Biden at National HBCU Week Conference

Thank you. Please, please have a seat. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now, look, I love Kamala. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you. As the saying goes, you all brung me to the dance. Folks, I want to get something straight at the outset. I love Kamala, but Delaware State's the best HBCU in America. They're the ones. You think I'm kidding. I was a 29 year-old kid, and they embraced me. They embraced me like you can't imagine. We won, the second-youngest person in American history, because of an HBCU called Delaware State. (01:10) By the way, I hired a young man from Delaware State named Tony Allen. He came to work for me. While there, I encouraged him to continue to extend his degree. He got his doctorate and left. He became a president himself. I don't know how the hell that happened so quick. Tony, thank you, man. I've been introduced countless times, but never quite like that. I mean it, Tony, from the bottom of my heart. I'm deeply moved. By God's grace, we're true friends, and Delaware State will always have a special place in my heart, for real. To the presidents and administrators of our 101 historic Black colleges and universities, it's an honor to celebrate ... and I mean celebrate ... HBCU Week with you. (02:03) Before I begin, I want to make a quick reference to the attempted assassination against our former president in Florida yesterday. I commend the Secret Service for their expert handling of the situation, and the former president is protected from harm and the subject is in custody. An acting head of the Secret Service is in Florida today, assessing what happened and determining whether any further adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of our former president. (02:30) Let me just say there is no ... and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, those of you who know me, many of you do ... no place for political violence in America. None. Zero. Never. I've always condemned political violence and always will. In America, we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun. America's suffered too many times the tragedy of an assassin's bullet. It solves nothing and just tears the country apart. We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen. (03:07) Folks, now to today's event. It's an honor to recognize HBCU excellence in our nation. I see excellence in it every single day. I see it this weekend. The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, I tell you what. The Foundation Gala, only about 3,500 people there. I was happy ... and I've been wanting to do this ... to celebrate the first-ever White House brunch to celebrate Black excellence, Black excellence, which many of you and your alumni attended. It's about time to point out what's already been done. (03:45) I'm proud to have the most diverse administration in history. It taps into the full ... I mean it. I made a commitment that my administration is going to look like America. It taps into the full talents of our nation, including graduates of HBCUs like our amazing vice president is. Folks, together, Kamala and I know that an education makes a person free. An HBCU's education makes you fearless as well. It matters. I mean it. (04:12) For more than 180 years, born under the shadow of slavery and Jim Crow, HBCUs have instilled a sense of purpose and freedom, a commitment to make a difference for all their students, to lift up not just yourselves but others along the way. Institutions grounded in the belief that every American, of every race and every background, every ZIP Code ... and you know me, I mean this ... should have a fair and equal chance to go as far as their God-given talents can take them. That's who we are. That's what we stand for. (04:53) As I've said before, we face an inflection point in history. It comes along every six or seven generations, one of those rare moments in our history when the decisions we make now, right now, are going to determine the fate of our nation and the world for the next decades, for six, seven decades to come, and I mean it. (05:15) When I wasn't going to run for president after my son died coming back from Iraq, I decided that I was going to write another book. I was going to write a book about the inflection points of world history, how it's changed history, going all the way back to dealing with the printing press and how it's changed everything, but look, we're still in the battle. We're still in the battle for the very soul of America. (05:38) In 2020, I ran ... and I give you my word, this was the reason ... I ran to redeem the soul of America, to restore decency and dignity to the office of the presidency. I ran to rebuild and expand the backbone of America, the middle class, and I ran to unite the country, to remind ourselves that we can do anything we want to do when we do it together. (06:03) Four years later, we've made incredible progress, because Kamala and I kept our commitment to you to ensure that all our students in all of our colleges and universities should be able to succeed. That's why I signed an executive order reestablishing the White House Initiative on HBCUs after my predecessor allowed it