Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has denied the four HBCUs in his state the resources they are owed for decades of unequal funding. Instead, he has offered Bowie State, Coppin State, Morgan State and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore less than half of the funding they need to settle a lawsuit that has been ongoing for 13 years.

HBCUs, the vast majority of which began when white institutions had the legal right to deny Black people an education, have traditionally been starved of resources. This lack of investment persists despite the fact that Black students at HBCUs are up to 16 percent more likely to graduate within 6 years than at PWIs. Not only are private philanthropists much less likely to donate to schools that traditionally serve Black students, but the state of Maryland itself has historically invested a disproportionate amount of public funds into the infrastructure and programming of its predominantly white universities. From rising student debt to weakening infrastructure, this all means one thing: 65 years after the Brown v. Education ruling, the educational opportunities available to Maryland’s Black community are still separate and unequal. 

HBCUs have laid the educational and cultural foundation for so many of our people. It's time to make sure that we protect the legacy of those who came before us. Tell Governor Hogan to stop denying HBCUs the equal funding they deserve.

Here is the Petition:

Dear Governor Larry Hogan, 

We call on you to stop denying Maryland's HBCUs -- Bowie State, Coppin State, Morgan State and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore -- the equal funding they deserve. Despite a federal judge’s ruling that Maryland is responsible for decades of funding inequities in higher education that it must address, you made the insulting offer of $200 million to settle the lawsuit. That is less than half of the $1 billion the four schools are requesting, and it is far less than the $500 million dollar settlement that three HBCU’s in Mississippi won in 2017 after an almost identical ruling.

HBCUs serve a higher proportion of first-generation college students than any other schools in the country, and despite the fact that their students often have higher levels of financial need, they graduate a higher percentage of Black students within 6 years than PWIs. The HBCUs in your state are not asking for a handout; they're looking for the same support PWIs have always received. It's time to end the 13-year lawsuit. I am calling on you to pay Maryland's HBCUs what they are owed today!

Sincerely,
[Your Name]