Bennett College President Suzanne Elise Walsh is the latest HBCU leader to be interviewed in our President’s Corner series! As an interviewer, HBCU Buzz Founder and CEO Luke Lawal Jr. helps show a different side to HBCU presidents that we rarely get to see.
As a leader of one of only two all-women HBCUs in the nation, Walsh is a bubbly person despite holding such a high office. For example, we got to enjoy an unbelievable story as she shared her favorite concert was when Whitney Houston open up for Chaka Khan! Walsh comes from a place of really wanting her students to enjoy their college experience, so you’ll also hear her talk about Bennett’s commitment to tailored mental health and wellness initiatives, and the unique women-centered culture she has fostered at Bennett.
Bennett wasn’t always a women’s college, but if you let President Walsh tell it, she’s happy that history turned out the way it did. “I’m so curious about the culture, said Lawal. “What it is like being at an all-women HBCU, and how is it to be the president of an all-women HBCU?”
“Women are leaders all over campus, whether they are students— every student club is led by a woman, specifically a woman of color, specifically a black woman,” answered Walsh. In fact, she shared that her leadership team and even the faculty also consists mostly of women of color.
The culture is one that reinforces the idea of black women as leaders… It’s a place where it’s okay to make mistakes, because you’re not going to be judged because you’re a woman, a woman of color.”
Suzanne Walsh (Credit: Bennett College)
Ironically, Bennett College was founded in 1873 as a co-ed institution. “So our football team is still undefeated,” joked President Walsh. It was a wave of the women’s movement back in 1926 influenced a change for the college to become all-women’s. It’s unique for an institution to be as ready to evolve as Bennett is.
That ability for the college, especially as an HBCU, to transform itself based on larger world events shows why Bennett is more prepared than many colleges to survive unexpected obstacles. This includes not only patterns of racial and gender discrimination, but an economic and scientific issue like COVID-19 as well.
“It continues to be important the role of women’s colleges, it’s never been more important,” said Walsh. “Specifically having HBCUs focused on women, [is] critical, given all that’s happened in the world. I think Bennett College is no stranger to radical transformation. “We’ve done it before, we’re in the midst of it yet again.”
To learn more about President Walsh, watch the full conversation here. For more President’s Corner, tune in live on Facebook and Youtube every Tuesday at 12pm PT/3pm ET. You can also listen to #PresidentsCorner anywhere you get your podcasts.
Journalism is an undeniably captivating way to combat racial injustices around the world. For Hampton University student Jamaija Rhoades, journalism is her way to address problematic discrimination in education in the city of Richmond, VA. Learn more about how she will be supported in journey towards activism from the Pulitzer Center in a release from Hampton below!
Jamaija Rhoades (Credit: Hampton University)
Hampton University student Jamaija Rhoades has won a Pulitzer Center Fellowship and will partner with journalism experts to examine racism in the Richmond, Va., school system. Pulitzer Center staff and editors will advise her throughout the process and act as her mentors. Her final project will be featured on the center’s website as well as on the website for the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications.
“We are incredibly proud of Ms. Jamaija Rhoades for winning this distinguished fellowship. Her proposal to report on racism in education in the Richmond school system reflects the university’s values of respect and inclusion of all people. We know that Ms. Rhoades will continue to live up to our university commitment to ‘Dream no Small Dream’ as she forges her unique path,” said Hampton University President Dr. William R. Harvey.
Rhoades is a senior journalism student in the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications from Midlothian, Va. She has written for the Hampton University newspaper, The Script, and Her Campus, a weekly magazine.
In her proposal, Rhoades wrote: “I would like to write a story that focuses on how Richmond’s history of discrimination and racism lives on through the city’s school system.”
The project will focus on racial disparities in the district, including the difference between the resources available for schools with a higher percentage of students living in poverty versus the resources available to more affluent schools. Additionally, she wants to examine the results of a study conducted by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium, which indicates that Richmond black students are suspended four times more than white students.
“We’re excited to partner with Hampton University and want to congratulate Jamaija Rhoades. Exploring the impact of discrimination and racism on the Richmond school system is ambitious and challenging, and Jamaija, a journalism major, is uniquely qualified to take this on. She has deep ties to Richmond and is herself a graduate of Richmond public schools,” Kem Sawyer, Contributing Editor and Director of the Reporting Fellows Program, said in an email.
“Recent events have only underscored the importance of her topic. Reporting on racial justice is core to the Pulitzer Center mission—we look forward to adding Jamaija’s project to our portal [pulitzercenter.org] on this issue,” Sawyer said.
Her research will include interviews from Richmond teachers who can “speak to the disparities and the lack of resources provided for black students and how this has affected the district’s graduation rates and scores on standardized tests.” Because of the pandemic, much of the work for the project will be done virtually
Hampton University first partnered with the Pulitzer Center in 2020. The first fellowship was awarded to Sara Avery who proposed writing about 3-D printed houses being produced in Haiti for the homeless.
The fellowship is through the Campus Consortium, which is a network of partnerships between the Pulitzer Center and universities and colleges to engage with students and faculty on the critical global issues of our time. The consortium’s aim is to connect international reporting supported by the Pulitzer Center directly with communities across the United States to expand knowledge of the world, spark conversations across disciplines and inspire individuals to expand their horizons. Hampton University is a Campus Consortium partner.
Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications Assistant Professor Lynn Waltz helped Rhoades with the fellowship application. “Jamaija Rhoades is an excellent reporter who comes up with unique stories that no other students have thought of,” Waltz said. “For instance, she wrote about African Americans who think the statue of Robert E. Lee should stay in Richmond, Virginia because the graffiti makes it a new icon for this century. She truly wants to make a difference with her work. Her proposal about racial disparities in the education system in Richmond was very appealing to the Pulitzer Center selection committee.”
The Dean of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications, Ms. B. Da’Vida Plummer, is excited for Rhoades. “We are very grateful to the Pulitzer Center for its work with the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications and with Jamaija. Her examination of racism in the Richmond school system is aligned with our effort to launch a Center for Investigative Journalism within the School,” Dean Plummer said.
Rhoades is excited about being accepted into the program, calling it an “honor.”
