[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 28, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S3828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    REMEMBERING JOSEPH CARTER CORBIN

 Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, today I wish to commemorate the life 
and legacy of Joseph Carter Corbin, a renowned African-American 
educator who left a legacy as a trailblazer and innovator that 
continues to open new doors for students to this day.
  Joseph Carter Corbin was born in Chillicothe, OH, in 1833 to former 
slaves, who raised their family as free people in Chillicothe and later 
in Cincinnati. Corbin's family worked hard to make sure he and his 
siblings had access what had been denied to them--the right to an 
education along with the opportunities it provides.
  Corbin studied at Ohio University, earning an undergraduate degree 
and two graduate degrees at a time when African Americans had very 
limited access to higher education. Corbin started his family in 
Cincinnati, working as a clerk for a municipal bank and coediting a 
regular newsletter for African Americans in the Midwest. However, he 
made it his life's mission to expand access to higher education to 
African Americans.
  In 1871, Joseph Carter Corbin moved to Arkansas where he blazed new 
trails as the first African-American State superintendent of public 
instruction. He went on to found, in 1875, the Branch Normal College, 
which was the first institution of higher education for African-
American students in the State. Corbin served as the school's principal 
and sole teacher for 7 years, before Branch Normal College was 
designated as an 1890 Land Grant Institution and later merged with the 
State university system to form University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 
1972. University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff continues to educate 
students to this day.
  We remember Joseph Carter Corbin for his lifetime of breaking down 
barriers and improving access to higher education for African Americans 
and others who are left behind by our educational system.
  Today Joseph Carter Corbin will receive an Ohio historical marker on 
the campus of Ohio University Chillicothe, commemorating his impact on 
Ohio and his contribution to higher education of African Americans 
across the Nation. I know that my Senate colleagues will join me in 
celebrating his life and achievements, as well as applauding the 
actions by Ohio University to honor their distinguished alumnus, Joseph 
Carter Corbin.

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