Political Quotes

“I would like to mention a little bit of history here that I think is very meaningful and helps to make the point that I really want to make tonight. I attended public and private schools in South Carolina, grade schools, before going off to South Carolina State, now University. When I came to Congress, South Carolina State had given or produced more African-American general officers than all the military service academies combined. It was that one little school in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Today, if my memory serves, they have produced 23 general officers. That school was founded in 1896 as what we call an 1890 land-grant school. When the land-grant schools were first put into production, it was 1862. In fact, the land-grant bill was signed by Abraham Lincoln. Of course, these institutions in the south, like Clemson University in South Carolina, did not allow African Americans to serve. If you look at the legislation that created the Morrill Land Grant Act, which I have studied, it says that it is to teach agriculture and mechanics. We see in a lot of these schools A&M--in fact, I spent last Friday on the campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida A&M University stands for agricultural and mechanical. In that law, there is another M that very seldom gets recognized. The Morrill Land Grant Act lists this as part of the training these institutions should undertake; military. It is in the law.”