The Tennessee Black Caucus sent a blistering letter to Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower about his comments about the former Tennessee State University president and the idea of selling its downtown real estate footprint.
The state has been back and forth about the historic Black college since November about its financial footing. Throughout the fall, TSU was quietly asking the state to help keep it afloat, especially when it couldn’t make payroll in November without extra resources. The new board met and discussed that without intervention the school would face a $46 million deficit by the end of the school year.
However, the Tennessee Black Caucus — made up of Black Tennessee state legislators — has now called out Mumpower for his dealing with the situation as it unfolded across the last state building commission in December. That is when the school and state leaders talked about turning the school’s finances in a better direction.
“TSU has faced systemic, historic underfunding and it is troubling for the State of Tennessee to spend decades diverting resources from TSU while criticizing the institution’s financial stability,” lawmakers wrote collectively. “TSU’s challenges require collaboration and equitable support, not condemnation or divisive rhetoric.”