Biden-Harris campaign touts ‘billions more for HBCUs’ in new ad

“When I think of America’s HBCUs, I think of possibilities,” said Vice President Kamala Harris in an exclusive statement to theGrio. 

The Biden-Harris 2024 campaign continues its early outreach to Black voters with a new ad touting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ record funding for HBCUs.

The new ad titled “Possibilities,” released on Friday and first obtained by theGrio, celebrates the White House’s historic $7 billion for historically Black colleges and universities. 

Those billions in federal dollars have been used to help close funding gaps between HBCUs and predominantly white institutions, going toward campus improvements, grants and debt relief.

Scored with the HBCU signature sounds of a marching band, the ad highlights some of the key investments for the historical institutions, including $3.6 billion for campus improvements, $1.7 billion for educational grants, and $1.6 billion for student debt relief.

The campaign ad ends with the tagline, “Billions more for HBCUs, endless possibilities.”

“When I think of America’s HBCUs, I think of possibilities,” Harris said in an exclusive statement to theGrio. 

The graduate of Howard University added, “As an HBCU Alum, I couldn’t be more proud of the work President Biden and I are doing for HBCUs, because I know firsthand the extraordinary role that these institutions play in preparing young Black Americans for success.” 

“Possibilities” is part of the Biden-Harris camp’s 16-week, $25 million advertising campaign targeting key voters in battleground states. 

The campaign intentionally released the ad to mark homecoming season as alumni continue celebrating the annual tradition of reunion and campus pride. This weekend, students and graduates of North Carolina Central University and North Carolina A&T State University will hold their homecoming festivities. 

“As so many HBCU alums travel to their alma mater this weekend to celebrate our community, this ad casts a spotlight on the Biden-Harris administration’s steadfast commitment to enriching Black Americans’ education and opening the doors of opportunity,” the vice president said.

After homecoming season concludes, the Biden-Harris campaign told theGrio, the ad targets will expand to reach younger Black voters on digital platforms in battleground states. This latest ad is the sixth from the campaign directly targeting Black Americans. Previous ads include “First Day,” “Get Ahead,” “Facts,” “Working,” and “History.”  

Since taking office, the Biden-Harris administration has vowed to support HBCUs and has steadily continued investing in the colleges and universities. The White House has, over the last three years, hosted HBCU student journalists from across the country, including at briefings with Harris and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Most recently, Harris traveled to several HBCU campuses during her “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour to engage with students in town hall-style forums about the nation’s most critical issues, including voting rights, reproductive freedoms, guns and climate change.

Those stops were also in swing states the Biden-Harris campaign hopes to pick up in 2024: Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Black voters in swing states notably made the difference in Biden’s 2020 presidential wins in both the primary and general elections. 

The campaign’s highlighting of the administration’s record funding for HBCUs could resonate with Black voters, as the historical campuses are considered beloved epicenters in the Black community. 

As the president noted in his executive order reestablishing the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for HBCUs, “For generations, HBCUs have been advancing intergenerational economic mobility for Black families and communities.”

“As a proud FAMU alum, I see and feel the incredible impact our HBCUs have on lives each and every day,” said Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones, a member of the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs.

“The Biden-Harris team understands the importance of our HBCUs, and more broadly, what is possible when we invest in our communities,” he told theGrio. “When we prioritize expanding education opportunities, we break down barriers and open doors for the next generation of leaders, making our entire country that much stronger.”

Janeen Uzzell, who also is on the advisory board and is CEO of the National Society of Black Engineers, said the Biden-Harris campaign ad’s emphasis on “possibilities” reflects the “opportunities for all HBCU dreamers — young, collegiate, alum and legacy — to consider the endless potential of the evolving educational system that was designed for us in the 1800s.”

The graduate of the College of Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University continued, “Because of the Biden-Harris commitment to HBCUs, our members and the youth of today will have access to the quality education of HBCUs and can become a part of the village that will change lives, communities and the world.”

Uzzell added, “The possibilities are endless when HBCUs are elevated.”

Gerren Keith Gaynor is a White House Correspondent and the Managing Editor of Politics at theGrio. He is based in Washington, D.C.

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