“Not only do I get the chance to work with some of the best journalists in the world, but I also get to shed light on my hometown,” she wrote in her application. “I get to use my platform to highlight the issues within the school system that have shaped me into what I am today.”
Rhoades said she wants to bring awareness around the issues of systemic racism in the educational system and “create change for a community of people who are often overlooked and mislabeled.” The fellowship, she wrote, is giving her that chance.
Rhoades is expected to graduate from Hampton University in May 2021. Her project will be completed by mid-summer.
Get ready to see some football for a good cause. This September, find out why the next matchup between HBCU football teams Tuskegee University and Fort Valley State University is significant in the new article below from Jayla Jones at The Undefeated.
Tuskegee University and Fort Valley State will play in the inaugural Red Tails Classic football game in September to honor the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary Black military aviators who served in World War II.
Credit: Golden Tiger Sports
The game will open both teams’ schedules on Sept. 5 at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. It will be among many football games from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that will broadcast across ESPN’s network.
“We are extremely pleased to highlight Tuskegee University in an annual kickoff event in Montgomery for the next three years,” said Pete Derzis, ESPN senior vice president for college sports programming and events. “The history of this outstanding HBCU institution is accented with the important role the Tuskegee Airmen played in World War II, and serves as a great source of pride we hope to highlight within the nationally televised event.”
The NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is home to both programs, and because of COVID-19, they opted not to play during the academic year. The Red Tails Classic will be the first game a SIAC team has played in since the SIAC championship in November 2019.
Tuskegee athletic director and head football coach Willie Slater didn’t hesitate to accept the offer when approached by ESPN Events.
“I am excited about it. I think it’s a great opportunity for our players and our school,” he said. “When the opportunity presented itself for us to play in the Red Tails Classic, I was all for it. I think it’s a real good opportunity to play on ESPN.”
Tuskegee interim president Charlotte P. Morris said it was a great chance to highlight the team and school on ESPNU.
“Tuskegee’s Labor Day football game will certainly be different this year,” Morris said. “We are excited about taking on conference rival Fort Valley State University in this year’s inaugural Red Tails Classic. The Tuskegee Airmen are our American heroes, and we are elated to honor them in this newly branded classic.”
The Tuskegee Golden Tigers and Fort Valley State Wildcats have a long-standing rivalry. Fort Valley State (6-4, 4-2 SIAC) finished third in the SIAC East Division in 2019, while Tuskegee (5-5, 4-2 SIAC) finished second in the SIAC West Division.
Slater said playing a longtime conference rival at the Cramton Bowl returns the program to familiar territory.
“We have a good history with Fort Valley and the Cramton Bowl,” Slater said. “Fort Valley is one of the best teams in the Eastern Division and we played them for the SIAC championship in 2017. We’ve played some big games in the Cramton Bowl.”
The Red Tails Classic joins more than 20 HBCU classic football games that are expected to return in the fall, including the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis and the Black College Hall of Fame Classic in Canton, Ohio, in September; the State Fair Classic in Dallas and the Magic City Classic in Birmingham, Alabama, in October; and the Bayou Classic in New Orleans in November.
It’s been a pretty good homecoming for Chesapeake native Thomas Calhoun Jr., all things considered.
The Norfolk State University graduate just secured a $600,000 contract for his employer to work on one of the largest roads projects in Virginia history.
Credit: Inside Business
Blackstar Diversified Enterprises, a Black-owned small business with headquarters in Baltimore and New Orleans, is providing key electrical components for much of the construction work on the $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project. And the company hopes that the contract will be the first of many it secures in Hampton Roads.
“I’m super proud of this particular project,” Calhoun said.
Thomas Calhoun Jr. (Credit: Inside Business/HANDOUT)
Blackstar’s leadership combines decades of experience and the foundational education from two historically black colleges and universities. Founder, owner and principal officer Hugh Blackwell earned his bachelor of science degree from Howard University. After working for years for companies like Siemens, Blackwell started Blackstar in 2016.
After finishing school at Norfolk State in 2000, Calhoun moved to the Washington, D.C., area and worked for companies like Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems in software development and management consulting. After a few years, he shifted to full-time entrepreneurship.
“I decided that ‘I get it. I can do this,’” Calhoun said.
That decision led Calhoun on a path toward Blackstar. After meeting at church and working on a few projects together, Calhoun joined Blackwell as the company’s vice president of marketing and innovation.
The company specializes in helping facilitate infrastructure projects in Virginia, Maryland and the D.C. area. It makes electrical equipment at its New Orleans location for use in everything from car tunnels to the Washington Metro. In Hampton Roads, Blackstar has sold electrical equipment for U.S. Navy dry docks. The company also makes and sells traffic equipment like traffic signals, traffic control cabinets and parking gates.
Calhoun said he found out about the bridge-tunnel job through an article in Inside Business about the Virginia Department of Transportation looking for small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses to fill hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts. Calhoun said he had to chase down the job while running his startup investment business, Nafasi, at the same time.
“We were just persistent, and eventually we got the opportunity,” he said.
The work was complex and under a tight deadline, Blackwell said. Blackstar had to ship 10 transformers, each weighing 18,000 pounds, from a supplier in South Carolina to its New Orleans facility. Once there, the company used cranes to mount the transformers on skids — steel rectangular bases that can contain the transformer fluids in case of leaks. The company then put the units on flatbed trucks and shipped them to Virginia the same day. The transformers will help power equipment like the tunnel boring machines in remote locations.
“It was a pretty good stress test of what our company can handle,” Blackwell said.
For Calhoun, the contract is an immense source of pride — the company was able to successfully transport all of the skids to the tunnel site and beat its summer deadline by several months. It was equally impressive for the company to do all this and survive during a global pandemic, he said.
“That’s a feat, in and of itself,” Calhoun added.
Blackwell said he was driven by a chance to help upgrade and maintain the country’s aging infrastructure. In its most recent report, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the U.S. infrastructure a grade of D+ and said the country needs close to $2 trillion in improvements.
Hugh Blackwell (Credit: Inside Business/HANDOUT)
“Firms like ours need to exist,” Blackwell said. “We need to exist.”
The bridge-tunnel project plans to add two more two-lane tunnels to the HRBT and widen the four-lane portions of Interstate 64 in Hampton and Norfolk. The project is expected to be complete by November 2025.
