Biden made huge promises to HBCUs. Can he sell its students on compromise?

It’s Sunday, just after 11 a.m. and dozens of current and former Howard University students and alumni sit on black folding chairs under a white tent outside the famed Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel. A choir of more than a dozen stand in front of a crowd singing a gospel song that holds a little extra weight this year.

“Hold out, don’t give up. Help is on the way.”

The help students want is both specific and broad. At its simplest level, they are demanding that the school fix their living...