[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 62 (Thursday, April 7, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E373-E374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF VOORHEES COLLEGE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. G. K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 7, 2022

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 125th 
anniversary of Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina.
  On April 14, 1897, Voorhees College was founded by 23-year-old 
Elizabeth Evelyn Wright as Denmark Industrial School. A native of 
Georgia, Ms. Wright went on to study at Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee 
Institute in Alabama. Knowing the importance of education, Ms. Wright 
moved to South Carolina and started the first of several schools for 
Blacks in the rural area of southeastern South Carolina.

[[Page E374]]

  On May 14, 1902, the Denmark Industrial School was renamed to 
Voorhees Industrial School after Ralph Voorhees, a New Jersey 
philanthropist, gave Ms. Wright $5,000 for the purchase of 280 acres of 
land on the outskirts of Denmark The generous donation allowed the 
school to expand.
  In 1924, the American Church Institute for Negroes, which was a part 
of the Episcopal Church, agreed to support the school beginning a long 
relationship that continues to this day. In 1947, Voorhees Industrial 
School became a junior college and was renamed Voorhees School and 
Junior College after the industrial department was discontinued. The 
junior college was accredited in 1946 by the Southern Association of 
Colleges and Schools and in 1949 it became the first Black college in 
South Carolina to be recognized by the regional body.
  In 1962, the school became Voorhees College and five years later it 
became a senior degree granting institution. Shortly thereafter, it 
received full accreditation as a liberal arts college from the Southern 
Association of Colleges and Schools
  For the last 125 years, Voorhees College has educated thousands of 
students. Its educational scope has expanded from the days of teaching 
vocational skills to becoming a liberal arts college to now having a 
presence in Ghana, Liberia and other countries in West Africa.
  Today, 125 years after Denmark Industrial School was founded, it will 
be renamed once again to Voorhees University with the start of a 
Masters programs.
  Madam Speaker, today, I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating 
the 125th anniversary of Voorhees University, its history, and its 
founder, Elizabeth Evelyn Wright.

                          ____________________