Kucinich’s Reauthorization of Underground Railroad Signed into Law

Washington, Aug 15 -

Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH) bill to reauthorize the Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program was included in H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which was signed by President Bush yesterday.

“During one of the darkest eras in our history, a group of courageous Americans, both Black and White as well as free and enslaved, struggled together to form what would be known as the Underground Railroad,” Kucinich said.

The legislation will re-authorize a competitive grant program administered by the Department of Education to research, display, interpret and collect artifacts relating to the history of the Underground Railroad.

The bipartisan Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program Act of 2007, which was introduced by Congressman Kucinich and Ohio colleagues Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Jean Schmidt, first passed the House of Representatives on July 30, 2007. Senator Sherrod Brown then introduced an identical bill in the Senate.

“This important effort will educate citizens across the country and around the world about the Underground Railroad movement in America,” Kucinich said.

###