Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 3 October 2003 — Page 5

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2003

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE AS

EDUCATION DOES MATTER HBCUs: Past', present and...future?

EDUCATION BRIEFS

By LEROY ROBINSON I, George W. Bush, president of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Sept. 15 through Sept. 21, 2002, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and citizens of the United States to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs in order to show our appreciation for these remarkable educational institutions, and to commend the achievements of their talented

graduates.

That’s right, our president has given the Historically Black Col-

leges and Universities a week all to themselves. He has given us this time to recognize and “commend” the achievements of the HBCU graduates. Isn’t that thoughtful of him? And recently, the president released his fiscal year 2004 budget report and it included an increase in funding, about 5 percent, for the HBCUs as well. The amount provided to the traditional Afri-

can-American schools would total around $277 million for the schools themselves and their

graduate institutions.

As bad as many of us (African Americans) talk about our current president, “The System, and “The Man,” it comes as a surprise that he or “they” would do anything to benefit the Black community. Assisting and providing financial support for HBCUs by those other than their “talented graduates” is not a new trend. White philanthropists provided for the very foundation and the current function and operation of these schools. Without financial support from “The Man,” many of these HBCUs would find themselves in the current position of Morris Brown College, the only one of six schools in the Atlanta University Center that was founded by African Americans. Morris Brown often finds itself in the unfortunate situation of paying off multi-millions of dollars in debt and fending off the officials from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and their persistence in revoking MBC’s accreditation. Morris Brown is very similar to the other HBCUs, in the manner that they suffer with inadequate budgets, outdated facilities, decreasing endowments, low alumni support, and a high turnover in fac-

ulty and staff.

A large majority of the HBCUs were created, financed, and continue to be “endowed” by white financiers. The most highly respected, prestigious, and academically astute of these schools, Morehouse College, Spelman College, along with Fisk University and Howard University were created by and continue to carry the names of those who “created" them. Atlanta Baptist College wiis named Morehouse College in honor of Rev. Henry L. Morehouse, the secretary of the Atlanta Baptist Home Mission Society. His sole financier was none other than John I). Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Co. Spelman College received its name from Lucy 1 lenry Spelman, Rockefeller’s mother-in-law. Spelman College, which is by far the wealthiest school in the Atlanta University Center, hits an enormous $230 million endowment all to itself. And the names of the money givers are prominently displayed for the world to see. Merck & Co., a global pharmaceutical products and services company, has a hall on the campus and so does the Kresge wRinK »c '»n irwl#»rw»n

dent, private foundation created by the personal gifts of Sebastian

S. Kresge.

Fisk and Howard take on the names of two Civil War generals. Six months after the end of the Civil War, and two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, three white men established the Fisk School in Nashville, Tenn. It was named in honor of Civil War Gen. Clinton Bowen Fisk of the Tennessee Freedmen’s Bureau. Howard University’s legacy began in 1866 with Gen. Oliver O. Howard, also of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Again, immediately following the Civil War, members of the First Congregational Society ofW ashington established atheological seminary and eventually a university, which consisted of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Medicine. This new institution was named after Gen. Howard, also a

war hero.

Over the last 25 years, more

than a dozen Historically Black Colleges and Universities have closed theirdoors. A great deal more of them are in serious trouble of losing government dollars, major endowments, accreditation, or all three. HBCUs constitute less than 3 percent of America’s institutions of higher learning, but edu-

cate between Ib-

IS percent of the African-Ameri-can students who enroll in a college or university. There are a little over 100 HBCUs in the country and each one of them is in need of Black

dollars. The United Negro College Fund, which only supports the 39 private Black colleges, along with the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, Carnegie Foundation and other major corporations are doing their part. Even President Bush has pledged support

to the HBCUs. The over-abun-dance of Classic football games should cover some of the schools operating expenses. We continue to sit back and allow others outside of our community to name us, guide us, and educate us, all at the same time we are claiming to be free citizens. With all of the proud alumni of these HBCUs, how many of them are sending

Gen. Oliver 0. Howeard.

