Rep. Corrine Brown: “as a proud graduate of a Historically Black College, I am more than happy to be a part of the National Historical Black…”

“as a proud graduate of a Historically Black College, I am more than happy to be a part of the National Historical Black College and University week here in Washington. Today, over half of all African American professionals are HBCU graduates, as is 42% of the Congressional Black Caucus. Historically Black Colleges and Universities were created back in 1837 to provide African Americans access to higher education. Because of the terrible history of racism in many parts of our country, the goal of these schools, although straight forward, has not been easy: to educate young black Americans and empower them to play a role in the affairs of our country. Since African Americans have been denied educational opportunities until very recently, these schools have really been the only avenue open to blacks to further themselves through education. Today, a majority of African American college students graduate from HBCU's. 28% receive their bachelor's degrees from these schools, and 15% obtain their Master's degrees from these schools. Since their creation, HBCU's have graduated more than 70% of the degrees granted to African Americans. In my state of Florida, we are blessed with four HBCU's, two of which are located in my district. In Tallahassee, we have Florida's largest Black College, my alma mater, Florida A&M, which has nearly 10,000 students.”