Bill to restore black college buildings stalled on Hill by Dole

Jet, July 25, 1994

Legislation to restore buildings on 11 historic Black college campuses was stalled in the U.S. Senate when Republican Majority Leader Robert Dole asked that $3.6 million be given to upgrade a structure at a small White Kansas college.

The unexpected ploy delayed passage of the bill which called for a $65 million appropriation and had been passed overwhelmingly in the House. Launched in 1991 by then-Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan, the project involved 11 specially selected buildings. Lujan pledged $10 million from the department's Historic Preservation funding and the United Negro College Fund promised to match it.

It was considered major legislation to improve facilities at Black colleges.

Determined to help Sterling College, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college with 483 students with two dozen Blacks, Sen. Dole pressed for an amendment to include "a crumbling three-story limestone building that had been the centerpiece of the Sterling campus since 1887."

Arguing that the GOPer's action "violates the spirit of the legislation," Atlanta Rep. John Lewis said that participation of the one White college would result in more delays while the Black college buildings continue to deteriorate.