By: Tiffany Eubanks Saunders, Head of Diverse Segments & Tennessee Market Executive – Bank of America Private Bank.
This is a Content Corner guest article. Learn more here.
Throughout this Black History Month, as we celebrate Black culture, it’s also important to take a deeper look at the roadblocks Black students face to professional growth, economic mobility, and building wealth.
As we work together to break down those barriers, public-private partnerships should be part of the solution. Here in Nashville, Bank of America has invested more than $1.5 million in our city’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) including Tennessee State University, Meharry Medical College, and Fisk University.
As an alumna of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, I know the value of HBCUs firsthand and the outstanding talent that they produce.
This country’s beloved HBCUs continue their legacy of preparing Black students with the skills and networks they need to succeed and provide tremendous contributions to American society. Even though they comprise just 3% of America’s higher learning institutions, HBCUs award an impressive 22% of the bachelor’s degrees earned by Black students in the U.S, according to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. HBCUs also produce more Black medical doctors than their predominantly white institution counterparts. Additionally, more than half of HBCU undergrads are first-generation college students, who traditionally struggle to graduate at the same rate as second and third generation college students. A 2015 Gallup survey found that compared with Black alumni of other colleges and universities, HBCU students are more likely to thrive financially after graduation and are more motivated to achieve their goals.
Bank of America is in the process of developing and implementing a $1 million jobs initiative in partnership with Tennessee State University to help students of color successfully complete the education and training necessary to enter the workforce and embark on a path to success in Nashville. TSU is enhancing existing programs to meet specific skills gaps to create higher paying, family-sustaining jobs that are in demand.
In addition to helping align students to jobs, Bank of America is empowering Meharry Medical College, one of the nation’s oldest and largest historically black academic health science centers, in its mission to educate future Black doctors to serve the traditionally underserved. Throughout the pandemic, Meharry has served as a leader in Nashville’s COVID testing and vaccination efforts. The bank is providing funding to Meharry to purchase and outfit a mobile unit that will enhance its vaccination efforts and expand telemedicine services to underserved communities.
Additionally, we are supporting Fisk University, one of the nation’s leading HBCUs, in conserving artwork that will be part of an upcoming traveling exhibition, “African Modernism in America, 1947-1967,” beginning fall 2022. Students from Fisk University and from other University members of the Alliance of HBCU Museums and Galleries will have unique opportunities to work alongside conservators to restore the historically and culturally significant works of art that are in danger of deterioration.
Investing in HBCUs is just one of the ways Bank of America is working to address the underlying challenges facing communities of color. From investing in private funds that are supporting minority entrepreneurs to recruiting students at HBCUs nationwide, the bank is dedicated to creating economic opportunity for all. Bank of America has provided more than $25 million to 21 HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, and community colleges to help students of color successfully complete the education and training necessary to be successful in today’s workforce. And, as a proud product of these sacred HBCU institutions, I am grateful to work for a company that “walks the talk,” in doing its part to support Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of America becoming a Beloved Community.
