[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2720-2721]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING CLINTON COLLEGE AND MORRIS COLLEGE IN CELEBRATION OF BLACK 
                             HISTORY MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, as part of the observation of 
Black History Month, to continue my series of remarks recognizing 
HBCUs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I am asking my 
colleagues to join me in celebrating Clinton College, in Rock Hill, 
South Carolina, and Morris College, in my hometown of Sumter.
  Clinton College was founded in 1894 by the A.M.E. Zion Church, under 
the leadership of Presiding Elder Nero A. Crockett and Reverend W.M. 
Robinson to combat illiteracy of former slaves. The institution was 
named for Bishop Caleb Clinton, then the presiding bishop of the 
Palmetto Annual Conference of the A.M.E. Zion Church. Originally named 
Clinton Institute, in 1909, it was renamed Clinton Normal and 
Industrial Institute, and was authorized to grant State teaching 
certificates.
  In the late 1940s, the school was again reorganized as Clinton Junior 
College, offering various associate degrees in religion and other 
liberal arts. Still affiliated with the A.M.E. Zion Church, the college 
has grown and expanded under its current president, Dr. Elaine J. 
Copeland, who has led the institution since 2002.
  In 2013, the college, for the first time, was accredited to offer two 
bachelor's degree programs, a bachelor of arts in religious studies, 
and a bachelor of science in business administration. Subsequently, it 
has changed its name to Clinton College, and enrollment is at a 15-year 
high.
  For the past 120 years, Clinton College has been providing academic 
excellence, as well as instilling moral and spiritual growth into their 
students. The college takes pride in being, and I quote its motto, ``A 
Beacon of Light for Today's Scholars and Tomorrow's Leaders.''
  I thank all of my colleagues for joining me in honoring Clinton 
College today.
  Morris College was established in my hometown of Sumter, South 
Carolina, by the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South 
Carolina in 1908, to provide religious and educational training to 
African Americans. Originally, the college featured elementary and high 
school education, as well as a college curriculum. Its college offered 
teaching certificates and degrees in liberal arts and theology. In the 
1930s and 1940s, Morris dropped its elementary and high school programs 
and became solely a liberal arts and religious college.
  Morris' graduates include First Lieutenant Leroy Bowman, who was part 
of the original class of Tuskegee Airmen. These African-American pilots 
trained in a segregated complex near Tuskegee, Alabama, and the 
Walterboro Army Air Field in Colleton County, South Carolina.
  First Lieutenant Bowman served in World War II, flew 36 combat 
missions over Germany, and had a decorated service record. He was among 
300 surviving Tuskegee Airmen honored with the Congressional Gold Medal 
in 2007 by President George W. Bush.
  My mother graduated from Morris College in 1953, when I was 12 years 
old. My father studied theology at Morris in the early 1940s for 3 
years, but was not allowed to finish his studies because he had not 
graduated high school. Having been born in 1897, in segregated South 
Carolina, he was not allowed to advance beyond the seventh grade. But 
because he continued to self-teach and study, he was able to pass the 
college entrance exam. Though he was not allowed to graduate in 1945, 
as he should have, he was posthumously awarded his bachelor of theology 
degree 58 years later, in 2003.
  Having been led by Dr. Luns Richardson for the past 43 years, Morris 
College has grown to an enrollment over 1,000. Under President 
Richardson, Morris has established an Army ROTC unit, joined the United 
Negro College Fund, and has constructed 18 new campus buildings.
  Reverend Dr. Charles Jackson, president and chairman of Morris' board 
of trustees, recently announced that President Richardson will retire 
this summer, leaving Morris well-poised for the future.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Clinton and Morris 
Colleges in celebration of Black History Month.

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