Political Quotes

“Today I rise in honor of a man who has spent his entire life and career breaking racial barriers and paving the way for future generations of Black scholars and leaders. The name Clifton Wharton, Jr., is known by many in the Michigan State University community thanks to the predominant campus landmark: The Wharton Center for the Performing Arts. But in addition to his name, I want them to know his story as it features a persistent rise against the odds, a tale worthy of being staged inside the building that is now bearing his name. By the time Clifton Wharton, Jr., became the president of Michigan State University, the first African American to head a major, predominantly White university in the United States, he was no stranger to being first. Wharton, who grew up in Boston, entered Harvard University at age 16. There he became the first Black announcer at the campus radio station and the first Black Secretary of the National Student Association, a lobbying group that he founded. Later, he was the first African American admitted to Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago. He worked for about a decade with the Agriculture Development Council, a nongovernmental agency, before he returned to the academic world.…”