Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 10-25-19

Local
Rep. Elijah Cummings Is The Reason HBCUs Are So Important
BY ROGER CALDWELL
“Our children are our living messengers to a future we will never see,” says the great Rep- resentative Elijah Cum- mings.
Rep. Elijah Cummings
(D-MD) was the same age as me (68) – and he fought and worked to the very end. Repre- sentative Cummings and I graduated from Howard Univer- sity in 1973 and entered in 1969, and lived next to each other in Drew Hall. We both attended many of the same classes and graduated in political science.
Howard University left me with an indelible mark of Black- ness and rebellion that I carry with me each and every day. Our first year at Howard was ex- tremely powerful, because President James Cheeks was inaugurated that year, and the students shut the school down with a sit-in. This oc- curred in 1969 – 1970 school year and the student council had determined that the university was not relevant to the Black community in America and Black People in the world.
Howard University had a history of being an elite and bourgeois class of Blacks who had considerable wealth and status. Many of the students’ families were members of the middle class, and success was measured by the country club
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS ...Rest In Peace
and community you lived and played in. But 1969 was a year of change, and Black power and Pan-Africanism was the new mantra and movement that col- lege Blacks espoused on every campus.
At Howard, all the students were given a passing grade dur- ing the spring semester, and in the majority of classes there was a discussion of the role of Black institutions in education and improving the plight of the Black community. During this period there were some of the greatest Black minds in educa- tion such as: Professor Don- ald Byrd, Dr. Francis Welshing, Dr. Chancellor Williams, Dr. Ronald Wal- ters, and Dr. Don Lee, all leaders in their field, interna- tionally renowned scholars, and activists.
With these great instructors
and the students believing in the supreme authority of our race, this could only happen at an HBCU. This was the formative years of Representative Cummings, and when we graduated, many of the gradu- ates believed that we could change the world. HBCUs teach students to love the skin they are in, and to never forget where they came from.
Elijah Cummings lived in Baltimore and graduated from a high school in the city, and lived in the same community for 30 years. Howard University taught us all to be warriors, and im- prove our Black neighborhoods and the Black race around the world.
Mr. Cummings was an icon in the city and a political genius in Congress for 23 years. As a result of the congressman’s work the city has been trans- formed with a beautiful down- town harbor, and many of the neighborhoods have homes worth $500,000 to one million dollars. I also owned a three family apartment house in the city, and when I sold it, the value had doubled.
There are still pockets in the city that are in bad shape, but the majority of the city is pro- gressing and moving forward. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “America lost a voice of unsur- passed moral clarity and truth with Representative Elijah Cummings passing.”
In 2017 the congressman said, “He was living on bor- rowed time,” as a result of a heart surgery. The last time I saw Elijah was at a restaurant in 2003, where I was training to be a general manager for a com- pany called Uno’s, and we talked about 5 minutes. He treated me with ultimate respect, even though he was a leader of tower- ing character and power.
Representative Cum- mings was a Howard Univer- sity alumni and a HBCU student who has left a legacy of great- ness for all Black men to follow. HBCUs are rooted in faith, com- munity, and service, and for more than 100 years they are giving Black students economic opportunities and instilling great values.
“Not only have they consis- tently produced leaders in their communities and across the na- tion, but HBCUs today are con- sistently and affordably producing the leaders of the fu- ture,” says President/CEO, Dr. Michael Lomax of UNCF.
My dorm brother – Rest in Peace.
Commissioners Seek Applications For The Diversity Advisory Council
Applications due November 7, 2019.
Hillsborough County Com- missioners are seeking inter- ested residents to serve on the Diversity Advisory Coun- cil. The Council was created to facilitate communication be- tween Hillsborough County government and diverse popu- lations, and to address matters related to diversity that affect County government and its cit- izens.
The Council is appointed by the Board of County Com- missioners and is comprised of two individuals from each of the following categories: African American; Caribbean; Far East Asian; Lesbian, Bisex- ual, Gay, and Transgender; Hispanic/Latino; Indian Asian; Middle Eastern; Native Ameri- can; Northern and Southern European; People with Disabil-
ities; and At-Large (identifica- tion with a specific category is not required).
Six positions are vacant. Terms are for two years. Posi- tions are specified as individu- als from the following categories: Caribbean; Middle Eastern; Indian Asian (2); Na- tive American (2).
All nominees must reside in and be registered voters in Hillsborough County. Ap- pointments are voluntary posi- tions; therefore, members serve without compensation.
The deadline to apply is November 7, 2019.
All forms must be signed and dated and all questions must be answered. Incomplete applications will not be consid- ered.
Appointments will be scheduled for a meeting of the Board of County Commission- ers in December 2019.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2019