Kamala Harris Unveils Plan To Spend $60 Billion On Historically Black Colleges

Sen. Kamala Harris of California unveiled a plan Friday that focuses on investing in higher education and entrepreneurship in the black community.

“I’m pleased to announce today, that as president, I will make a $60 billion dollar investment in STEM education at HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) and other minority-serving institutions,” said Harris at the National Urban League Conference in Indianapolis.

The Democratic presidential hopeful also proposed to spend an additional $12 billion on entrepreneurship programs for the black community.

Of the $60 billion, $10 billion would go toward fund building new laboratories and other infrastructure while the remaining $50 billion would fund the scholarships, internships and research of these colleges and universities.

The $12 billion would act as capital for grant and technical support of minority-owned startup businesses. A student loan forgiveness program would also be established by the plan, for entrepreneurs who operate in disadvantaged communities for three years.

Harris also proposed an additional $2.5 billion to support HBCU programs that train black teachers.

In a race involving two dozen Democrats, Harris is the only candidate to have graduated from a historically black college and university. She is an alum of Howard University in Washington, one of the best known HBCUs in the U.S.

Despite trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in the polls, even among the black voters, Harris was rewarded with a poll bump when she took on Biden on race issues in the most recent Democratic debate.

African-American students received only 8 percent of all STEM bachelor degrees and 4.5 percent of STEM doctorates in 2016, according to the Department of Education. In a campaign fact sheet released to reporters, Harris said that "we have to reverse this trend."

A survey released Thursday from Monmouth University poll showed Biden leading Harris among black voters, 51% to 12%.

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