to lapse. Thank you, Dr. Trent, for leading it. I can't see you out there, but I'm sure you're there. Thank you, Tony and Dr. Glover, for leading my Presidential Board on HBCUs. (06:38) I'm also proud to lead the first administration in history to have a working group from the Divine Nine in the White House. Oh, I got it, man. I mean, I may be a white boy, but I ain't stupid. I figured it out real quick. By the way, it's an official group, in the White House. Together, we got to work right away with our signature investment, addressing one of the most pressing issues for HBCUs. (07:19) We all know ... and I mean this sincerely ... that HBCU students are just as capable as any other students. No, but HBCUs don't have the endowments like many other college and universities that are able to fund research labs, improve campus infrastructure and so much more. That's why I'm proud to be delivering on a record $17 billion, $17 billion, for HBCUs, the most ever, any administration, has ever, ever, ever committed. There we were. We've already distributed well over a billion. (08:09) Folks, look. I want to make something clear at the outset. If you notice, the spending we've done has not fundamentally increased the deficit like the other guy did. No, no, seriously. It grows the economy. How can we lead the world without being the most educated nation in the world? How can we lead the world without reaching out to the young people of this country to improve their capacity? (08:42) You know, it's helped everything, for HBCUs to do everything from providing financial aid via Pell Grants to building new housing and research labs, to prepare Black students for jobs and industries of the future in high demand, fields like cybersecurity, engineering, biochemistry, healthcare and so much more, but that's not all. Together, we spearheaded one of the most equitable economic recoveries in history. As I said, how can we be the strongest economy in the world and lead the world without the best education system, that taps into the talents of every student, and I mean every student? (09:23) In fact, my Council of Economic Advisers issued a report this spring on the economic power of HBCUs. Here's what they found. They found HBCUs are engines of economic mobility in our country, raising the standard of living for everybody, for real. Despite representing only 3% of the colleges and universities in America, HBCUs are responsible for 40% of all Black engineers, 50% of all Black teachers, 70% of all doctors and dentists, and 80% of all Black judges, and I'm increasing that number too. (10:10) That's not all. My CHIPS and Science Act, which I was committed to, we finally got it done. We ensured we created more hubs of innovation at HBCUs, created pathways to develop more researchers, and grow a diverse semiconductor workforce here at home. For example, I was in New York, where I announced a significant CHIPS investment with Micron, a leading semiconductor company, that parented and partnered with Norfolk State University to build a 6,000-square-foot high-tech facility for students and other researchers. (10:49) My National Science Foundation just awarded $2 million to Clark Atlanta University to support their work in the HBCU CHIPS Network, fueling semiconductor research and development and the workforce capacity at HBCUs. This is in addition to last week's announcement of $10.5 million of Natural Science Foundation grants to facilitate STEM research at more than a dozen HBCUs, including Central State University, a project to build semiconductor R&D capacity. (11:27) I'm also excited to announce that four HBCUs ... Fort Valley State University, Rust College, Savannah State University and Shaw University ... they're receiving additional critical funding to boost their STEM programs, to prepare their students for these incredible opportunities. (11:47) Moving forward, I've encouraged semiconductor companies to continue to create and expand partnerships with HBCUs as they invest in American manufacturing, and Vice President Harris and the National Space Council she leads are ensuring the federal government, industry partners and HBCUs collaborate in opportunities for space-related technologies and innovation, the future. (12:10) Folks, my Office of Science and Technology Policy is developing and sharing the best approaches across the entire government, how to expand STEM research and investments in HBCUs. In addition, my administration continues to diversify the federal workforce, starting by opening doors of opportunity like the HBCU Scholar Program, that celebrates its 10th anniversary. I want to congratulate the 2024 cohort of scholars, the largest cohort ... all of them are ... stand up if you're here. All right. If I'm still around when one of you are president, make sure you don't say, "Joe who," okay? (13:02) We also know that studies show Black students who have Black teachers are significantly more likely to graduate from high school and ... we've known this for a long time ... enroll in college. That's why my Department of Education has provided $450 million to ensure the teachers in our schools reflect diversity in our communities. These small things matter a lot. For example, this