Leaders in the Atlanta University Center reacted to news of the sudden resignation of former Harvard University president Claudine Gay last week.

“It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president,” Gay wrote in a letter to the Harvard community.

The resignation comes after controversy over Gay’s testimony during a congressional hearing regarding her and other university presidents improperly handling antisemitic harassment towards Jewish people on campus. 

“Legitimate concerns regarding antisemitism on college campuses are being used as a wedge to divide us by those fearful of an emerging leadership of American institutions that reflects our diversity,” said Dr. David Thomas, President of Morehouse College. 

Gay also faced allegations of plagiarism in an early 2000s article regarding minority representation in political participation in California.

“After consultation with members of the [Harvard] Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this movement of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual,” Gay wrote in that beforementioned letter.

With Gay becoming the first Black person to lead the Ivy League school in its 400-year history, many wonder if her decision was racially motivated. 

“Looking beyond the unfortunate and highly complicated set of circumstances that led Dr. Gay to submit her resignation as President of Harvard University, I think it is incumbent on all of us, both in academia and outside of academia, to be mindful of the vital role that women, and especially Black women, continue to play in leadership positions across a wide range of professions,” said Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine.

Harvard’s Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Alan Garber, will serve as interim president until a new one is announced. 

“We thank President Gay for her courage and vision as she began leading Harvard and regret that she will not be able to see her vision fulfilled,” said Dr. Helene Gayle, President of Spelman College.

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Georgia State University recently appointed Atlanta music entrepreneur and professional, Richard Dunn, to instruct its new Touring & Concert Management course, which is being offered for the institution’s Spring semester at its School of Music. The inaugural course will last for 16 weeks. 

Dunn currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for The Atlanta Voice, one of Atlanta’s oldest Black-owned newspapers founded in 1966 by his grandfather J. Lowell Ware. 

“It’s truly an honor to be able to use my decades of experience in the music industry to educate the next generation,” Dunn said. “It’s an even bigger blessing that I get to do it at Georgia State University, which is one of the biggest colleges in the state of Georgia located right in the heart of my hometown Atlanta. I never thought that my passion for music and the things that I did professionally in the music industry would allow me this opportunity.”

Offered to undergraduates, the course will consist of teaching students about the relevant financial and business decisions when planning and operating a tour, booking live gigs, event and venue management, and interacting with booking agencies and artist managers.

An Atlanta native, Dunn’s impact in the music industry spans over 20 years. He is mostly known for the Muddy Water Group, a company he started in 2007 that specialized in artist bookings, grassroots promotion, project management, digital marketing, artist management, and general entertainment consulting. 

Prior to the Muddy Water Group, he co-founded Groovement Inc., an artist management and event production company that focused on the soul scene. The company helped launch the career of Indie Arie. 

He later partnered with Michael McQuary (co-founder of Mindspring) to start Brash Music in 2004.  Brash Music served as an indie label that included the likes of ColdPlay, PJ Morton, Aaron Shust, and Anthony David. 

“I am thrilled to have Richard Dunn join our music industry faculty here at GSU,” said Al Thrash, a program coordinator and Professor of Practice in Music Management for the School of Music at Georgia State University. “Our students will benefit greatly from his wealth of knowledge and experience in the touring and live music production space.  Richard has played a major role in the success of countless artists, and he embodies both the business and creative culture of Atlanta that continues to influence the rest of the world.”

Dunn’s accomplishments in entertainment continue as he most recently served as Film/TV & Brand Sync A&R for United Masters.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Pinky Cole Foundation, ATL Collective and ReimangineATLl.  He also is the Head of Cultural Development at RYSE Creative Village.

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Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Senator Raphael Warnock, and Ambassador Andrew Young were joined by more than 1,300 individuals with one objective: raise money for deserving HBCU students.