Gen. Clinton Bowen Fisk

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SBC Foundation

rants library

money back to keep their fledging institutions afloat? We are publicly aware that Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey have made huge contributions, but what about the millionsofalumni who gained so much knowledge, culture, and experience from their

HBCU?

Also, there is no prerequisite that you have to be an alumnus of the college or university to support it. None of the white creators and financiers, or any of the creators of today’s wealthy foundations, attended or had relatives that attended an HBCU, but they still send finances theirway. While those outside of our community are still educating us, by bankrolling our institutions of higher learning, we have thousands of African Americans willingly and proudly spending millions of dollars annually on rims that spin, jewelry that blings, and cars that shine. We continue to ask the establishment to take us seriously and we cannot and will not fund our own education? What does the future hold for a generation of people who lack the knowledge of self, the knowledge of history, and who lack the desire (but have the ability) to support themselves? As long as we continue to ask others to educate us, inspire us, support us, give us opportunities, and give us hope, we will forever be dependent on those

people.

The future is bleak and the picture is cloudy for those people who cannot stand on their own. As long as African Americans and HBCUs continue to allow the Rockefellers to finance their education and allow Merck & Co. to create endowment funds for them, African Americans will remain in a subservient position to the money giver. If the wealthy

financiers really want to help my African-American children, they can provide them with scholarship dollars to attend thq schools that their children attend. And if today’s African Americans do not want to revert back to the days prior to Gen. Clinton Bowen Fisk and Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, we’d bet-

ter figure out a way to finance and educate our own children and become much more self-sufficient

and self-reliant.

For speaking engagements or education workshops, contact me a t : educatk>ndoesmatter((i hotmail.com or write me at: 9701 E. 63rd St., I ndianapolis, IN. 46236. My contact number is (317) 502-0272.

grants lit $25,000

The SBC Foundation for Bookmobile Technology Enhancements granted the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library $25,000. The grant will enable the library’s three Bookmobiles to become equipped with the latest wireless technology that will allow patrons to receive immediate online access to IMCPL’s vast catalog of materials. It will also allow them to acquire a library card on-site. Patrons who use the Book-

mobiles also will be able to renew or place holds on materials and access their personal library account information that others can accomplish on computers at branch libraries or from home, work or school. Ivy Tech Fall Campus Preview Day Ivy Tech State College will host its annual Fall Campus Preview Day Oct. 10 from 10 a.m. to noon at Ivy Tech's main campus on the corner of Fall Creek Parkway and Meridian Street. Activities will begin in the North Meridian Center.

For more information call (317)921-4800. Ivy Tech continues record growth Ivy Tech State College logged the highest enrollment of its 40-year history in the fall 2003 semester. The statewide enrollment was 59,438 students, marking its ninth consecutive year of enrollment growth. The Indianapolis campus grew 41 percent. Minority enrollment has increased from 6,105 in 1997 to 10,703 in 2002, a 75 percent increase.

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Jeremy McCoy, left, and Stephen Richardson, right, 2003 Citation Recipients are honored by award presenter John R. Glass, III center. On riday, September 5, the EverBhan Citations of Academic and Leadership Excellence were awarded at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. EverBhan, Incorporated, a precision injection molded thermoplastic’s manufacturer, established its scholarship programs to encourage minority students to excel in both academics and leadership. This year’s presenter, John R. Glass III, Director of Global Procurement at Delphi Electronics, awarded citation recipients Jeremy McCoy and Stephen Richardson both residents of Naperville, Illinois. Jeremy and Stephen are the 24"' and 25 th citation recipients and are currently sophomore honor students in the Krannert School of Management. EverBhan President, John R. Glass, Jr. created this scholarship ten years ago in honor of his three sons, John R. Glass, III of Carmel, Indiana, Rodney C. Glass of Chicago, Illinois, and Rodrick C. Glass of Atlanta, Georgia, who are all graduates of Purdue.