III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 366 

Honoring the accomplishments of the 9 historically Black colleges and universities that celebrated their sesquicentennial anniversaries during the week 

of September 24 through September 30, 2017. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 21, 2017 

Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mr. BURR) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the accomplishments of the 9 historically Black 

colleges and universities that celebrated their sesquicentennial anniversaries during the week of September 

24 through September 30, 2017. 

Whereas, in 1867, 9 historically Black colleges and universities were established in 4 Southern States, Alabama, 

Georgia, Maryland, and North Carolina, as well as in the 

District of Columbia, which constituted the largest number of historically Black colleges and universities founded 

in any single year before or after that date; 

Whereas the 9 historically Black colleges and universities 

that celebrated their sesquicentennial anniversaries during the week of September 24 through September 30, 


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•SRES 366 IS 

2017, trace their foundings to rather modest beginnings 

but, in the course of a century and a half, have established records of significant achievement and legacies of 

devotion to academic excellence; 

Whereas the 9 institutions celebrating their sesquicentennial 

anniversaries include— 

(1) Alabama State University in Marion, Alabama; 

(2) Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina; 

(3) Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, 

North Carolina; 

(4) Howard University in Washington, District of 

Columbia; 

(5) Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North 

Carolina; 

(6) Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia; 

(7) Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland; 

(8) St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North 

Carolina; and 

(9) Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama; 

Whereas Alabama State University was incorporated on July 

17, 1867, as Lincoln Normal School in Marion, Alabama, 

by 9 freed slaves to educate Black children; 

Whereas Lincoln Normal School— 

(1) was founded with $500, which was used to purchase the land and lay the foundation; 

(2) in 1928, was converted from a junior college to 

a 4-year college; and 

(3) in 1969, was formally granted a name change by 

the Alabama State Board of Education and became Alabama State University; 


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•SRES 366 IS 

Whereas notable figures of the civil rights era attended and 

graduated from Alabama State University, including the 

Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, attorney Fred Gray, 

and the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth; 

Whereas Barber-Scotia College— 

(1) in 1867, was founded as Scotia Seminary in 

Concord, North Carolina, by the Reverend Luke Dorland; 

and 

(2) in 1870, was chartered to educate newly freed 

female slaves; 

Whereas Scotia Seminary— 

(1) was the first historically Black institution of 

higher education for females established in the United 

States; 

(2) in 1916, was renamed as Scotia Women’s College; and 

(3) in 1930, merged with Barber Memorial College 

to become Barber-Scotia Junior College for women; 

Whereas Barber-Scotia College became a 4-year college for 

women in 1946 and a coeducational institution in 1954; 

Whereas one of the distinguished graduates of Barber-Scotia 

College was Mary McCleod Bethune, the founder of Bethune-Cookman College; 

Whereas Fayetteville State University was formed as the 

Howard School on November 29, 1867, by 7 AfricanAmerican men who paid $136 for 2 lots on Gillespie 

Street in Fayetteville, North Carolina; 

Whereas the Howard School was formally renamed Fayetteville State University in 1969; 

Whereas Fayetteville State University holds the distinction of 

being the second oldest public school in North Carolina; 


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Whereas Howard University— 

(1) was chartered by Congress on March 2, 1867, in 

Washington, District of Columbia; 

(2) stands today as the most comprehensive historically Black college and university in the United States, 

in terms of undergraduate and graduate programs of 

study; 

(3) has produced numerous Rhodes scholars, Truman scholars, Fulbright scholars, and Picking fellows 

and a Marshall scholar during the history of the university; and 

(4) has graduated some of the most accomplished 

African Americans in history, including Justice of the 

Supreme Court of the United States Thurgood Marshall, 

author Toni Morrison, and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young; 

Whereas 5 current Members of Congress are graduates of 

Howard University; 

Whereas Johnson C. Smith University was established on 

April 7, 1867, as the Biddle Memorial Institute by Reverend S.C. Alexander and Reverend W.L. Miller in Charlotte, North Carolina; 

Whereas the first football game with African-American players was played at Biddle University in 1892, a game that 

today is called the ‘‘Commemorative Classic’’; 

