Policy Resolution EDU-20-24

WHEREAS, historically Black Colleges and Universities were established before 1964 to serve the educational needs of the African American community and provide opportunities for many African Americans, who were once legally denied an education;

WHEREAS, historically Black Colleges and Universities provide African American students with a nurturing environment to explore their collective identities and cultures;

WHEREAS, there are more than 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States, but none are located west of Texas;

WHEREAS, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is a private, nonprofit, student-centered university committed to cultivating diverse health professional leaders dedicated to social justice and health equity for underserved populations;

WHEREAS, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is recognized by the United States Department of Education as a Historically Black Graduate Institution, serving students and communities across the country by offering outstanding education, research, clinical service, and community engagement;

WHEREAS, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is not currently recognized on the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a Historically Black College and University;

WHEREAS, in 1941, as World War II progressed, Los Angeles faced a labor shortage in the war industries, and a huge migration of African Americans, mainly from the Deep South, moved to southern Los Angeles, including Carson, California, to seek employment;

WHEREAS, in 1963, Dr. Sol White, a Black pediatrician, surveyed the Watts area and was dismayed by the fact that the closest hospital was miles away and the ratio of doctors was 160 for a population of 252,000;

WHEREAS, a year later, the State Advisory Hospital Council rejected a proposal from Dr. White to build a hospital in Watts;

WHEREAS, in 1965, civil disturbance erupted in the Watts community of Los Angeles, California, later known as the Watts Rebellion. Before the 1960s were over, a total of 265 American cities would experience racial upheaval;

WHEREAS, in August 24, 1965, Governor Edmund G. Brown charged the Governor’s Commission on the Los Angeles Rebellion to establish an accurate chronology and description of the Rebellion and attempt to draw any lessons which may be learned from a retrospective study of these events;

WHEREAS, the Governor’s commission, led by John A. McCone, found that health conditions of the medical facilities and care were insufficient in the South-Central Los Angeles area and that the number of doctors in the southeastern part of Los Angeles were grossly inadequate;

WHEREAS, in the five decades since the school was incorporated in the Watts Willow brook area of Los Angeles in 1966, Charles R. Drew University has graduated more than 575 physicians, 1,200 physician assistants, over 1000 nursing professionals, including more than 600 family nurse practitioners, over a thousand other health professionals, in addition to training over 2,700 physician specialists through its sponsored residency programs;

WHEREAS, in 1998, the National Trust for Historic Preservation designated Historically Black Colleges and Universities nationwide as one of the nation’s 11 most endangered historic sites; and

WHEREAS, a designation as a Historically Black College and University by the National Trust for Historic Preservation would make Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science eligible to qualify for greater levels of federal support.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) recognizes the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is of historical significance relative to the migration of African Americans across the Unites States to southern Los Angeles and the Watts Rebellion;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges recognition of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science as a Historically Black College and University by the National Trust for Historic Preservation;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL recognizes the need to have far more Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the western United States, and that the addition of new institutions should not mean that more institutions fight over the same allocation of funding, but rather that federal funding should be expanded with the number of institutions as HBCU’s have been able to do so much with their current limited funding; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the Unites States, members of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, and other federal and state government officials and agencies as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Senator Steven Bradford (CA)
  
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Education Policy Committee
  
• Certified by Committee Co-Chairs: Representative Rufus Straughter (MS) and Representative Sheryl Williams-Stapleton (NM)
  
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is December 6, 2019
  
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC), President