An employee organization at the Library of Congress recently collaborated with a local publisher to bring out an illustrated guide to the nation's historically black colleges and universities.
"The Murray Resource Directory to the Nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities" is a joint project of the Daniel A.P. Murray African American Culture Association, a nonprofit employee organization, and Logical Expression in Design, a Washington, D.C., design and production firm.
The guide lists 104 such institutions state by state, from Alabama A&M University to West Virginia State College. A short background statement on each college is provided, as well as information on its history and mission, a description of its curriculum, campus environment, financial aid and admission requirements. A special section lists scholarships and grants available for minority men and women.
The publication is illustrated with many historical photographs of black college life from the collections of the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Amistad Institute, the United Negro College Fund and elsewhere. A short essay covers the history of historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, as they are called.
The first was Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, established in the 1830s as a protest against the practice of limiting or prohibiting the education of blacks, most of whom were still slaves.
In his introduction to the volume, Rep. William J. Jefferson (D- La.) writes, "HBCUs really do believe that a 'mind is a terrible thing to waste,' and that we do not have a person or a mind that we can afford to waste. HBCUs create an environment in which students are supported in creative ways to develop academic skills sometimes lacking in their earlier preparation."
The "Murray Resource Directory" is an invaluable guide to institutions that offer this unique opportunity.
The 322-page cloth bound edition is available for $67, postage paid, from Logical Expression in Design, Suite 407, 1730 M St., NW, Washington, DC 20036. (202) 429-6920.