The United Negro College Fund and the Mayor’s office hosted the Annual Mayor’s Masked Ball for the 40th time Saturday night. Inside the ballroom, tables were adorned with candles and red roses as our city’s civic, corporate, and non-profit communities gathered at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

Congresswoman Nikema Williams, a third generation alumni of a UNCF Institution, Talladega College, was a sponsor of the 40th Annual UNCF Mayors Masked Ball. Guests also included her husband, Mr. Leslie Small; Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Steven Horsford; Congressman Sanford Bishop and Mrs. Vivian Bishop; Congresswoman Shelia Cherfilus McCormick and Mr. Corlie McCormick; Atlanta rapper and CEO of Duct Tape Entertainment, Big Bank; and Atlanta Fire Chief, Rod Smith.

Nearly $4 million was raised. As the silent auction took place outside of the ballroom, inside there was an ESSENCE Festival package auctioned off. When the auctioneer announced that Beyoncé would be the headliner, people quickly raised their hands.

Stephanie Mills, the Tony and Grammy Award-winning performer, performed her hits to cap off a wonderful night. She is known for her performances in “The Wiz” and her hit song “Never Knew Love Like This Before.”

For more information, please visit UNCF Atlanta’s website.
Again, ‘a mind is a terrible thing to waste!’

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This holiday season the Atlanta Hawks, in collaboration with the Lady Hawks, orchestrated a festive day for over 60 students at the Boyce L. Ansley School, a tuition-free private institution catering to children experiencing homelessness in Atlanta.

The Lady Hawks, a collective of wives, significant others, and mothers of Hawks players and staff, actively engaged in the festivities alongside volunteers from the Hawks organization. The day’s activities included arts and crafts sessions and a photo booth for the students’ enjoyment.

In preparation for the event, students were entrusted with creating wish lists, which were later displayed on a tree at the Hawks’ corporate office with the organization ensuring each student received a personalized holiday gift from their lists.

Johnny Ray James, a seasoned educator with 15 years of experience and the current Head of School, expressed his gratitude for the Hawks’ support of the school and students. “I understand the Hawks’ slogan is ‘True to The A,’ but the A, whether in terms of Ansley or Atlanta, truly resonates because they brought in a substantial number of people, including staff and volunteers,” James said. “The kids can genuinely feel the joy.” 

James, an alumnus of Teach for America with an MBA in education from LSU, stressed the importance of exposing students, not just to players but to everyone behind the scenes who came and volunteered. “I’m glad that the students were able to see the operation team of the Hawks to see truly what makes the engine go because a lot of kids only see the dreams that we give them, and this has given them some new dreams,” James said.

Further elaborating on the significance of the Hawks’ involvement during the holiday season, James empathized with the challenges faced by the students. “Our kiddos, unfortunately, have nightmares both day and night. By seeing that they were brought so many gifts from their wish lists, the Hawks are making literal Christmas dreams come true,” James told The Atlanta Voice.

In addressing the critical need for comprehensive education support, James emphasized the approach that the institution takes compared to many public schools—highlighting the challenge faced by public schools attempting to provide wraparound services, often falling short due to overwhelming student versus staff numbers. The Boyce L. Ansley School maintains low class sizes, capped at around 15 students, enabling a more personalized and effective approach.

James further cited that while public schools might have a social worker catering to about 300 students, The Boyce L. Ansley School’s two social workers on staff maintain a ratio of one to 32, ensuring more individualized attention and care. The inclusion of licensed therapists further enhances the support system, offering therapeutic sessions for students and one-to-one assistance for their families, “We provide holistic support to make sure that we can provide an outlet to economic mobility,” James told The Atlanta Voice.

Alexis Roe, Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Strategic Initiatives, now in her third season with the Hawks, shared her commitment to helping the students of Boyce L. Ansley School. Born in the Lone Star state of Texas, but raised in Decatur, Georgia, Roe cites her passion for positive change stemming from her upbringing, while attending the Dekalb School of the Arts in DeKalb County. “I grew up knowing that I was going to change what Atlanta looked like in terms of decreasing barriers, tearing down barriers, making more access for people. At my core, that’s who I am,” said Roe.

