[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 197 (Friday, November 12, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1226-E1227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF DUNBAR HIGH SCHOOL

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 12, 2021

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join

[[Page E1227]]

me in celebrating Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School's 150th 
anniversary and particularly Carrie Thornhill for her phenomenal 
leadership with the Dunbar Alumni Federation. I am fortunate to be an 
alumna of Dunbar High School and a member of the class of 1955.
  Dunbar High School, which started in a church basement, was the first 
public high school for African Americans in the United States and 
remained segregated until 1954, when the District of Columbia was one 
of the six Brown v. Board of Education jurisdictions that successfully 
challenged segregated schools in the United States. Dunbar was 
instrumental in making the District of Columbia a bulwark of education 
for almost a century, attracting students from across the District, who 
were drawn by the school's excellent reputation. That same reputation 
was reinforced by Dunbar's remarkable record of graduating more 
distinguished African Americans than any high school in the country. 
Among them were Edward Brooke, the first Black popularly elected United 
States Senator; Robert C. Weaver, the first Black cabinet secretary; 
Benjamin O. Davis Sr., the first Black general in the U.S. Army; Wesley 
Brown, the first Black graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy; Charles R. 
Drew, the discoverer of blood plasma; and Mary Jane Patterson, the 
first African American to achieve a college degree. Dunbar also drew 
teachers with advanced degrees who would have been college professors 
but for segregation in higher education.
  In 2002, Dunbar High School established the Dunbar Alumni Federation, 
which works in partnership with school leadership to create better 
futures for Dunbar students and graduates, which has already awarded 
over $1.5 million in scholarships to over 700 students. Dunbar has been 
recently rebuilt into a state-of-the-art facility and became a 
neighborhood school following the Brown decision. Its storied history 
continues to inspire generations of students.
  I have introduced a bill directing the Secretary of the Treasury to 
mint commemorative coins in recognition of Paul Laurence Dunbar, the 
proceeds from the sale of which would benefit of the Dunbar Alumni 
Association.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
congratulating Dunbar High School for 150 years of educating the 
students of the District of Columbia.

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