In May, I joined more than a million Americans in walking across the graduation stage—150 years after John Houston Burrus did the same.

Burrus was one of the first African American students to graduate college in this country because of the Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862. Endorsed by President Abraham Lincoln, the act expanded access to higher education by funding and establishing public colleges and universities. It paved the way for many institutions that still shape our country today, including the University of California system.

Yet today the promise of public higher education is facing a crisis of affordability and access, amplified by the recent passage of the Big, Beautiful Bill and the Trump administration’s attempted cuts to programs like Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, which threatens to widen opportunity gaps even further. As federal support wanes, states must step in and take the lead in reinvesting in public institutions.

As a first-generation college student, I didn’t truly hit my stride until I enrolled in a public university. I grew up in a zip code where fewer than one-third of residents hold a college degree. Research shows that, in general, socioeconomic mobility is influenced more by residential location than by almost any other factor.

It wasn’t until college that I came into contact with educators and mentors who saw my potential and supported my growth. I became involved in campus groups where we discussed the true purpose of graduate school, beyond just being a buzzword, and I learned the important distinction between a job and a career. Without access to affordable public higher education, I wouldn’t have had access to these kinds of guidance and opportunities.

The opportunities I received can be traced back to Lincoln’s Morrill Act, which established a powerful partnership between the federal and state governments. The former provided the land, while the latter built the institutions by providing the necessary capital to grow and nurture these colleges.

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Unfortunately, in our current era, federal support is shrinking even as tuition costs and student debt soar. Rural and community colleges, often vital community hubs, are underfunded and overlooked. Community colleges receive $8,800 less per student than four-year institutions, according to a 2020 analysis by the Center for American Progress. A study by the National Education Association found that 32 states spent nearly $1,500 less per student on public colleges and universities in 2020 than they did in 2008. This disinvestment has disproportionately harmed students from under-resourced communities, including my own, many of whom rely on public institutions as their only viable path to higher education.

But as the dream of equitable public education comes under greater assault, states have the power to push back and reverse the trend. Programs like the Tennessee Promise Program and New York’s Tuition Assistance Program and strong public systems like State University of New York and City University of New York demonstrate that state investments can yield significant returns. Research from the Rockefeller Institute of Government shows that every dollar invested in SUNY generates $8.67 in economic returns.

Most Pell Grants already go to students attending public institutions. When states bolster those institutions, they maximize the impact of federal aid and provide lifelines for low-income, first-generation, and working-class students. In other words, state investment in higher education is not just a moral imperative, it’s a smart economic strategy.

Some may argue that shifting greater responsibility to the states risks widening inequalities between wealthier and poorer states. But the solution is not to pull back; it is to invest more, especially in communities facing the greatest barriers.

Mississippi, for example, struggles with double-digit poverty rates and underperforming schools. It receives the highest average Pell Grant in the country, yet its state Tuition Assistance Grant offers minimal relief. Without targeted state action, the situation will only grow more dire. While federal-state collaboration remains ideal, today’s political climate demands that states act now.

As I turned my tassel at graduation, my gaze swept across the first-generation students, single parents, and working-class classmates standing beside me. Our stories are tied to the actions of the leaders and changemakers who came before us. Burrus, after graduating from Fisk University, became a leading voice demanding equal funding for schools serving marginalized communities. His plea that every child deserves the same quality of education remains unanswered more than a century later.

To continue what both of these historical figures started, states must act to lower costs, expand access, and restore public investment. That is how we honor Burrus’s legacy and fulfill Lincoln’s vision of a public higher education for all.