Blackstar isn’t finished working in Hampton Roads, either, Blackwell said. The company is bidding on several more local contracts. Additionally, he hopes to start hiring more talent and establishing a pipeline from schools like Norfolk State and Hampton University.
In honor of the end of Black History Month, and on this Golden Globe Awards Sunday, it’s important to honor the next generation of great black entertainers! Each of the 28 young artists below have excelled in acting, modeling, music, poetry, and entrepreneurship! Continue to look out for every single entertainer on this list in the future as they grace our tvs, speakers, magazines, and history books.
Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman is an American actress, singer and producer. She started her career as a child model, backup dancer, and actor on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up.
Storm Reid is an American actress first appearing in the period drama 12 Years a Slave and the superhero film Sleight. Her most recent breakthrough role was in the fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time, for which she received Teen Choice Award and NAACP Image Award nominations.
Miles Brown, also known by his stage name Baby Boogaloo, is an American actor, dancer and rapper. He is best known for his role as Jack Johnson in the ABC comedy series Black-ish.
Dominique Thorne is an American actress who most recently starred as Judy Harmon in Judas and the Black Messiah as Judy Harmon. In 2020, she was confirmed to be starring as Riri Williams / Ironheart in her first Disney+ television series, Ironheart.
Alex Hibbert is a young actor who got his start as Little Chiron in Best Picture winner Moonlight and will return for the upcoming second season of the Showtime drama The Chi.
Jaden Christopher Syre Smith sometimes known by just the mononym Jaden is an American actor, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Smith’s first role was with his father Will Smith in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness and would again appear with his father in the 2013 film After Earth.
Amandla Stenberg is an American actress and singer. Stenberg has received several accolades, and was included in Time’s list of Most Influential Teens in both 2015 and 2016.
Lil Yachty (Miles Parks McCollum) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame in August 2015 for his singles “One Night” and “Minnesota” from his debut EP Summer Songs. He released his debut mixtape Lil Boat in March 2016.
Chance the Rapper (Chancelor Johnathan Bennett) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, activist, actor, and philanthropist. From Chicago, Illinois, Chance the Rapper released his debut mixtape 10 Day in 2012.
Megan Thee Stallion (Megan Jovon Ruth Pete) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Houston, Texas. She rose to fame from her freestyle rap videos posted on social media sites such as Instagram.
Doja Cat (Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini) is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer born and raised in Los Angeles. She was first noticed on SoundCloud as a teenager making music.
Saweetie (Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper) is an American rapper and songwriter. Her debut single “Icy Grl” got her signed by Warner Records and her manager Max Gousse’s record label Artistry Worldwide.
Lil Nas X (Montero Lamar Hill) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. His viral hit “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus pushed the young artist to prominence.
Skai Jackson is an American actress, YouTuber, and author, who started acting at the age of 5. In 2016, she was named Time’s list of Most Influential Teens.
Caila Marsai Martin is an American actress best known for her role as Diane Johnson in the ABC comedy series Black-ish. She is also an executive producer and nine-time NAACP Image Awards winner.
Amanda S. C. Gorman is an American poet and activist who creates art to address issues such as oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora.
Imani Hakim is an American actress best known for her role as Tonya Rock on Everybody Hates Chris and her portrayal of Olympic gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas in the 2014 Lifetime original movie The Gabby Douglas Story.
Yara Sayeh Shahidi is an American actress, model, and activist who gained recognition for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on the sitcom Black-ish and its spin-off series Grown-ish.
Kiersey Nicole Clemons is an American actress, singer, and producer. She rose to prominence from her role as Cassandra “Digirthe 2015 comedy drama film Dope.
Samantha Jade Logan is an American actress best known for her lead role as Olivia Baker in The CW series All American, Nina Jones in the second season of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, and Tia Stephens in the Freeform series The Fosters.
Legendary TV Producer Bentley Kyle Evans famed for “Martin” and “The Jamie Foxx Show” introduces a new sitcom “Millennials” on ALLBLK. The series debuted yesterday February 25, 2021 and will run for six weeks with a new episode every Thursday at noon EST. ALLBLK is a streaming platform where Black creators can tell authentic Black stories. During the virtual CTAM Winter 2021 Press Tour, General Manager of ALLBLK and WeTV Brett Dismuke said this of the streaming network, “While we’ve updated our brand, what remains unwavering is our commitment to representation and identifying new and emerging talent both in front of and behind the camera.” Subscribers can expect a wide range of curated Black content spanning across genres and generations from movies to tv shows to short series, ALLBLK has it all.
The six-episode series “Millennials” follows the lives of four roommates as they navigate the chaos of being young, finding success, and finding themselves in Los Angeles, California. The hilarious group of friends includes a business student (Kyle Massey), a YouTuber (Philip Bolden), a college dropout (Aaron Grady), and a personal trainer (Keraun “King Keraun” Harris), and their aspiring actress neighbor from across the hall (Teresa “Topnotch” Celeste). The star studded cast will bring a sense of nostalgia for viewers that are fans of “That’s So Raven” and “Everybody Hates Chris.”
Viewers can expect a light hearted relatable comedy that reflects their own Black experience being freshly out of college and finding their place in the world. Bentley Kyle Evans says the show is, “The Black experience from a male’s perspective hasn’t really been seen in a fellowship kind of scenario, we wanted to give a message of what that black experience was like, like that dorm room experience. With this ensemble piece, I think we’re able to capture that in a very unique way.”
Don’t miss the exciting new sitcom series Millennials OUT NOW on ALLBLK with new episodes every Thursday at noon EST. Enter Code: HBCU30 at SIGN UP for an exclusive 30-day free trial!
We are sorry to share the sad news that Frank B. Coakley, a founding member Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. has passed away. The fraternity shared the sad news today on Twitter.
“The Brotherhood of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. has lost one of our most Honorable Founders, Brother Frank B. Coakley,” said the tweet. “As we remember Founder Coakley, tag @Ipt1963 to your photos and videos with him and use hashtag #IPTFounderCoakley.”
