nation. Nine percent of all African American college students attend HBCUs, and these
