[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 114 (Thursday, September 14, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H6618-H6619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING NATIONAL HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) is recognized for 5 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my special order today.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, the week of September 10 was denominated 
National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week by 
legislation introduced by our colleague and my friend, Congresswoman 
Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, and passed this past July, and I am 
honored to join my colleagues today in celebrating it.
  The contributions made by HBCUs to the African American community, to 
our country and to our culture cannot be overstated. As President 
Clinton once noted, ``Generations of African American educators, 
physicians, lawyers, scientists, and other professionals found at HBCUs 
the knowledge, experience and encouragement they needed to reach their 
full potential.''
  The alumni rolls of HBCUs read like a Hall of Fame list, Mr. Speaker: 
Martin Luther King, Jr., a graduate of Morehouse College; Booker T. 
Washington, Hampton University, who also helped found the Tuskegee 
Institute in 1881, what is now known as Tuskegee University; W.E.B. 
DuBois, Fisk University; and Wilma Rudolph from Tennessee State 
University.
  The list, of course, could go on and on, and indeed I could mention 
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus itself. In fact, it probably 
will surprise no one that nearly half of our friends and colleagues in 
the Congressional Black Caucus received their degrees Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities. Public service continues to be a 
hallmark of the graduate of black colleges and universities.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, there are 103 Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities in our Nation, serving more than 260,000 undergraduate 
students, with 27 percent offering either a first professional degree 
or a doctorate.
  HBCUs confer nearly a quarter of all bachelor's degrees awarded each 
year to African Americans, and they confer the majority of bachelor's 
degrees and advanced degrees awarded to black students in the physical 
sciences, mathematics, computer science, engineering and education.
  The real story, Mr. Speaker, that underlies these figures, is the 
story of hope and opportunity. Before the Supreme Court's landmark 
decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, African Americans were 
routinely and unjustly excluded from institutions of higher learning. 
It didn't matter how smart you were, it didn't matter how much talent 
or potential you had; the only thing that mattered was the color of 
your skin. What a failed, immoral policy. But out of that rank 
injustice, that indefensible racism, was born a fortitude and a 
determination to rise above, to overcome through education.
  Thus, the first black college, what is now known as Cheyney 
University in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1837. To appreciate 
the magnitude of this, remember that Cheyney was created a full 28 
years before the ratification of the 13th Amendment, to train free 
blacks to become school teachers. Today, Cheyney continues to serve 
with great pride as an avenue for African Americans to attend college.
  Four of the 103 HBCUs are located in the State of Maryland, including 
Bowie State University in my own district, a college with which I have 
been working since 1967 when I was elected to the Maryland State 
Senate. Bowie was founded in 1865, and is the oldest Historically Black 
University in Maryland.
  The others are a great institution in Baltimore City, Morgan State, 
and its sister, Coppin State, both in that great city, and the last is 
the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, located in Princess Anne.
  Let me say as a former member of the Maryland Board of Regents and as 
someone acutely interested in education and the needs of our youth, I 
see the manifest vision and the determination of HBCUs in practice 
every day. I see it in the faces of the children in my district, who 
know that they will have the opportunity to develop their skills and 
talents, whether they choose Bowie State, the University of Maryland at 
College Park or any other school.
  I see it in the faces of the young professionals who have attended an 
HBCU who are now working hard to build their careers and contribute to 
our society. And, yes, I see it in the faces of those here tonight who 
appreciate the unique role and history of Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities and who understand the importance of their continued 
vibrancy.
  We must recognize, Mr. Speaker, that our strength as a Nation lies 
not just in the quality of the University of Maryland at College Park, 
but in the excellence of Bowie State. We must realize while we 
celebrate the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, we also must 
take joy in the accomplishments of North Carolina A&T.