Frank B. Coakley served as a Chief Lending Officer at BC Lending in Baltimore, Maryland. According to the company, Coakley “served in a variety of community development and lending positions at the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, Harbor Bank of Maryland, and Fannie Mae” prior to joining BCL. Once he made the move, he worked at BCL to review and advise loan officers on applications, finalize Loan Committee requests, and connect with clients to conduct pre-loan review meetings.
Serving in the organization’s presidential role, 22nd International Grand Polaris Andre’ R. Mason remembered Coakley in a statement.
Credit: Iota Wear
“It is never easy to lose a loved one,” said Mason. “It becomes even more difficult when you lose someone who is a pillar, a giant in his own right, and an inspiration to so many… I cannot articulate the words or give enough examples to show the amount of love we have for our Beloved Founder. Please take this time to reflect on the importance and magnitude of the involvement of our Founders to our fraternity – the friendships formed and the moments that were and are shared…”
On September 19, 1963 Coakley, along with 12 other students founded Iota Phi Theta at Morgan State University. He was number 4 on his line. Currently, only founding members Lonnie Spruill, Jr. and Louis Hudnell are surviving. Today Coakley joins 8 other line brothers in transition into the posthumous Alpha Iota Omega Memorial Chapter. Those members are Albert Hicks, Charles Briscoe, John Slade, Barron Willis, Webster Lewis, Charles Brown, Charles Gregory, and Elias Dorsey, Jr. The whereabouts of 12th member, Michael Williams, are unknown. The fraternity currently boasts about 30,000 members worldwide.
Andra Day stars in THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY from Paramount Pictures. Photo Credit: Takashi Seida.
On Tuesday February 23, 2021, we hosted our latest HBCU Movie Night, and it was a moving way to honor Black History Month. It’s very rare that we are able to experience the mannerisms of a late legendary singer in the way that starring actress Andra Day is able to portray in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” Day, who is a Grammy-nominated singer and honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, incorporated, brings every emotion out of you, yet leaves you wanting more. Her portrayal of Billie Holiday brought a legend to life, and highlighted Holiday’s sacrifices to bring haunting racial injustices to light.
Also known as Lady Day, Billie Holiday had a charismatic voice that brought black and white audiences together during heightened racial tensions. It’s difficult to imagine how black Americans fought to thrive and break barriers during the Jim Crow era when they were still being lynched from trees. Yet “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” chronicles the bold way that Holiday used music to peacefully protest the violent killings of her people. Ironically, the film displays how her ominous record “Strange Fruit” confronted the bloody side of racism, and yet empowered the police force at the time to punish the words of the song more than the violence itself.
In an unfortunate way, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” was a fitting film for the current political climate in the U.S. While some white Americans are privileged not to know the underhanded side of the police and the justice system, people of color in this country know it all too well. As a result, many won’t be surprised watching the depictions of the police’s relentless efforts to take down Billie Holiday by stalking her, harassing her, and censoring her. The idea of the police framing her isn’t surprising. The ascension of lead harasser commissioner Harry Anslinger’s career through the Bureau of Narcotics, to the point that he worked with U.S. presidents, isn’t surprising either. Holiday was cornered for her drug addiction in many scenes by the bureau, yet even that was politicized as the “war on drugs” harshly targeted and penalized users of color.
Ultimately, although Billie Holiday struggled with racism and drug use in her lifetime, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” will show how much she laughed and loved as well. She left a catalogue of music that warmed hearts and opened eyes, and she is respected for it. In fact, in the film Day was correct, Anslingers’ grandchildren and those in their generation still analyze and appreciate “Strange Fruit” to this day.Be sure to watch Andra Day play the lovely Lady Day starting this Friday when “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” premieres on Hulu.
“They do things right around here,” shared Norfolk State University President Javaune Adams-Gaston. She is just the latest great HBCU president to be interviewed in our President’s Corner series by HBCU Buzz Founder and CEO Luke Lawal Jr. We discovered President Adams-Gaston has a fierce but relaxed style, and loves her work at NSU. Tap into the conversation to learn things you may never have known about her, like her family history with HBCUs, her take on COVID-19, how she truly feels about the MacKenzie Scott donation to her university, and an NSU moment she’ll truly never forget!
President Adams-Gaston comes from a line of people who appreciate an HBCU education. She has a sister who is a Howard University faculty member, a son that attends Morehouse College, and an aunt that is a graduate of NSU. In fact, she shared “since I’ve been here I’ve found many family members who are graduates of Norfolk State University!”
When asked what makes her happy, she discussed her personal growth tied into the success of Norfolk students.
“First and foremost is every day I start my day with prayer meditation, and that really centers me. And so all the things that might give me anxiety or might make me concerned or worried sort of get damped down because I really begin to think about ‘what is the journey and what’s most important’ of course for me in this journey I’m here because I think we have an opportunity and a way to help our young African-American students and any students who want to participate in this environment to soar. And so really, I’m really laser-focused on our students and their success, and utilizing the incredible skills of our faculty, our administrators, and our staff to get us there.”
Credit: President’s Corner
To learn more about President Adams-Gaston, watch the full conversation here. For more President’s Corner, tune in live on Facebook and Youtube every Tuesday at 12pm PT/3pm ET. You can also listen to #PresidentsCorner anywhere you get your podcasts.
ALLBLK is a streaming service focused on Black creators and they are launching a new variety show Social Society hosted by actor, host and social media personality Kendall Kyndall. ALLBLK is a platform for Black voices to be heard and seen.
Kyndall says, “It’s definitely a platform for Blacks where we can come and have a voice… We’re definitely not going to be afraid to talk about race and especially what we saw that was happening in 2020.”
“As audiences tune-in from week to week, Social Society will stand out as a premiere destination for staying up to date on what’s happening in Black culture.” said Brett Dismuke, General Manager of ALLBLK and WeTV. He also described the show as “a fresh concept that merges the best elements of sketch comedy shows like In Living Color, and news commentary programming like Last Week Tonight.”
Kendall Kyndall rose to fame from his unapologetic social commentary of VH1’s popular Love & Hip Hop franchise. Kyndall’s most recent roles include serving as the host for Love & Hip Hop: Secrets Unlocked special and backstage correspondent for Love & Hip Hop reunion shows. His popularity and best friend persona makes him the perfect host for Social Society as viewers will feel like they are hanging out with their best friend every week catching up on the latest news.