With a diverse professional background, including teaching in China and marketing for Home Depot, Roe’s journey led her to her current role with the Hawks. In her position, Roe cites striving to make individuals “feel seen, heard, valued, supported, and respected,” while emphasizing the importance of fostering a sense of belonging.

Reflecting on the Hawks’ engagement with The Boyce L. Ansley School, Roe emphasized, “The Ansley school is such an amazing school that’s six minutes from State Farm Arena. When we look at our city and see different challenges, we recognize that as an organization, we want to help lift our community. We are true to Atlanta and a civic asset to the community,” Roe told The Atlanta Voice.

A poignant moment during the event included students taking the stage to declare their aspirations, as recounted by Morgan Walsh, a Lady Hawk of 15 years. Describing seeing the excitement of a young girl in a Hawks jersey, Walsh said, “It almost brought tears to a lot of people’s eyes because she just came out running and screaming.”

Walsh, married to Hawks director of team operations Zac Walsh for nearly 15 years, highlighted the organization’s positive impact on mental health. “This organization has been great for the city of Atlanta for doing activities, but also just for the mental health of the wives, girlfriends of the coaches and players,” Walsh said.

Charting the evolution of the Lady Hawks, Walsh credited the guidance of Jami Gertz (co-owner of the Hawks along with her husband businessman Tony Ressler) citing that the organization has grown substantially, actively participating in numerous service activities throughout the year.

Originally from South Carolina, Walsh, an Emory graduate in Political Science, now works in the clerk’s office at the Georgia State Capitol. Reflecting on the joy of giving back during the holiday season, she described the experience as invigorating. “I just want to say how thankful that we are that we’re able to help out an amazing organization and these kids. We’re decorating cards and ornaments right now, and it reminds you of the epitome of Christmas – that you’re around people and seeing the kids’ faces, smiling and their eyes shining. That’s what’s important,” said Walsh.

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The United Negro College Fund Atlanta Mayor’s Masked Ball is Atlanta’s premier fundraising gala that focuses on raising awareness of the need and benefits of a college education, the students UNCF serves, and the contributions of private Historically Black Colleges and Universities since 1944.

This year’s black-tie gala is the 40th anniversary of the signature event in our city. It is hosted by Karyn Greer of WSB-TV. Singer Stephanie Mills will provide the entertainment at the end of the evening. 

In the Sept. 29, 1973 edition of The Atlanta Voice, it was reported the City of Atlanta sought to create the Hank Aaron Foundation Center, as a monument to the legendary baseball player while driving proceeds toward scholarships for Black students who sought to attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities that were supported by the UNCF. 

Ultimately, the creation of the UNCF Mayor’s Masked Ball in 1984, would be spearheaded by Aaron and Mayor Andrew Young instead.

“Hank and Billye Aaron’s sincere belief in our motto, ‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste,’ led them to co-found with former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, the first-ever Atlanta Mayor’s Masked Ball,” said Maurice Jenkins, UNCF’s Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer in a 2021 interview. “The Mayor’s Masked Ball has become an annual fundraising tradition in Atlanta, drawing ever-larger crowds each year and breaking the million-dollar mark several years in a row. 

“The Mayor’s Masked Ball has now been franchised across the United States to several other cities to help UNCF raise money in other locations because of its model of success—all thanks to the passion and ingenuity of Hank and Billye Aaron,” Jenkins added.

UNCF Atlanta serves the following institutions:

Georgia

• Clark Atlanta University (Atlanta)
• The Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta)
• Morehouse College (Atlanta)
• Paine College (Augusta)
• Spelman College (Atlanta)

South Carolina

• Allen University (Columbia)
• Benedict College (Columbia)
• Claflin University (Orangeburg)
• Morris College (Sumter)
• Voorhees University  (Denmark)

Tennessee

• Fisk University (Nashville)
• Lane College (Jackson)
• LeMoyne-Owen College (Memphis)

For more information, please visit UNCF Atlanta’s website.
Again, ‘a mind is a terrible thing to waste!’

