Missouri sued over alleged decades of underfunding at historically Black university
The suit seeks damages and a court order to force parity funding, citing a $361.6 million shortfall and campus harm over decades.
- On Wednesday, Lincoln University students and alumni filed a lawsuit against Missouri in U.S. District Court, alleging the state violated the Morrill Act of 1890 by failing to equitably match federal land-grant funding.
- Plaintiffs argue Missouri historically appropriated less funding per student to Lincoln than to the University of Missouri, with federal data suggesting a $361.6 million shortfall between fiscal years 1987 and 2020.
- Students cite deteriorating campus facilities lacking heat and financial hardships forcing some to work up to 30 hours weekly. Plaintiff Makhi Jaff stated Lincoln is "constantly putting Band-Aids over bullet wounds" due to limited resources.
- Attorney Don Calloway stated the suit seeks a $549 million fund and a federal consent decree ensuring future funding parity with the University of Missouri, arguing the state's failure to match federal allocations constitutes a constitutional violation.
- The 1890 Project monitors similar disparities across 16 states where federal officials identified more than $12 billion in funding shortfalls, positioning this case as a potential legal test for land-grant HBCUs nationwide.
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91 Articles
This HBCU's Students Are Suing Missouri For $549 Million: Here’s What Could Change If They Win
Several students and alumni of one of the nation’s oldest HBCUs are suing the government of Missouri for severely underfunding the university over a period of decades. The plaintiffs are seeking more than half a billion dollars from the state, to be dedicated to the university in compensation for the decades of underpayments. Missouri accused of double standard in university funding A group of seven current students and alumni of Lincoln Univers…
Present and former Lincoln University students sue Missouri for underfunding
A group of former and current students of Lincoln University (LU) of Missouri on Wednesday sued the state of Missouri, alleging that the state’s intentional withholding of funds continues to perpetuate a history of “racially segregated higher education.” The LU plaintiffs argue that the state has “appropriated less per student to Lincoln than to the University of Missouri, and that conditioned Lincoln’s receipt of statutorily mandated matching …
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Lincoln University Students Sue Missouri Over Alleged Decades of Unequal Funding
Students and alumni say Missouri shortchanged its historically Black land-grant university by hundreds of millions of dollars compared with the University of Missouri.
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