Hillary Clinton is working hard to clinch the young black vote. As HBCUs kick off the school year, Clinton is kicking off her HBCU tour. Although a good idea it’s one that her former opponent took early on. Bernie Sanders hired an HBCU grad to serve as his HBCU coordinator (stops were later cut from the tour after the South Carolina primary). But Clinton won’t be on campus this fall, instead she has sent forth campaign surrogates such as Tim Kaine, who is kicking off the campaign at FAMU.
Some of Clinton’s surrogates have been Morehouse alum Bakari Sellers, who visited Savannah State to speak to students about the upcoming election. Clinton has also called on other heavy hitters in the black community such as North Carolina Rep. and Congressional Black Caucus Chair G.K. Butterfield and DNC Chair Marcia Fudge. A Clinton aide explained to Buzzfeed: “Through this renewed push and building off efforts from the primary, the campaign will encourage HBCU students to organize their student bodies, register, re-register, and mobilize their peers for the election.”
Hopefully Tim Kaine does more than rattle off the names of the HBCUs in his state and stands behind the importance and legacy of these institutions. Clinton has discussed her college affordability plan (which targets HBCUs) including creating a $25 billion fund that serves low- and middle-income students. As the election gets closer and closer, it will be interesting to see what else she pulls out of her hat.