The new weekly programming Social Society will include a comedy sketch followed by discussions around topics such as Black entrepreneurship, Black love and financial literacy. Each week Kendall Kyndall will have a rotating social media influencer guest co-host join him as well as lifestyle experts and tastemakers. Viewers can expect to hear Kendall Kyndall’s take on the week’s entertainment highlights, life hacks, and social media buzz.
Social Society premiered yesterday with the first episode co-hosted by social media influencer Jasmine Luv, with special guests Dr. Lexx, Gary “G-Thang” Johnson, Renny and a live performance from R’n’B artist Neilà.
Social Societyis OUT NOW on ALLBLK with new episodes every Monday at noon EST. Enter Code: HBCU30 at SIGN UP for an exclusive 30-day free trial!
Legendary singer Gladys Knight is gearing up to perform at one of the most unique NBA All-Star games in history. In mid March Knight, who attended Shaw University, will be singing to a mostly empty stadium due to COVID-19 concerns. However, basketball fans are still awaiting the action-packed event famous for unique move difficult shots, special appearances, and more! This year’s event is even more special because it’s honoring HBCUs! Read the full story from Daniel Holloway at Variety below.
Credit: Auckland Live
Gladys Knight and Alessia Cara will be among the artists set to perform for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta. The All-Star festivities will also include performances by HBCU musical groups, including marching bands, step teams, glee clubs and choirs.
Knight — an Atlanta native, seven-time Grammy winner and graduate of one of the nation’s oldest HBCUs, Shaw University — will sing the U.S. national anthem live from State Farm Arena in Atlanta. (Knight, who is 76 years old, recently received the COVID-19 vaccine.) She will be followed by Cara, who will sing the Canadian national anthem remotely from Toronto.
Performances will begin airing at 8 p.m. on March 7, prior to tipoff on TNT.
Credit: Derek Blanks
The NBA will pay tribute throughout the night to the legacy of HBCUs. The Clark Atlanta University Philharmonic Society Choir will deliver a virtual performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” from an iconic location on the school’s campus. The performance will pay tribute to Clark Atlanta alum James Weldon Johnson, songwriter of the Black national anthem.
The Grambling State University Tiger Marching Band and Florida A&M University Marching 100 will perform remotely from their respective campuses during the NBA All-Star player introduction. During the game, step teams from Spelman College and Morehouse College will be introduced by members of the Divine Nine fraternities and sororities, a prestigious group of nine historically Black Greek letter organizations.
This year, for the first time, the NBA’s skills competitions — including the skills challenge and the three-point contest — will take place on the same night as the All-Star Game. The slam-dunk contest is scheduled to take place during halftime.
The COVID-19 pandemic was devastating for the health of many in the United States, as well as for our country’s healthcare systems. Yet what exasperated the effects of the pandemic was our lack of preparation for any such outbreak. For example, very few school-aged children were equipped with the resources they needed for immediate at-home learning.
Thankfully, Clark Atlanta University alumna Lisa Love co-founded the affordable and safe Tanoshi Computers for kids before COVID-19 was even a thing. Love also serves as the Chief Marketing Officer as well. As CMO, she oversees the planning, development, and execution of the marketing strategy at Tanoshi.
Initially, Lisa Love began her career working in brand and product marketing for Heinz, Del Monte, and other Fortune 500 CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies. She was always great at managing finances, having managed a portfolio of brands that generated revenue of up to $75M. Over time, she also worked as a marketing consultant, boosting the efficiency of several businesses and non-profit organizations.
Confident that the computers were a game-changer, she appeared on Shark Tank with her Tanoshi Team and was awarded funding by famous investor Draymond Green. With an idea so impactful, we became inspired by how she gracefully pivoted her career to uplift children that are often left behind. As she shared more of her story with us, it became no wonder she has been named among 100 Powerful Women of 2020 by Entrepreneur, and among Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs of 2020 by Inc.
When asked what brought her to create the Tanoshi computers, she touched on concerns for the education, economic standing, and technological accessibility of today’s youth. According to Love, the mission at Tanoshi is “to provide an equitable digital education for all kids around the world, no matter their socio-economic background,” she said. “I am passionate about giving all kids a fair chance to succeed. At Tanoshi, we are bridging the digital divide by providing affordable computers for kids with pre-loaded, curated content. Kids can do their homework and learn to code on the Tanoshi, without Internet access.”
Born to a school teacher mother and an engineer father, Lisa Love’s parents created somewhat of a perfect storm for Love to eventually think up Tanoshi.
Credit: Lisa Love
“My mom taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 50 years, mainly the primary grades,” said Love. “She taught in South Central where many of her students fell behind. I watched my mom persevere through systemic challenges just to bring her students up to grade level.
My dad was an engineer and worked for IBM during my childhood. I grew up seeing the benefits of technology and more specifically, the advantages of a computer.
Over the years, my parent’s passion for education and technology not only opened my eyes to the issues surrounding our education system, but also how I can do my part to help solve these issues through technology.”
The issues that Love is talking about include the lack of school funding, resources with outdated technology such as old computers, and lack of technological literacy. Much of those problems were already burdening children at many public schools and low-income districts around the country. COVID-19 has exasperated this issues and added even more problems with spotty or non-existent wifi, plus less opportunities for tutoring.
“Every child should have the opportunity to develop 21st-century computer skills needed to excel in today’s school environment,” said Love, “such as typing, familiarity with common productivity apps including Google Docs and Sheets, and coding. However, millions of kids, especially from lower-income households and school districts, do not have the same opportunities as those from more affluent families and school districts, resulting in a homework gap.”
SHARK TANK – “1114” – A mother and daughter from Houston, Texas, demonstrate their portable gadget designed as a solution to safely and quickly get children in and out of a car. A tech-savvy trio from San Francisco, California, pitches their lower-cost computer for kids to make technology accessible to more people. Another entrepreneur from San Francisco tries to sell the Sharks on a data-driven approach to personalized skincare with her product line. A computer scientist and engineer from Columbia, South Carolina, shares a device created to bring a robot revolution to children’s education on “Shark Tank,” WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC/Jessica Brooks)
GREG SMITH, LISA LOVE, BRAD JOHNSTON
As Love works to help children close gaps in their learning, her Tanoshi Team was not without its own problems. Funding is an unfortunate issue for entrepreneurs of color. Yet even with that in mind, we were supposed that there was also a supply issue.
