Kresge HBCU funding for Detroit students could be new way forward for Black college access in non-HBCU states

The Kresge Foundation's recent establishment of two $1 million funds at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the United Negro College Fund is a significant investment in Detroit’s students. With the potential for an additional $500,000 if TMCF and UNCF match the initial grants, the commitment represents a crucial step in making college more affordable and supporting workforce development in Michigan.  

While affordability and attainment are often linked, they are not the same. The investment is not designed to address all of the barriers that Detroit students face in post-secondary planning.  Pathways create a specific trajectory toward the workforce, and finding them requires deliberate exploration.  

In Michigan, college access best practices have prioritized a one-size-fits-all approach that did not officially consider or include Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  One might think that makes sense because Michigan does not have any traditional four-year degree-granting HBCUs.  But that is short-sighted and suggests that its largest city with the most Black students should not have access to culturally relevant and responsive college programming.  This has an impact on workforce development and readiness.  

The Kresge investment signals that capitalism is still the order of the day—not that there is a moral imperative that guides the giving. Capitalism requires that someone have merit and grit enough to achieve their ends. Detroit students have demonstrated both; 60% of students who leave the city to attend college enroll at an HBCU. 

But do they return? And if they do, are they returning with their degrees to good-paying jobs? These questions require a multifaceted solution. But first, let’s address some barriers that Detroit students must overcome.  

In 2019, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer set an audacious goal: 60% of Michiganders would have a degree (or post-secondary credential) by 2030.  Michigan’s college advising structure does not include Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  Michigan's current college advising system prioritizes institutions within the state, limiting options and enforcing a narrow college-going culture that overlooks the cultural and educational needs of Black students in Detroit.

The rigid protocols leave no room to include HBCUs.  By design, the system benefits the partner institutions rather than the students it is supposed to serve, perpetuating a cycle where Black Detroiters are underserved and underrepresented.  

Today, the State of Michigan’s college attainment rate is 51.1%, according to a February 2024 Michigan Office of Higher Education report.  This suggests that college attainment is improving through implementing the Sixty by 30 initiatives.  But what happens when one decides to look at educational attainment for Black Detroiters (associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree) from 2019-2023?  The data reveals stark disparities. 

According to the Data Center managed by the Detroit Regional Chamber, Black Detroiters account for 19.3% of people earning an associate’s degree and 11.3% of people earning a bachelor’s degree during that time frame. Compared to other racial groups, white students exceed 60% attainment (upwards of 70%) of an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.  

In the same month, Michigan reported that its 2023 graduation rates were higher than pre-pandemic rates—approximately 71% for Black Michigan students in four years.  However, the most recently reported post-secondary success rates by race at all public universities and all community colleges in Michigan reveal stark disparities.  According to the MI School Data Success Rates Report, 26.1% of Black students entering into a certificate, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s program in the 2019-2020 academic year completed their programs, whereas 35.7% of students at Michigan’s public universities are completed their programs in the same four-year time frame.    

Detroit has to perform well in the educational attainment category, or the 51.1% college attainment rate will not improve.  These statistical gaps have real-life limitations, such as limited social mobility and economic opportunity.  Sixty by 30 doesn’t have to be an empty promise for many Black Detroiters and doesn’t have to exclude Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  

The entirety of college advising and access in Michigan needs an overhaul if Historically Black Colleges and Universities are going to be included and championed by people and organizations that belong to the HBCU community.  It has to be championed by people and organizations that do not rely on the vulnerabilities (social, educational, financial) of Black Detroiters and who believe that achievement among Black students is the norm—and have proven it for decades. 

This part of the work requires people and organizations to understand that the moral and economic imperatives can be united behind systems, programming, and policies that benefit everyone seeking to rebuild Detroit as a thriving city.  

Detroit Promise is a significant funding source for Detroit students to attend a local community college or in-state four-year institution, tuition-free.  The program is a last-dollar fund, meaning all state and federal financial aid will be applied to the student’s tuition first before any other institutional funds.  In other words, monies that students would receive either way (and can be used anywhere else) will be used for tuition and fees only. 

In 2021, the MDRC released a study that examined the Detroit Promise Program and its student outcomes. In short, not many students earn a post-secondary credential. This is a critical issue because the Detroit Promise and other educational programs by the Detroit Regional Chamber are supposed to be the vehicle by which the city drives its people toward an educated, credentialed workforce. If it’s not doing that, then it’s failing.  

When asked about the Detroit Promise’s outcomes, Peter Remington (CEO and President of the Foundation that primarily funds it) said, “the program can’t end now because it’s an essential part of Detroit’s renaissance.”  And that’s particularly disturbing because that would mean that the foundation of Detroit’s renaissance would rely on the under-educated, under-credentialed Detroiters stuck in menial jobs rather than career pathways of their choice.  That isn’t progress.  

The Kresge investment was given to TMCF and UNCF because these organizations have a clear history and formula for success in funding scholarships and creating workforce opportunities for HBCU students and alumni.  Detroit-based philanthropists, educational leaders, and industry professionals can learn how TMCF and UNCF leverage their fundraising efforts to translate into workforce training, development, and eventual employment for their scholars.  

This is an opportunity for HBCUs to reclaim a group of Black students who are often ignored—those who reside in states without an HBCU.  Black people residing in states without a traditional, four-year degree-granting HBCU have long been at a disadvantage when pursuing an education at an HBCU, especially if they didn’t have a performance talent (sports or band).  Kresge’s financial commitment can make an HBCU education much more attainable for individual Detroit students. It’s a starting point, and so many HBCU stakeholders (the campus-based professionals, alumni, and community-based alumni who are educational professionals) can work together to maximize this commitment.  

To effectively develop this strategy, HBCU stakeholders—including administrators, alumni, and community educators—should collaborate on creating dedicated advising programs tailored to the needs of Detroit students. Partnerships with Detroit schools, integrating HBCU history and culture into advising curricula, and providing targeted support for students transitioning from high school to an HBCU environment is a start.  At the very least, this means that dedicated programming is necessary.  Random HBCU fairs, unstructured visits, and events will not create the desired impact.  

The future of Detroit’s Black college attainment already looks brighter because of the Kresge investment. However, expecting Detroit students to perform well (or capitalize on this opportunity) without challenging current barriers will not create new results or better outcomes for more Detroit students. 

Detroit students still deserve culturally responsive college advising that honors and leverages the legacies and continued impact of people who look like them. This means that it must include Historically Black Colleges and Universities.