ENROLLED
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 38
BY REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To designate Monday, April 26, 2021, as HBCU Day at the state capitol.
WHEREAS, Louisiana is proud to be home to eight Historically Black Colleges and
Universities, or HBCUs: Dillard University, Grambling State University, Southern
University and A&M College, Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension
Center, Southern Law Center, Southern University at New Orleans, Southern University at
Shreveport, and Xavier University; and
WHEREAS, that fact, considered in tandem with the fact that Louisiana is home to
the nation's only HBCU system, the Southern University System, uniquely positions the state
as an exemplar of successful HBCU policy and practice; and
WHEREAS, in 2019-2020, Louisiana's HBCUs collectively enrolled 22,854 students;
and
WHEREAS, since their establishment 184 years ago, HBCUs have provided Black
students with a powerful avenue, and for some, the only available path, to a college degree;
and
WHEREAS, as Louisiana grapples with both the global COVID-19 pandemic and
historic national civil unrest, HBCUs have proven to be invaluable assets based on their
history, student experiences, and societal contributions; and
WHEREAS, several HBCUs are contributing research to help fight the biological and
sociopolitical impacts of the pandemic; and
WHEREAS, higher education universally provides wide-ranging benefits to students,
including higher average lifetime wages, better career opportunities, increased job security
and satisfaction, and better health, and exerts a considerable economic impact on
communities, the state, and the region; and
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WHEREAS, HBCUs enroll and successfully graduate greater numbers of low-
income, first-generation, and academically underprepared college students compared to non-
HBCUs; and
WHEREAS, evidence demonstrates that high levels of student-faculty engagement
and mentorship at HBCUs lead to stronger student success; and
WHEREAS, HBCUs are credited with building the Black middle class in America,
and Black graduates of HBCUs are significantly more likely to be better off financially and
socially; and
WHEREAS, research has found that, on average, 58% of Black HBCU graduates
strongly agree that professors at their university cared about them as individuals, as
compared to 25% for Black non-HBCU graduates; and
WHEREAS, Black HBCU graduates are nearly twice as likely as Black graduates
of non-HBCUs to strongly agree that their university prepared them well for life outside of
college; and
WHEREAS, the pageantry, traditions, bands, and collegiate rivalries of HBCUs are
second to none; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana's HBCUs have distinguished themselves nationally and in the
state of Louisiana in numerous ways such as the following:
(1) Dillard University is one of the nation's leading producers of Black physicists.
(2) Grambling State University is the leading producer of computer science
graduates in the state of Louisiana and the only institution to offer bachelor's degree
programs in cybersecurity and cloud computing.
(3) Southern University in Baton Rouge is a leading producer of Black engineers in
Louisiana, and its graduates play significant roles at the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Boeing, International Business Machines, Entergy, and Dow Chemical,
among other leading companies.
(4) Southern University at New Orleans is the only HBCU to offer a forensic science
program.
(5) Southern University at Shreveport is the only two-year community college in
north Louisiana with an aerospace technology program.
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(6) Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center is the first
HBCU to launch its own CBC and THC medical marijuana lines.
(7) Southern University Law Center counts among its alumni 104 attorneys who are
currently serving as judges.
(8) Xavier University has been nationally recognized by the Association of
American Medical Colleges for the number of Black graduates that go on to successfully
complete medical school.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
designate Monday, April 26, 2021, as HBCU Day at the state capitol and does hereby
express sincere gratitude to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities of Louisiana
for their manifold contributions to the state and the nation.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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