Congresswoman Adams Celebrates National HBCU Week

Charlotte, NC—Today, Congresswoman Alma S. Adams (NC-12) released the following statement regarding National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week.

"As a proud two-time graduate of North Carolina A&T University and a retired professor of forty years from Bennett College, I am proud to be a leading voice for HBCUs on Capitol Hill. For nearly 200 years, these institutions have produced top African-American talent with only a fraction of the resources and support of their peer institutions. It is safe to say that I wouldn't be where I am today without the education and support I received while attending an HBCU.

HBCUs continue to play an integral role in our communities. These institutions contribute over $15 billion annually in economic impact and employ more than 130,000 Americans in communities across the country. In my own district, Johnson C. Smith University is working to solve local food insecurity issues through their Sustainability Village Project. HBCUs have graduated 40 percent of all African-American engineers, 50 percent of all African-American lawyers, 50 percent of all African-American public-school teachers, and 80 percent of all African-American judges.

National HBCU Week is a time to celebrate the more than 100 HBCUs nationwide that are a source of high-quality education for hundreds of thousands of students. This week, we continue the discussions of last month's Diversity in Tech Summit and last week's National HBCU Braintrust – how we can collectively develop best practices that strengthen resources and improve outcomes for students. I am proud to serve as the Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus, whose 76 Members continue to lead a robust legislative agenda on behalf of our HBCUs."