Judge Rules That a Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Againts the state of Florida by Florida A&M University Students May Proceed

In September 2022, six students at historically Black Florida A&M University in Tallahassee filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the state of Florida. A federal judge recently ruled that the litigation can move forward. The suit claims that the state is discriminating against African Americans because Florida A&M receives less funding per student than the University of Florida.

The plaintiffs call for the state to commit to equity in its support of historically Black colleges and universities. They seek injunctive relief under various laws, including Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in federally funded programs.

According to the complaint, the University of Florida receives a larger state appropriation per student than FAMU – over 33 years, from 1987 to 2020, that shortfall amounted to approximately $1.3 billion. Moreover, the complaint alleges that the state supports programming and courses of study at Florida State University, a traditionally White university also located in Tallahassee, that unnecessarily duplicates programming at FAMU, which steers prospective students toward Florida State.

Founded more than 130 years ago, Florida A&M University is “still playing catch-up in the state of Florida, which we feel has acted with an astonishing lack of good faith, despite decades of directives from the federal government that all students in the state receive equal educational opportunities,” said Josh Dubin, the attorney representing the plaintiffs. “This deliberate indifference toward HBCUs is not unique to Florida, but FAMU is where we’re joining the fight to ensure the education is fair for everyone.”

Florida A&M University moves ahead with plans to create African-American news network

Florida A&M University is moving forward with plans to create the first-ever African-American new network, with the university as its headquarters.

"The Black Television News Channel" will broadcast in 14 cities across the US including New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, with hopes of becoming a world-wide station. This comes thanks to a new agreement with Charter Communications.

FAMU first joined the project to bring the Black Television News Channel to viewers in 2014. While there is an 11-year agreement to house the network on campus, many involved are hopeful that the channel and the cooperation with the university will last much longer.

The project is expected to bring hundreds of jobs and 30 million dollars in economic stimulus to Tallahassee, in addition to training for FAMU journalism students.

"Black Television News Channel will focus on the African-American community. We will broadcast 24 hours, 7 days a week, world-wide, much like CNN or Fox, or MSNBC, says former Tallahassee mayor John Marks who is one of the principles in starting the project. "Our focus however will be on the African-American community and bringing news from an African-American perspective. That's the idea for the network at this point in time. "

[SOURCE:WTXL]