COVID-19 cases [7] (five students and three employees) between Sept. 11 and 17. Just 62, or 2.7 percent, of 2,320 students and employees who were voluntarily tested since July 1 have tested positive.

"It has been very manageable, very low," Simmons said of the numbers.

With Black people dying at disproportionate rates from COVID-19 and communities of color experiencing harmful social and economic consequences, HBCU students have more than a passing familiarity with the heavy emotional and personal costs of the pandemic. Some students have lost loved ones to the coronavirus. Others saw their parents lose jobs as a result of the recession or may have been laid off themselves, and they and their families are now struggling financially. The pandemic has also worsened equity gaps in higher education [8].

Add to that the widespread national protests this summer against police killings of unarmed Black people -- as well as the antagonistic and sometimes violent response of the Trump administration and police departments -- and the deep pain and anger it has caused. These events have prompted HBCU

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