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Runoff elections for the Atlanta School Board have begun.  

Atlanta School Board Seat 7 At-Large candidates, Alfred “Shivy” Brooks and incumbent Tamara Jones participated in a runoff forum inside the Center for Civic Innovation as a last attempt to talk to voters and community Wednesday night ahead of runoff Election Day on Dec. 5.  

Brooks is an educator and community activist. If elected, he would be the first active teacher to serve on the board. He currently teaches economics at Charles Drew High School and is the head football coach at Wesley International Academy. Brooks ran for Atlanta City Council Post 1 At-Large in 2021, losing to Michael Julian Bond. 

His candidacy, according to the Atlanta Civic Circle, represents a unique and historic opportunity to bring much-needed change and representation to the Atlanta education system. For 150 years, Atlanta Public Schools has been educating children, but for those 150 years, there has never been an active teacher on the APS Board. Until this year, active teachers were excluded from serving on the board, regardless of the school district they taught in.  

Brooks said he is running because he was brought up understanding he has a responsibility to his village.  

“I don’t have the privilege of individuality, that my existence and the greatness of my existence is completely tied with the opportunities given to others, the outcomes for their lives, and they don’t measure myself based upon what is it that I do continue to impact positively is at or around? Where does that come from for your city,” he said. 

Jones is the incumbent for the APS Board District 7 At-Large seat, seeking re-election for a second term. A Georgia native, Jones won her 2021 election with 67% of the vote against Kanesha Vennings. She also has a background in architecture and urban planning, according to the Atlanta Civic Circle.  

“I have served in this seat for the past two years and have the experience and training that is required to meet the needs of this moment. I know what this job involves and what it doesn’t, and how to do it,” she said. “APS is hiring a new superintendent, and we need to polish up our basics: every child’s right to read; enough qualified staff in our schools; safe and welcoming learning environments, transportation, and nutritious food that kids want to eat. We need to fund school operations first before other projects so that the individual learning needs of each child can be met daily.” 

Neither candidate received enough votes to win the local election outright, which preceded in a runoff. The two candidates were in a virtual battle, with Jones ahead by less than 1 percentage point.  

Even with early voting, numbers remained relatively low. The Georgia Secretary of State’s office reported a total of 155,106 people voted early in-person or absentee by mail prior to Election Day. Georgia currently has over 7 million registered voters and around 5.5 million of them had local elections across 122 counties during this cycle. About 1% of residents in Fulton County had voted by the final week of early voting.  

So many people, Brooks said, are not showing up to vote because they don’t know who their board is or what they do.  

Additionally, Jones said voting is important and the future of the world.  

“This is the future of our world and I think in a lot of ways, we have lost our sense of public education and what its purpose is as a public good,” she said. “We do this for the future of civil society and to ensure the flourishing here, it’s a responsibility that we have. Success is potentially infinite, and we should want success.” 

Brooks said one of the biggest misconceptions he sees as an American government teacher is they don’t teach local government.  

“There is very little focus for municipal government and local government. We hyper focus on three branches of the federal government,” he said. “We must do a much better job as a city, as an education system, as a society in making sure that our young people understand why it’s important to vote. I do believe that we must be on an intentional pathway to make sure that our young people know why it’s important to vote and become engaged. They’re not just voting for the school board; they’re voting for Alfred “Shivy” Brooks and Tamara Jones and knowing who those individuals are and not just casting a vote because they are supposed to.” 

Early voting ends Dec. 1 and the runoff election is Tuesday, Dec. 5.  

The post Atlanta School board candidates speak to community at runoff forum   appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.

Eight Atlanta students were among 27 nationwide recipients of the Sallie Mae’s Bridging the Dream Scholarship for high school seniors. Of the eight Atlanta winners, two students decided to attend local Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). 

