I don’t know @ucbalumnus ’ reasons and I don’t presume to speak for him/her, but IMO, that merit-money is reason enough to mention AAMU. U of Alabama gets mentioned a lot on CC for its focus on merit money for OOS applicants. CC has several threads that focus on options for students who aren’t necessarily at the top of the GPA/TEST list. AAMU seems to be a viable option for fulfilling that search.
I think it’s great that AAMU provides a significant scholarship for these types of students. Not every parent will have an automatic negative reaction to the possibility of sending their student to an HBCU.