By Phenix Halley

Advocates representing four historically Black colleges say there is an ever-increasing need for sexual and reproductive resources on their HBCU campuses. 

Eight student ambassadors from the Power to Decide Initiative joined Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, Rachel Levine, at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, D.C. The event was the first of its kind. 

“It’s very important for young people to speak up, and to advocate, and learn to use their voice,” said Levine. The assistant secretary is the first transgender woman to hold a federal office that requires Senate confirmation.

Ambassadors from Tougaloo College, Tuskegee University, the University of the Virgin Islands, and Xavier University in Louisiana traveled to the nation’s capital. During the meeting, held on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, concerns regarding health and plans to combat ongoing issues on their campuses were discussed. 

Accompanying Levine was Loyce Pace, a public health expert in the Office of Global Affairs. In addition to her role in the Office of Global Affairs, Pace works as the co-chair of the Reproductive Health Task Force under the leadership of the Secretary of the Senate. 

For Pace, the meeting’s impact represents more than Black colleges. “This [meeting] resonates not just in towns and cities, not just in states in this country, but it really resonates around the world,” Pace said.

With a Black woman and a transgender woman both present for a historic conversation surrounding sexual and reproductive health, student representatives for Power to Decide held a two-hour discussion expressing the needs of their individual schools. 

In 2023, the Biden administration promised $7 billion in financial funding to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), according to the Department of Education. Despite this significant commitment, HBCUs nationwide remain underfunded. The lack of overall funding was a topic repeatedly mentioned in the HHS meeting. 

“Xavier needs funding. Not only do we need funding, [but] we need strict funding for our health services,” said Jalah Bates, a junior public health student at Xavier University of Louisiana (XU). 

In addition to funding issues, XU representatives say the school’s ties to the Catholic Church often prevent much-needed sexual education and access for students.

Despite the university’s recent push for LGBTQ+ inclusion and student-led events like ‘Reproductive Renaissance’ and ‘Sex in the Dark,’ student leaders are concerned about the lack of basic sexual and reproductive health access for students such as birth control and emergency contraceptives.  

“We have had a lot of pushback for giving out any resources like contraceptives to students,” Xavier representative Mya Bledsoe said. Xavier University is the number one HBCU sending students to medical school, but for the school’s ambassadors, this is not enough.

“We need someone to advocate for us. We need someone to advocate for this initiative: Beyond the Sheets,” Bledsoe said. 

Beyond the Sheets is a new student-led initiative aiming to “advance a culture of reproductive well-being, an innovative framework centered on the belief that every person should have equitable access to the information, services, systems, and support they need to have control over their bodies, and to make their own decisions related to sexuality and reproduction throughout their lives,” said Power to Decide. 

HBCUs produce 20 percent of  Black college graduates, according to Power to Decide. The Beyond the Sheets Initiative aims to combat stigmas surrounding sexual health by getting students directly involved.

Tuskegee University representative Wischell Joseph said in addition to funding, Tuskegee is working to “uphold the reputation we have.” Tuskegee University is known for the famous Tuskegee Airmen and for being one of the only centers to “develop a technology for growing food in space during human space missions,” according to the school’s website. 

According to US News, the HBCU in 2022 was ranked third in overall HBCUs but is currently ranked fourth, and Joseph said the lack of overall resources is to blame for the decline. 

“People are leaving because they’re not able to get all the resources that we need on our HBCU campuses, and they’re going to PWIs [predominantly white institutions] because the money is there,” she said.

The solution, she continued, is through advocacy.

“We need to bring that money to HBCUs because people want to stay at HBCUs. Again, that’s through advocating. That’s through initiatives like this, asking for funding to be brought to our HBCUs.”

HBCUs face a lack of funding, especially during times of high inflation. Haileigh Trainer, a representative for Xavier, said, however, “We don’t need to just settle for that. The more you talk about it, the more things can get done,” which is why this meeting is important for her and other Power to Decide ambassadors. 

Representing the University of the Virgin Islands, Kurvonte Richards-Willett spoke about innovative methods student leaders on campus are engaging students and the community to change the stigmas regarding health. “Handing out pamphlets doesn’t work anymore,” Richards-Willett said. 

Instead, leaders empower students to voice their concerns using an anonymous app in which students submit questions without the fear of embarrassment or retaliation. “When you ask a person to submit questions anonymously, it’s when you get the most honesty. And honesty can be shocking,” Richards-Willett continued.

The University of the Virgin Islands is the only HBCU located in the Caribbean islands. Because of the school’s location and small population, Jackeima Flemming fears they have been “forgotten” in the larger conversation. 

“We are marginalized,” she said. “[Because] sex and reproduction wellness is still a very taboo topic where we come from, we felt like we needed to be part of the conversation,” Fleming continued. 

The issue of mental health is another “taboo” topic that ambassadors voiced concerns about during the HHS meeting. A Journal of Adolescent Health study found that 40 percent of Black students experience mental health issues. Black students are also 50 percent less likely to seek help regarding mental health. 

Ambassador Rokiyah Hobbs said the Tougaloo College campus is trying to resolve these disparities by providing mental health spaces for students to unwind and seek help. 

“When you have a stigma amongst the community, especially revolving around reproductive rights and your sexual education, you don’t feel comfortable bringing up that you have an STD or an STI,” she said. 

For Hobbs, the HHS meeting is a start to addressing the mental health needs of Black students on HBCU campuses. “When you don’t have outlets, most people develop mental health issues. That’s how it comes about in our communities, and we lack health resources,” she continued. 

In light of the rise of mental health concerns in addition to the recent Dobbs Supreme Court decision, Power to Decide continues to provide Black students with the necessary access to sexual and reproductive help, and Beyond the Sheets is the latest initiative of many changing the narrative surrounding health for HBCU students. 

The Initiative is active on social media and encourages involvement from every HBCU. For more information, visit their website: powertodecide.org