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Due
VIRTUALLY ALL higher
education institutions in the United
States, both public and private, are
chartered by the individual tates.
The only institutions chartered
by the federal government are the
service academies; U.S. Military
Academy (1802), U.S. Coast
Guard Academy (1876); U.S. Mer­
chant Marine Academy (1936);
and the U.S. Air force Academy
(1964).
The federal government also
suppons institutions in the District
of Columbia, including Howard
University; but they are not
roe<i" as ederal lnstitutions.
j In 1787, the Constitution was
ratified and the Northwe t Or­
dinance was enacted, authorizing
land grants for the creation of
educationat institutions in the new
territories.
Thus, from the earliest period of
American history, the federal
government stimulated the estab­
lishment of educational institutions
through the grants of public lands.
IN 1862, CLOSE TO the begin­
ning of the Industrial Revolution in
this country, Congress passed the
First Morrill Act, which donated,
public lands to the states and ter­
ritories, to establish the "land grant"
colleges.
These colleges became the flag­
ship institutions in each state,
created originally to promote the
study of agriculture and mechani­
Cfl arts.
, Because this was during the era
of legalized segregation, many ,
states established dual land grant
college systems; colleges for
european Americans and separate
ones for African Americans.
: Some examples of dual major
land grant college systems were
Virginia State University and Vir­
ginia Tech University; Florida
A&M and the University of
f1orida; Alabama A&M University
and the University of Alabama.
However, the most massive ex­
pansion of access to higher educa­
tion was actually the result of a
federal program created to avoid
unemployment. In 1944, the
Servicemen's Readjustment Act,
the GI Bill, was passed.
4
BESIDES HOME financing
and many other benefits, it
provided federal support for World
War II veterans to pursue their
education.
The GI Bill led to a tremendous
expansion of college enrollment;
ind as higher education responded
o the new students educational
needs, th 01 Bill helped to under­
, rid the development of the two
year college system.
HILTON: HIGHER EDUCA­
TION is designed to dialogue with
college and world readers. Educa­
tion is ongoing and certainly not
limited to school classrooms. Let's
talk.
re
Iy e an oppon nt a "im­
moral or politically "evil," even if
hi or her p itio repugn nt nd
harmful t many people. But. houJd
we ly divorce our poliu from
our of what i ethically just?
Sev I wee r 0, th 1 levi ion
how "Si ty Minut "PJi nted a
gment on th children of Nazi w r
crimina . Upon leamin that their
fathers h d g nd eliminated
millions of Jew nd oth r victims
during World War II, these in­
dividu 1 la d into grief. hoc
remor e and repentance. They
recognized that they could not
change the course ,of past history.
But the "sins of their fathers" forced
them to look at thi mountain of
crime qu rely and without am-
VIEWS
ne
ACL
. B hi tmng-
I y pposcd to the
overturnin of ix
Suprem Court
ruling which
made it more dif­
ficult for women
nd minorit
employees to win
discrimin tion suits. The proposed
legi lation expressly outlaw th use
of quotas by employers; neverthe­
less, Bush's opposition i j tified
becau e th propo ed legislation
upposcdlyadvocate "qll9.t ."
I thi simply an innOcent politi­
cal maneuver by Bush, or dishones­
ty, or is it a type of "Political
ive
c r i e
committed
gain t
people of
color, in
the fonno
job nd
housing di rimin non, ec nomic
and ocial underd velopment, re
conveniently forgotten or ignored.
In Ameri a, "r ci m" i not
'"Bl ck problem," or a "Hi p nic
problem" or "Asi n-American prob-
lem." Sexi m is not "woman'
problem." Poverty isn't "poor
people' problem." Race, gender
co
RVATIVE AGE
A
WASHINGTON, "Govern­
ment alone' not the answer" to
the problems of African
Americans, write Detroit City
Councilman Keith Butler, in the­
introduction to a Heritage
Foundation report, "A Conser­
vative Agenda for Black
Americans." "The solutions,
rather. lie in reviving the institu­
tions of neighborhood, family,
DA
o
was rele ed last month con­
tains the following ess ys:
"A Call to Arms for Black
Conservatives," by Harvard
University Professor of Political
Economy Glenn C. Loury. He
argues that "these are political­
ly crucial times for conservative
Blacks. It will require boldness,
courage, and above all, consis­
tency" for them to have a lasting
IC
church, and voluntary associa­
tions."
The 85-page report, edited
by Joseph Perkins, Vice Presi­
dent Quayle's deputy assistant
for domestic policy, features es­
says by six prominent African
American conservatives, who
propose government policies
"rooted in the time-proven
values that were as sound at the
founding of the n tion they
are now: belief in the inherent
liberty, ability and responsibility
of the individual, the power and
primacy of the free arket, and
the recognition that decisions
made t the [local level] work
better than mandate from
Washington. "
The econd edition of the
Heritage monogr ph, which
"
"
imp ct on public policy. Loury
praises Black leaders who have
embraced the idea of self-help.
but warns that "what h been I
more widely ccepted in recent I
tim s i nly the rhetoric of self- 'I
help, not its sub tance,"
"Empowering Poor Neiah- ,
borhoods," by Robert L. Wood- I
son, president of the Natiooal
Center for Neighborhood I'
Enterprise, an organization that
advocates community-based
solutions to social problems !
rather than reliance on govern- I
ment program. Woodson,
maintains that successful anti- I
poverty effort are based 0 the I
"cardinal principle" that "those
ftc . g I Ip obI 1
� Dlust be 'mvolfCdi· 'desipin,
and executing oluticas to I
them." Among the policies he
recommends: tenant manage­
ment and ownership of public
housing, and welfare programs I
that provide job training and en­
courage beneficiaries to work.
