{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-johnson-introduces-bill-support-empower-lgbtq-students-hbcus", "Rep. Johnson introduces bill to support, empower LGBTQ students at HBCUs", "2016-09-26", "2016", "2016-09", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "Hank Johnson", "J000288", "hankjohnson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman\u2019s legislation would authorize Title III funds to establish on-campus resource centers\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) introduced today the \u201cInclusive Campuses Act of 2016\u201d (H.R. 6164) to authorize the use of Title III funds to establish on-campus resource centers for LGBTQ students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority serving institutions.\nTitle III provides federal grant funding to assist state and local education agencies. It began as part of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which authorizes funds to enhance and strengthen HBCUs and other minority servicing institutions.\n\u201cWe should be doing all we can to help everyone feel welcomed and included,\u201d said Johnson, a graduate of Clark Atlanta University and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston. \u201cAs a proud graduate of two HBCUs, I feel this legislation is crucial in continuing the legacy of community and inclusion I felt as a student.\u201d\u00a0\nLess than 30 percent of HBCUs have active university-sanctioned LGBTQ-specific organizations on their campuses. Additionally, less than 20 percent of HBCUs include gender identity/expression and sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination statements. Often times, this has led to the alienation and emotional distress of LGBTQ students while creating campus environments of fearful silence and passive intolerance.\nBy building upon the innovative efforts to establish LGBTQ resource centers at North Carolina Central University, Bowie State University and Fayetteville State University, the bill will promote full diversity, acceptance and inclusion of all students who attend HBCUs and other minority serving institutions.\nThe bill has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.\nGroups supporting the Inclusive Campuses Act include: Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, Campus Pride, National Black Justice Coalition, Trans Student Educational Resources and Fayetteville State University.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-johnson-introduces-bill-support-empower-lgbtq-students-hbcus"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6527669504284859, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}