Dominic Lee chose Clark Atlanta University and Alexander Young chose Morehouse College. Other winners chose to attend North Carolina A&T, Howard University, Jackson State, Savannah State, Fort Valley State, and Tuskegee University.  

In Georgia, students owe an average of $22,310 in student loans, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. With the rising cost of higher education, taking advantage of scholarships is more important than ever.  

For the third consecutive year, Sallie Mae and Thurgood Marshall College Fund have provided scholarships to deserving students of up to $10,000 each to expand opportunities and help access higher education.  

The students were selected from over 1,100 applicants based on their academic performance and moral character inside and outside the classroom.  

Meet Dominic Lee (Clark Atlanta University) 

Dominic Lee is a business administration major with a concentration in international business and says winning the scholarship gives him a bit of relief.  

“I’m glad and thankful for Sallie Mae and the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. I will be able to relax and sit back a little because of my busy schedule, so it’s helped me out a lot,” he said. 

Lee also said he chose Clark Atlanta because it was close to home and because he has a single mother, he wouldn’t want to be too far away from her.  

“Clark Atlanta has opportunity here and one thing I love about the business department is that they’re really hands-on and I’ve even tried starting my own business, and they’ve been helping me along the way to achieve my goals,” he said.  

As for a career, Lee said he wants to be a lawyer and go into civil activism. He is currently on Clark Atlanta’s baseball team.  

Due to his busy schedule and playing baseball at CAU, Lee said he doesn’t have much time to think about any clubs but is a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  

“I choose international business because it all ties in together and I want to be able to not just help people here in the States, but I want to be able to reach and help people in other countries because we’re not the only ones in the world,” he said.  

Being selected from over 1,100 applicants and being two out of eight people in Atlanta to win the scholarship, Lee said the opportunity means a lot to him.  

“The scholarship world is really rigorous. I can apply to 15 and only get two or nine at that. So, being able to have this opportunity out of 1,100 people, that’s amazing and it goes to show how hard I’ve worked. I’m glad someone else sees how hard I’ve been working,” he said. 

The importance of attending an HBCU, Lee said, pertains to himself.  

“I’m not just learning business, but I’m learning how to do business as a Black man at an HBCU, and a predominantly White Institution (PWI) won’t give me that type of education that I can get at an HBCU,” he said. “Specifically with Clark Atlanta University, my first-year seminar teacher, Dr. Kimbrough has taught me so much. It has put me so far past anything I could have learned anywhere else and it’s connecting me with people who I never be able to do that on my own.” 

As a freshman in college, Lee said he wants to make a name for himself while at CAU and be able to use the resources he’s been given. 

“For $40,000 in tuition, if you’re not using all the resources given to you, you’re not using your money wisely,” he said.  

Lee also said he doesn’t have any fears starting the college journey and he’s more excited about what the future will bring.  

Transitioning from high school to college can be quite daunting. The transition from high school to college was hard and is still having a hard time adjusting, Lee said. 

“I’m still having a hard time transitioning because my schedule is so rigorous,” he said. “I wake up, my days start at 6 a.m. and I go to our first practice, go to class, and then after class is done, I have to go back to training again and in between that, I study. So, it’s been a hard transition because I went from someone who used to be in the community all the time to trying to worry about myself all the time.” 

Lee said his biggest advice would be to find a good friend group. 

“They don’t usually talk about this too much in high school when it comes to moving to college and moving away from your home friends, but once you move away from the people you’ve known for years and have to meet new people, the people who you hang around and surround yourself with make you who you are,” he said. “I’ve definitely been able to surround myself with great people on the baseball team and the people in my classes who are just as ambitious as I am.” 

Meet Alexander Young (Morehouse College) 

Alexander Young said he wants to major in cyber security, but due to Morehouse not offering the specific major, he is majoring in computer science.   

Young said he feels great after being a winner of the Bridging the Dream scholarship.  

