City councilors are exploring ways to bring a historically Black college or university presence to Boston for the first time.
Council Vice President Brian Worrell called for a hearing at last week’s meeting that will focus on creating an HBCU satellite campus in Boston.
“An HBCU presence would provide role models for current Black students by showing them a tangible pathway to success,” Worrell said. “Boston led the way in educating Black students in the first half of the 19th century, with the opening of the Abiel Smith School, and we need to discover that trailblazing spirit once again.”
Boston is home to more than two dozen colleges and universities, but it lacks a historically Black college or university, according to Worrell’s hearing order.
The Building Bridges HBCU program is working on attracting a satellite campus for a historically black college to Boston, and is planning to provide an update on its efforts this fall, Worrell’s office said.
“There are more than 100 historically Black colleges and universities in the country, with the vast majority of them located in southern states as a response to Jim Crow laws,” the Council order states. “The need for more culturally sensitive schools, such as HBCUs, has grown in the past decade based upon current rulings and the actions of the current federal administration.”
Worrell said that while HBCUs make up just 3% of the country’s colleges, they produce 40% of Black engineers, 40% of Black members of Congress, 50% of Black lawyers and doctors, and 70% of Black dentists.
Boston Public Schools Chief of Student Support Cory McCarthy added that “the appetite for a HBCU has grown immensely within the last five years.”
“An opportunity to bring a HBCU to Boston would further highlight the commitment and dedication of our city to create an educational ecosystem that values, elevates and develops opportunities for Black students to be successful,” McCarthy said.
The City Council referred the HBCU order to the Education Committee, and Worrell’s office expects a hearing to be scheduled in the fall. – Gayla Cawley
Lynch loses House committee race
Dems are having a youth movement.
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch learned that the hard way last week when he lost to a much younger and less experienced congressman for a committee position.
Lynch, 70, came up short against 47-year-old California Rep. Robert Garcia in the Oversight Ranking Member race.
Garcia, who’s in his second term, received 150 votes. Lynch, who has been a congressman for more than two decades, got 63 votes.
“I offer my sincere congratulations to U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (CA) on becoming our next full Committee Ranking Member on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee,” Lynch said in a statement. “My congratulations also to U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (MD) and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX), who ran spirited yet collegial and positive campaigns.
“These are challenging times for our nation and our democracy, and I look forward to working together to meet those challenges,” the Boston congressman added. “I look forward with confidence that Ranking Member Garcia will provide the leadership we need and that he will enjoy the enthusiastic support of all our members in his new role.”
The Democratic committee role opened up when Rep. Gerry Connolly stepped down earlier this year because his cancer returned. He later died.
“I would also like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to our amazing Oversight Committee staff for their remarkable and steadfast service during U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly’s illness and absence,” Lynch said. “You continue to embody Mr. Connolly’s spirit and his legacy. I remain grateful.” – Rick Sobey