“There’s greater demand than supply for our computers, which is a good problem,” said Love. “However, we continue to run out of computers when customers need them the most, which is frustrating. Securing funding has also been a major challenge. Less than 1% of Black women founders receive VC funding. And since we have not received funding, we have not been able to grow the company to its fullest potential.”
Ultimately, we hope to see more HBCU students and alumni support this innovative product! To learn more about these innovative Tanoshi computers and how you can get involved, check them out here.
Fisk University’s famed Jubilee Singers are again making waves with their induction into a new exhibit at a new museum in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee. Learn about how the Singers will be included in The National Museum of African American Music in an article from Kristin M. Hall at the Arkansas Democrat Gazette below!
A new museum two decades in the making is telling the interconnected story of Black musical genres through the lens of American history.
The National Museum of African American Music (nmaam.org), which opened with a virtual ribbon-cutting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is seated in the heart of Nashville’s musical tourism district, alongside honky-tonks and the famed Ryman Auditorium and blocks from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Credit: Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Even as Nashville has long celebrated its role in the history of music, the new museum fills a gap by telling an important and often overlooked story about the roots of American popular music, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B and hip-hop.
“When we think of the history of African American music and the important part it has played in our country, it was long overdue to honor it in this type of way,” says gospel great CeCe Winans, who serves as a national chairwoman for the museum.
The idea for the museum came from two Nashville business and civic leaders, Francis Guess and T.B. Boyd, who wanted a museum dedicated to Black arts and culture. And while there are museums around the country that focus on certain aspects of Black music, this museum bills itself as the first of its kind to be all encompassing.
“Most music museums deal with a label, a genre or an artist,” says H. Beecher Hicks III, the museum’s president and chief executive officer. “So it’s one thing to say that I’m a hip-hop fan or I’m a blues fan, but why? What was going on in our country and our lived experience and our political environment that made that music so moving, so inspirational, such the soundtrack for that part of our lives?”
The museum tells a chronological story of Black music starting in the 1600s through present day and framed around major cultural movements including the music and instruments brought by African slaves, the emergence of blues through the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights movement.
When Winans recently took a tour of the museum, she saw her own family of gospel singers, The Winans, represented in the museum’s exhibit on spiritual music alongside the artists that influenced her own musical career.
“You never start out doing what you’re doing to be a part of history — or even be a part of a museum,” says the 12-time Grammy-winning singer.
She notes that the museum put gospel music in context with how it inspired social change, especially during the civil rights era.
“When you look at all the different movements that have happened down through the years, and Martin Luther King Jr., it was always with the church behind them,” Winans says. “It was the gospel music that inspired us to love one another, to build bridges.”
The museum has 1,600 artifacts in its collection, including clothes and a Grammy Award belonging to Ella Fitzgerald, a guitar owned by B.B. King and a trumpet played by Louis Armstrong. To make the best use of the space, the exhibits are layered with interactive features, including 25 stations that allow visitors to virtually explore the music. Visitors can learn choreographed dance moves with a virtual instructor, sing “Oh Happy Day” with a choir led by gospel legend Bobby Jones and make their own hip-hop beats. Visitors can take home their recordings to share via a personal radio-frequency identification (RFID) wristband.
There will be a changing exhibit gallery, with the first topic to be the Fisk Jubilee Singers, an a cappella group originally formed in 1871 to raise money for Fisk University. The group sang slave spirituals at their concerts. The tradition continues today.
After a year of racial reckoning through the movement of Black Lives Matter, Hicks says the timing couldn’t be more perfect to highlight the contributions of Black music to our shared American experience.
“[It] is not an accident that we are able to finish and get the museum open in this moment, in this moment where we need to be reminded, perhaps more than others or more than in the recent past that we are brothers and we share more together than we do our differences.”
Today it has been announces that Howard University‘s 17th president, Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, has been elected to the Board of Directors at Battelle. Frederick is quite qualified for the new role, having been elected to multiple other boards prior to this one. Read the press release from Business Wire below to understand the value of bringing on Frederick to the premiere company focused on innovative science and technology.
Battelle announced today that Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, current president of Howard University and the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery, has been elected to the Battelle Board of Directors. Initially, he will serve in an advisory role and become a full voting member in 2022.
Credit: Business Wire
Frederick was appointed the seventeenth president of Howard University in 2014 and has been responsible for advancing the university’s commitment to student opportunity, academic innovation, public service, and fiscal stability. He has overseen a series of reform efforts, including the expansion of academic offerings, establishing innovative programs to support student success and the modernization of university facilities.
He previously served as provost and chief academic officer.
“Wayne’s combination of medical expertise and business acumen will bring a unique and valuable perspective to Battelle’s board and help to advance Battelle’s mission,” said Board Chairman John Welch. “We’re delighted he’s joining us and look forward to his insights and contributions.”
“I’m honored and excited to join the Battelle board,” said Frederick. “Battelle is a unique organization bringing innovative technologies and solutions to rapidly changing markets including healthcare, environmental and national security. My stewardship of Howard University with its diverse pipeline of STEM researchers will complement Battelle’s mission. I look forward to being a part of this incredible organization as a member of its board.”
Frederick received his B.S and M.D. from Howard University. Following his post-doctoral research and surgical oncology fellowships at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, he began his academic career as associate director of the cancer center at the University of Connecticut. Upon his return to Howard University, his academic positions included associate dean in the College of Medicine, division chief in the Department of Surgery, director of the Cancer Center and deputy provost for Health Sciences. He also earned a Master of Business Administration from Howard University’s School of Business in 2011.
“Wayne’s strong background in healthcare and medical education aligns so well with Battelle’s mission and strategic priorities,” said Battelle President and CEO Lou Von Thaer. “He will be a valuable addition to our board and I look forward to working with him for many years.”
Frederick is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, abstracts, and editorials and is a widely recognized expert on disparities in healthcare and medical education. His medical research focuses on narrowing racial, ethnic and gender disparities in cancer-care outcomes, especially pertaining to gastrointestinal cancers.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Humana Inc.
