[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 135 (Thursday, October 3, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING 50 YEARS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS AT DUKE UNIVERSITY

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                         HON. G.K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 3, 2013

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, on October 5, 2013 there will be a 
grand event in Durham, North Carolina honoring the five African 
American undergraduate students that integrated Duke University. On 
this special occasion Duke, along with the residents of Durham, 
students and staff of North Carolina Central University, houses of 
worship, non-profits, and community organizations will celebrate the 
50th anniversary of civil rights achievements in Durham and the 
integration of Duke University.
  Nathaniel White Jr., Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke, Gene Kendall, the late 
Mary Mitchell Harris and the late Cassandra Smith Rush were the five 
fearless undergraduates who forever changed the fabric of Duke 
University. In 1963, these pioneers enrolled at Duke University, 
joining the African American students who had enrolled in Duke Law 
School in 1961 and the Divinity and Graduate Schools in 1962. This 
occurred at a time when there were only two African American 
professors.
  After graduating from Duke University, these five students went on to 
do great things that benefited our society. Nathaniel White Jr. became 
Director of the Public Health Sciences Institute at Morehouse College, 
Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke became a law professor and member of Duke's 
Board of Trustees, and Gene Kendall bravely served our country in the 
United States Navy. The late Mary Mitchell Harris became a performance 
counselor at Georgia Tech University and President of Education 
Consulting for Harris Learning Solutions and Cassandra Smith Rush went 
on to work for Southern New England Telephone. Duke has a history of 
producing some of our nation's finest graduates and counts the first 
five African American students among them.
  It is with great pride that I acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the 
integration of Duke University and the courageous students who changed 
the institution's history forever. It is with sincere pride that I ask 
my colleagues to join me in marking this important anniversary.

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