[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1196-E1197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CELEBRATING THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF FORMER PRESIDENT OF BOWIE STATE 
                  UNIVERSITY DR. SAMUEL L. MYERS, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 24, 2019

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise to express my heartfelt 
congratulations to Dr. Samuel L. Myers, Sr. on reaching his milestone 
centennial birthday this past April 18, which is being celebrated on 
September 27 at a gathering of friends, family, and community and 
national leaders at National Harbor in Maryland. From speaking out 
against segregation in the military as an Army captain during the 
Second World War to becoming one of the first African Americans to earn 
a doctorate in economics from Harvard University, from his efforts as 
part of the Civil Rights Movement to expand access to higher education 
to his championing of Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
(HBCU) for more than half a century, Dr. Myers' life has been one of 
blazing trails and breaking down barriers.
  In 1967, Dr. Myers assumed the position of President of Bowie State 
University, the oldest HBUC in Maryland and one of the oldest in the 
country. Under his administration, enrollment increased 200 percent and 
tensions between the student body and officials were

[[Page E1197]]

calmed by his skilled diplomacy and determination to ensure that high-
quality education always came first. After ten years at Bowie State, 
Dr. Myers began an eighteen-year tenure as President of the National 
Association for Equal Opportunity (NAFEO). Representing 117 HBCUs, Dr. 
Myers fought tirelessly to secure much-needed funding for these 
colleges and universities to expand and offer more courses and degrees. 
I am proud, Madam Speaker, to be a member of the Congressional HBCU 
Caucus and to support Bowie State University and other HBCUs as they 
work hard to carry out their important mission of making educational 
achievement and career success more equitable in our country.
  Even after his retirement from NAFEO, Dr. Myers has been a force for 
good in the community, working since 1995 as Chairman of the Board of 
Directors of Minority Access, Inc., an organization that works to 
expand the access of under-represented groups to institutions of higher 
education, federal and state governments, and private corporations. Dr. 
Myers has spent decades fighting for the public good, for equality, for 
justice, and for opportunity. His impact on education in my home state 
of Maryland and in our country cannot be measured and will surely be 
long-lasting. I hope my colleagues will join me in thanking Dr. Myers 
for his lifetime of service and wishing him a very happy 100th 
birthday.

                          ____________________