Sen. Jon Ossoff was born and raised in Atlanta. Sen. Ossoff represents Georgia in the U.S. Senate and his term ends in 2027. Sen. Ossoff made it clear during his campaign in 2020 that he strongly supports HBCUs and has continued to back his statements with action. Rolling out‘s president, Rashad Richey, had a discussion with the senator about his current and future plans for HBCUs and his views on environmental justice.
Rashad Richey: What have you been able to do to secure the legacy of historically Black colleges and universities and why is it so important to you?
Sen. Ossoff: During my campaign for the Senate in 2019 and 2020, I put HBCUs at the center of my education platform and built a plan to support Georgia HBCUs and HBCUs nationwide. That was informed by discussions I had with the leadership at HBCUs across the state, with faculty, student associations, alumni associations, and the representation of the Divine 9 in Georgia. Funding for facilities and facilities upgrades, funding for STEM programs, science, technology, engineering and math, and financial aid for students were the top priorities across the board. So, when I arrived in the Senate, and Georgia voters made the difference that gave Democrats the Senate majority, I sat down with Senate leadership, and I said we have to deliver for HBCUs, not just in Georgia, but across the country.
They need and deserve investment for those purposes. And this needs to be grants, not loans. We do not want to further [their] debt. … We want to support and invest in these institutions. And as a result, last year for Georgia HBCUs alone, I’ve been able to help secure a quarter of a billion dollars in additional investment, tens of millions of which went to student financial aid. I’ve also introduced legislation to expand STEM and cybersecurity programs at HBCUs, which passed the Homeland Security Committee unanimously and is on its way to the Senate floor. I continue to put the well-being of Georgia’s HBCUs at the center of all that I do. I want to talk about Morris Brown and accreditation and financial aid, but that has been the core of what I’ve been working on for HBCUs in Georgia.
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