[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 78 (Tuesday, May 13, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H3753-H3754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE CITY OF GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA'S BICENTENNIAL 
                              CELEBRATION

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

[[Page H3754]]

  Mr. MILLER of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor 
the City of Greensboro's Bicentennial Celebration.
  Since 1808, the citizens of Greensboro have been pioneers in 
manufacturing, education and civil rights for North Carolina, for the 
South and for the Nation. Greensboro has been and remains a leader in 
economic and cultural development within North Carolina.
  Greensboro became the ``Gate City'' at the turn of the last century 
as North Carolina's rail trade and manufacturing center. Greensboro 
soon became a leader in North Carolina's textile industry. Henry 
Humphreys opened the State's first steam-powered cotton mill, and by 
the 1940s, Greensboro businesses were flourishing. Rayon weaving from 
Burlington Industries, denim from Cone Mills, and overalls from Blue 
Bell dominated world markets for their products. In the late 1980s, the 
Piedmont Triad International Airport again established Greensboro's 
place as a regional travel and transportation hub.
  Greensboro's always been at the forefront of education in North 
Carolina. Greensboro College, the first State-chartered college for 
women opened its doors in 1833.
  In 1837, Quakers founded the first co-educational school in the 
State, Greensboro's ``New Garden Boarding School,'' today known as 
Guilford College, my wife's alma matter.
  Greensboro Technical Community College has provided training and an 
adult education since 1958.
  What began as Women's College, and is now the University of North 
Carolina at Greensboro, and North Carolina Agriculture and Technical 
College, A & T, is a historical black land grant institution, are 
leaders in university research, development and art.
  With such a strong concentration of academic institutions, Greensboro 
has obviously developed a thriving cultural scene, particularly 
renowned for theater, for music and film. In the last few decades 
there's been an expanded public library system, a children's museum, 
work in historic preservation, including an effort to save the 
Woolworth's where the sit-in movement began, as well as the Greensboro 
Coliseum Complex, which is known for the arts, as well as for college 
basketball. It's frequently the host of the Atlantic Coast Conference's 
Men's Basketball Tournament.
  Greensboro has also played an important role for racial equality. 
Greensboro was a stop on the Underground Railroad, as citizens, both 
black and white, helped slaves escape to the North.
  In 1873, Greensboro founded Bennett College for Women to provide 
education for newly emancipated slaves.
  On February 1, 1960, four North Carolina A & T students sat down at 
the Woolworth's white only lunch counter. Ezell Blair, now Jibreel 
Khazan, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond remained 
seated until the store was closed, and returned the next day and the 
next day and the next day, joined each day by more and more who were 
protesting segregation. The ``Greensboro Four'' or the ``A & T Four'' 
inspired similar civil rights protests across the South. The sit-in 
protest that began in Greensboro was the moment the civil rights 
struggle became a movement.
  Later, Greensboro's peaceful public school integration was a model 
for other communities all over the nation. And today, Greensboro 
celebrates a diverse population, with citizens from Southeast Asia, 
Eastern Europe, Latin America, as well as Africa.
  In the tradition of the Underground Railroad, the tradition begun 
with Greensboro's participation in the Underground Railroad, Greensboro 
now welcome refugees from conflicts around the world, the Sudan, 
Liberia, Myanmar and on and on.
  I am proud to honor the Bicentennial Celebrations of the City of 
Greensboro, and I'm honored to represent Greensboro in Congress.

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