H. Res. 684 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
September 23, 2009. 
Whereas in 1867, shortly after the end of the Civil War, with 
funds provided by the Freedman’s Bureau, Howard Nor-
mal and Theological Institute was established; 
Whereas the following year, the Board of Trustees voted to 
expand the institute’s curriculum and change the name 
to Howard University; 
Whereas in 1869, Howard University School of Law, which 
shares Howard University’s founding principles: Veritas 
et Utilitas (Truth and Service), was opened in an effort 
to address the great need to train lawyers who would 
have a strong commitment to helping African-Americans 
secure and protect their newly established rights granted 
by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution; 
Whereas Howard Law School is the first law school dedicated 
to the education of African-Americans; 
Whereas Howard Law School’s original faculty members were 
former Dean of the Law School, John Mercer Langston, 
and the Honorable Albert Gallatin Riddle; 
Whereas John Mercer Langston, the namesake of Langston 
University, was the first African-American Member of the 
House of Representatives from the State of Virginia, rep-
resenting Virginia’s 4th district, and former President of
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Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (presently 
known as Virginia State University); 
Whereas the Honorable Albert Gallatin Riddle, former Mem-
ber of the 37th Congress, was an abolitionist and nov-
elist; 
Whereas Charlotte E. Ray (class of 1872) was not only the 
first African-American female graduate of Howard Law 
School, but was also the first African-American female to 
practice law in the District of Columbia; 
Whereas James C. Napier (class of 1872), who was invited 
to attend Howard Law School by Dean John Mercer 
Langston, served as President William H. Taft’s Reg-
istrar of the Treasury, and is 1 of 5 African-Americans 
whose signature has appeared on currency of the United 
States; 
Whereas Robert H. Terrell (class of 1889) was the first Afri-
can-American municipal judge for the District of Colum-
bia; 
Whereas former Dean of Howard Law School, William Henry 
Hastie, became the first African-American Governor of 
the United States Virgin Islands, the first African-Amer-
ican Federal magistrate judge, and the first African- 
American to be appointed as a Federal circuit court 
judge; 
Whereas former Vice Dean, Charles Hamilton Houston, wide-
ly known as, ‘‘the man who killed Jim Crow’’, was known 
to remark to his students that, ‘‘a lawyer is either a so-
cial engineer or a parasite on society * * *’’; 
Whereas Howard Law School served as the training ground 
and planning site for the lawyers who, through Brown v.
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Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, rejected the no-
tion that separate education equates to equal education; 
Whereas civil rights attorneys Oliver Hill (class of 1933) and 
co-counsel, Spottswood Robinson III (class of 1939), 
were attorneys for the plaintiffs in Davis v. County 
School Board of Prince Edward County, which was 1 of 
5 cases consolidated with Brown v. Board of Education 
of Topeka, Kansas; 
Whereas Thurgood Marshall (class of 1933) was the lead liti-
gator to argue Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 
Kansas, before the Supreme Court, and was later named 
Associate Justice on the Supreme Court; 
Whereas Damon Keith (class of 1949) is currently a senior 
judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 
Sixth Circuit; 
Whereas Harris Wofford (class of 1954) is a former Senator 
from Pennsylvania and was a civil rights advisor to Presi-
dent John F. Kennedy; 
Whereas former Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, L. Douglas 
Wilder (class of 1959), was the first African-American 
elected as Governor in the United States; 
Whereas Vernon Jordan (class of 1960), former advisor to 
President Bill Clinton, noted that at Howard Law 
School, he found, ‘‘a wife, a career, and a reaffirmation 
of [his] faith in the mission of black people’’, and that 
his time at Howard, ‘‘saved [his] soul’’; 
Whereas Roland Burris (class of 1963) is a Member of the 
United States Senate; 
Whereas Gabrielle McDonald (class of 1966), Howard Uni-
versity Trustee Emerita, serves as an Arbitrator on the 
Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, is a former presi-
