Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall’s famous words, “If we are ever to become a fully integrated society, one in which the color of a person’s skin will not determine the opportunities available to him or her, we must be willing to take steps to open those doors” continue to ring true as the calendar prepares to flip to 2024.
In advancing Marshall’s nearly 90-year work, Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) continues to create a more equitable society by removing financial barriers to obtaining a college degree, providing economic mobility for Black students and their communities through its programs and scholarships, and determined lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill for its member schools.
TMCF is finishing another memorable year as the nation’s most prominent champion of the Black college community. TMCF enhanced its well-deserved reputation of nurturing and advancing Black talent through the numerous scholarships awarded in 2023.
Demonstrating its commitment to education, willingness to open doors, and championing the ambitious spirit, TMCF awarded over $20 million for 2023-2024 scholarships that enabled 2,105 students to stay in school. That’s a 23 percent increase from 2022-23, which allowed TMCF to impact more students.
Scholarships ease student burdens such as tuition, textbooks, and living expenses, allowing them to focus on essential career development activities, their studies, and extracurricular activities. In addition to providing financial support, scholarships help bridge the racial wealth gap and reduce debt for low-to-middle-income Black students who have been disproportionately shouldering the strain of student borrowing.
Distributing 98 percent of its scholarship awards exclusively to HBCUs and predominately Black institutions, TMCF empowers Black students and their ambition to achieve while simultaneously uplifting HBCUs and their respective communities. Education is forever at the core of the nation’s promise of opportunity, enabling schools to prepare leaders to become change agents in the world.
Despite some challenging decisions in 2023, most notably the United States Supreme Court decision that overturned Affirmative Action at the end of June, TMCF keeps thriving and showcasing why the organization matters more than ever for the 47 public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and six Historically Black Community Colleges.
Even though enrollment has increased by seven percent between 2020 and 2023, according to National Center for Education Statistics data, HBCUs still need help, especially since they have historically been underfunded by $12.8 billion. TMCF remains steadfast in its determination to make sure HBCUs have the resources needed for long-term growth and success.
Through its capacity-building efforts, such as assisting with building technology infrastructure, developing and testing transformative curricular and administrative strategies, TMCF supports initiatives that ensure the sustainability, effectiveness, competitiveness, and visibility of the HBCU Community.
Despite the Supreme Court admissions decision, applications are at an all-time high at HBCUs, which is why the focus on infrastructure will be critical moving forward.
Over 70 percent of public HBCU students are low-income, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college. For every $1 that TMCF invests in education, another $20 is needed to support more students and TMCF’s member schools.
Just remember that support for scholarships potentially changes the trajectory of a student’s life, which allows them to blaze trails for themselves, their families, and their communities. Supporting TMCF is one tangible way in which one “must be willing to take steps to open those doors” to bring Marshall’s vision to life. CLICK HERE TO DONATE
