NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee State University alumni and current students minced no words Thursday night. Their message was clear: they want the state to give back $2.1 billion that the federal government said the state owed.
The federal government said they looked back historically — at least three decades from 1987 to 2020, which would include two years of Gov. Bill Lee's first term. The U.S. Department of Education told NewsChannel 5 on Tuesday that $2.1 billion in discrepancy is state funds, not federal.
TSU and the University of Tennessee are land-grant colleges. As outlined in the Second Morrill Act of 1890, all land-grant colleges should receive the same funding regardless of race and they have to provide a school to Black students if they weren’t going to accept them. The act was designed to target Confederate states, according to the U.S. National Archives. It was passed by Congress at the time to remedy discrimination and required states to create land-grant schools for Black students.
“I have watched my peers going to different universities and I will be on Facetime, and I see their living conditions and I send them my dorm,” TSU senior Shaun Wimberly Jr. said at a Save TSU Community Coalition Rally.
“I wish my school, TSU, can be on this next level to get where I think we need to be. We knew this day would come eventually. We have to continue this fight. We are going to continue to be here and come to us and build this institution. We can’t forget why it’s important.”
The group said they were going to start talking to lawmakers now before they go into session in January.
Gov. Lee said in Dickson Wednesday that he hadn't time to review the letter from the federal government because he had been traveling across the state. He said he would talk to "whomever" about the issue. He said he believed all colleges in the state mattered.
"We need to stand against unjust lawmakers surrounding the issues and unfairness at TSU," said Venita Lewis, NAACP president of the Nashville chapter. "When I think about the situation with TSU, I am reminded I used to watch when I was a little girl. The cartoon featured the road runner and the coyote. Little did the state know that the federal government would step in to inform the state that billions in dollars were owed to TSU. This money would have been used to provide better housing to the students and more robust enrollment."
TSU is still receiving money from the state from a 36-year lawsuit that passed through six governors before it ever reached a settlement in 2006 while Gov. Phil Bredesen was in office. That figure this last budget cycle was $10.2 million. The lawsuit originated from a professor in the 1960s who said Tennessee's higher education institutions were segregated and had unequal maintenance and facilities.
As for the future and this federal government figure, Lee didn't outline what was next. TSU president Glenda Glover told NewsChannel 5 on Tuesday she hoped to meet with state lawmakers and federal leaders about the number. She is set to retire by July 1, 2024.
A facility assessment concluded that TSU's maintenance needs alone total $337.5 million. Some proposed projects include updating electrical infrastructure, re-roofing buildings, safety and security infrastructure improvements on campus, demolishing four halls, building new residence halls and apartments and a new library. In addition to facility updates, funding needs were found necessary for financial aid programs, retention and graduation support services and mental health counseling.
"We have gotten word by a press release that said $2.1 billion dollars. Head scratching, right?" said Richard Jackson, TSU assistant professor. "That’s a lot of money, is it not?"