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dent and judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for 
the former Yugoslavia, formerly served as a judge for the 
United States District Court for the Southern District of 
Texas and was elected to the ‘‘Texas Woman’s Hall of 
Fame’’; 
Whereas former Dean and professor at Howard Law School, 
J. Clay Smith (class of 1967), who was appointed by 
President Jimmy Carter in 1978 and President Ronald 
Reagan in 1981 to serve on the Equal Employment Op-
portunity Commission, in the capacities of Commissioner 
and Acting Chairman, is the author of ‘‘Emancipation: 
The Making of the Black Lawyer 1844–1944’’ and 
‘‘Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Law-
yers’’, and the editor of ‘‘Supreme Justice: Speeches and 
Writings’’, written by Thurgood Marshall; 
Whereas Wiley Daniel (class of 1971) was the first African- 
American appointed as a judge for the United States 
District Court for the District of Colorado; 
Whereas Isaiah Leggett (class of 1974) is the County Execu-
tive for Montgomery County, Maryland; 
Whereas Jack Johnson (class of 1975) is the County Execu-
tive for Prince George’s County, Maryland; 
Whereas the recent addition of Vicky Miles-LeGrange (class 
of 1977) as Chief Judge of the United States District 
Court for the Western District of Oklahoma evidences 
the ongoing commitment of the faculty and staff of How-
ard Law School to equip alumni with the necessary tools 
to succeed at every level; 
Whereas Gregory Meeks (class of 1978) is a Member of the 
United States House of Representatives;
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Whereas former District of Columbia Mayors, Walter Wash-
ington (class of 1948) and Sharon Pratt Kelly (class of 
1968), and current Mayor, Adrian Fenty (class of 1996), 
are alumni of Howard Law School; 
Whereas Howard Law School is one of a select group of law 
schools that can boast having as alumni a Supreme Court 
Justice, numerous Federal and State judges, Members of 
both the House of Representatives and the Senate, a 
Governor, and several Mayors; 
Whereas the Princeton Review ranks Howard Law School’s 
faculty as the most diverse law school faculty in the Na-
tion; 
Whereas Spencer Boyer, a Professor at Howard Law School, 
has 38 years of service, which makes him one of the most 
senior African-American law professors in the United 
States; 
Whereas the competitive efforts of the Huver I. Brown Trial 
Advocacy Moot Court Team, the Charles Hamilton Hous-
ton National Moot Court Team, and the Goler Teal 
Butcher International Moot Court Team are evidence of 
Howard Law School’s dedication to the vigorous training 
of zealous advocates; 
Whereas Howard Law School’s curriculum, which includes a 
study abroad program in Cape Town, South Africa, the 
Civil Rights Clinic, the Fair Housing Clinic, the World 
Food Law Institute, and the Institute of Intellectual 
Property and Social Justice, demonstrates an aggressive 
commitment to provide relevant hands-on instruction in 
an ever-evolving legal environment; 
Whereas for 10 years, through the Marshall-Brennan Con-
stitutional Literacy Project, law students in the Howard
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University School of Law student-fellows program teach 
constitutional law in public high schools in the District 
of Columbia; 
Whereas Howard Law School’s comparatively low tuition and 
aggressive career services staff helped the school achieve 
a ranking of third on the Vault.com’s list of the most un-
derrated law schools in the Nation; 
Whereas Howard Law School has contributed robustly to so-
ciety through the education of attorneys who have gone 
on to serve the world in countless public and private ca-
pacities; and 
Whereas there is no greater illustration of Howard Law 
School’s motto, ‘‘Leadership for America and the Global 
Community’’, than the faculty, staff, students, and alum-
ni of Howard University School of Law: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes Howard University School of Law’s 
profound achievements and unwavering commitment to 
social justice for all people; 
(2) encourages the continued dedication to the first- 
rate training of social engineers; and 
(3) congratulates Howard University President, 
Sidney A. Ribeau, Ph.D., Howard University School of 
Law Dean, Kurt L. Schmoke, J.D., and the faculty,
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staff, students, and alumni of Howard Law School on 
the momentous occasion of its 140th anniversary. 
Attest: 
Clerk.