President Michael Lomax wants Congress to guarantee education for all

The United Negro College Fund wants America to guarantee that students of color – poor and otherwise – get an opportunity to  students get an opportunity to go to college and graduate.  On Tuesday, one of the nation’s oldest minority education advocacy groups issued “The ABC Agenda for Higher Education,” which calls for increased access and affordability. “If ever there was a time to push for what our students and colleges need, this is it,” said UNCF President Michael L. Lomax.  Find out more about the plan at BET.com/News.

Cigarette Bill clears the U.S. House.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved by a veto-proof 326-102 vote legislation (HR 1108) that would give FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products, The New York Times reports. The measure, introduced by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and approved on Wednesday, would allow the FDA to ban flavored additives, with an exemption for menthol flavoring, The Wall Street Journal, reported Friday. Some Black anti-smoking advocates criticized the exemption, noting that as many as three-quarters of Black smokers use mentholated cigarettes. The National African American Tobacco Prevention Network withdrew its support for the bill because of the menthol exemption. Menthol brands account for about 28 percent of the $70 billion U.S. cigarette market. Scientists believe menthol and other additives might mask the harshness of tobacco, which could make it easier for teenagers to begin smoking. Researchers also have questioned whether menthol plays a role in disproportionate rates of cancer related to smoking among Blacks. A recent study from Harvard University found that some cigarette makers intentionally “manipulated menthol levels to attract young people.”

The UNCF praises Congress. The United Negro College Fund on Friday praised Congress for working across party lines to reauthorize the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which it said will enable more African Americans to get a higher education at a time when a degree is more important than ever for getting a leg up in society. “This reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the first in ten years, could not have come at a more critical time,” UNCF officials said in a statement. ”Getting a college education is more important than ever.  This legislation will enable more students to attend college, graduate and launch their careers, and will thus take the country an important step closer to realizing the ideal expressed in UNCF’s motto, ‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste.’”  Currently, there are about 8,000 students who attend 900 colleges and universities with UNCF scholarships, and 39 historically Black colleges and universities comprise UNCF and their 55,000 students. Where does higher education rank among the nation’s priorities? Why?