Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos statement on "Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's)" sparks uproar

Story by ABC News
By Karma Allen

Angry social media users flew into an uproar yesterday evening after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued a statement that some said ignored the context under which historically black universities were created.

The statement called 'Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)' “real pioneers when it comes to school choice,” and came shortly after President Donald Trump held a meeting with several HBCU leaders on Monday.

Some social media users said DeVos ignored the history of how Black Americans were denied access to higher education. Meanwhile, others said the statement applauded the segregated Jim Crow education system for giving Black students “more options”...

...Some argued that the statement presents HBCUs as if they were created as a better option to traditionally white universities. The Department of Education lays out on its website that HBCUs were established because “there was no structured higher education system for Black students.”

“At a time when many schools barred their doors to Black Americans, these colleges offered the best, and often the only, opportunity for a higher education," the Department of Education notes on its website.

President Trump has said he will help HBCUs as a part of his so-called New Deal For Black America plan.

Trump is expected to sign an Executive Order on "Historically Black Colleges and Universities" later today.

A Senior White House Official says this move will reposition an existing initiative on HBCUs and allow it to work with all the different Executive Agencies and “serve as a strategic partner to the President’s Urban Agenda,” with the full force of the White House behind it.

However, the Official said the Order should be viewed as more of a framework and “infrastructure” and not a policy roll-out, which will come at a later time.

DeVos is delivering the keynote address Tuesday at an HBCU event at the Library of Congress.
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Read More:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/02/28/betsy_devos_press_release_praises_segregated_jim_crow_education_system.html

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