FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS STATEMENT
CONTACT: apr@fenton.com
September 12, 2025 –– Dr. Andrea Abrams, executive director of the Defending American Values Coalition, a member of the American Pride Rises Network, issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s decision to end grant programs for minority-serving institutions.
“The Trump administration’s move to cut $350 million in grant funding to minority-serving institutions is yet another example of this administration’s disregard for people of color. Ending decades-old programs that ensure communities of all backgrounds have access to higher education is profoundly unfair and spiteful — it’s rooted in the belief that marginalized communities do not deserve equitable and accessible pathways to success.
Since January, the Trump administration has worked tirelessly to strategically dismantle key educational pathways that ensure millions of Americans have the opportunity to get ahead – from obliterating the Department of Education to attacking higher education institutions that refuse to bow in submission to a right-wing agenda, and cutting federal funding to public schools that support diversity, equity, and inclusion. In the march to autocracy, these unrelenting attacks on DEI draw a disturbing parallel to other authoritarian regimes. These cynical and vindictive actions are designed to restore barriers to the American Dream, and ensure that power and privilege remain concentrated in the hands of a select few.
These efforts, combined with the threats of violence to HBCU campuses across the country, are a direct assault on the generations of students, educators, and communities who have fought to ensure that access to a quality education is available to all.
We will not allow fear to dictate who can learn, lead, or thrive. All students, no matter their background or zip code, deserve to live in a nation where the education they receive reflects the fullness of their humanity.
American Pride Rises will continue to defend the dreams of students and educators across the country who share a commitment to ensuring that access to a quality education remains accessible for all – no exceptions.
About American Pride Rises:
American Pride Rises (APR) is an initiative committed to protecting pathways to the American Dream by fighting for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive America for all.