One of the largest labor unions in the country has decided to partner with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to provide scholarships and other educational opportunities to students, after severing its ties with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) over its decision to accept money from the controversial Koch brothers.
In a letter sent to UNCF president Michael Lomax back in July, the American Federation of State County Municipal Employees union (AFSCME) president Lee Saunders announced that it had decided to pull out of the Union Scholars program that had been jointly run by the two groups, telling Lomax that his decision to accept $25 million from Republican operatives David and Charles Koch and a subsequent appearance at one of their events was a “profound betrayal of the civil rights movement.”
At the time, Saunders had said that AFSCME would work directly with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, but have since turned to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF)—which supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending its 47-member schools that include public Historically Black Colleges and Universities, medical and law schools—as its new partner.
“Our commitment to students of color at historically Black and other colleges and universities is unwavering,” said Saunders. “AFSCME’s partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund enables us to continue a tradition of developing young leaders who are dedicated and passionate about making a difference in our society.”
TMCF President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor said that AFSCME’s decision to continue the program reaffirms their strong support for HBCUs.
“They absolutely could have gone to a number of places if their whole goal was just Black diversity,” said Taylor in an interview with Diverse. “They did not need to be in the HBCU space.”
TMCF’s partnership with the union—which has nearly 1.6 million members— cements the group’s position as the go-to advocacy organization for HBCU students across the nation.
