Loren Muwonge will attend Spelman College in the fall majoring in political science. Muwonge is among nine recipients to receive Northwestern Mutual HBCU Hometown Connection Scholarship. The scholarship aims to help students attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Not only will students receive $7,500 in both their freshman and sophomore years, but students will receive mentorship, internship, and possible employment at Northwestern Mutual upon graduation.
Historically Black colleges and universities have long played an outsized role in American life, producing generations of leaders, professionals, and culture-makers despite operating with far fewer resources than their predominantly white counterparts. This week, those institutions got a rare jolt of financial support when billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced a $70 million gift to the United Negro College Fund.
A Transformative Gift
Left to right: Grambling Tigers’ fans Destiny Hagan, Moriah Waldon, Janiya Gatlin and NyKeisse Wingo cheer during the HBCU Labor Day Classic Battle of the Bands at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Miss., on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025.
For HBCUs, where endowments are often just a fraction of those at major public and private universities, this kind of gift can be transformative. The United Negro College Fund, which will distribute Scott’s award, described the donation as “nothing short of a godsend.” The timing matters too. Earlier this month, the Department of Education said HBCUs will receive more than $1.3 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, a 48 percent increase from previous levels, with more than $400 million coming from redirected discretionary spending. Together, the federal investment and Scott’s donation point to something rare: a moment when historically underfunded institutions may finally get the kind of support that allows them to stabilize, expand, and compete on more equal footing.
Not Her First Rodeo
Lani Thompson dances with other members of Zeta Phi Beta who were representing the historically Black Greek sorority founded in 1920 at Howard University at the Sunday Juneteenth commemoration at the Roger Williams Park and the Temple to Music on June 22, 2025.
But the good news comes against a backdrop of fear and disruption. Since 2022, at least 75 HBCUs have received threats that the FBI has described as hoaxes, forcing lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders at campuses across the country. For students and faculty, those threats are more than statistics—they are reminders of the vulnerability that comes with being Black institutions in America, even as they work to provide safe, nurturing environments for their communities. This isn’t Scott’s first contribution of this kind. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she gave $10 million to the group’s Emergency Reserve Fund, a gift that helped HBCUs weather declining enrollment, rising costs, and the financial squeeze of the pandemic.
This Donation Is A Huge Deal
Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes hugs Tia Jenkins, whom he referred as “team mom” during his years as a football player on the N.C. A & T team, after speaking at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s Spring 2025 commencement at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
It’s easy to treat gifts of this scale as symbolic, but for colleges often strapped for basics—laboratories, technology, dormitory upkeep—they can mean the difference between holding steady and falling further behind. For students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college, it can mean better access to counseling, mentoring, and scholarships.
More Than A Gesture
Black educators from across Westchester County gathered for the Westchester Alliance of Black School Educators 2nd Annual Winter Wonderland Scholarship Fundraiser at The Mansion on Broadway in White Plains Jan. 12, 2025. The event was held to honor Black male educators and fundraise to provide scholarships for college bound high school students of African descent.ÊÊ
There is also a deeper symbolic weight. In the last decade, HBCUs have seen renewed attention, as political leaders, philanthropists, and corporations have publicly touted their importance. Yet the threats, the gaps in funding, and the uneven public investment show that symbolism has never been enough. Scott’s gift, combined with the new federal funding, is more than a gesture. It’s a recognition that equity requires real resources.
