A Tennessee State University (TSU) student who lost his post on the university’s Board of Trustees last week says that controversial decision is a sign for supporters of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to mobilize.
Shaun Wimberly Jr. served as the student trustee on the board until Friday, when Governor Bill Lee signed legislation to vacate it. Wimberly joined other student leaders and TSU supporters in a press conference Monday morning to push back on what they say is an attack on HBCUs.
Wimberly said that although the fight to prevent government overreach was lost last week, there’s a bigger fight ahead with historic underfunding. The Biden Administration believes Tennessee has underfunded TSU by $2.1 billion over the last three decades.
“What has happened at TSU, what has happened these past two years, is a reflection of our community. It shows the state of our current black community and the state that our university is in right now is simply a product of us not thinking strategically, moving as quickly, or as unified as our ancestors have been in the past. We’ve allowed others to determine our past and we’ve almost forgotten that HCBUs are our home here in America,” said Wimberly.
The legislation to vacate TSU’s Board of Trustees was a response to an audit from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office last year that found university leadership responsible for a housing problem that forced some students to live in a motel. TSU supporters have argued those housing issues were partially the result of underfunding.
“It’s pretty interesting to me because once upon a time, we were identified as three-fifths of a human being. Well, if you’re only investing in us a quarter of the way then maybe you still see us as three-fifths of a human being. It does not make sense to us as students why we don’t deserve the same quality of a college education why we decided to go somewhere that we feel were important to us and that will invest in us,” said TSU Student Government Association President Derrell Taylor. “What I find amongst the confusion and anxiety of the students is that we just want to be heard. We just want to have a seat at the table.”
The university is not the only HBCU with complaints about underfunding.
TSU supporters, including Bishop William J. Barber II of the Poor People’s Campaign, joined student leaders in making a call for action for HBCUs in every state to mobilize and hold state leaders accountable.
“Because all of the colleges that are underfunded, except for the Black university in Oklahoma, are in former Confederate states, all of them are underfunded. $12 billion, almost $13 billion are underfunded. And every one of those states should have black, and white, and brown people bringing lawsuits to guarantee that those schools are funded properly,” said Barber. “We’re here today to say that everybody that’s concerned about this issue, and especially students, need to be registered to vote and use those votes to determine who sits in these legislatures.”
Who are the new trustees?
Governor Lee signed the bill that vacated TSU’s Board of Trustees and announced new appointees within hours after the House voted to pass the legislation Friday.
The Governor’s appointees are all TSU alumni including:
- Trevia Chatman, President, Bank of America Memphis
- Jeffery Norfleet, Provost and Vice President for Administration, Shorter College
- Marquita Qualls, Founder and Principal, Entropia Consulting
- Terica Smith, Deputy Mayor and Director of Human Resources, Madison County
- Charles Traughber, General Counsel, Division of Real Estate, Retail, and Financial Services at Bridgestone Americas
- Dwayne Tucker, CEO of LEAD Public Schools
- Kevin Williams, President and CEO of GAA Manufacturing
- Dakasha Winton, Senior Vice President and Chief Government Relations Officer at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
“Tennessee State University is a remarkable institution and my administration, in partnership with the General Assembly, is committed to ensuring students are being served,” said Gov. Lee. “I’m pleased to appoint these highly qualified individuals who will work alongside administrators and students to further secure TSU’s place as a leading institution.”
