Why Supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities Is Crucial in The Fight For Equity and Justice

For our last episode of the year, KIPP Co-Founder Dave Levin welcomes two KIPP Foundation Board of Director members, Dr. Michael L. Lomax, United Negro College Fund’s (UNCF) President and CEO for more than 16 years and Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix who in June donated $120 million to UNCF, Spelman and Morehouse College, the largest-ever gift to support scholarships at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Dave leads a discussion with Lomax and Hastings about the importance HBCUs have in the college persistence rates of more than 1,700 KIPP alumni currently enrolled there, and why supporting these institutions is crucial in the path to achieving racial equity in our country. On this episode, Reed Hastings calls for a doubling down on funding for education and housing and Dr. Lomax, shines a light on how increased funding for HBCUs is a catalyst for change in educational outcomes of Black/African American students and society as a whole.

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