President Joe Biden on Monday traveled to Philadelphia to deliver remarks at the Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ annual conference and announced $1.3 billion in new funding to support the institutions. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden announced $1.3 billion in new funding to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities at a conference in Philadelphia on Monday
  • The fresh round of funds, the White House said, brings the total amount of money that the federal government has invested in HBCUs at Biden’s direction to more than $17 billion since he took office in 2021. The president on Monday touted the level of investment as the most any administration has ever committed
  • The president also used his remarks on Monday to praise his “amazing” vice president, Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominee for president, who graduated from Howard University, an HBCU in Washington
  • The president on Monday, in an apparent criticism of some in the GOP, also declared that affirmative action and the values of diversity, equity and inclusion were “under attack,” decrying efforts to ban books and erase history as well as the spreading of false claims regarding Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio

The fresh round of funds, the White House said, brings the total amount of money that the federal government has invested in HBCUs during Biden's time in office to more than $17 billion, which the president on Monday touted has the highest level of investment any administration has ever committed. 

“We all know, and I mean this sincerely, that HBCU students are just as capable as any other students, but HBCUs don't have the endowments, like many other colleges and universities, that are able to fund research labs, improve campus infrastructure and so much more,” Biden said at the 2024 National HBCU Week Conference on Monday.

Of the new funding, $188 million will go to HBCUs through grants, while $1.1 billion will support students directly through programs such as need-based grants and Pell Grants.

In his remarks, Biden cast the investments as a key part of his efforts to grow the economy and threw in a jab at his predecessor and current 2024 GOP nominee for president, former President Donald Trump, for increasing the national debt when he was in the White House. 

“How can we be the strongest economy in the world and lead the world without the best education system?” Biden said, adding it should be one that “taps into the talents of every student.” 

The White House noted a report in May by the president’s Council of Economic Advisors that found that despite making up just 3% of all postsecondary institutions in the U.S., 8% of all Black undergraduate enrollment and 13% of all bachelor’s degrees earned by Black students come from HBCUs.  

The president also used his remarks on Monday to praise his “amazing” vice president, Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominee for president, who graduated from Howard University, an HBCU in Washington.

“Folks, together, Kamala and I know that an education makes a person free,” he said. “HBCUs’ education makes you fearless as well.” 

Biden later added that “God willing,” an HBCU graduate, referring to Harris, will soon be sitting behind the Resolute Desk as president and “pushing the gates of freedom open once and for all.” 

The president on Monday, in an apparent criticism of some in the GOP, also declared that affirmative action and the values of diversity, equity and inclusion are “under attack,” decrying efforts to ban books and erase history. The conservative majority on the Supreme Court last year ruled to strike down affirmative action while Republicans in Congress have sought to restrict DEI initiatives.

“You prove that Black history is American history – it is American history,” Biden said. “And Black excellence is American excellence.” 

Biden also reiterated his condemnation of those spreading false claims, including by former President Donald Trump and his campaign, about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating residents’ pets in Ohio. 

On Friday, Biden hosted what he dubbed the first of its kind brunch at the White House to celebrate achievements within the Black community, and on Saturday, he spoke at a gala honoring the Congressional Black Caucus and its foundation. 

The president used the top of his remarks to address the apparent attempted assassination against Trump, the second such incident targeting the former president in a little over two months.

"I commend the Secret Service for their expert handling of the situation," Biden said as he began his remarks. "The former president is protected from harm and the suspect is in custody."

Biden said that acting Secret Service Director Ronald L. Rowe, Jr. is in Florida to investigate whether further adjustments need to be made to Trump's security detail.

"Let me just say: There is no – and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, those of you who know me, many of you do – no place for political violence in America. None. Zero. Never."

Spectrum News’ Justin Tasolides and Ryan Chatelain contributed to this report.