Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton has big plans in store for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Opening up in a recent op-ed for The Root, Clinton gets specific about her plans to strengthen the African-American community through the implementation of several education initiatives.
Briefly pointing out how Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence have yet to speak on any plans for properly addressing issues plauging the Black community, the former Secretary of State recalled a portion of Trump’s latest insults made during his failed Black voter outreach ploys. “Donald Trump has no plan to support HBCUs,” she wrote. “His view of black communities is both ignorant and insulting. He says—to largely white audiences—that African-American neighborhoods are plagued by poverty.”
She later followed up by highlighting some of the many ways in which the Black community is proud, thriving and largely contributing to the success of the nation.
“For starters, Trump misses so much about what makes the African-American community strong and vibrant,” she added. “If he ever bothered to actually look for it, he might see the pride that black parents feel watching their kids thrive in school, the widespread success of black-owned businesses, or the triumphs of black leaders in every field.”
Turning her attention to her own plan of action, the former First Lady reiterated her promise to make higher education more afforable for working-class families sending their kids off to college through a joint initaitive with former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. “First, we’ll make college much more affordable—and in many cases, we’ll make it completely tuition-free,” Clinton continued. “I worked with Sen. Bernie Sanders on a plan to make sure every student whose family makes under $125,000 can attend an in-state public university tuition-free, and all students can attend community college tuition-free.”
Clinton also detailed a plan to alleviate student loan debt, noting that Black students take out loans and face repayment challegnes at higher rates than white students — a clear cut result of the decades of intstitutionalized racism that has consistently limited economic opportunities for Black families.
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“Since black students at any given institution are more likely to need to take out loans and graduate with more student debt than their white peers, this issue disproportionately impacts the African-American community,” she said. “Our plan will let them refinance that debt, ensuring they never have to pay more than 10 percent of their income.”
Lastly, Clinton emphasized a plan to invest heavily in both public and private HBCUs.
“We’ll make a historic $25 billion investment across all HBCUs—public and private—so that each one has the funding to keep creating opportunities and providing more support services for underserved students,” she wrote. “That includes expanding on-campus child care and creating more scholarships for students who are also parents to make it easier for them to obtain a degree.”
You can read Hillary Clinton’s full op-ed for The Root, here.