"Creating a Climate for
Black .Business," by Joseph
Perkins, who erved a Wall
Street J oumal editorial writer
before taking his current post
with Vice President Quayle.
"For any minority community to
prosper in America," writes
Perkins, "it must have a thrivina
business sector." Perkins
recommends that policy­
makers reject minority et-aside
programs, and instead con­
centrate on lifting burdensome
regulations such as the Davis­
Bacon Act, which was en cted
in 1931 to keep Blacks out of the
construction industry.
Busb should nominate Clarence Thomas to Court
{Editor � Note: The following let­
ter was submitted prior to the
announcement of Thomas' appoint­
menl.]
President Bush should nominate
Judge Clarence Thomas for the
Supreme Court.
First off, I know that the process
for naming Supreme Court justices i
not suppo ed to be politicized or a
race preference issue. A Supreme
Court Associate J usticc is to interpret
the laws of ,the constitution-that'
all. In C ct, when Justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes was asked by his
friend Judge Learned Hand, after
lunch one afternoon to "Do justice,
sir, do justice."
Holmes answered, "That i not
my job. It is my job to appply law.
But lets be clear- the manner in
which the Pre identnorninates a per­
son for the Supreme Court in 1991 IS
about political ideology. In mo t
cases "conservative" pre idents
nominate a person who agrees with
their personal philosophy, and liberal
presidents generally do the me.
(There hav been a couple excep­
tions in the I t thirty years uch ;
Justice Harry BI ckmun by Richatd
Nixon, and to lesser extent, Justice
Byron White by John F. Kcnnedy.)
which Marshall voted wa looked
upon as being sensitive to the rights
of the victim (sometimes
synonymous with Black folk and a
voice that till need to be heard.
AND NOW that Supreme Court
Justice Thurgood Marshall has an­
nounccd his retirement, every C­
SPAN cou potato, most national
think-tanks, the media, and all
po Ii ticians .arc ick to point out that
another "libcn I" I. -o the court. Just
by the fact the L wo dot precedes
Justice Marshall name is proof-pes­
titivc that tfic nomination HAS
BEEN and WILL BE very partisan.
, Without that, the specu . tion is:
"Who,will President B '1' �minate
for the court?" 1ft Job' .pf the
Supreme Court justice : jrfterpret
the law, what diffcrence« would it
make who replaces Ma I?
I'll answer that one!
All the diffcrcn ·c in' the world­
to both sides of thc political line.
You won't e Mr. Bush nominate a
person who is considered a "liberal."
Even if he wanted to, he would
knuckle under to the conservative
wing of the Republican party.
(Remember the 1992 presidential
elections are a little more than one
yearaw y.)
can hile many Blac would
li e to see a Blac replace Marshall.
For ome, the consistent zeal in
.',ORO,THJe:RS, by nominating a
Black, regardless of political affilia­
tion, it would be a sign that Mr. Bush
realize that Black arc capable of
. erving on the court. The que tion
the land just as well as a white male?"
Thomas, who is Black. i a "con­
scrvativc" and is presently a judge on
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
district of Columbia.
Hc w also chairperson of the
Equal Employment Opportunity
Commi ion under Ronald Reagan.
Mr. Bush could partially r fy both
Blacks and conservative by
nominating Thomas. It wouldn't
hurt with the 1992 elections coming
up. Politi again.
Now of course, Mr. Bush would
be blasted by the NAACP, and other
civil rights organizations for thi
pick. However, lets face it, with the
current truggle over t.be Civil Rights
Bill, he' in plenty of hot water ith
groups anyway.
I would like to see President BUlh
nominate Clarence Tho for the
Reader writes the 'True U· tory'
"In his very earliest day on earth man had no civilization either.
but man began to find ways to make his life easier. " (Illustrated World
Encyclopedia, Vol. I) Thi seemed to work alright until Columb
discovered America.
Thi civi Iization w buil t on the back of the so-called Negros. Now
there became ocial law t thi constitution that all men are the same
under the law, All of the great power of that day w in the slavery of
the African man. By 1800 there were more than three million Blic
in lavery in the southern t t of the U.S.
Tbe point is alway made that lavery w not new to the world but
this is the only world power that was m de on the ck of Bl c
Africans, We were the base for the creation of the World Power. We
were transported to America. We must not let thi fact go by the board.
All of Europe was built on the baek of Africans. South Africa � not ,
stopped of today. The International Court is where we should 100
for justice.
highe t court in the land. He'
qualified. and he is prime age (43)
(or the Supreme Court.
AN D A for hi poli tical
philo ophy, thirty-five million
African-Americans can't all think
the same way. We'll never all agree
on cvery is ue 0 let' top dis in'
Black Republicans.
I
Finally, Clarence Thomas would J
make for an excellent choice to the
Supreme Court because be's Black. ,
I gotta be honest
Beside, up until 1967, all the
Supreme Court justices bad been
white males.
Kenneth Coleman Jr.
Detroit, MI
J. BROWNLEE, Highland Park