Chris Paul, Taraji P. Henson and Others Appointed to President Biden's HBCU Advisory Board

On March 31st, President Joe Biden announced he’s appointing 18 Black community leaders, celebrities, and athletes to join his board of advisors for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Some board members include award-winning actress Taraji P. Henson, NBA player Chris Paul, former president of Tougaloo College, Lisa Jackson, United Airlines president Brett Hart, and several other community leaders. A complete list of board members with their biographies is available here.

The President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) is part of president Biden’s goal to advance the White House’s HBCU Initiative, which aims to “provide the highest-quality education to its students and continue serving as engines of opportunity.” The new board will be responsible for re-establishing this initiative to meet the needs of HBCUs across the country.

Tony Allen, president of Delaware State University and Chair of the board, made the following statement on the latest new additions to the board (via MSN):

“(The board) will be an eclectic mix of the talent and commitment that defines Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) and those who recognize our tremendous value in higher education and in a smaller, more connected global community.”

This announcement came a few weeks after the U.S. Department of Education made HBCUs eligible for funding under the Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) program. This program, in which schools can receive between $50,000 to $150,000, is offered to HBCUs due to recent bomb threats to their campuses. The funding aims to help schools “recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted” (Office of Elementary & Secondary Education). 

In addition, this announcement follows the $2.7 billion in funding the Biden administration decided to offer HBCUs through the American Rescue Plan, which has provided funding to these institutions through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) to support their financial needs to continue academic excellence amongst their students (The White House).