“I think I had applied to tons of scholarships, and I got several,” he said. “However, getting this scholarship meant a lot, especially with it being geared towards HBCUs and the HBCU experience was like a dream come true and it helped me pay for my tuition at Morehouse, and I am appreciative of that.” 

Young said in life, he wants to own his own cyber company and help people, specifically older people who may be more susceptible to malware issues, ransomware, and preventing them from getting scammed. 

“Kids and older adults are more vulnerable to scams,” he said.  

Young said the opportunity of being selected from over 1,100 applicants and being one of eight in Georgia to win means a lot  

“It shows a lot of my work and my parents’ work has paid off. My parents pushed me and made sure I didn’t give up in school,” he said. 

Young said he chose Morehouse College because it felt like a “brotherhood”.  

“Originally, I wanted to go to Georgia Tech, however, my dad told me I would experience the world soon, so why shouldn’t I just go to Morehouse and have my experience with my community,” he said.  

The importance of attending an HBCU, Young said, is seeing people who look like you striving to be successful.  

“It gives you more inspiration to be around people like you and I don’t think us as Black people see that a lot outside of an HBCU,” he said. “Going to an HBCU can help you become successful and show that not everything in our community is reality TV and the stereotypical view, but there are Black doctors, lawyers, and actors who are millionaires and making it in life.” 

Additionally, Young said he is in a business club and in the Student Government Association (SGA).  

His dreams, he said, are to graduate and become successful in life.  

The transition from high school to college, Young said, was scary at first, but by September, he had gotten used to being a student.  

As for advice, Young said most coming to college are scared a little bit because it’s something new and unfamiliar.  

“You’re grown now to a certain extent and on your own, and in some cases, you don’t have your parents there with you, so I would tell other students it’s going to be okay and to take it day-by-day. Go with the flow and everything will work out,” he said.  

Lee and Young have incredible talent and are looking to use the scholarship to further their education opportunities and achieve new heights. Both students hope to carry on the legacy of HBCUs and continue to showcase a pathway for the Black community to achieve success through education.  

For more information on the scholarship, visit https://www.salliemae.com. 

The post Pair of future AUC students win Sallie Mae Bridging the Dream scholarship  appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.

Atlanta’s Head Heart, and Soul Project recently celebrated the grand opening of its new “Learning Spaces” center, in partnership with United Way of Greater Atlanta. An innovative facility staffed with committed teachers, the center educates children (ages 0-5) but also empowers parents to healthy eating habits, engage in workshops, storytelling sessions, playtime, exercise, and even practice yoga.

Located in Clayton County, this center is one of seventeen centers that United Way implemented, strategically located across Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, Douglas, and Fulton counties.

It is also the fifth center that has opened in Clayton County.

“We teach them how to get ready for school. We understand that the parents and family are the first caretakers for children and we want to make sure everyone is ready for kindergarten,” said Ben Mitchell, education outreach coordinator for Hand Heart and Soul.

Mitchell recognized the critical importance of early development and how it can shape behavioral patterns and lay the foundation for lifelong success.

Mitchell continued, “To prepare for them we have a lot of activities and things like science and motor skills and physical activities like yoga. Because we are a nonprofit organization and we are committed to a healthy way of eating we have farm-to-table fresh fruits and introduce them to healthy snacks and better lifestyles when it comes to healthy eating habits “

The Hand, Heart and Soul Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing Clayton County by enhancing access to quality education, nutrition, and community resources.

Hand Heart and Soul strongly advocates for the farm-to-table approach to foster healthy eating habits within the community.

Each ‘Learning Spaces’ center offers two hours of daily availability. Upon joining the program, parents, caretakers, or caregivers gain access to two hours per day from Monday to Friday, during which they must be present alongside their child.

Drop-offs are not permitted, as the organization believes in the significance of meaningful engagement between the child and their daily caregiver.

