New Doc Sheds Light On Underfunding Of HBCUs: “The Price of Excellence”
Written by b87fm on 09/12/2025
A new documentary is putting the spotlight on a crisis that’s been ignored for generations: the chronic underfunding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The Price of Excellence—produced by The Century Foundation in collaboration with U.S. Congresswoman Alma Adams—dives deep into the systemic inequities that have starved Black institutions of resources while expecting them to produce excellence against the odds.
“Of all of the civil rights for which the world has struggled and fought for for 500 years, the right to learn is undoubtedly the most fundamental,”
For decades, HBCUs have produced world-class leaders with only a fraction of the funding of predominantly white institutions. Our new documentary, “The Price of Excellence,” tells that story.https://t.co/xUiIoqa1Xv
— The Century Foundation (@TCFdotorg) September 11, 2025
Adams declares in the film’s trailer. Representing North Carolina’s 12th Congressional District, Adams has long been one of the loudest voices on Capitol Hill fighting for HBCUs and educational justice.
The documentary couldn’t come at a more urgent moment. In 2023, the Biden administration revealed that historically Black land-grant universities had been shortchanged a staggering $13 billion over 30 years. Only two states—Ohio and Delaware—were found to have distributed funds equitably. The rest left their HBCUs scraping by, with funding gaps ranging anywhere from $172 million to more than $2 billion when compared with their predominantly white peers.
This isn’t just about budgets. It’s about power, opportunity, and equity. HBCUs were created after Congress gave states a choice: integrate their existing land-grant schools or build separate Black institutions. Most chose separation—and for decades, they’ve refused to deliver equal funding, in open violation of federal law.
Yet, despite operating with fewer resources, HBCUs continue to overperform. They enroll higher percentages of Black and low-income students, produce some of the country’s top scientists, engineers, and agricultural experts, and serve as cultural and intellectual lifelines for Black America. What they haven’t been given is the same level of investment to modernize facilities, expand campuses, or offer competitive student aid packages.
Premiering September 25, The Price of Excellence confronts this legacy of inequity head-on, featuring policymakers, educators, and activists who argue that protecting HBCUs isn’t just about honoring history—it’s about building the future.
