[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 32 (Thursday, February 27, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S2913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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       IN HONOR OF PENNSYLVANIA'S HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITIES

 Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, in celebration of Black History 
Month, I rise today to honor Lincoln University and Cheyney University 
of Pennsylvania for the contribution they have made in the education of 
African-Americans over the past two centuries. These two institutions 
of higher learning are charter members of a group of schools known as 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and they have had 
a seminal role in our Nation's academic heritage.
  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is proud to be the birthplace of 
secondary education for African-Americans in this country. Cheyney 
University, originally named the Institute for Colored Youth in 
Pennsylvania, was founded in 1837 as an elementary and high school for 
young blacks. The Institute was a successful, free school for young 
students and, after some years, became a teachers college. Cheyney's 
charter mission was to instruct African descendants in mechanical arts 
and agricultural trades so that they might teach their peers to compete 
and be self-sufficient in the post-slavery economy. Today, Cheyney 
educates men and women in more than thirty disciplines and maintains 
its legacy of providing for minorities of various cultures and 
nationalities.
  Lincoln University rivals Cheyney for the title of oldest 
historically black university. Initially founded as the Ashmun 
Institute, the school opened in 1854 as the very first place of 
``higher education in the arts and sciences for male youth of African 
descent.'' In addition to the important message of educational equality 
and opportunity through learning these universities continue to convey, 
there are thousands of Lincoln and Cheyney alumni who illustrate the 
great gift these schools have given the African-American community in 
particular and the academic community at large. Among these graduates 
are Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, author Langston Hughes, 
former Nigerian President Nnamdi Azikiwe, journalist Ed Bradley, and 
publisher Robert Bogle, to name but a few.
  HBCUs are an integral aspect of what has always been the American 
dream, an ideal that sees education and industry as the tools for 
succeeding in life and pursuing one's talents and interests. The 
livelihood of institutions such as Lincoln and Cheyney Universities is 
central to the preservation of this ideal and with it, our national 
heritage. Our Government has a responsibility to help sustain the 
legacy of these schools, and I am proud to support legislation to this 
end. Bills that bring 21st Century technology to tomorrow's graduates 
and funds intended to keep quality, affordable higher education 
available to all of our Nation's young students are part of the 
process. I encourage my Senate colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
importance of our country's HBCUs. I hope that together we can 
celebrate their history and ensure their future for the posterity of 
the Nation's higher education system.

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