Many black universities lack sufficient internet access. One group is trying to change it
During COVID-19 Pandemic, Dr. Dwarn J. Warmac, president of Claflin University.got an email from a student who left campus and returned home to quarantine. The student wrote:
“It is my prayer that Claflin’s passion for education aligns with that compassion.”
“I’m currently entering my advanced research paper at my local MacDonald’s and I drive up to nine miles every day to do this job because my town doesn’t have Wi-Fi bandwidth,” the student wrote. She said she would sit in the parking lot for four hours a day to work on her senior thesis.
Immediately after receiving this email, Claflin University Student Freedom Initiative It helps to provide broadband access to students.
Broadband Program aimed at closing Digital Difference It is currently retreating in the US, but according to 2021 McKinsey Report82% of historically black universities located in the broadband desert, go anywhere. The broadband desert is an area that lacks adequate access or does not have the internet.
In May, President Donald Trump announces the end of the Digital Equity Act (DEA), calling it “racist” and “unconstitutional.” The $2.75 billion program was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act from 2021. It was founded to help close the digital divide by increasing broadband adoption. The program was also essential to funding digital literacy initiatives for public schools and universities. Some states and local governments are already beginning to receive grant rewards. At the early end of the DEA, those funds did not reach their destination.
2020, Claflin University Students And the area surrounding Orangeburg, South Carolina, lived in the broadband desert and struggled with insufficient internet access.
“The only way students could actually access content was to get together in the area that provided the (broadband) access that caused the problem,” says Keith Shotes, president and CEO of Student Freedom Initiative. He emphasized that when students were supposed to be in quarantine, they were forced to leave their isolation and put themselves and their peers at risk, just to do their studies.
The Student Freedom Initiative is a nonprofit organization seeking to reduce wealth gaps through education. 2023, SFI has partnered with technology company Ciscoprovided 5G Internet Service The whole campus. The Orangeburg community still faces challenges due to being in the broadband desert, but Claflin University has since transformed its broadband desert into a thriving space for students.
The long history of the broadband desert HBCU
Access to a proper internet connection Classes and other. However, many HBCUs are located in the broadband desert.
These broadband deserts are located primarily in the black countryside south of the United States. According to Report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studiessouth of the Black Countryside, consists of over 152 counties in 10 states. Alabama, Arkansa, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennesseeand Virginia. This information is pretty much in line with the Student Freedom Initiative data.
As seen from the map above, the Student Freedom Initiative is currently working with over 25 HBCUs in the broadband desert located in the black countryside of the United States. These include Tuskegee University, Florida A&M University, Louisiana University Xavier University, and Hampton University. Knowing the history of HBCUs will help you to better understand these broadband deserts and how they exist.
The HBCU is one of the nation’s most underfunded institutions due to the impact of historical and current systemic racism and practices. Digital Red Lining. The term redline dates back to the New Deal era of the 1930s, when banks denies residents from “at risk” areas, primarily from black communities, and qualifies for loans. During this era, government agencies created it Color-coded maps, It emphasizes which areas are the least dangerous in terms of the gaze of the loan.
Digital redlining is a discriminatory practice involving internet providers who exclude services in certain locations. If you look at a map, You can see the distinction between broadband and non-broadband areas. According to data from the US Census Bureau (PDF), urban residents were more likely to have broadband internet subscriptions than rural residents. Additionally, over 90% of households in the southern part of the city received broadband access in 2021, compared to 85% in the southern countryside. For example, Mississippi, New Mexico and West Virginia were ranked the lowest for broadband access.
Redlining has been illegal for quite some time, but a form of digital redlining still exists, as seen in the lack of competition among rural black southern internet providers.
HBCUs are in areas with poor broadband infrastructure and it is useless that these agencies are in a severely underfunded At least $12 million in more than 15 states. According to Brookings Metro Report (PDF), “HBCUs are chronically underfunded due to state underinvestment, alumni contributions (associated with low income and black wealth), and declines.”
a lot the study Low-income communities often show lack of access to proper home broadband connections. The McKinsey report mentioned earlier shows that over 81% of HBCUs are in counties in areas where median wages are below the national average and where expected employment growth is below the national average compared to non-HBCUs. Why is this important? Improving broadband infrastructure not only benefits the millions of Americans separated by HBCUs and rural communities, but can help the entire US economy.
HBCU broadband access could mobilize the economy
There appears to be a wave of uncertainty regarding the current state of the country’s broadband program. The Affordable Connectivity Program ended in May 2024With more than 23 million households without access to affordable home internet, recent news on digital equity laws allows Americans to rely primarily on federal funds Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Programs. However, states are slow to receive these funds due to bureaucratic changes. Furthermore, there may be more hold-ups in the light Potential changes to the program from the new administration. According to some estimates, Most states may not be able to hear a reply on their timeline until June or July.
Shotes highlighted SFI’s commitment to supporting students, regardless of where the country’s federal broadband program is.
“We’re still moving forward because the problem still exists,” Shotes said.
He emphasized the importance of moving forward with non-federal sources to address the broadband gap for students. In addition to its partnership with Cisco, deploying Claflin University’s 5G Internet Hotspot, SFI connects these HBCUs to high-net individuals, organizations and other philanthropists within the network.
One of their first notable partnerships came with philanthropist and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, Robert F. Smith. The Student Freedom Initiative was later established Smith gave nearly $34 million to Morehouse College graduation classes in 2019repay your student loan. Smith is currently chairman of SFI.
Without federal backbone support, nonprofits such as SFI will work with state legislators and their corporate partners to keep the wheels moving. Still, eliminating or stalling federal funds from this equation slows down the reduction in broadband gap.
Warmack, president of Claflin, argued that federal broadband funding is really useful, especially for severely underfunded institutions such as HBCUS. for example, Claflin University received a $2.9 million grant from the Connecting Minority Community Project Through national communications and information management that helped provide wireless internet on campus and surrounding areas.
Shotes claims that investment in HBCUs and improved broadband infrastructure could lead to an increase in economic activity by $50 trillion.
According to McKinsey data, the strong HBCU network could increase the income of black workers by about $10 million, charge an incremental business profit of at least $1.2 billion, reduce student loan debt by $300 million, and provide $1 billion in additional consumer spending.
Broadband Access and Future Student Results
Yvette Thomas, SFI’s Program Director for Institutional Transformation, said HBCUS faces sustained challenges due to the lack of high-speed broadband and the digital gap.
Thomas is leading the implementation of HBCU capacity building, including modernizing information technology infrastructure.
“When kids come to college, they usually have at least five to six devices for the network, slowing down the network,” Thomas said.
Unable to access high-speed internet connections allow students to fall behind the new era of digital landscapes, especially artificial intelligence.
“There’s this 26-mile marathon and they’ll reach Mile 2… and that puts them at a competitive disadvantage,” Short said.
He added that broadband access is essential for students as it equips students with the appropriate digital literacy skills they need for their employees.
Claflin University has since transformed the broadband desert into a space that provides 5G internet for students, but what about the other 82% of HBCUs who still live in these internet deserts? Who would say there are no other Claflin students who drive to a McDonald’s parking lot for Wi-Fi to complete the job and say there are no other people with similar experience? Without the support of the federal backbone, generous donations from SFI jobs, its corporate partners and philanthropists can help reduce the broadband gap in the meantime.