It is always a pleasure to travel in lieu of God, his grace, and the Black College Fund. After four years, I still find new ways to love the Black College Fund ever more. I could never thank Dr. Hopson and Mrs. Crystal enough for extending the opportunity to network, share God’s love and the miraculous work of the Black College Fund in the lives of students across the world. This year was yet another year of awesomeness.
First things first, Nashville. For the record, I will always be open to work in the Black College Fund office, because it is absolutely my favorite place. Every year I gain new skills and valuable knowledge about its operation and the church. This year, thanks to Dr. Hopson, I discovered how the funds are distributed. I
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I don’t care how old I get, traveling with Dr. Hopson will always be intimidating, because she’s watching. She’s listening and expecting nothing but the best. However, with her, you meet the biggest and brightest shining stars. General Conference was the perfect networking opportunity, and a chance to see all of God’s children assemble for the work of his kingdom. From Africa University’s performance to Higher Education Night, General Conference was full of praise and bustle. Did I forget to mention our BCF table? We took to the floor with BCF paraphernalia and worked the audience, all while thanking them for supporting our education. It was certainly a joy to work together and to hear people ask for more. The greatest time during the conference was lunch with Dr. Haywood L. Strickland. His kindred spirt and humorous character was easy to follow and love. I’ll never forget his dear words as he talked about his struggle to the top, “I was getting just what I asked for from God, nothing more, nothing less. Then, I realized I needed to ask for …show more content…
It was the first time that I felt God’s presence at an annual conference. As odd as it may sound, it is true. Bishop Chow tipped off the conference with an open dialogue about the state of the church. Of course I debated with the young man next to me that it was our inability to attract and keep youth. I argued that our traditional structure has built a fence too high for millennials and screenagers (Generation Z) to climb; making them feel boxed in and unwelcomed. But Bishop Chow quickly proved us wrong. His diagnosis was that the Holy Spirit had left the church. Because we’ve become so entangled with who we are, the Holy Spirit cannot move within the church. He asserted that new programs and initiatives cannot fix a dead church; that we must loosen the chains that we’ve given ourselves so that we can fully praise God. Only then, will his people draw near. I could feel God move amidst the hearts of the conference.
That spirit poured over into the BMCR luncheon where the speaker addressed the state of the black church. He talked about the dire need for us to bring the black church back to the center of our community during the racial war the world is facing. He also expressed that wealthy and powerful African-Americans often neglect to see the struggles of their communities, because they no longer share the “those” struggles. They forget to reach back and build
Michelle Obama is giving a speech at Bowie State University. The location and reason of the speech is part of the “Reach Higher” initiative to encourage education beyond high school. Michelle Obama begins the speech by thanking the University the Opportunity to be there and the staff. This includes Freeman Hrabowski, a professor who won the Presidential Medal of Excellence. Next, Mrs. Obama thanks the class of 2013 at Bowie State and give them recognition for being the few who have been able to continue the education while also maintaining the personal life and matters. After she gives recognition the class, she then begins to mention historical context including the first African Baptist Church and how it helped begin offering many African
conclusion, while Dr king was in birmingham, he came across the priest’s statement calling mr king activities unwise and untimely, in other words he felt that the priest’s were men of genuine good. he asked the question to the priest why were they being, so unrighteous and being so racist, against him and what he stood for. he was confronting the priest , because they weren’t being true to their words, and what the bible sayings were, when the affiliate organization invited mr king To birmingham to speak in a non violent direct action program, and when it was time for him to speak, he was discriminated against, and he started to quote the bible to make the priest well aware that what they were doing was wrong unrealistic and untrue, to what they stood for, he was tired of black people being outsiders, including in the united states, for a place to be considered the land of freedom, the place others dreamed to be were hurting people, because of the color of their skin.
Every Sunday my mother would force me into my church dress with the itchy lace, and white ankle-socks with the big, puff bow. We would walk into St. John A.M.E. Church and sit in age-old pews, singing Negro Spirituals that I had not yet learned to appreciate. Growing up, church consisted of sermons, praise, and family. For years I would automatically participate in the church activities and youth-group service projects, taking the many lectures about education a grain of salt. However, I never understood the true meaning of service and the importance of education until I learned about the history of Huntsville, Alabama. The founder of St. John African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, and the founder of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU), William Hooper Councill, truly exemplified what it meant to serve his community.
