Jason Esteves details HBCU priorities in Black Men’s Agenda

As the Georgia gubernatorial race heats up, candidate Jason Esteves has unveiled a policy agenda specifically for black men. Also detailed in the agenda is direct action for Georgia’s ten HBCUs.

ClutchPoints exclusively obtained the agenda, which details his HBCU plans in the “opportunity” section of the plan. The agenda calls for supporting Georgia’s HBCUs and developing workforce and innovation pipelines tied directly to those institutions. According to the document, the goal is to connect higher education at HBCUs to career training, economic development, and workforce preparation.

The plan also proposes needs-based scholarships within Georgia’s public university system and making technical college tuition-free, with the intent of expanding access to postsecondary education and job training. The educational policy plans outline in the agenda mirrors what Esteves shared during his interview with HBCU Pulse Radio in October.

“The other thing that I wanna make sure that we do and are committed to doing is that we ensure that Georgia has needs-based scholarship. Georgia is one of two states that does not have needs-based scholarships. And as I look at colleges across the state, particularly HBCUs, I’ve seen that people have not finished. And one of those main reasons that the graduation rate of our colleges are so low is because they don’t have the money to finish. The Hope Scholarship doesn’t pay for everything, for example. So I wanna make sure that we have a needs-based scholarship. Georgia’s one of two states that is not.”

He also outlined his desire to make Georgia’s HBCUs the drivers of opportunity and innovation within the state.

“The last thing that I wanna make sure that we do is that we bring programming to HBCUs across this state to make sure that they are preparing the next generation of, of leaders in our workforce. That’s making sure that we have nursing programs and medical programs, making sure that we’re training folks whose jobs are not gonna be taken away by ai. So for me, it’s about making sure that we are making commitments specific to. HBCUs and people understanding that for me, it is critical that we invest in our HBCU system here in Georgia that for many years has gone ignored.”

Three of Georgia’s ten HBCUs are governed by the University System of Georgia: Albany State, Fort Valley State, and Savannah State. Under Georgia law, the governor appoints members of the Board of Regents, which serves as the governing body for the University System of Georgia. The Board is responsible for setting statewide higher education policy, approving institutional priorities, and selecting the system’s chancellor, who serves a seven-year term.

If elected governor, Esteves would be able to influence higher education policy through appointments to the Board of Regents, as well as through the state budget and legislative proposals. In furtherance of his agenda, it would provide avenues to affect funding priorities, scholarship programs, institutional support, and workforce and innovation partnerships involving Georgia’s HBCUs.

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