“We are a vital resource for communities. Learning Spaces provide an opportunity for kids to have access to high-quality learning experiences even if they are enrolled in a regular school. We provide fun-filled activities because fun is the foundation of everything we do,” said Cerrice Dawson, senior director of Early Learning at United Way of Greater Atlanta.

“This is the fifth center we have launched in Clayton County. We are building brains here. Ages 0-5 are the most vital years. The first five years of brain development is where the magic happens in a child’s life.”

To further engage interested parents, the project hosts a special orientation every Friday. To explore more about their initiatives and to find out the dates of the next monthly fresh vegetable distribution, please visit their website at https://handheartsoulproject.org.

The post Hand Heart and Soul Project opens new learning spaces center for children and parents in Clayton County appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.

Breana Calloway stood in front of the Illinois State Senate in March to testify in favor of the Racism Free Schools Act. 

It passed the Senate unanimously, passed through the House, and was signed into law in August. 

Calloway, a principal-in-training in Chicago and a former Teach Plus Fellow, worked with her cohort to pass the act, which she says “puts something on the books to protect staff and students from racial harassment.”

The goal was to distinguish racial harassment from bullying, because bullying is something that persists, whereas racial harassment can happen once and still cause the same amount of harm. And it aims to provide training for teachers, because so many “are not prepared to deal with it,” Calloway says.

Growing up in predominantly white spaces, this was personal to Calloway. She wanted to make sure that not only was her story being told, but so were the stories of thousands of students who experience this daily.

Now they’re figuring out how to implement it, hold people accountable, and even take it national.

“This is something we want to expand upon,” Calloway says. “This is something that is super monumental for us here in Illinois, and we’re definitely looking forward to expanding.”

Racist Bullying Isn’t Going Anywhere

Bullying isn’t going away. If anything, it’s evolving and becoming more targeted, says Tyler Cook, a second-year eighth-grade math teacher in Philadelphia.

“Bullying has become much more intersecting,” he says. “As we’ve adopted more inclusive language and different ways of recognizing the intersections in the world, that also has created more room for violence and harm.”

Cook, a Black and queer educator, is open with his students about how he identifies. Fed up with the offensive vernacular he’s heard students use, Cook leads Safe Zone workshops, teaching his students how to address different identities, and be open and mindful of others’ identities.

But it only sticks situationally. Even though Cook knows his students respect him, he’s found they are no longer thinking about his identity when they leave his classroom. He’s overheard students say, “This person is a f*****, but I’m not talking about Mr. Cook.”

Cook wants students to understand that there aren’t exceptions to derogatory terms.

“You’re talking about a community that I am accepted into, a community that I feel a part of,” Cook says. “When you say that to one person, you’re saying that to all.”

Despite making up only 15% of the public school population, Black students were 35% of those who reported being bullied because of their race, according to a 2018 reportby the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection. Race-based bullying accounted for nearly a quarter of all bullying reported in the analysis, and it was the top reason Black students were bullied.

Cyberbullying is also a huge problem among teens, with 46% of teens ages 13-17 reporting any type of cyberbullying, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center report. Black students, at 40%, were the least likely to report cyberbullying, and 29% said they experienced offensive name-calling.

However, data from Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development shows that searches for both school bullying and cyberbullying dropped between 30% to 40% during virtual learning in spring 2020. The drop continued through the fall and winter of the 2020-2021 school year, but increased back to pre-pandemic levels, and students returned to in-person schooling.

Part of the problem, Cook says, is that the education system “is not quite all the way there” to support educators, students, and families as they navigate these new spaces.

“I don’t see bullying going away anytime soon,” Cook says. “The moral code is played out. We need to update it just like we need to update our laws, our policies.”

The Burden Falls on Black Teachers

Neither Cook nor Calloway, who spent seven years as a teacher in Chicago, recall any specific training on handling racial harassment or racist bullying. 

And yet the responsibility of navigating racial harassment and racist bullying incidents are often assigned to Black teachers. 

“It’s given to you to figure it out,” Calloway says. 