From the very foundation of Berea College, the school has had the core principles of Christianity built into it. The principle that it is our obligation to work towards alleviating the adversity of all, regardless of the race or class of those who are disadvantaged. Unfortunately Berea College’s commitment to race and class is not always fully expressed by their actions. In order to remedy this, Berea College should put greater effort into its commitment to class and race by creating a committee made up of multiple races and classes, with the purpose of creating programs to help individuals who are disadvantaged by their race and/or class. Such a committee would be tasked with working to understand every aspect pertaining to the races and classes
As a charter member of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation Shadwell Society, I am committed to encouraging reinvestment into the University of Virginia. Founded in 2012, the Shadwell Society’s mission is “to engage alumni and friends of the University and to provide support, meaningful service, and future leadership to the Jefferson Scholars Foundation.” Members serve a five- year term and pledge $2,000 per year. I have served and continue to serve the society in many capacities. As a founding member I helped shape the early mission of the foundation, as co-chair of the membership committee I oversaw the growth of the group from 14 members to 75 members, and in the Fall of 2016 when I start my two-year term as the Society’s co-chair I will
African-American communities have been asked to sacrifice hiring qualified, capable Black teachers for a promise of increased test scores. People of color are to shout to the heavens for school choice and accept a lottery. These are all false dichotomies and inconsistencies that reflect our allegiances to organizations and ideologies rather than community. We are a community driven institution, which is at the essence of our mission. Dillard remains one of the few places that promulgate the black middle class in both word and in deed. We as an institution supports Dr. Darwish in his efforts to secure funds for this STEM program, because it is our belief too that education is an incubator for literacy, employment, citizenship and activism. These courses are prerequisites for upper level classes in STEM programs, including nursing, physics and public health. For the 24 girls selected each year to participate Dillard University serves as more than just another university but rather an educational map, economic development plan, political stage and protector for not only the low-income families, but also future generations. Let us not forget, HBCU’s were the original Teach for America in this regard, therefore, we have an obligation to ensure the success of young
(Response to Question 2) In studying the Black Church not only as an institution, but as a transitioning tradition—I have come understand the role it plays in the lived Black experience. It is within the Black Church that one encounters a Divine that affirms and respects Black bodies, communities, and cultures. And from that affirmation and respect, derives the societal call to address the systemic oppression and disregard of Blackness.
Historically black colleges and universities are now struggling because of decreased funding. The schools even went as far as enrolling non-African American students to help with their finances. The gala hopes to ease that financial burden.
Money in the form of tuition, government funding, and personal donations allow institutions to fund programs and ultimately make the college experience enjoyable to current as well as prospective students. Historically black colleges lack both the government funding, personal donations which makes it much harder for them to appeal to students. Due to lack of funding, many HBCUs are dated facilities, lack scholarship opportunities and offer fewer programs for students looking to apply. Many HBCUs have loss accreditation in a number of programs with contributes to the decline of enrollment and furthermore a loss of potential revenue. However, regardless of the harsh reality many of these colleges are facing, their impact on society and most importantly in the black community is one that can not be refuted. Some of the country’s most influential people are products of an HBCU education. The question should not whether or not HBCUs should cease to exist but instead how can the be fixed and brought back to
Historically, the Black church has been a place that has inspired soulful expression. During slavery, it was the only place that had minimal or no supervision by white, slave masters. The church and its tenets stood as both a spiritual and physical manifestation of the hopes and dreams of a people who desired to be released from their bondage. The theological views embraced by the African diaspora in the church were inexorably linked with their belief that God would punish their oppressors and reward the righteous in this life or the next.
I pray everyone is doing well. I wanted to follow-up with you in regards to the event SAME was coordinating with Alabama A&M. While it had been on the books for some time now, and I know many of you exerted significant political capital to support this event, I must unfortunately cancel it. To begin with, I want to say that I am personally sorry for your wasted efforts as this outcome could not have been anticipated. I understand that many of you, especialy Celeste Banks, have been a staunch advocates of these type of events, but due to internal coordination issues within Alabama A&M, they are unable to support this event. This outcome is personally disheartening, as I feel this would have been an excellent opportunity
Lincoln, C. Eric, and Lawrence H. Mamiya. The Black Church in the African-American Experience. Durham: Duke UP, 1990. Print.
“I think the broader public should be aware of both how little some people have to live off and how much many people struggle to make ends meet,” Sumerau said. “We would thus — as a society — all do better to realize both what we have in our own lives and the importance of doing all we can to reach out to our fellow citizens facing struggles.” The team presented its findings last weekend at the annual meeting of the Association of Applied and Clinical Sociology. This is just one example of the types of community outreach projects to come from the College.“When you talk about the aggregation of academic knowledge and human capital, the opportunities are tremendous at universities, but more often lost than applied,” Geller
Walker, Philip Leslie. 2000. The role of the holy spirit in the growth of the church. Order No. 9974760, Fuller Theological Seminary, Doctor of Ministry Program. In PROQUESTMS ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/docview/304671060?accountid=7374.
Each new generation faces its own unique set of challenges and opportunities revolving around the specific circumstances driving the culture of the era. Learning to identify these is vital to creating a leadership strategy that will reach both the ever changing makeup of today’s congregations, and the communities outside our front door. Each new challenge represents an opportunity for the church to establish its relevance and necessary position in the world around us. As it was pointed out in Bill Hybels book Courageous Leadership, the church is a special organization, one that is uniquely equipped to deal with matters of the soul. There are dozens of great organizations that are dedicated to helping in every facet of human calamity but the church is the only one that deals with the condition of the spirit and it is in this area that the church needs to concentrate its focus. This does not mean that the church cannot help in the matters of