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The Impact of COVID-19 on HBCUs and Black Students

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In March 2020, when college campuses across the country closed and sent students home, many HBCUs continued to house hundreds of students who did not have homes to return to. Groups of students were stuck on campus without the funds to pay for transportation back to their home cities. This challenge was a byproduct of several students losing the jobs they used to help fund their education, along with loss of family income. Many students became both food and housing insecure without the critical resources that HBCUs often provide.
The post The Impact of COVID-19 on HBCUs and Black Students first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the inequities faced by Black Americans into sharp focus

By Dr. Harry L. Williams, President and CEO of Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF)

While the world has been focused on the growing numbers of COVID-19 causalities, the media has somewhat ignored the long-term educational and economic impacts of the pandemic – especially for Black students. Although there has been some attention given to the disparities between Black Americans and other groups contracting the virus, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Black community will be recovering from the impact of COVID-19, health wise, economically, and educationally for at least the next two decades.

Throughout the pandemic, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been on the front lines addressing the impact the pandemic has had on students, faculty, staff and surrounding communities. In March 2020, when college campuses across the country closed and sent students home, many HBCUs continued to house hundreds of students who did not have homes to return to. Groups of students were stuck on campus without the funds to pay for transportation back to their home cities. This challenge was a byproduct of several students losing the jobs they used to help fund their education, along with loss of family income. Many students became both food and housing insecure without the critical resources that HBCUs often provide.

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) worked with our member-schools—America’s 47 publicly-supported HBCUs—and many of their corporate partners to help secure access to needed support for students. Beyond academic scholarships, TMCF stepped up to help provide grants for students, assisting them with rent, groceries, and transportation. At one HBCU, more than half of the students and faculty did not have the adequate computer hardware or broadband internet access to participate in remote classes. Corporate partners supported the purchasing of laptops and hotspots for both students and faculty to facilitate the pivot to online learning.

Despite their long history and accolades, HBCUs as a collective have continued to struggle with proper funding, receiving less per-student aid from their states, along with less research funding from the federal government. These institutions are highly tuition dependent, which can cause a great challenge anytime enrollment numbers are compromised. Closing campuses and sending students home meant that many schools had to return housing funds that traditionally would have supported the university’s operations. Recognizing the great infringement that the pandemic placed on the schools, we shifted part of our focus of providing scholarships and career readiness opportunities to work with HBCUs to provide support restructuring their finances, securing new resources, and planning for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years.

Part of the shift also included engaging corporate partners to help find new and creative ways to help students succeed in this environment. For example, McDonald’s expanded their partnership with TMCF in 2020 to provide additional scholarships beyond their original commitment for HBCU students. This commitment extended in 2021 to support students who overwhelming were high-achieving performers but came from low-income backgrounds and needed the extra support during this unprecedented time. As a non-profit committed to the advancement of Black students, we understand that the best way to address disparities is to invest in students so they can persist in their studies, graduate, and progress to economically sustainable careers.

We also partnered with our member-schools to provide enhanced mental health resources to help students address the emotional needs that may have emerged as a result of the changing landscape of the world. Among other amenities, TMCF scholars were offered access to Shine, a minority-owned mobile app which offers self-care resources to better manage mental health challenges like stress and anxiety.

The resilience of Black students in the face of the pandemic further illustrates the importance of HBCUs for engaging the Black community. Though the pandemic has presented extraordinary challenges in the last two years, HBCUs have emerged even stronger. While many colleges had steep drops in enrollment during the pandemic, HBCUs experienced the exact opposite. Many of the country’s largest HBCUs are seeing record numbers of applications. The COVID-19 crisis inspired a new approach to working together as a network and building new capabilities in online learning, student retention and attraction, and more. This has only strengthened HBCUs’ unique position to help fill the social and economic gaps Black Americans experience, given these institutions’ assets, experience, and cultural and historical significance.

As a legacy corporate partner, McDonald’s stepped up to support HBCU students because of their longstanding commitment to supporting the Black community and empowering the next generation by creating opportunity through educational initiatives. Today, we call on other major corporations to do the same – address inequities by investing in diverse students, who are posed to be the next generation of changemakers. Their journey to leadership starts with a college degree, and with the proper resources that degree can come from an HBCU.

Dr. Harry L. Williams is the President and CEO of Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community.

