Betsy DeVos Addresses School Presidents, Changes Opinion On Black Colleges

Following her controversial statement on Monday regarding the creation of all-black colleges, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos attempted to make up for her misinformed comments during her address Tuesday to school presidents at the Library of Congress.

DeVos had issued a statement Monday that showed her woefully uneducated on the formation and evolution of historically black colleges and university.

“Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have [made tangible, structural reforms] since their founding. They started from the fact that there were too many students in America who did not have equal access to education,” read DeVos’s statement on Monday. “They saw that the system wasn't working, that there was an absence of opportunity, so they took it upon themselves to provide the solution.”

Considering that the HBCUs were established to uphold segregation laws in institutions of higher education, many were outraged by DeVos’s revamping of a disgraceful history by claiming these institutions provided “school choices.”

Following the controversy, DeVos addressed school presidents at the Library of Congress on Tuesday with a new take on the subject of HBCUs. "Your history was born, not out of mere choice, but out of necessity, in the face of racism, and in the aftermath of the Civil War," she said to the school leaders.

Austin Lane, the president of Texas Southern University and one of many HBCU presidents who visited the White House to meet Donald Trump, Mike Pence and Betsy DeVos on Monday, said he was "puzzled" by DeVos's words and that, “HBCUs were created for African-Americans because they had no choice and were unable to attend schools due to segregation laws.”

Twitter users responded immediately to DeVos's initial statement.

A spokesperson for the Education Department said that DeVos’s comments were taken out of context and that she “understands and respects” the conditions of history, in which HBCUs were founded.

DeVos's office did not comment on the issue.

Photo credit: C-SPAN Screenshot