Mitch Landrieu: “Today I rise to honor the Historically Black Colleges and Universities around the country that serve over 215,000 of our…”

“Today I rise to honor the Historically Black Colleges and Universities around the country that serve over 215,000 of our finest African-American students. Since the first HBCU was founded in 1837, HBCUs have played an important role in our higher education system. They have educated some of our most prominent African-American leaders, such as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, educator Booker T. Washington, former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, and Louisiana native and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, Jr., to just name a few. Today, 65 percent of all African-American physicians, 50 percent of African-American engineers, and 35 percent of African-American lawyers are graduates of an HBCU. It is clear that HBCUs have and continue to play a vital role in our higher education system, and for that, I honor them today. I would specifically like to praise the six HBCUs in my home state of Louisiana that produce exceptionally fine graduates: Dillard University in New Orleans, Grambling State University in Grambling, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in Baton Rouge, Southern University in New Orleans, Southern University in Shreveport, and Xavier University in New Orleans. These schools serve roughly 30,000 Louisiana higher education students and prepare them to be tomorrow's leaders. For that, I say thank you.”