The post The Impact of COVID-19 on HBCUs and Black Students first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tiguan’s AI Touchscreen & Gear Shift: VW Just Changed the Game! #2

Explore the Tiguan’s cutting-edge 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen featuring wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, voice control, and a new AI assistant. See how VW innovatively moved the gear shifter to the steering column, enhancing the center console and navigation system! #AutoNetwork #Tiguan #Infotainment #AppleCarPlay #AndroidAuto #AISystem #NavigationSystem #CarTech #TechReview #CarInnovation #Automotive

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=0xUKM6U2Lpc&autoplay=0&cc_lang_pref=en&cc_load_policy=0&color=0&controls=1&fs=1&h1=en&loop=0&rel=0

Explore the Tiguan’s cutting-edge 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen featuring wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, voice control, and a new AI assistant. See how VW innovatively moved the gear shifter to the steering column, enhancing the center console and navigation system! #AutoNetwork #Tiguan #Infotainment #AppleCarPlay #AndroidAuto #AISystem #NavigationSystem #CarTech #TechReview #CarInnovation #Automotive

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IN MEMORIAM: Legendary Funk Pioneer Sly Stone Dies at 82

Sly Stone’s musical approach radically reshaped popular music. He transcended genre boundaries and empowered a new generation of artists. The band’s socially conscious message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of influence, reaching artists as diverse as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre, and the Roots.

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Sly and the Family Stone play the Opera House in Bournemouth. Mojo review. Photo by Simon Fernandez.
Sly and the Family Stone play the Opera House in Bournemouth. Mojo review. Photo by Simon Fernandez.

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Newswire

Sylvester “Sly” Stewart—known to the world as Sly Stone, frontman of the groundbreaking band Sly and the Family Stone—has died at the age of 82.

His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home surrounded by loved ones, after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other health complications.

Born March 15, 1943, in Denton, Texas, Stone moved with his family to Vallejo, California, as a child. He began recording gospel music at age 8 with his siblings in a group called the Stewart Four. By his teenage years, he had mastered multiple instruments and was already pioneering racial integration in music—an ethos that would define his career.

In 1966, Sly and his brother Freddie merged their bands to form Sly and the Family Stone, complete with a revolutionary interracial, mixed-gender lineup.

The band quickly became a commercial and cultural force with hits such as “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—all penned by Stone himself.

Their album “Stand!” (1969) and live performances—most notably at Woodstock—cemented their reputation, blending soul, funk, rock, gospel, and psychedelia to reflect the optimism and turmoil of their era.

Sly Stone’s musical approach radically reshaped popular music. He transcended genre boundaries and empowered a new generation of artists. The band’s socially conscious message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of influence, reaching artists as diverse as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre, and the Roots.

As the 1970s progressed, Stone confronted personal demons. His desire to use music as a response to war, racism, and societal change culminated in the intense album “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” (1971). But drug dependency began to undermine both his health and professional life, leading to erratic behavior and band decline through the early 1980s.

Withdrawn from the public eye for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Stone staged occasional comebacks. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2017, and captured public attention following the 2023 release of his memoir “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—published under Questlove’s imprint. He also completed a biographical screenplay and was featured in Questlove’s documentary “Sly Lives!” earlier this year.

His influence endured across generations. Critics and historians repeatedly credit him with perfecting funk and creating a “progressive soul,” shaping a path for racial integration both onstage and in the broader culture.

“Rest in beats Sly Stone,” legendary Public Enemy frontman Chuck D posted on social media with an illustrative drawing of the artist. “We should thank Questlove of the Roots for keeping his fire blazing in this century.”

Emmy-winning entertainment publicist Danny Deraney also paid homage. “Rest easy Sly Stone,” Deraney posted. “You changed music (and me) forever. The time he won over Ed Sullivan’s audience in 1968. Simply magical. Freelance music publicist and Sirius XM host Eric Alper also offered a tribute.

“The funk pioneer who made the world dance, think, and get higher,” Alper wrote of Sly Stone. “His music changed everything—and it still does.”

Sly Stone is survived by three children.

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn on 10th Anniversary of Mother Emanuel AME Church Shooting in Charleston

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) released the following video on X, paying tribute to the 10th anniversary of the shooting that took place at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015.

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By Congressman James E. Clyburn

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CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) released the following video on X, paying tribute to the 10th anniversary of the shooting that took place at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015.

“Over 6 years ago, the House first passed my Enhanced Background Checks Act to close the Charleston Loophole that allowed a white supremacist to obtain the gun he used to murder nine worshipers at Emanuel AME Church on June 17, 2015.

“I’ll never stop fighting to pass this law.”

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