[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IN HONOR AND APPRECIATION OF HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND 
                              UNIVERSITIES

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. MIKE ROSS

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 2006

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor America's Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities. Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities were not officially recognized by the government until 
1964, but these valuable institutions have had a lasting impact on our 
nation for more than a century.
  As the United States Representative for Arkansas's Fourth 
Congressional District, I have the distinct honor to represent my 
state's largest and only four-year public Historically Black 
University, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. UAPB was founded 
in 1890 and now provides more than 3,600 students with a quality, 
affordable education.
  The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is an anchor for the town of 
more than 55,000 people as it provides jobs, resources, opportunities 
and education to the entire region. Growing up in rural Arkansas, I had 
the unfortunate opportunity to see how segregation affected Southern 
towns. The division that was placed on different cultures was stretched 
far and wide. Prior to 1964, it was almost impossible for an African 
American student to enroll in a public institution of higher education. 
Thankfully, these students had the opportunity to continue learning and 
pursuing their dream because of Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities. When doors were shut to African American students, those 
students refused to take no for an answer and created institutions of 
higher education where education was the focus, not a distraction.
  Historically Black Colleges and Universities are vital to the 
education of our nation's youth. They enroll 14 percent of all African 
American students in higher education, yet the 102 recognized 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities only constitute three 
percent of America's 4,084 institutions of higher education. Twenty-
four percent of all baccalaureate degrees earned by African Americans 
nationwide are earned in our Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities.
  I wish that those brave Americans who formed the first black college 
could be here today to see the lasting impact they have had on the 
thousands of Americans who have benefited from an education at such an 
institution. Just think, without these colleges, we might have never 
known or heard from American icons such as Martin Luther King, Langston 
Hughes, Thurgood Marshall, Walter Payton or Oprah Winfrey. There is no 
doubt in my mind or my heart, that these great people were the product 
of an invaluable institution which motivated them to be leaders they 
became.
  I am proud to have joined with my friend and colleague Ms. Eddie 
Bernice Johnson in passing legislation honoring our nation's 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities and I will fight to ensure 
their continued excellence in education will live on.
  I am so pleased to have the opportunity to properly recognize our 
nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities before the United 
States Congress for their outstanding contributions to the communities 
and lives they have educated and will continue to impact. Please join 
me in applauding the amazing work these institutions have done over the 
course of history.

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