Black lawmakers launch tour to mobilize historically black colleges

WASHINGTON — Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have launched a tour of black colleges and universities around the country, hoping to mobilize students, listen to their concerns and encourage more of them to step up as leaders.

It's one of several efforts by lawmakers and civic participation groups to spur a younger generation to become more politically engaged.

“One of the things that a lot of members have expressed real interest in is whether or not we can be a listening board for HBCUs or Millennials to make sure that their concerns and issues will be addressed by us,” said Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. “The long-term goal is to do (visits) in as many places as possible.”

Thompson’s district is one of several planned stops on the Congressional Black Caucus’ tour of historically black colleges and universities this year. The caucus kicked off the tour earlier this year with stops at Xavier University in Louisiana, Morehouse College in Atlanta and Howard University in Washington, D.C.

The next stop is Morgan State University in Baltimore on May 1. Other stops are planned for later this spring and fall.

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Caucus members and others say one of the best places to reach the next generation of black leaders is on the campuses of HBCUs. There are more than 100 in the country, most of them in the South.

“It’s time that the national folk value what they bring to the table," said Tommy Dortch Jr., founder of the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation Inc. “I don’t think enough people nationally value what these HBCUs continue to do, when you look at the majority of doctors and lawyers and engineers who come out of these institutions.”

The alumni foundation will wrap up the spring session of its "legacy lecture series" on Tuesday at Dillard University in New Orleans. The lectures held at different HBCU campuses focus on issues including voter participation, the civil rights movement and financial literacy.

“It’s really about having an intergenerational conversion with students to talk about … the importance of voting,” said Melanie Campbell, a guest lecturer and president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.

The goal, she continued, is “to share the importance of becoming more civically engaged, making sure your voice is heard and answering their questions and listening to some of the ideas they have."

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The coalition's Black Youth Vote program will host a conference this fall in Washington, D.C.

Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, has made reaching out to young people a priority for the 49-member group of mostly Democrats.

“If we’re going to create a more perfect union for black families, we have to listen, involve, and mobilize young black leaders — and ground zero for many of them is an HBCU,” said Richmond, a Morehouse graduate, in a statement announcing the HBCU tour.

Rickey Hill, chairman of the political science department at Jackson State University, one of the planned stops on the tour, said the effort could help spur more activism among students.

“I’m not sure there has been enough engagement among black college students around electoral politics since the 2016 election," he said. “So it could be a very fruitful effort if they come in with an agenda — that is, what it is they actually want black college students on HBCU campuses to do.”

Hill said many of the post-election rallies and other protests over police brutality and diversity issues have happened on campuses with majority white student populations. He pointed to protests at the University of Missouri and Yale University.

Most protests on black college campuses were during the civil rights movement, he said.

“For more than a generation, we have not seen critical cultural, political and social movement among students at HBCUs because the crown jewels of civil rights institutionalization has been achieved,” he said.

Dortch noted that many students at HBCUs joined the Freedom Riders, who fought to integrate public transportation, particularly in the South in the 1950s and 60s. He said some have forgotten the key role of students during the movement.

“I don’t think you put it all on our students," he said. “You put it on a number of folks, in particular people who forgot that they should have kept students involved. They forgot that they should have stayed engaged.”

Lawmakers and others also complained that political parties and other groups didn’t spend enough time or resources last year targeting young blacks.

Campbell said resources for nonpartisan get-out-the-vote efforts also came up short.

“From what I can see, there wasn’t a sufficient investment in getting Millennials or students to vote — by anybody," she said.

Dortch said there also hasn’t been a concerted effort by the Congressional Black Caucus to reach students at HBCUs in recent years.

“They can’t be looked at or viewed as just a place to get people to vote," he said. “They need to be viewed as major resources for our community."

Dortch said the caucus should team with faith-based groups, the hip-hop community and others. “I don’t think this one tour is going to do it," he said. “If you’re going to get students engaged, it’s got to be a coalition.”

Meanwhile, HBCUs have also been the focus of national attention recently.

President Trump invited nearly 80 presidents of black colleges and universities to the White House earlier this year. A bipartisan group of members of Congress also held a conference with the presidents.

Last year, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders courted students at black colleges.

Hill said it’s good lawmakers are visiting campuses when it’s not election season.

Dortch said students must be engaged in every sector of the community. "We have to support them," he said. “We can’t be fair weather supporters. We have to be there 24/7."

Thompson said caucus members frequently visit HBCUs, particularly ones in their districts, but the national tour is a coordinated effort and should ramp up interest. In addition to Jackson State, the Mississippi stop includes a visit to Alcorn State University.

“We are all very impressed with the students who attend HBCUs and we want to continue to listen to them and make sure that what they see as important for them is incorporated in what we do every day here in Washington,” he said. “It’s like a talk-to-us-kind of session not a listen-to-us-give-a speech" session.