After backlash, DeVos clarifies remarks about black colleges

WASHINGTON — Facing a fierce backlash after she called historically black colleges and universities “real pioneers” of school choice, Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, spent Tuesday afternoon backtracking on the controversial statement and highlighting the institutions’ roots in racism and segregation.

DeVos, in a series of Twitter posts on Tuesday and in remarks at a luncheon with presidents from some of the schools, repeatedly acknowledged that the schools were not created simply to give African-Americans more choices but because black students across the country were not allowed into segregated white schools.

The controversy is the latest gaffe for DeVos, who has had a rough start.

It began Monday evening when DeVos released a statement shortly after meeting with several presidents of historically black colleges and universities. In it, DeVos began by praising the schools for making “tangible, structural reforms” that allowed students, often underserved, to reach their full potential.

“They started from the fact that there were too many students in America who did not have equal access to education,” she said in the statement. “They saw that the system wasn’t working, that there was an absence of opportunity, so they took it upon themselves to provide the solution.”

Historically black colleges and universities “are real pioneers when it comes to school choice,” the statement continued.

“They are living proof that when more options are provided to students, they are afforded greater access and greater quality. Their success has shown that more options help students flourish.”

On Twitter, hundreds of angry users accused her of ignoring the fact that many of the schools were founded because black students were not allowed to attend segregated white schools, not because education pioneers wanted to give African-Americans more options in higher education.

Many accused her of using the nation’s history of segregation to advance a contemporary political agenda.