But it’s not just the students. It also comes from the teachers, Calloway says. As a Black teacher, Calloway explains, the environment can become hostile when you try to speak up.

“The burnout, for me, I experienced because I’m constantly speaking out for Black children, their experiences, trying to make it better. And I’m not shielded from that,” Calloway says. “So I’m shielding myself from these experiences, from an administration and other teachers, but also trying to shield the students from that, as well.”

Progressive Movements Don’t Help the Cause

While the Black Lives Matter Movement dominated the news cycle and Gen Z is talked about as being a progressive generation, neither have done much to help eliminate racial harassment or racist bullying. 

Instead, Cook thinks the movement unintentionally contributed to racism in the classroom. He says focusing attention on any specific identity, social group, or type of oppression definitely brings in allies and advocates, but it also amplifies the voices of the opposition, who say, “I don’t believe in this thing, and I don’t accept it.”

“How do you level out ‘we are trying to open these young minds, and we’re trying to adopt this new transformative way of thinking,’” Cook says, “but we still have generations of people who are in these positions of power, who haven’t adopted their mindset?”

Racist bullying or racial harassment are an everyday thing for many students.

If anything, the bullying gets more discreet and becomes more of a microaggression, Calloway says. Racism doesn’t go away because we say it doesn’t exist, she says.

“A lot of times, when people say that, you’re minimizing the everyday experiences of Black and brown children, specifically in schools that are already harmful to them because they have different ways of teaching,” Calloway says. “If racism was going away, we wouldn’t need something like the Racism Free Schools Act to protect students from racial harassment and racial bullying.”

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HBCU Week has gained a new sponsor. The General Motors Company (GM) has joined many other sponsors in HBCU Week’s mission to, “to encourage high-school aged youth to enroll into HBCUs, provide scholarship dollars for matriculation and sustain a pipeline for employment from undergraduate school to corporate America.” 

HBCU Week hosted a college fair in Atlanta during October where thousands of students from many of the country’s HBCUs attended. Prior to that, the HBCU Week Foundation held a VIP reception inviting sponsors, scholars, and HBCU recruiters.  

During this reception, GM unveiled their new “Make History with GM and HBCUs,” commercial, highlighting diversity, equity, and inclusion within GM. Alumni and students at HBCUs in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), such as Prairie View A&M University, Jackson State University, Southern University, Grambling State University, Bethune-Cookman University, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Florida A&M University, Alabama State University, Alcorn State University, and Texas Southern University. 

In addition, the founder of HBCU Week, Ashley Christopher, Esq., the GM Multicultural Marketing Assistant Manager, David Milledge, II, and the Majority Creative Director of the GM Commercial, Jess Noel were also in attendance. 

Noel, a FAMU alumni, verbalized commercial, “The vision, initially, was how do we continue to elevate the commitment that GM has to HBCUs into the SWAC, while also maintaining authenticity, keeping our diverse audiences in mind, and to tell an artful, beautiful story of HBCUs and their legacies and their contributions to society.”   

Christopher is a double HBCU alumni of Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia.  

While talking to Christopher, shared that HBCU Week came to life as an idea back at her home in Wilmington, Delaware. She wanted to use HBCU Week to expose high school students to HBCUs.  

When talking about the partnership with GM Christopher expressed, “The partnership has been a dream from the start,” she continued, “When my foundation looks for partnerships it is never just transactional, we have to align with our moral compasses and our missions, and GM does just that,” Lastly, she added, “We are impacting the world with diversity, equity, and inclusion and to have a partner with a platform as large as GM to help us expand that message has been a gift. 

Milledge, who is an alumnus of Tuskegee University, voiced that GM inspires to be the most inclusive company which is a reason the partnership with HBCU makes sense. 

To close off the reception, GM issued a statement to the Atlanta Voice saying, “Our 2023 sponsorship of HBCU Week is a natural extension for us to lean into an organization that supports individuals and communities of color through their deeds and focus on developing a diverse pipeline of talent.” 

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