A culture shift is underway at Morehouse College. The 156-year-old men’s college — among the nation’s most-selective historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) — was built upon the image of a serious, contemporary Black man fit within a uniquely American mold. But now, students, faculty members, and administrators are reconsidering what it means to be a […]
Education
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
How a New President, Alums, and Current Students Kept Morris Brown Going
Julian Ross did not need to think twice about his decision. The lure of an education in a music department led by Sharon Willis, the first Black woman to own her own opera company, is what attracted the Baltimore native to Morris Brown College. When he enrolled for his freshman year in 2019, Ross, the […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
HBCU Stereotypes ‘Dampen the Light.’ Here’s What People Get Wrong.
Too often, media coverage of historically Black colleges and universities centers on tropes or repeats falsehoods. The reality is that HBCUs are a powerful and historically undercovered sector of higher education. And in recent years, the sector has notched some critical victories: a surge in applications, additional federal funds aimed at addressing inequity, and a […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
Will Georgia’s Book Ban Target Black Authors? Educators Have Concerns.
Cicely Lewis loves being a school librarian. Lewis has spent nearly two decades in education. For the past seven years, she’s worked as a librarian at Meadowcreek High School in Norcross. The job encompasses everything she’s drawn to, including the teaching component, and an opportunity to train other educators. Getting to buy books is just […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
If Thomasville Heights Elementary Temporarily Closes, What Happens to the Students?
On a Monday night inside the board chambers of the Atlanta Public Schools headquarters, there was a palpable tension. As APS officials trickled in, concerned parents and residents of Thomasville Heights packed the room. They filled every available seat, some standing against the wall. Parents still in work clothes brought their children. Officers from the […]
Posted inEducation, Equity
How a Potential Sports Ban Would Affect Black Trans Youth in Georgia
When Laith Stevenson left her hometown of Ozark, Alabama, to attend college at Emory University, she was looking for an escape. The former high school track athlete wanted to leave the rural Southern town and embrace her queer identity. Stevenson found refuge in track and field. She competed on the boys team, and identified as […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
Violence Isn’t New for Black People Trying to Get an Education
Black educators are on edge amid a flurry of political attacks and violent threats on the institutions, curricula, and books at the center of their work. From the bomb threats on Black college campuses to the legislative bans on teaching “critical race theory,” the assaults on Black learning are raising uncomfortable ghosts of historical efforts […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
For Black College Students, AUC Was Their Safe Space. Now That’s Threatened, Too.
When Mikayla Sharrieff got her acceptance letter from Spelman College two years ago, she was extremely emotional. “I just remember feeling so proud to call myself a Spelmanite,” she said. “I even cried because I felt like all of my hard work paid off.” The junior engineering major chose Spelman because she wanted to experience […]