David Price: “I thank my colleague for yielding, and I commend him for taking up this Special Order and giving Representative Adams…”

“I thank my colleague for yielding, and I commend him for taking up this Special Order and giving Representative Adams and myself the opportunity to participate and to pay tribute to the General Baptist State Convention. The mention of Shaw University brings me to my feet because I, too, want to reflect on this significant Baptist institution, which is in the Fourth Congressional District, in downtown Raleigh. Shaw has also recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, a history that parallels that of the General Baptist State Convention. I was there last week in historic Estey Hall. I have to say--yes, point out the historic building there on the campus--when I first came to the Congress in the 1980s, my first appropriations earmark was for Estey Hall. Believe me, that was just a little bit of seed money. But Shaw has restored that building in a beautiful way. The acting President of Shaw, Dr. Paulette Dillard, is doing a wonderful job of leading that university. But the occasion last week was an inaugural lecture. The Adam Clayton Powell-Ella Baker lecture is going to be an annual occasion at Shaw. I was honored to give that lecture to a very lively group of students and faculty. Then we had a luncheon in Estey Hall afterwards and a great discussion, just liberal arts education at its best. I appreciated being part of that occasion, and I certainly, over the years, have come to appreciate what Shaw means: a Baptist institution. It is tied very, very closely.…”