Taraji P. Henson, Chris Paul Appointed to President’s HBCU Advisory Board
On Thursday, Emmy-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson and NBA star Chris Paul were appointed to President Biden’s HBCU Advisory Board.
Per the Associated Press, they are among the 18 people chosen to be on the board. Others include the presidents from a handful of HBCUs such as Alabama State University, Dillard University in New Orleans, Norfolk State University in Virginia, Prairie View A&M University in Texas and Virginia State University. Lisa Perez, the first Black woman to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and Brett Hart, president of United Airlines are also on the board, as are Delaware State University president Tony Allen and Tennessee State University president Glenda Glover. Allen and Glover currently serve in the roles of chairperson and vice chairperson of the board, respectively.
In a post to Instagram, the Empire star captioned:
“I am excited to announce that President Biden has appointed me to serve on his HBCU Board of Advisors. Since taking office, the President and Vice President Harris have invested $5.8 Billion in HBCUs and I look forward to working with them to continue efforts to support these important institutions.”
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Added Paul in a separate post, “Incredibly humbled to be appointed to President Biden’s HBCU Board of Advisors. Looking forward to working with this amazing group to continue to elevate these historical institutions. #HBCUlove.”
In addition to Henson and Paul, President Biden is also expected to appoint Paige Blake, a 20-year-old junior at Bowie State University in Maryland. The dedicated $5.8 million will be given out to these institutions through a combination of “pandemic relief funding, grants and forgiving capital improvement debt.”
Henson is a proud alum of Howard University while Paul attended Wake Forest University for two years before being drafted by the New Orleans Hornets in 2005.