dailypress.com July 15, 2010 Hampton University tree planted at White House By Samieh Shalash HAMPTON - The sapling from the Emancipation Oak gifted to President Barack Obama after he spoke at Hampton University in May is now planted on White House grounds, HU's president said. HU President William R. Harvey said he saw it planted on the South Lawn when he was there for a summer party a few weeks ago. The oak sapling is near the magnolia tree planted in the 1830s by President Andrew Jackson in memory of his wife Rachel, according to HU. "It is a great honor to have a sapling of the Emancipation Oak planted at the Obama White House," Harvey said in a statement. "Now this piece of Hampton University history will continue to grow and flourish at the most famous house in the world." The shade of the Emancipation Oak served as a classroom in the 1860s for newly freed slaves, and in 1863, it was where the Emancipation Proclamation was read for the first time on the Peninsula. The oak's limbs sprawl more than 100 feet in diameter, and it is designated as one of the 10 Great Trees of the World by the National Geographic Society. Also to honor Obama's speech at HU's commencement in May, the university printed 35,000 copies of a commemorative booklet that includes reprints of stories about the event by both national and local media, including the Daily Press. The booklets were mailed this week to the approximately 25,000 alumni on HU's mailing list as well as to friends of the university, said spokeswoman Alison Phillips. The last time a commemorative book was published was in 2001, when the men's basketball team made NCAA Tournament history by beating a No. 2 seeded team, she said. "This was such a historic event that we wanted to mark it in a commemorative way for all the attendees and also the Hamptonians that didn't come so they could still be a part of the event as well," Phillips said. The university has already begun hearing from alumni who have already received the booklet and say they are thrilled to have a copy, she said. Free copies of the commemorative booklets will be available to the public at Farm Fresh grocery stores and at WaWa convenience stores. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/meeting-form.html for the October 24-26, 2010 HBCU Library Alliance 4th Membership Meeting and the "Conference on Advocacy" pre-conference in Montgomery, AL. The Pre-Conference and Membership meeting are open to directors and other librarians.