Chapter 9: HBCUS and Policy Implications: Moving to Anti-Deficit Policy Frameworks

The continued existence, survival, and prosperity of HBCUs depends on an understanding of the partnership and interconnected responsibilities of the institutions, policies, and lawmakers that impact the work that serves our students best. Considering an anti-deficit perspective would suggest that racially minoritized students are not “at-risk,” but higher education institutions are at-risk of failing them (Patton Davis & Museus, 2019). Moving the discourse and policy supporting HBCUs from purely performative approaches to those rooted in justice and anti-deficit ideology centers not only their historical and future impacts, but also highlights the role that policy has in continuing to shape their future. This chapter will explore anti-deficit theoretical policy frameworks that disrupt ideological approaches rooted in “fixing” the students served by HBCUs, and federal, state, and local funding policy approaches endorsed by lawmakers and policymakers that perpetuate policy decisions rooted in deficit solutions.