johnetta b. cole, president and chair of the board of the national council of negro women and former president of spelman college and bennett college, the only two hbcu's dedicated to educating african-american women. and dr. ruth simmons, president of prairie view a&m university, an historic hbcu hbcu. she also served formerly as president of both brown university and smith college. it's a pleasure to have you both here today with us. you have made such a significant contribution to the field of education. we have invited v.p. franklin from the university of california-riverside to give a short presentation on the history of blacks in education. >> really happy to be a part of the 20th anniversary of the history makers, and i just wanted to say thank you to miss richard son. i'm glad to be a part of it at the beginning and here at the end to discuss the background, historic background for higher education for african-americans. african-americans have placed great faith in education in general, litera

. >> in an event hosted by the history makers, former spelman college president johnetta cole and prairie view a&m president ruth simmons discuss the history of african-americans in education and the importance of historically black colleges and universities. the history makers provided the video for this program.