[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 684 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 684

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                    September 23, 2009.
Whereas in 1867, shortly after the end of the Civil War, with funds provided by 
        the Freedman's Bureau, Howard Normal and Theological Institute was 
        established;
Whereas the following year, the Board of Trustees voted to expand the 
        institute's curriculum and change the name to Howard University;
Whereas in 1869, Howard University School of Law, which shares Howard 
        University's founding principles: Veritas et Utilitas (Truth and 
        Service), was opened in an effort to address the great need to train 
        lawyers who would have a strong commitment to helping African-Americans 
        secure and protect their newly established rights granted by the 13th 
        and 14th amendments to the Constitution;
Whereas Howard Law School is the first law school dedicated to the education of 
        African-Americans;
Whereas Howard Law School's original faculty members were former Dean of the Law 
        School, John Mercer Langston, and the Honorable Albert Gallatin Riddle;
Whereas John Mercer Langston, the namesake of Langston University, was the first 
        African-American Member of the House of Representatives from the State 
        of Virginia, representing Virginia's 4th district, and former President 
        of Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (presently known as Virginia 
        State University);
Whereas the Honorable Albert Gallatin Riddle, former Member of the 37th 
        Congress, was an abolitionist and novelist;
Whereas Charlotte E. Ray (class of 1872) was not only the first African-American 
        female graduate of Howard Law School, but was also the first African-
        American female to practice law in the District of Columbia;
Whereas James C. Napier (class of 1872), who was invited to attend Howard Law 
        School by Dean John Mercer Langston, served as President William H. 
        Taft's Registrar of the Treasury, and is 1 of 5 African-Americans whose 
        signature has appeared on currency of the United States;
Whereas Robert H. Terrell (class of 1889) was the first African-American 
        municipal judge for the District of Columbia;
Whereas former Dean of Howard Law School, William Henry Hastie, became the first 
        African-American Governor of the United States Virgin Islands, the first 
        African-American Federal magistrate judge, and the first African-
        American to be appointed as a Federal circuit court judge;
Whereas former Vice Dean, Charles Hamilton Houston, widely known as, ``the man 
        who killed Jim Crow'', was known to remark to his students that, ``a 
        lawyer is either a social engineer or a parasite on society * * *'';
Whereas Howard Law School served as the training ground and planning site for 
        the lawyers who, through Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 
        rejected the notion that separate education equates to equal education;
Whereas civil rights attorneys Oliver Hill (class of 1933) and co-counsel, 
        Spottswood Robinson III (class of 1939), were attorneys for the 
        plaintiffs in Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, 
        which was 1 of 5 cases consolidated with Brown v. Board of Education of 
        Topeka, Kansas;
Whereas Thurgood Marshall (class of 1933) was the lead litigator to argue Brown 
        v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, before the Supreme Court, and 
        was later named Associate Justice on the Supreme Court;
Whereas Damon Keith (class of 1949) is currently a senior judge for the United 
        States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit;
Whereas Harris Wofford (class of 1954) is a former Senator from Pennsylvania and 
        was a civil rights advisor to President John F. Kennedy;
Whereas former Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, L. Douglas Wilder (class of 1959), 
        was the first African-American elected as Governor in the United States;
Whereas Vernon Jordan (class of 1960), former advisor to President Bill Clinton, 
        noted that at Howard Law School, he found, ``a wife, a career, and a 
        reaffirmation of [his] faith in the mission of black people'', and that 
        his time at Howard, ``saved [his] soul'';
Whereas Roland Burris (class of 1963) is a Member of the United States Senate;
Whereas Gabrielle McDonald (class of 1966), Howard University Trustee Emerita, 
        serves as an Arbitrator on the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, is a 
        former president and judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for 
        the former Yugoslavia, formerly served as a judge for the United States 
        District Court for the Southern District of Texas and was elected to the 
        ``Texas Woman's Hall of Fame'';
Whereas former Dean and professor at Howard Law School, J. Clay Smith (class of 
        1967), who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 and President 
        Ronald Reagan in 1981 to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity 
        Commission, in the capacities of Commissioner and Acting Chairman, is 
        the author of ``Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer 1844-1944'' 
        and ``Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers'', and the 
        editor of ``Supreme Justice: Speeches and Writings'', written by 
        Thurgood Marshall;
Whereas Wiley Daniel (class of 1971) was the first African-American appointed as 
        a judge for the United States District Court for the District of 
        Colorado;
Whereas Isaiah Leggett (class of 1974) is the County Executive for Montgomery 
        County, Maryland;
Whereas Jack Johnson (class of 1975) is the County Executive for Prince George's 
        County, Maryland;
Whereas the recent addition of Vicky Miles-LeGrange (class of 1977) as Chief 
        Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of 
        Oklahoma evidences the ongoing commitment of the faculty and staff of 
        Howard Law School to equip alumni with the necessary tools to succeed at 
        every level;
Whereas Gregory Meeks (class of 1978) is a Member of the United States House of 
        Representatives;
Whereas former District of Columbia Mayors, Walter Washington (class of 1948) 
        and Sharon Pratt Kelly (class of 1968), and current Mayor, Adrian Fenty 
        (class of 1996), are alumni of Howard Law School;
Whereas Howard Law School is one of a select group of law schools that can boast 
        having as alumni a Supreme Court Justice, numerous Federal and State 
        judges, Members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, a 
        Governor, and several Mayors;
Whereas the Princeton Review ranks Howard Law School's faculty as the most 
        diverse law school faculty in the Nation;
Whereas Spencer Boyer, a Professor at Howard Law School, has 38 years of 
        service, which makes him one of the most senior African-American law 
        professors in the United States;
Whereas the competitive efforts of the Huver I. Brown Trial Advocacy Moot Court 
        Team, the Charles Hamilton Houston National Moot Court Team, and the 
        Goler Teal Butcher International Moot Court Team are evidence of Howard 
        Law School's dedication to the vigorous training of zealous advocates;
Whereas Howard Law School's curriculum, which includes a study abroad program in 
        Cape Town, South Africa, the Civil Rights Clinic, the Fair Housing 
        Clinic, the World Food Law Institute, and the Institute of Intellectual 
        Property and Social Justice, demonstrates an aggressive commitment to 
        provide relevant hands-on instruction in an ever-evolving legal 
        environment;
Whereas for 10 years, through the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy 
        Project, law students in the Howard University School of Law student-
        fellows program teach constitutional law in public high schools in the 
        District of Columbia;
Whereas Howard Law School's comparatively low tuition and aggressive career 
        services staff helped the school achieve a ranking of third on the 
        Vault.com's list of the most underrated law schools in the Nation;
Whereas Howard Law School has contributed robustly to society through the 
        education of attorneys who have gone on to serve the world in countless 
        public and private capacities; and
Whereas there is no greater illustration of Howard Law School's motto, 
        ``Leadership for America and the Global Community'', than the faculty, 
        staff, students, and alumni of Howard University School of Law: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes Howard University School of Law's profound 
        achievements and unwavering commitment to social justice for all people;
            (2) encourages the continued dedication to the first-rate training 
        of social engineers; and
            (3) congratulates Howard University President, Sidney A. Ribeau, 
        Ph.D., Howard University School of Law Dean, Kurt L. Schmoke, J.D., and 
        the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of Howard Law School on the 
        momentous occasion of its 140th anniversary.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.