A lawsuit filed for the lack of funding for three public HBCUs has reportedly been dismissed.
Reported first by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the lawsuit has now been dismissed due to a lack of inaction regarding the case. With the decision confirmed by the plaintiffs, a federal Georgia judge claimed that nothing has been added to the case since October 24, 2023.
According to the Georgia Board of Regents, who served as the defendant, neither they nor Chancellor Sonny Perdue reportedly weren’t served paperwork for the case. According to the plaintiffs’ attorney John A. Moore, the dismissal was accepted by them on account of more research and more plaintiffs needed to join in on the case.
Although the case may have been dismissed, Moore emphasized that they’ll be continuing in their efforts.
“We always knew this case was going to take a lot of work and a long time to reach any conclusion, so we are remaining nimble in order to represent our clients zealously and to the best of our abilities,” said Moore per AJC. This case is still No. 1 on our docket and we are in weekly consultations on the matter.”
Filed last fall, the three alumni who began the case were from HBCUs Fort Valley State University, Albany State University and Savannah State University.
In their lawsuit, they alleged that the Georgia Board of Regents used resources meant for HBCU institutions and redirected them to predominantly white schools, citing the state of the buildings as proof. The plaintiffs also highlighted the lack of HBCU graduates on the board as an issue.
The lawsuit reportedly began with a letter from the U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Thomas Vilsack. In the letter, the officials highlighted a $12 billion disparity in the funds allocated to land-grant HBCUs.
Between 1987 and 2020, funding gaps between HBCUs and non-HBCU land-grant institutions ranged from $172 million to $2.1 billion. Due to the lack of funds, HBCUs were forced to deal with less access to campus infrastructure improvements, student support, and research opportunities.
In their letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Cardona and Vilsack emphasized that, had they received the same funds as the University of Georgia, HBCU Fort Valley State alone would’ve had another $603 million in funds dedicated to them throughout the last three decades.
“I am continually inspired by all that HBCUs have achieved despite having to punch above their weight. Our HBCUs graduate a huge share of our nation’s Black educators, doctors, engineers, judges, and lawyers,” said Cardona per a press release. “These institutions and the talented, diverse students they serve must have equitable funding in order to reach their full potential and continue driving innovation.”
