American colleges are becoming hotspots for COVID-19. The New York Times keeps a running survey of more than 1,700 college campuses. The paper has recorded more than 178,000 infections since the start of the pandemic—the vast majority since the new school year began. What The Times’ infographic doesn’t track, however, is which of those 1,700 colleges have the supplies to fight the virus and which don’t. Colleges require a huge supply of COVID-19 tests so they can detect who is sick and who isn’t. But not all colleges have equal access to testing. That’s particularly true of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). There’s an enormous testing gap. This week, Allan Golston, president of the U.S. Program writes about how our foundation is closing that gap. We’re funding a program that will dramatically expand testing capacity at HBCUs. America’s Black community has disproportionally suffered from this virus. In some places, twice as many Black Americans have died of COVID-19 as white Americans, and systemic racism is certainly a major cause. This new funding, we hope, will begin to address some of those inequities, but we know it’s only one small step. |