“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
No truer words were spoken than by legendary African American abolitionist, orator, writer, statesman and social reformer, Frederick Douglass, who was delivering a West India Emancipation speech in 1857 at Canandaigua, NY.
Douglass’ words are as powerful and true today as they were 165 years ago. These are words on which I ponder as the U.S. Senate prepares to pass its funding bills, including the funds to support programs impacting HBCUs. They must become law before we turn our calendars to 2023. 
Lodriguez V. Murray
It is because we need Congress to act now that UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is releasing a report I believe would make Douglass proud. The report, entitled, “Greater Funding, Greater Needs: A Report on Funding for HBCUs,” encourages policy makers, elected representatives and private donors to use it as a base to inform their funding decisions and redouble their support for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Over the past two years, UNCF’s engagement and lobbying to hold elected officials accountable have helped to direct unprecedented funding of $6 billion in additional federal funding to HBCUs.
Again, power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will.
