[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 113 (Thursday, July 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF JUBILEE 
                                  DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 29, 2010

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Jubilee Day, which is 
celebrated on October 6 of every year by the Fisk University community.
  Just after the end of the Civil War, the Fisk School was founded in 
Nashville, Tennessee as an educational institute that would be open to 
all, regardless of race or age. However, just five years after its 
founding, the school faced dire economic struggles.
  In an effort to save the University from closing, a group of students 
formed a choral group, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, with the goal of 
raising money to fund the institution. They took all of the funds in 
the university's treasury for travel expenses, hoping that the enormous 
risk would pay off.
  Despite a few initial struggles, the Jubilee Singers eventually came 
to tour throughout the United States and Europe and raised enough funds 
to not only preserve the university but also to pay for the 
construction of Jubilee Hall, the first permanent structure built for 
the education of African-American students in the South.
  The singers came to perform for such notable figures as William Lloyd 
Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Ulysses S. Grant, William Gladstone, Mark 
Twain, Johann Strauss, and Queen Victoria, and introduced the world to 
the spirituals of enslaved Africans as a musical genre.
  Since its founding in 1866, Fisk has educated countless intellectual, 
artistic, and civic leaders, and has played a pivotal role in the 
advancement of education for African-American students. None of its 
accomplishments would have been possible without the talents and 
sacrifices of that first group of nine students.
  To honor the hard work, perseverance, and accomplishments of the 
original Jubilee Singers and the continued success of the generations 
of Jubilee Singers who followed and continue to tour today, Fisk 
University celebrates Jubilee Day on October 6 of every year.
  This year in particular, members of the Fisk community in Washington, 
DC, will come together for an event at the Capitol to celebrate Jubilee 
Day along with the Fisk community in Nashville.
  Madam Speaker, as a proud alumnus of Fisk, I urge my colleagues to 
join me in this year's celebration of Jubilee Day by cosponsoring this 
resolution, and I urge its immediate consideration.