Deborah Barfield Berry

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — One of the first questions national civil rights leaders asked Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders in separate meetings recently was how each would help struggling historically black colleges and universities.

The issue is a top priority for black voters, a key voting bloc in the South, where the two Democratic presidential candidates have ramped up campaign efforts.

“Education has always been an important issue for black people because it’s a ticket to a better life,’’ said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, which hosted the meetings with Clinton and Sanders last month. “It’s a value in our families and in our communities. ... It’s crucially important to the politically active in our community.’’

Most of the nation's 105 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are in Southern states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. Many were founded to educate blacks when white colleges wouldn't accept them. Today, many struggle financially, with declining enrollment.

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Clinton and Sanders, I-Vt., have promoted their support for HBCUs to appeal to black middle-class voters, many of whom graduated from one of those institutions, said Rickey Hill, chairman of the political science department at Jackson State University.

“It makes political sense to speak to the stakes that the black middle class have in the system,’’ Hill said. “But it has to also be cast in the context of access and equity. Just to say HBCUs need to be supported doesn’t mean a thing.’’

Clinton's New College Compact, unveiled last August, would spend $25 billion over 10 years on HBCUs and other institutions serving minority students. The plan doesn't specify how the funds would be used, but Clinton's campaign said it’s modeled after legislation proposed by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va. That measure would, among other things, create a grant program to help low-income students attending HBCUs for the first two years.

Sanders has promoted his plan for free tuition at public universities and colleges. The plan would be financed by taxing Wall Street transactions by investment houses, hedge funds and other speculators.

Warren Gunnels, Sanders’ campaign policy director, said the senator’s plan would help students attending public HBCUs regardless of income. He said that amounts to $1.3 billion per year of public funding for HBCUs based on the number of students enrolled and the average tuition. He cited statistics that show 76% of students in historically black colleges and universities are in public HBCUs.

“We must sustain and strengthen the historically black colleges and universities who do a phenomenal job today educating a significant number of young African Americans,’’ Sanders told a student last week at a town hall in South Carolina. “You have my word that we will not only sustain, we will substantially increase funding for the historically black colleges and universities.’’

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Melanie Campbell, head of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and the Black Women’s Roundtable, said her groups and others will continue to press Sanders and Clinton for details.

“Investments in the institutions for long-term education for our children is what’s key,’’ she said.

Supporters of HBCUs note that Sanders’ plan addresses students going to public schools, while many historically black colleges are private.

“It could have unintended consequences for all HBCUs, but particularly for the private, independent colleges like Tougaloo College,’’ said Beverly Hogan, president of the school outside Jackson, Miss. “If you give students a choice to go to school free, they’re not going to choose to pay tuition someplace, and is that really good for our country?’’

Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., a graduate of historically black Morehouse College in Atlanta, slammed Sanders' plan, saying it leaves HBCU students "out in the cold.’’

But Deja Stewart, a strategic communications major at Hampton University, a private HBCU in Virginia, praised Sanders’ plan, even though it wouldn’t apply to her school.

“I still want my kids to be able to go to college for free,” said Stewart, 19, who attended Sanders' rally in Norfolk, Va. “You’ve got to take baby steps.”

Willie D. Larkin, president of Grambling State University in Louisiana, called Clinton’s plan more practical. He was among HBCU presidents on a call with Clinton last Tuesday.

“I felt real positive at the end listening to her comments, that she was not going to leave HBCUs behind,’’ Larkin said. “She was going to work in order to make sure that HBCUs get a fair look."

Sanders recently kicked off a tour of historically black colleges, including a stop at Allen University in South Carolina. His supporters also held a rally recently at Tougaloo.

Clinton also has visited several HBCUs, including South Carolina State University last week.

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“One of the things that’s going to be important in this election is that the candidates let HBCU presidents and their constituents know that they’re listening,’’ said Hogan. “These institutions are repositories of African Americans' culture heritage. They are community anchors. They’re forces of good for the future. They’re more than just relics of the past.’’

Contributing: Nicole Gaudiano, USA TODAY

Twitter: @dberrygannett