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WHEREAS, originated in 1971 by two Purdue undergraduate students, Fred Cooper and the late Edward Barnette, and then further by the Chicago Six, The National Society of Black Engineers envisions a world in which engineering is a mainstream word in homes and communities of color, and all Black students can envision themselves as engineers; and,
WHEREAS, after 80% of the black freshman in the engineering program dropped out, Anthony Harris, Brian Harris, Stanley Kirtley, John Logan Jr, Edward Coleman, and George Smith saw such a need for this society, as then encouraged by the success of the turnaround, reached out to every accredited engineering program in the country, resulting in the first Society of Black Engineers Conference on April 10th-12th, 1975; and,
WHEREAS, at that conference, the Society of Black Engineers was voted to become the National Society of Black Engineers and the NSBE symbol of the lightning bolted N was adopted; and,
WHEREAS, the torch symbolizes members’ everlasting, burning desire to achieve success in a competitive society and positively affect the quality of life for all people. The lightning bolt represents the striking impact that will be felt by the society and industry due to the contributions and accomplishments made by the dedicated members of the National Society of Black Engineers; and,
WHEREAS, NSBE has since grown from six to over 31,000 members and the annual meeting has blossomed into the Annual National Convention, hosting over 8,000 attendees. NSBE has 99 active NSBE Jr. pre-college, 250 student and 68 professional chapters; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Thursday, March 22nd to be “National Society of Black Engineers Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.