Posted inEducation, HBCUs, Partner Content

HBCU Underfunding Stretches More Than a Century, Morgan State Professor argues

America’s historically Black colleges and universities have been vastly underfunded compared to institutions that serve predominantly white students. The government has estimated the disparity between HBCUs and predominantly white institutions to be about $12.6 billion. There are numerous factors at play, but racism is at the center, says Steven Mobley, an associate professor at Morgan […]

Posted inMoney, Wealth Gap

In a Push for Race-Neutral Policies, Black Americans Will Be Left Behind, Experts Fear

As conservative lawmakers attempt to roll back policies aimed at a more equitable America, a new report emphasizes the need for race-conscious policies to improve economic conditions for Black Americans.  Released this week, the Economic Policy Institute report says that race-neutral policies won’t adequately provide solutions to eliminate economic disparities. Although Black Americans have seen […]

Posted inEnvironmental Justice

Biden’s EPA Has Resolved Only One Civil Rights Complaint Brought Since 2021

The Environmental Protection Agency’s recent dismissals of three cases that would fix some of the problems in “Cancer Alley” underscores a difficult complaint process that works against Black communities’ best interests. They fall in line with a history of neglecting marginalized residents and failing to fully realize the legal power of the Civil Rights Act […]

Posted inEnvironmental Justice

Biden’s Big Plan for Environmental Justice May Actually Increase the Racial Pollution Gap

A Biden administration initiative that assured at least 40% of federal investments in climate and clean energy would reach “disadvantaged” communities may prove costly to environmental justice goals because of a metric related to race, a new study reveals. A policy analysis published in Science this week and conducted by a dozen of the country’s […]

Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Extreme Weather

How Biden’s Goal to ‘Electrify Everything’ Contributed to a Flooding Crisis

Sometimes, even when it’s not raining, 78-year-old widower Willie Horstead Jr. thinks he hears the floodwaters seeping beneath his home, sucking the metal box deeper into Alabama’s rich soil.  When it does rain – which is often in Coffee County, Alabama – the U.S. Army veteran is afraid he’ll fall through the floor of his […]

Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice

Black Communities Overburdened by Power Plant Pollution May See Relief

A monumental federal plan would require most fossil fuel power plants to slash their greenhouse gas pollution by 90% by 2040 — or shut down.  The Biden administration plan, announced on Thursday, could limit the amount of climate change-causing emissions released. If implemented, for the first time in U.S. history, the amount of greenhouse gasses […]

Posted inEducation, Student Loans

What We Know About Biden’s Student Loan Debt Relief Plan Ahead of the Supreme Court Hearings

In less than 24 hours, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness program and consider whether the administration can advance the plan forward.  The court agreed to hear two separate cases challenging the legality of Biden’s plan or whether Biden exceeded executive authority. After announcing […]

Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues

These USDA Programs Want to Advance Equity — but They Don’t Ask for Applicants’ Race

A group of white farmers sued the federal government last year over a $4 billion loan forgiveness program created for farmers of color. The lawsuit stalled payment distribution to Black recipients and pushed the Biden administration to replace the race-conscious program — created to address past discrimination by the USDA — with a race-neutral version.  […]