The National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce announced the first five grants totaling $10.6 million were awarded from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program.
These grants will be used to pay for equipment, internet connectivity and the hiring and training of information technology staff, according to a July 22 Department of Commerce news release. Recipients of the awards include Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Minority-Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
“America’s minority serving college and universities are bedrock learning centers that have too often been left behind when it comes to accessing affordable high-speed internet,” Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said, according to the release. “The Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program enables these institutions to be a resource for access, digital skills training and workforce development programs for students and the community to help level the economic playing field.”
The U.S. will leave low-income communities and communities of color behind if it charges forward into the digital age without making efforts to increase internet access, New York Rep. Mondaire Jones said, according to the release.
“We cannot, and will not, let this happen. The Commerce Department, along with many others, are doing incredible work every day to promote digital equity in marginalized communities on the state and local level,” Jones said in the release. “I’m so proud to be part of that effort to deliver essential funding for Mercy College so they can ensure all of their students have internet access.”
