Nicole Gaudiano

USA TODAY

Bernie Sanders is getting slammed for leaving students at historically black colleges and universities “out in the cold” as he prepares to visit Morehouse College, the alma mater of African-American leaders including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., says in a statement issued by Hillary Clinton’s campaign that Sanders’ plan for free tuition at public colleges and universities doesn’t mention HBCUs and doesn’t invest in private colleges, including Atlanta’s Morehouse. That’s unlike Clinton’s plan, he says, which calls for greater funding for states that support HBCUs.

“By focusing exclusively on making public college free, Sanders’ plan wouldn’t spend a dime on private HBCUs and threatens roughly 50 percent of HBCUs that are not public,” stated Richmond, a Morehouse alumnus who has endorsed Clinton.

Richmond continued, “As Senator Sanders promotes his HBCU tour, he owes it to the students to explain why half the HBCUs in the country aren’t worth the any investment.”

Warren Gunnels, Sanders' campaign policy director, said no presidential candidate is more committed to strengthening HBCUs than Sanders, whose plan would give students a tuition-free education at public HBCUs and meet all financial needs of the lowest income students attending those schools.

At all HBCUs -- including private -- low income students could use federal, state and college financial aid to cover room and board, books and living expenses, Gunnels said in a statement. He would also cut student loan interest rates almost in half for all students enrolled in an HBCU and help students build career experience by more than tripling the federal work-study program at HBCUs. Everyone who has attended an HBCU would be able to refinance student loans at today's low interest rates, he wrote.

"Bernie understands that too many HBCU's have struggled financially in recent years from a lack of federal resources," Gunnels wrote. "That’s why he supports a dedicated $30 billion fund to support private non-profit HBCU's and other minority serving institutions to keep their costs down. Unlike Secretary Clinton, Bernie does not believe that we should unfairly punish HBCUs by fining them for their non-performing student loans."

Sanders' Morehouse visit is one stop on a ‘Feel the Bern’ HBCU tour that kicked off in January at South Carolina State University in collaboration with Benedict College. He plans to discuss college affordability, income inequality and criminal justice reform.

Sanders has proposed paying for free tuition at public universities and colleges by taxing Wall Street transactions by investment houses, hedge funds and other speculators.