Whereas Johnson C. Smith University— 

(1) is the first historically Black college and university in the South to offer professional courses in education; and 

(2) has produced numerous politicians, including 

Eva Clayton, the first African American to represent 


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North Carolina in the House of Representatives since the 

19th century; 

Whereas Morehouse College— 

(1) in 1867, was founded by the Reverend William 

Jefferson White in Augusta, Georgia; 

(2) in 1879, was moved from Augusta, Georgia, to 

its current location in Atlanta, Georgia; 

(3) is the largest college for men in the United 

States, enrolling more than 2,000 students; 

(4) is 1 of only 2 historically Black colleges and universities to produce a Rhodes scholar; and 

(5) has graduated a number of African-American luminaries, including the Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, Maynard Jackson, film director Spike Lee, and the Reverend 

Martin Luther King, Jr.; 

Whereas 2 current Members of Congress are graduates of 

Morehouse College; 

Whereas Morgan State University was founded in Baltimore, 

Maryland, as the Centenary Biblical Institute in 1867 to 

train former slaves and freedmen for the Methodist ministry; 

Whereas, the Centenary Biblical Institute— 

(1) in 1874, became coeducational; 

(2) in 1890, changed its name to Morgan College in 

honor of one of its board members; and 

(3) in 1939, was purchased by the State of Maryland to provide more academic opportunities for Black 

students and was renamed Morgan State College; 

Whereas Morgan State College— 

(1) distinguished itself as a liberal arts college; 

(2) in 1975, was granted university status; and 


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(3) has been designated as the preeminent public research university in Maryland, as well as a National 

Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation; 

Whereas, in 2004, the Morgan State Choir was named ‘‘The 

Nation’s Best College Choir’’ by Reader’s Digest and has 

performed for audiences on 4 continents; 

Whereas Morgan State University— 

(1) has graduated a great number of prominent African-American leaders in politics, law, entertainment, 

and science; and 

(2) has a list of alumni that includes Congressmen 

Parren J. Mitchell and Kweisi Mfume, Chief Justice of 

the Court of Appeals of Maryland Robert M. Bell, novelist Zora Neale Hurston, and Pulitzer-Prize winner 

James Alan McPherson; 

Whereas St. Augustine’s University was founded in 1867 as 

the St. Augustine’s Normal School by prominent Episcopal clergy for the education of freed slaves in Raleigh, 

North Carolina; 

Whereas St. Agnes Hospital and Training School for Nurses, 

the first school of nursing for African-American students 

in the State of North Carolina— 

(1) was established by St. Augustine’s Normal 

School in 1895; and 

(2) was the only hospital in North Carolina that 

served African Americans until 1960; 

Whereas St. Augustine’s University was the first historically 

Black college and university to own an on-campus commercial radio and television station; and 

Whereas Talladega College— 


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(1) was founded by 3 former slaves in Talladega, 

Alabama, in 1867; 

(2) is the oldest, private historically Black college 

and university in the State of Alabama; 

(3) was the first institution in the State of Alabama 

to admit qualified persons of any race or ethnicity; and 

(4) has produced several African-American ‘‘firsts’’, 

including— 

(A) Wynona Lipman, the first African-American woman elected to the Senate of the State of 

New Jersey; and 

(B) the Reverend Dr. Paul Smith, the first African-American minister at the First Presbyterian 

Church of Brooklyn, New York: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the accomplishments of— 

3 (A) the 9 historically Black colleges and 

4 universities that celebrated their sesquicenten5 nial anniversaries during the week of September 

6 24 through September 30, 2017; and 

7 (B) historically Black colleges and univer8 sities in general; 

9 (2) celebrates the 150th anniversary of those 9 

10 institutions; 

11 (3) encourages Congress and the people of the 

12 United States to recognize the beneficial impact his13 torically Black colleges and universities have had on 

14 the United States; and 


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1 (4) respectfully requests that the Secretary of 

2 the Senate make available 5 enrolled copies of this 

3 resolution to the Office of the President or Chan4 cellor of each of those 9 historically Black colleges 

5 and universities. 

Æ 


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