Black Alumni Association speaks out
The USC Black Alumni Association, along with the UCLA Black Alumni Association and Ebony Magazine, hosted the Aligning for Black Excellence in Higher Education Summit Saturday morning, which highlighted the importance surrounding higher education in the African-American community through speeches by USC professors, company executives and students. The four-hour event was held at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Robert Ross, president and CEO of California Endowment and a member of President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.
Near the end of the conference, David J. Johns, executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, touched on the difference between attending college and graduating from college.
“Do you believe that your child or children are capable of graduating from college?” Johns said. “Those words are intentional. We spend too much time worrying about getting them to college. No — they need to graduate from college. They’re obligated to.”
Johns then proceeded to outline the circumstances necessary for getting students into college, using a visit to a Las Vegas school as a point of reference.
“First, [students] ask for love. They first want to know that you care about them before they care what you know,” he said. “[Students] said that sometimes they don’t get attention unless they’re in an AP class or well below average. We need to pay attention to all of our babies, including those who sometimes get lost in the middle.”
Johns stressed the importance of honest communication between parents and children, a task made difficult by the changing conditions of the African-American community over recent decades.
“We need to have tough conversations about race, class, sexuality and things that make people [feel] uncomfortable. We need to get out of the habit of not listening when they speak. We can’t play Oppression Olympics,” Johns said. “It is a natural reaction to say, ‘Oh, baby, it’s OK. You don’t know what it’s like to have it bad.’ But the reality is that our babies go through things right now that would break the average adult.”
The event included two panels, one on the topic of “External Stakeholder Perspectives” and one on “Trends Impacting Competitive College Readiness and Completion Outcomes.” The first panel included Dr. Michéle G. Turner, executive director of the USC Black Alumni Association; George McKenna, LAUSD board member; and Nolan Rollins, president and CEO of Los Angeles Urban League. The second panel featured Jay Tucker, chief marketing officer and head of programs for the Institute for Communication Technology Management; Constance Iloh, Ph.D. candidate in urban education policy at the Pullias Center for Higher Education within the Rossier School of Education; and Dr. Sharoni Little, associate professor at the Marshall School of Business.
The conference ended with a speech by Princeton Parker, a senior majoring in communication and a Black Alumni Association scholar. In his speech, Parker mentioned that the African-American community must realize that obtaining a higher education, working a job and spending time with family is achievable.
Parker explained that he is an example of a young student leader who desires to make a difference among African-American students in higher education across the nation.
“I stand as one example of the possibility and the propensity of young black students and leaders to make differences and achieve higher levels at institutions across this country,” Parker said. “I come to talk because we gather under the impetus of a problem. What’s at stake is our freedom, because to be educated is to be free.”
Parker’s speech then focused on common misconceptions about freedom, which he argued is part of a cultural mentality.
“To have a platform is not freedom either, because there are many of our most famous entertainers who on the increasing glare of the spotlight have a huge platform, but once they enter a new plateau they choose to adapt,” Parker said. “They become post-racial, colorblind things, denying the legacy of the DNA of blackness that helped make them who they are. And when you throw away your garment of blackness to appear more global or American, I’m afraid you’re not free.”
Parker argued that true freedom comes only from critical inquiry and reflection as a result of education, and that it should be shared instead of hoarded.
“To be free is not just to get an education for yourself,” he said. “To be free is to be able to get your diploma and go right back to your church, your cousins, your projects, your families, and let them know that you’re not uniquely special — they can do the same thing you’ve done.”
Students at the event shared their thoughts on challenges facing the African-American community in the 21st century. Julia Badji, a freshman majoring in human biology, expressed her views on the role of opportunity in getting African-Americans into college.
“Young students don’t know about the opportunities out there, and they aren’t allowed to reach them,” Badji said. “They have the potential and the ability, but they don’t have the resources.”
Candice Wright, a freshman majoring in economics, agreed with this perspective.
“Black students comprise about 4 percent of the student body, and that is unacceptable,” Wright said. “It’s not simply about getting accepted to college. It’s not by choice that African-Americans choose not to go to college — it’s by circumstances and financial burden.”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to note that David J. Johns was sharing a story about a school in Las Vegas, not in the San Fernando Valley as previously reported. The Daily Trojan regrets this error.