2005 P&G Ohio Classic Celebrates
HBCU Legacy
August 2, 2005
CLEVELAND – The Procter & Gamble Ohio Classic & Jamboree
celebrates a rich legacy of achievement each September, when
it matches two historically Black colleges on the gridiron. Football
teams and alumni from Morgan State University and Savannah State
University will meet at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September
17, 2005.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) matriculated
24 percent of all African American students enrolled in four-year
colleges, awarded masters degrees and first-professional
degrees to about 1 in 6 African American men and women, and
awarded 24 percent of all baccalaureate degrees earned by
African Americans nationwide, according to a report from
the U.S. Department of Education’s White House Initiative
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The majority of the 105 HBCUs are located in the Southeastern
states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands.
They include 40 public four-year, 11 public two-year, 49
private four-year, and 5 private 2-year institutions. However,
Ohio boasts two HBCUs in Central State University and the
first private institution of higher learning for African
Americans, Wilberforce University.
Black Enterprise Magazine publisher Earl Graves and former
Cleveland Brown great Leroy Kelly are among the alumni of
Morgan State, while ESPN sports analyst and former NFL star
Shannon Sharpe graduated from Savannah State.
Other notable graduates of America’s HBCUs include Brown
University President Dr. Ruth Simmons; Children’s Defense
Fund Founder Dr. Marian Wright Edelman; Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Dr. Martin Luther King; TV Talk Host Oprah Winfrey; famed Attorney
Willie Gary; former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder; Radio
Talk Host Tom Joyner; and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David
Satcher. (a longer list is attached)
Prominent Cleveland HBCU alumni include Cuyahoga Community
College President Dr. Jerry Sue Thornton, NASA Glenn Director
of External Affairs John Hairston; and actress Kym Whitley.
In 1890, the U.S. Congress created a number of Black land-grant
colleges under the Morrill Act of 1862 to teach agriculture
and the mechanic (engineering) arts at public universities
in a number of southern states.
The Higher Education Act of 1965 defined an HBCU as "...any
historically black college or university that was established
prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education
of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally
recognized accrediting agency or association determined by
the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as
to the quality of training offered or is, according to such
an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward
accreditation."
Tickets are now on sale via Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com
for the 2005 P & G Ohio Classic & Jamboree on September
17, 2005 at Cleveland Browns Stadium. More information is
available at www.ohioclassic.com.
|