[[Page H6619]]

  HBCUs have strengthened our country and enriched our culture beyond 
measure, and while they can take great pride in their glorious past, it 
is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that they enjoy an even brighter 
future.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor our historically black 
colleges and universities, or HBCU's.
  It is important that every American understands the history of these 
institutions and the great impact that they have had on our Nation, and 
I thank Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson for introducing the 
resolution declaring this week ``National Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities Week.''
  For years, HBCU's offered many African Americans their only 
educational opportunity. HBCU's remain a vital part of our higher 
education system because they continue to offer high quality 
educational opportunities.
  In fact, about one-third of black lawyers, one-half of black 
engineers, two-thirds of black physicians, and four-fifths of black 
federal judges are graduates of HBCU's.
  Among the leaders who HBCU's have produced throughout our history are 
artists and writers, astronauts, business leaders, civil rights 
leaders, mayors, Members of Congress, a Supreme Court Justice, 
university presidents, and countless others.
  So, today, we honor HBCU's because of their glorious past and look 
forward to what I am sure will be an even more glorious future.
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, thank you to my colleagues who 
have also risen to pay tribute to our nation's historically black 
colleges and universities (HBCUs). September 10-16 is the week 
designated by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities to recognize the work of HBCUs. As a graduate of 
Florida A&M University (FAMU), a historically black university in 
Tallahassee, Florida, this occasion holds special significance for me.
  Over 40 years ago, I arrived on Florida A&M University's campus in 
Tallahassee, Florida for my freshman year. At 16 years old, I was a 
young man with dreams and great ambition like scores of other black men 
and women who have filled the halls of historically black colleges and 
universities for more than a century. My story is theirs; like so many 
HBCU graduates, the invaluable education I received afforded me 
countless successes throughout my career. After graduating from Florida 
A&M University in 1967, I attended the Wharton school of business, ran 
a successful advertising firm, and served in the Georgia State Senate 
for 26 years. Today I represent the 13th Congressional district.
  Indeed just as my experience reflects the opportunities available to 
HBCU graduates, the evolution of Florida A&M represents the growth of 
many HBCUs from niche schools to solid academic institutions with 
national recognition. Florida A&M University evolved from a small, 
little known school in Florida's panhandle to a university ranked the 
best overall university for African American students by Black 
Enterprise in 2006. Florida A&M University has created a culture of 
achievement in its undergraduate and graduate programs. In 1997 Florida 
A&M University beat out thousands of institutions to receive the 
College of the Year honor from Time Magazine-Princeton Review.
  Florida A&M University's success is only a part of a larger story of 
achievement for numerous institutions and the students who fill their 
hollowed halls. Over 100 HBCUs continue to educate the best and 
brightest of America's emerging leaders. In 2001, HBCUs awarded one-
fifth of all bachelor's degrees earned by black students nationally. 
HBCU graduates fill professional ranks, closing gaps in professional 
and economic attainment. One example of this can be found at Xavier 
University in Louisiana. Xavier University outranks all institutions in 
the country for the placement of black students into medical schools.
  Moreover, HBCUs are embedded within America's historical and cultural 
fabric. Their accomplished graduates have spurred social change, led 
political movements, forged divergent artistic paths, and heralded the 
dawning of new literary ages. To list all the prestigious alumni of 
HBCUs would require volumes. In summation, it can be said that without 
them and the institutions that honed their skills, there would have 
been no Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement, Brown vs. Board of 
Education, and countless other eras and historical turning points which 
redefined the lives of all Americans.
  Today I commend the work of HBCUs and the leaders and scholars that 
have dedicated their abilities to leading them into the 21st Century. I 
wish each institution a century's more of unparalleled achievement. 
Borrowing from the Black National Anthem.

     . . . We have come over a way that with tears have been 
           watered,
     We have come, treading our path through the blood of the 
           slaughtered,
     Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last
     Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. . . .

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, this week we celebrate National 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Week, and all that 
they have done for our country. While I did not attend an HBCU, I have 
reaped the benefits of these institutions, as have all Americans.
  Historically black colleges and universities were founded at a time 
when segregation was often the norm, whether officially sanctioned or 
not. These institutions offered African-Americans the opportunity to 
pursue an education that may have otherwise been out of their reach. 
Education is very often the key to a successful and productive life, 
and HBCUs continue to provide this invaluable asset to thousands of 
African Americans and other Americans.
  HBCUs have helped many students who have gone on to become leaders 
and who have left a positive and lasting effect on society as a whole. 
In law and politics, HBCUs have yielded great minds such as Martin 
Luther King, Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. HBCUs have educated cultural 
and literary greats such as Toni Morrison, Langston Hughes, and Ralph 
Ellison. Many talented entertainers and athletes have attended HBCUs, 
including Oprah Winfrey and football great Walter Payton. These 
individuals and countless others have gone on to make a significant 
contribution to society after attending an HBCU. For all that HBCUs 
have done to improve the lives of African Americans, and for all that 
these African Americans have in turn done to improve society, we are 
eternally grateful.

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