IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 563 
Honoring the accomplishments of the 9 historically Black colleges and univer-
sities that celebrated their sesquicentennial the week of September 24, 
2017. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 10, 2017 
Ms. ADAMS (for herself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. 
PLASKETT, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
KELLY of Illinois, Mr. BYRNE, Ms. LEE, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, 
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. EVANS, Ms. HANABUSA, 
Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. PRICE of North Caro-
lina, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. MEEKS, Mrs. WAT-
SON COLEMAN, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, 
Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, 
Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. TED LIEU of California, 
Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. COSTA, Ms. 
SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. CRIST, Ms. MAXINE 
WATERS of California, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. AL 
GREEN of Texas, Ms. BASS, Mr. WALKER, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. 
SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. 
MCEACHIN, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. HILL, Ms. JAYAPAL, and Mrs. 
DEMINGS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the accomplishments of the 9 historically Black 
colleges and universities that celebrated their sesqui-
centennial the week of September 24, 2017. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:33 Oct 11, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\HR563.IH
HR563
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 563 IH 
Whereas in 1867, 9 historically Black colleges and univer-
sities were established in 4 southern States, Alabama, 
Georgia, Maryland, and North Carolina, as well as the 
District of Columbia, the largest number of historically 
Black Colleges and Universities founded in any single 
year before or after; 
Whereas the 9 historically Black colleges and universities 
that celebrated their sesquicentennial the week of Sep-
tember 24, 2017, trace their founding 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 Alabama State University in Mar-
ion, Alabama; Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North 
Carolina; Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, 
North Carolina; Howard University in Washington, DC; 
Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Caro-
lina; Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia; Morgan 
State University in Baltimore, Maryland; St. Augustine’s 
University in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Talladega 
College in Talladega, Alabama; 
Whereas in the case of Alabama State University, on July 17, 
1867, 9 freed slaves incorporated Lincoln Normal School 
in Marion, Alabama, to educate Black children; 
Whereas Lincoln Normal School was founded with $500 used 
to purchase the land and lay the foundation; 
Whereas Lincoln Normal School was converted from a junior 
college into a four-year college in 1928; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:02 Oct 11, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR563.IH
HR563
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 563 IH 
Whereas in 1969, the former Lincoln Normal School was for-
mally granted a name change by the Alabama State 
Board of Education, becoming Alabama State University; 
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 in the case of Barber-Scotia College, Scotia Semi-
nary was founded in Concord, North Carolina, by the 
Reverend Luke Dorland in 1867 and chartered in 1870 
to educate newly freed female slaves; 
Whereas Scotia Seminary was the first historically Black fe-
male institution of higher education established in the 
United States; 
Whereas Scotia Seminary was renamed as Scotia Women’s 
College in 1916, and merged with Barber Memorial Col-
lege in 1930 to become Barber-Scotia Junior College for 
women; 
Whereas Barber-Scotia became a 4-year women’s college 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 Be-
thune-Cookman College; 
Whereas in the case of Fayetteville State University, on No-
vember 29, 1867, 7 African-American men formed the 
Howard School by paying $136 for 2 lots on Gillespie 
Street in Fayetteville, North Carolina; 
Whereas the Howard School would be formally renamed Fay-
etteville State University in 1969; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:33 Oct 11, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR563.IH
HR563
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 563 IH 
the first African American to represent North Carolina in 
the House of Representatives since the 19th century; 
Whereas in the case of Morehouse College, the institution was 
founded by the Reverend William Jefferson White in Au-
gusta, Georgia, in 1867; 
Whereas Morehouse College was moved from Augusta, Geor-
gia, to its current location in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1879; 
Whereas Morehouse College is the largest men’s college in the 
United States, enrolling over 2,000 students; 
Whereas Morehouse is 1 of only 2 historically Black colleges 
and universities to produce a Rhodes scholar; 
Whereas Morehouse has graduated a number of African- 
American luminaries—including Atlanta Mayor Maynard 
Jackson, film director Spike Lee, and the Reverend Mar-
tin Luther King, Jr.; 
Whereas 2 Members of Congress are graduates of Morehouse 
College; 
Whereas in the case of Morgan State University, the institu-
tion was founded in Baltimore, Maryland, as the Cen-
tenary Biblical Institute in 1867 to train former slaves 
and freedmen for the Methodist ministry; 
Whereas becoming co-ed in 1874 and changing its name to 
Morgan College in 1890, in honor of one of its board 
members, the institution was purchased by the State of 
Maryland in 1939 to provide more academic opportuni-
ties for Black students and was renamed Morgan State 
College; 
Whereas Morgan State College distinguished itself as a lib-
eral arts college and, in 1975, was granted university sta-
tus and has been designated as Maryland’s preeminent 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:33 Oct 11, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR563.IH
HR563
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 563 IH 
public research university, as well as a National Treasure 
by the National Trust for Historic Preservation; 
Whereas the Morgan State Choir, in 2004, was named ‘‘The 
Nation’s Best College Choir’’ by Readers Digest, and has 
performed for audiences on four continents; 
Whereas Morgan State University has graduated a great 
number of prominent African-American leaders in poli-
tics, law, entertainment and science and has a list of 
alumni that includes Congressmen Parren J. Mitchell 
and Kweisi Mfume, Maryland Chief Justice Robert M. 
Bell, novelist Zora Neale Hurston, and Pulitzer Prize 
winner James Alan McPherson; 
Whereas in the case of St. Augustine’s University, in 1867, 
the institution was founded as the St. Augustine’s Nor-
mal School by prominent Episcopal clergy for the edu-
cation 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, was established by St. 
Augustine’s Normal School in 1895; 
Whereas St. Agnes 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 com-
mercial radio and television station; 
Whereas in the case of Talladega College, the institution was 
founded by 3 former slaves in Talladega, Alabama, in 
1867; 
Whereas Talladega College is the State of Alabama’s oldest, 
private historically Black college and university; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:33 Oct 11, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR563.IH
HR563
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 563 IH 
Whereas Talladega College was the first institution in the 
State of Alabama to admit qualified persons of any race 
or ethnicity; and 
Whereas Talladega College has produced several African- 
American ‘‘firsts’’, including Wynona Lipman, the first 
African-American woman elected to the New Jersey Sen-
ate and Reverend Dr. Paul Smith, the first African- 
American minister at the First Presbyterian Church of 
Brooklyn: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) honors the accomplishments of the 9 his-
torically Black colleges and universities that cele-
brated their sesquicentennial the week of September 
24, 2017, and of historically Black colleges and uni-
versities, in general; 
(2) celebrates the 150th anniversary of these 9 
institutions, and encourages Congress and the citi-
zens they represent to recognize the beneficial im-
pact historically Black colleges and universities have 
had on the United States; and 
(3) directs the Clerk of the House of Represent-
atives to make available 5 enrolled copies of this res-
olution to each institution’s Office of the President 
or Chancellor. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:33 Oct 11, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR563.IH
HR563
lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS