[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 13, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

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                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 13, 2001

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to twenty-two 
exceptional students at Claflin University, who are participating in 
the ``Call Me Mister'' program.
  ``Call Me Mister'' was developed to address the looming shortage of 
teachers, especially black male teachers. The program strives to place 
black males in front of elementary school classrooms in order to 
provide positive role models for our children.
  Each of the twenty-two participants in ``Call Me Mister'' at Claflin 
underwent a rigorous application process and are required to maintain a 
minimum grade point average. The students will complete 300 hours of 
community service before they graduate.
  Black youths in South Carolina have the highest dropout rate of any 
group and twenty percent are held back in the first grade. These 
children are in desperate need of African American men to model their 
lives after, who can show them that the American dream can come true 
for all Americans.
  ``Call Me Mister'' promises to provide the State of South Carolina 
with a new breed of teachers. Less than one percent of the state's 
teachers are African American males despite the fact that the state is 
one-third black. Claflin University and the wonderful participants in 
the ``Call Me Mister'' program are working to make South Carolina's 
elementary school classrooms more representative of the state itself.
  Mr. Speaker, the ``Call Me Mister'' program is working to improve 
South Carolina schools along with the mentality of African American 
men. Please join me in paying tribute to these wonderful students and 
this long overdue program as they work to better the educational system 
in my state.

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