funding has gone toward the Augustus F. Hawkins Program, which is preparing the next generation of teachers at HBCUs. We're the first administration to secure funding for this program, providing almost $40 million to date. (13:42) Today, I'm proud to announce four more HBCUs, Grambling State University, Morehouse College ... and I'm so tired of hearing about Morehouse men. I did the commencement of Morehouse. One guy came up to me. "Mr. President, you're not a Morehouse man." "The closest I get was doing the commencement." North Carolina Central University and Prairie View A&M University, they're being awarded new grants to increase teacher diversity. (14:26) We know that while a college degree is still a ticket to the middle class, that ticket is becoming too expensive. That's why we increased the maximum Pell Grant by $900 a year, the large increase in a decade. It matters, because HBCUs have twice the percentage of Pell Grant students as non-HBCUs. My administration also relieved the debt of five million Americans, including a significant number of Black borrowers. That means you can now start a business. You can buy a home, save for your children's school, give back to your community, and it grows the economy for everybody. It's not the cost. It grows the economy. (15:10) There's so much more we're doing to help more HBCU students walk into a life of generational wealth and to be providers for the families, leaders of their communities, dreamers and doers of the nation. In fact, in just four years working with HBCU leaders, were making the most significant investment in Black America ever in American history. (15:35) Well, look. We have to be honest about the forces we face. We gather together in a year when we commemorate two of our nation's most historic achievements. The 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, that desegregated our public schools, laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed discrimination in employment and public places, and which we've just observed its 60th anniversary. (16:02) Instrumental in both achievements was Thurgood Marshall, an alum of Lincoln University and Howard Law School. By the way, Lincoln's closer to Wilmington than it is to Philly. I've been there many times. Generations of HBCU educators and students who came before, it opens the doors of hope and opportunity for a generation of Black Americans and for the entire United States of America. It really does. (16:35) Today, affirmative action and the values of diversity, equity and inclusion are under attack like not since I started as a young civil rights guy. Books are being banned. History is being erased. HBCUs have received bomb threats. Right now, lies and hate are being spread about Haitian Americans in Ohio. It's wrong. It's simply wrong, and it must stop. There are those who want a country for some of us but not for all of us, but I've always believed that the promise of America ... and I mean it sincerely ... is big enough for everyone to succeed. No, I really mean it. Everyone. (17:30) There's been no more important voice for that truth than the Black community in our HBCUs. That's what I see in your students, future doctors and researchers, curing cancer. Artists shaping our culture. Fearless journalists and intellectuals challenging convention. Preachers and advocates inspiring us all. You prove that Black history is American history. It is American history, and Black excellence is American excellence. Well, let me tell you something. If I show up on your campus, you better be nice to me. (18:22) Look, let me close with this. Mary McLeod Bethune was the highest-ranking Black woman of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration, a pioneering educator, activist. She founded the proud HBCU Bethune-Cookman University. Here's what she said. She said, "The freedom gates are half ajar. We must pry them fully open." That's what I'm trying to do, pry them fully open. (19:02) For over 180 years, HBCUs have been prying open freedom's gates. For the past four years, Kamala and I, with the help of all you and great leaders out there in cities that I served with in the Congress and the Senate, are pushing right alongside them. God willing, an HBCU graduate, the future President of the United States, is going to soon be sitting behind the Resolute Desk, pushing the gates of freedom open once and for all. (19:35) Folks, you've probably heard me say this before. We just have to remember who the hell we are. No, I mean it. We're the United States of America. There is nothing beyond our capacity when we act together. Nothing, nothing, nothing. We're the only nation in history that's come out of a great crisis stronger than we went in. That's because of you, because of all of us. We're a diverse nation. Therein lies our strength, when we unite. God bless you all, and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (20:14) Thank you. Every time I'd walk out of my Grandfather Finnegan's home up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he'd go, "Joey, keep the faith," and my grandmother would go, "No, Joey. Spread it." Go spread the faith.

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes this portion of the conference.