White House Outreach to HBCUs is Clear; Will Public Support Follow in 2012?
First Lady Michelle Obama gave rousing keynote remarks at North Carolina A&T State University’s commencement exercises last weekend, marking the third consecutive year she has keynoted an HBCU commencement and four overall for the First Family, counting her husband’s 2010 appearance at Hampton University.
Coupling those appearances with those of key administrators like Arne Duncan at this year’s Howard University commencement and Valerie Jarrett’s appearance at Morgan State University two years ago, it’s clear that the White House acknowledges the value and political clout of the HBCU community.
VIDEO – Delaware State Alum Delano Hunter’s Campaign Commercial
Check out the television ad for Delaware State University alum Delano Hunter, candidate for a seat on the District of Columbia City Council for Ward 5.
Aversion to Youth By HBCU Executives Leaves Future of Black Colleges Hanging in the Balance
Experience and tradition, two of the elements historically responsible with keeping HBCUs aligned with the changing needs of race and community, are quickly nearing their expiration date. Advancements in technology, communication and popular culture demand youth and innovation to drive the next era of growth for HBCUs.
Alcorn State University, Paul Quinn College and Philander Smith College have all experienced a renaissance in academic, social and cultural engagement under the leadership of presidents younger than 50 years old. Students at each of these schools are witnesses to the value of a campus CEO that connects with their experience through more than words and intention. That’s not a shot at 50 and older presidents, but there’s no coincidence that schools bold enough to embrace youth at the highest levels of leadership reap rewards in critical areas of institutional growth, and make believers out of their most valuable customers – the students.
Boards of trustees and directors at HBCUs everywhere must make sure that HBCUs aren’t just getting older and maintaining their missions, but that they are getting younger and exploding in engagement and expansion. An easy request to ask, but a near impossible one to make given the political and social nuances upon which most HBCU boards are built.
The Story of Trayvon Martin and Resurgent Social Justice Among HBCU College-Goers
By this point, the story of 17-year old Trayvon Martin’s senseless death at the hand of a recently arrested and charged neighborhood watch captain is known the world over. Calls-to-action have ranged from small-scale appeals to web-based petitions and large-scale rallies to bring George Zimmerman, the self-confessed gunman, to justice after being immediately released by the Sanford (FL) Police Department over a month ago. In solidarity with the public outcry for justice, recent news coverage has highlighted a group of college students known as the Dream Defenders. From the period of April 4-9, 2012, the Dream Defenders, under the leadership of Gabriel Pendas – a Florida State University graduate and president of the United States Student Association (USSA), organized an activist bootcamp, embarked on a forty-mile march from Daytona Beach to Sanford, Florida culminating in community rally on Easter Sunday, and coordinated acts of civil disobedience as occupiers of the public spaces. This movement and the organization college students are significant for postsecondary institutions for several reasons, historically Black colleges and universities in particular.
From Heartbreak to Hospitality, How an HBCU Student Overcame Depression
“I wasn’t allowed to have feelings,” Livingston Cooper stated with a signature Baltimore (“Bawldamore”) intonation.
Cooper, a hospitality management senior at Grambling State University, knows about overcoming the odds, many of which, he said, stem from his Maryland upbringing.
He has battled emotional suppression, racial hostility, class isolation and depression.
Budget Cuts in California Higher Ed Lead Students to HBCUs
Substantial cuts in school funding and financial aid in California are increasing recruitment opportunities for historically black colleges in the state. El Camino College in Torrance, CA., maintains transfer partnerships with HBCUs nationwide, and is discovering that student interest in the schools are on the rise.
HBCU Stories – HBCU Alumnae Hold Prominent Place in Higher Ed Leadership History
Just over thirty years ago in 1981, a Congressional Resolution proclaimed Women’s History Week, and six years later, the celebration was expanded to the entire month March.
Designed as a means of promoting equality among the sexes in the classroom, National Women’s History Month programs around the nation, have centered on an annual theme for the past three years. This year’s theme, “Women’s Education – Women’s Empowerment,” provides the perfect opportunity for the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) community to laud the accomplishments of our alumnae who have risen through the highest ranks of college leadership to become college presidents.
HBCU Stories: Margaret Murray Washington – The Fisk Alumna Behind the Tuskegee Machine
In the more than half century since the publication of W.E.B. Du Bois’ ‘The Souls of Black Folk’ in 1903, Du Bois’ ideological and pedagogical views have been increasingly pitted against those of Booker T. Washington. In many ways, the struggles between the two men, some real and others imagined, are directly related to their different realities. Du Bois was born free; Washington born a slave. Despite sharing mixed parentage, Washington, although red-haired with grey eyes was unquestionably black; while Du Bois was café au lait.
Washington was based in the South, while Du Bois’ research took him across the globe.
For all their perceived differences, Washington and Du Bois did have something, or rather someone, in common. Both men shared a deep and enduring relationship with Margaret James Murray Washington—Du Bois as a Fisk classmate, and Washington as her husband.
VIDEO – Jermaine Dupri Goes in on CIAA Party Promoter
In a video rant lasting over eight minutes, hip-hop star Jermaine Dupri explains to fans circumstances surrounding a missed performance during the CIAA Basketball Tournament in Charlotte last week. *Caution – Explicit Language*
HBCU Perspectives on Super Tuesday, the Right and American Rights
As Super Tuesday’s results highlighted division within the Republican Party, members of the HBCU community continued discourse about their perceptions and expectations of this political season.
Tuesday’s votes meant additional success for Mitt Romney, who won six states, and underdog status for Rick Santorum, who won three states, while Newt Gingrich won Georgia.
Although many minorities ideologically lean left, and many showed up in record numbers supporting Barack Obama in 2008, HBCU political involvement remains multifaceted.
Q&A with Cheyney Alum, Television Producer Cedric Perry
Cedric Perry is an alumnus of Cheyney University and executive producer of the popular web series, “We’re Just Talking.” The latest and perhaps best series to focus on life an culture at historically black colleges and universities since ‘A Different World,’ Perry recently shared his motivations to create WJT, his own HBCU experiences and designs on the future.
