CELEBRATING THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF FORMER PRESIDENT OF BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY DR. SAMUEL L. MYERS, SR.; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 154
(Extensions of Remarks - September 24, 2019)
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1196-E1197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF FORMER PRESIDENT OF BOWIE STATE
UNIVERSITY DR. SAMUEL L. MYERS, SR.
______
HON. STENY H. HOYER
of maryland
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise to express my heartfelt
congratulations to Dr. Samuel L. Myers, Sr. on reaching his milestone
centennial birthday this past April 18, which is being celebrated on
September 27 at a gathering of friends, family, and community and
national leaders at National Harbor in Maryland. From speaking out
against segregation in the military as an Army captain during the
Second World War to becoming one of the first African Americans to earn
a doctorate in economics from Harvard University, from his efforts as
part of the Civil Rights Movement to expand access to higher education
to his championing of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCU) for more than half a century, Dr. Myers' life has been one of
blazing trails and breaking down barriers.
In 1967, Dr. Myers assumed the position of President of Bowie State
University, the oldest HBUC in Maryland and one of the oldest in the
country. Under his administration, enrollment increased 200 percent and
tensions between the student body and officials were
[[Page E1197]]
calmed by his skilled diplomacy and determination to ensure that high-
quality education always came first. After ten years at Bowie State,
Dr. Myers began an eighteen-year tenure as President of the National
Association for Equal Opportunity (NAFEO). Representing 117 HBCUs, Dr.
Myers fought tirelessly to secure much-needed funding for these
colleges and universities to expand and offer more courses and degrees.
I am proud, Madam Speaker, to be a member of the Congressional HBCU
Caucus and to support Bowie State University and other HBCUs as they
work hard to carry out their important mission of making educational
achievement and career success more equitable in our country.
Even after his retirement from NAFEO, Dr. Myers has been a force for
good in the community, working since 1995 as Chairman of the Board of
Directors of Minority Access, Inc., an organization that works to
expand the access of under-represented groups to institutions of higher
education, federal and state governments, and private corporations. Dr.
Myers has spent decades fighting for the public good, for equality, for
justice, and for opportunity. His impact on education in my home state
of Maryland and in our country cannot be measured and will surely be
long-lasting. I hope my colleagues will join me in thanking Dr. Myers
for his lifetime of service and wishing him a very happy 100th
birthday.
____________________