Clyburn Says Sanders’ Free College Plan Would Doom Private HBCUs

Rep. Jim Clyburn Says Sanders’ Free College Tuition Plan Would Doom Private HBCUs

Rep. Jim Clyburn, who backs Clinton, predicts that private black colleges would not be able to compete under Bernie Sanders' plan for free college tuition

Ahead of South Carolina’s Democratic Primary contest, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) is campaigning for Hillary Clinton. He’s warning African-Americans about what would happen if Bernie Sanders implements his plan for free college tuition.

“You’ve got to think about the consequences of things. [If] you start handing out two years of free college at public institutions, are you ready for all the black, private HBCUs to close down? That’s what’s going to happen,” Clyburn told Buzz Feed.

Sanders proposes a six-step college affordability plan that would include free tuition at public colleges and universities. Where would the money come from for free tuition? A tax on Wall Street. Sanders says more than 1,000 economists have endorsed his proposal to impose a small tax on speculators “who nearly destroyed the economy.”

Clyburn acknowledged to Buzz Feed that scores of South Carolina’s college-aged students are supporting Sanders—not the heavily favored former secretary of state. But he told the news site that Sanders’ threatens historically black colleges like South Carolina’s Claflin University that have served the African-American community for generations.