Although he never graduated, a former student of Morgan State University has donated millions to the institution. His special reason for giving is something all HBCU students should take note of, whether they are able to cross that stage or not. Get the full inspirational story from Nick Anderson at the Washington Post below!
Calvin E. Tyler Jr. grew up in what he recalls as “very humble beginnings” in Baltimore, went to Morgan State University in his home city in the early 1960s, left school without finishing his degree for want of money, became a driver for United Parcel Service, jumped into management and retired in 1998 as senior vice president after a long and successful run with UPS.
Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall, a student services building at Morgan State University in Baltimore. (Morgan State University)
Then he and his wife, Tina, started giving to Morgan State in what has now become a landmark run of philanthropy for the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities.
Their first donation arrived in 2000, $42,744 toward fulfilling a $500,000 pledge. The Tylers kept giving, and their pledges kept rising: another $500,000, another $1 million, another $3 million.
“I wanted to make it possible for a lot of kids from the inner city to go to college on scholarships,” Tyler said.
On Monday, Morgan State announced a new pledge from the Tylers of $15 million. Their lifetime total now stands at $20 million. All will be dedicated to financial aid, with a goal of helping students graduate with little or no debt.
What sets these gifts apart is the source. The $20 million appears to be one of the largest total pledges that any historically Black school has received from a former student (and, in this case, a spouse).
For many predominantly White institutions, spanning the Ivy League, other private colleges and public universities, eight-figure donations from former students are major events but not rare or unknown. The situation for HBCUs, given the nation’s profound racial gaps in economic circumstances, is very different. Their alumni, on the whole, have not amassed the same levels of generational wealth. Many borrowed to pay college bills.
The Tylers on their 25th wedding anniversary in 1986. (Courtesy of Tina and Calvin Tyler)
For many predominantly White institutions, spanning the Ivy League, other private colleges and public universities, eight-figure donations from former students are major events but not rare or unknown. The situation for HBCUs, given the nation’s profound racial gaps in economic circumstances, is very different. Their alumni, on the whole, have not amassed the same levels of generational wealth. Many borrowed to pay college bills.
By the former-student measure, the Tyler gifts “will be a record or near-record” for HBCUs, said Harry L. Williams, president and chief executive of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which supports HBCU students. Morgan State officials think the total pledge sets an alumni giving record for the sector. Authoritative and comprehensive data on such philanthropic records for the roughly 100 public and private HBCUs is scarce, Williams said.
He predicted that the gifts will electrify HBCU alumni around the country. “Hopefully there will be others out there that do this,” Williams said.
Tyler said he wants others to follow his lead. “You know that old saying: Don’t ever forget where you came from,” he said in a telephone interview from his home in Las Vegas. Tyler, 78, and his 76-year-old wife split time between there and a residence in Contra Costa County, Calif.
Morgan State is one of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
“I want to set an example so that others should feel obligated,” he said. “I’d like to see more people come back and support HBCUs.”
Many of the largest gifts to HBCUs have not come from their own former students. Billionaire MacKenzie Scott last year gave $560 million to numerous HBCUs, including record-shattering sums of $50 million to Prairie View A&M University in Texas, $45 million to North Carolina A&T State University, and $40 million each to Howard University in D.C., Norfolk State University in Virginia and Morgan State.
Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, graduated from Princeton University.
Among former HBCU students, data from the Chronicle of Philanthropy and other sources suggest landmark donations to their schools have tended to be in seven figures — around $1 million to $3 million. One exception: News accounts in 1992 show that attorney Willie E. Gary pledged $10 million to his alma mater, Shaw University in North Carolina.
Although Calvin Tyler did not graduate with his Class of 1965, Morgan State regards him as one of its most distinguished alumni. The university awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2004, and it named a new student services building for him and his wife. Tyler Hall, built with state funding, is expected to be dedicated next fall.
“The quintessential Morganite is Calvin Tyler,” Morgan State President David Wilson said. Wilson described the philanthropist as a self-effacing leader and barrier-breaker. “His time at Morgan was cut short, but his dream was not,” Wilson said. “His dream endured.”
Wilson said Morgan State, like other colleges and universities, is “open for investments of any magnitude” and welcomes funding from “the philanthropic community far and wide.” But the Tylers, both Baltimore born, have become a powerful symbol for the university, he said.
“Our students at Morgan, they can touch Calvin Tyler,” Wilson said. “They can leave the campus at Morgan and go two miles into west Baltimore and get to the neighborhood that produced him.”
So far, 222 Morgan State students have received tuition aid as “Tyler Scholars,” according to the university. The new pledge will expand those numbers, targeting students in financial need who keep a grade-point average of at least 2.5.
Morgan State, founded in 1867 for religious education, became a public college in 1939 and is now a research university with about 7,600 students. This year, tuition and fees total about $7,600 for Maryland residents and about $18,000 for those from out of state. Those totals don’t include meals, housing and other expenses.
Most students don’t pay the full price. More than half of Morgan State’s undergraduates have enough financial need to qualify for federal Pell grants. Many are first-generation college students.
By Tyler’s account, he was the first in his family to go to college. His father, he said, was a lineman for the telephone company and his mother a nurse’s aide. He isn’t sure whether either of them graduated from high school. There wasn’t much talk of college in Tyler’s family in the 1940s and ’50s. But he was a strong student and graduated from the prominent public high school known as Baltimore City College.
From there, he said, the obvious choice for an academically driven African American in Baltimore was Morgan State. He enrolled in 1961.
“I had ambitions of getting a degree in business, but I had to pay my own way,” Tyler said. “I didn’t have a scholarship. My parents couldn’t afford to pay tuition. I was basically paying my own way, working several jobs.”
Tyler said he recalls that professors were caring as he took courses in business, accounting, French and other subjects. But he acknowledged that he grew distracted in the pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. He had little time for extracurricular campus activities. Money worries weighed him down when he left the university in 1963. “I lose track of exactly how many credits I had,” he said. “I like to assume I was halfway there.”
He saw a half-page advertisement for UPS in the Baltimore Sun. It intrigued him because it said the company promoted from within. He started driving a truck in 1964, delivering to country clubs, brokerage houses, Johns Hopkins University and other places of wealth far removed from his upbringing in west Baltimore. “A lot of things I had never seen before,” he said.
