April 29, 2025
Patton emphasized how common this issue is for many HBCU students.
A Howard University Professor has reached out to the HBCU community to help the school’s journalism students graduate.
Dr. Stacey Patton launched a GoFundMe to help some of her students relieve their outstanding tuition payments. With a goal of $20K, donors can help these HBCU students achieve a milestone that they worked years for.
“These student journalists have spent the past four years pouring their energy, brilliance, and resilience into their education,” wrote the Howard professor in the GoFundMe page description. “They’ve weathered personal hardships, financial strain, a pandemic, and a society that constantly underestimates them — and still, they rose. They completed every course, passed every exam, met every requirement to earn their degrees.”
She continued, “But now, a cruel technicality threatens to keep them from the moment they’ve dreamed of: walking across the stage in cap and gown, hearing their name called, and seeing the pride shine on their families’ faces… Outstanding tuition and fees — just a few hundred or a few thousand dollars — stand in the way. “
Patton emphasized the students’ academic achievements despite the financial struggles. She wrote to impassioned donors that their graduation depends on the support of their overarching community due to systemic obstacles they cannot overcome alone.
“After everything they’ve sacrificed, everything they’ve achieved, they may be blocked from graduating simply because of financial hardship.”
She noted how this experience is not uncommon for many HBCU students at Howard and elsewhere. With limited opportunities and funding available, many are left with no other options to complete their education. Most have already used a combination of work study, extra jobs, loans, and scholarships to pay these debts. However, it does not always resolve this ongoing issues.
Threats to HBCU funding proposed by the Trump Administration may harshen this reality for matriculating students. With anti-DEI legislation looming, HBCU students must rely on themselves and Black scholarship supporters to get across the finish line.
“Your donation — no matter the amount — can bridge the final gap,” continued Patton. “It can put college degrees into hands that have already earned them. It can open the doors of newsrooms, production studios, and communication fields to Black storytellers whose voices the world desperately needs.”
Thankfully, Patton has already surpassed her $20k goal in the GoFundMe. Now, this current class of dedicated journalism majors can graduate and make their mark on the world.
However, the work to ensure future classes can focus on their studies and not financial strain continues. Stifled by Trump’s rescinding of the White House Initiative on HBCUs, the progress of these storied institutions lies in the hands of those who understand and promote the importance of an HBCU education.
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