Sen. Kamala Harris is the first alumna of a historically Black college or university on a major party presidential ticket. And while she understands the impact of her VP nomination, it's not the first time Harris has broken barriers. Her confidence and ambition was fostered at Howard University, sometimes described as the 'Harvard of the HBCUs,' and she's poised to show the world exactly what those institutions are all about.
Journalist Ron Stodghill, author of “Where Everybody Looks Like Me: At the Crossroads of America's Black Colleges and Culture” believes it’s unfair to compare the endowment of HBCUs to that of predominantly white institutions .
“I think HBCUs could use a morale boost right now,” he said. “We’re in the middle of a pandemic. They’ve always been kind of fragile financially. So to put them in a position where they get a level of prominence that she brings is a great thing. I also think that, uh, probably since … if [Harris and Biden] were to wind up in the White House, I think it’d be an epic moment full of possibility.”
Rep. Alma Adams of North Carolina, a proud North Carolina A&T graduate and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., says that despite funding challenges for HBCUs, the institutions have found a way to make it work. “I was the poor Black girl growing up in the ghetto and now able to walk the halls of Congress,” Adams said. “I went on to do my PhD at the Ohio State University, but only because of the North Carolina A&T [experience], an HBCU. We have a history of really molding and shaping and making those kinds of investments.”
“Many young people are concerned about the future and want to be a part of the solutions,” Toldson added. “MBK began in the White House, but had decentralized control that empowered local leaders. VP Biden and Sen. Harris can learn from that approach.”
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