He stayed with the company, and his career took off. Eventually he oversaw U.S. operations and served on the UPS board of directors and other prominent boards.
Tyler said he knows his own narrative, thriving in the end without a bachelor’s degree, provides a somewhat complicated view of higher education.
“One of the reasons I don’t like to publicize my story,” he said, “is because some young kid might take from that, ‘Boy, I don’t need to go to college.’ That would be the biggest mistake of all. I wish I’d finished. I would encourage young people to get all the education they can.”
He also wants graduates to give back to their schools as soon as possible, without waiting to become rich. “I don’t care if it’s 10 bucks, 20 bucks,” he said. “If you get them in the habit of giving, it will grow over time.”
The history of Fisk University has been told through song all over the world. Thanks to a new article on the Jubilee Singers from Fisk that have carried Black history with them, we finally know the extent of their impact. Read a profile on one of the greatest HBCU choirs to grace a stage in a new article from Dave Paulson at USA Today below.
“Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus!
Steal away, steal away home, I hain’t got long to stay here.”
The famed Jubilee Singers of Fisk University rehearse May 10, 1952, for an upcoming concert.
In the mid-19th century, you’d hear those words echoing across the fields of Oklahoma, as Wallace Willis and other slaves sang while they worked in the state’s Indian Territory.
Within a decade, those same words had made their way to the Queen of England. In a private room at a royal estate in London, Queen Victoria listened as 11 brave students from Nashville’s Fisk University — many of them former slaves — sang “Steal Away” for her, with voices as lush and melodious as any traditional choir.
One hundred and fifty years later, those voices are still ringing out.
The creation, rise and endurance of the Fisk Jubilee Singers is a true American triumph. When Fisk treasurer George Leonard White assembled the group in 1871 and booked a tour to raise money for the struggling school, it introduced the world to “slave songs” or “negro spirituals” — music Black Americans made for themselves.
A century and a half later, the group still survives, rejuvenating itself with new student members each year. Just a few months ago, the latest arrivals to Fisk were learning “Steal Away,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “I’m A-Rolling Through an Unfriendly World.”
And an “unfriendly world” is important to keep in mind when tracing the Singers’ legacy. In the aftermath of the Civil War, as popular minstrel shows continued to denigrate Black culture, the Fisk Jubilee Singers were a radical development. Suddenly, a group of young Americans was sharing the songs of their own people with pride and poise.
Dr. Paul Kwami has been the group’s musical director since 1994. Along with the music, he makes sure every new member learns of the “sacrifices” made by the original group.
The Fisk Jubilee Singers pose for a portrait Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020 in Nashville, Tenn. The Fisk Jubilee Singers are vocal artists and students at Fisk University who sing and travel worldwide. The original Fisk Jubilee Singers introduced ‘slave songs’ to the world in 1871 and were instrumental in preserving the unique American musical tradition of Negro spirituals.
“Their travel happened at a time when slavery had just ended, at a time when many people did not expect much from African Americans, even though they were very intelligent,” he says.
“Many times our audiences in large halls were discouragingly slim,” original member Ella Sheppard wrote in 1911. “Our strength was failing under the ill treatment at hotels and on railroads, poorly attended concerts and ridicule.”
The group’s fortunes began to change, however, as they brought new songs to the stage. Their songs.
Their first concerts had been “made up wholly of what we called the white man’s music,” according to Sheppard: traditional hymns, temperance songs and even the minstrel-rooted “Old Folks At Home.”
But as “slave songs” — which the group would only sing after finishing rehearsals — were introduced, their concerts transformed. Six weeks after their first concert, they arrived at Oberlin College in Ohio to perform for a convention of ministers. There, they sang “Steal Away,” but through the lens of White’s training, rooted in traditional choral music.
“They originally did not even want to sing (spirituals), because the songs were sacred to them,” Kwami says. “But people began to love the music. And in some accounts that I’ve read, people talk a lot about the beauty of their voices. (White) taught them to sing very, very softly. That was said to be a unique quality of their singing. So even in their first tour, they made a very big impression upon people.”
The nine original members formed the singing group, the Jubilee Singers, in 1871 and kept Fisk University from closing and brought lasting respect to the black spiritual through their tours in America and Europe.
In stark contrast to minstrelsy, the Jubilee Singers showcased one of the first sincere blends of European and African-American influences — a blend that defined western popular music ever since. And within two years, its global appeal was evident.
In 1873, the group sailed to England. In addition to Queen Victoria, they sang for the nobility of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Before the invention of the phonograph, it marked the first time overseas audiences had heard the music of American slaves.
They were engrossed, if condescending: “Though the music is the offspring of wholly untutored minds,” wrote the Times of London, “it possesses a peculiar charm.”
When the group returned to Nashville the following year, they had raised $50,000 for the university. With it, they constructed Jubilee Hall, the South’s first permanent structure built for the education of Black students. Additional buildings followed, including Fisk Memorial Chapel, completed in 1892.
In the decades that followed the inaugural tour, the group’s repertoire began to be preserved on paper. Many of the earliest collections were edited by Fisk graduate John Wesley Work, Jr. — and his son, John Wesley Work III, followed in his footsteps as a celebrated composer, musicologist and director of the group.
The Jubilee Singers of Fisk University perform during taping of a special production on stage of the Grand Ole Opry House April 23, 1975. The taping will be edited into a half-hour nationwide television special sponsored by the Carnation Milk Co. and set for airing in the summer.
On October 6, 2020, the latest ensemble of Fisk Jubilee Singers gathered at the chapel to celebrate the annual “Jubilee Day.” Every year, Fisk commemorates the date , when those first nine singers in 1871 embarked on a mission to save their school — and make history.
“We thank you for their melodious songs of Zion,” Reverend Dr. Jason R. Curry said in the invocation. “(Songs) which are still able to lift up a bowed-down head. They are still able to soothe an aching heart.”
On the chapel’s stage, the 15 newest members of the Fisk Jubilee Singers began one of those sacred songs: “Walk Together Children.”
“Going to sing and never tire/ Sing and never tire…There’s a great camp meeting in the promised land.”
