Charleston Chronicle
Dr. Thaddeus John Bell Speaks at Fourth Annual SCSU Alumni Scholarship Banquet
CHARLESTON CHRONICLE — The Colleton County Alumni Chapter of South Carolina State University National Alumni Association held its fourth annual scholarship banquet on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church on Coolers Dairy Road in Round O, SC at 6:00 p.m. The keynote speaker was Dr. Thaddeus John Bell, distinguished physician, educator, trailblazer, leader, athlete, and humanitarian. Leila Williams (’86) served as the mistress of ceremony.
By Anna S. Bright
The Colleton County Alumni Chapter of South Carolina State University National Alumni Association held its fourth annual scholarship banquet on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church on Coolers Dairy Road in Round O, SC at 6:00 p.m. The keynote speaker was Dr. Thaddeus John Bell, distinguished physician, educator, trailblazer, leader, athlete, and humanitarian. Leila Williams (’86) served as the mistress of ceremony.
Patricia A. Williams (’85), secretary, welcomed the banquet attendees. After the introduction of the head table by the mistress of ceremony, Esther Black (’61), co-chaplain, gave the invocation. Sylvia Williams (’07) introduced Miss South Carolina State University, Kayla Hasty (’20), a native of Robertville, South Carolina.
Miss Hasty is the 2016 Valedictorian of Jasper County Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School. Presently, she is a senior at South Carolina State University. As the 82nd Miss South Carolina State University, Kayla stands on the platform of “building bulldog tenacity by building yourself which tackles mental health and promotes community service and self-care.” She is an active member of the Honors College, the Golden Key International Honor Society, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Upon graduation, Kayla aspires to pursue a career as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.
As the evening continued, a delicious buffet dinner was served. Mr. Central Williams (’76), president, introduced the keynote speaker. Founder and CEO of Closing the Gap in Health Care, Inc., Dr. Bell graduated from South Carolina State University. His early career led him to the classroom in Gaffney where he became the first African American to teach in an all-white high school in South Carolina. When he moved to Charleston, he taught at Charleston High School, another all-white school. He later graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina and began practicing family medicine.
Dr. Bell is also a graduate of Atlanta University and the United States School of Aerospace Medicine. He served his country as a flight surgeon at the rank of major in the Air Force Reserve and also served on active duty in Operation Desert Storm. In 1980 he co-founded the Cross-Family Health Center, a free clinic for the underserved citizens in that rural community. Dr. Bell has also served as an attending staff physician at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Hospital in Charleston. Although Dr. Bell never participated in organized sports in college, at the age of 43, he began to use his gift of running and competed at the international level in Masters Track and Field. He won the world championship in many events and age groups.
Dr. Bell has been voted as one of South Carolina’s Top 100 Athletes of the 20th Century. In memory of his son Thaddeus John Bell II, he started the Bell/Schlau Track and Field Seminar for Lowcountry Students, in collaboration with Charleston Southern University. The program was recognized as one of the best in the state of South Carolina. Dr. Bell served as the chairman of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness under three governors.
In 1993 Dr. Bell joined the faculty of the Medical University of South Carolina and served as Associate Dean for Minority Affairs in the College of Medicine for 17 years. He was appointed as Director of the University’s Office of Diversity by MUSC President, Dr. James B. Edwards. In this position, Dr. Bell created many programs to improve the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of minority students at MUSC.
Having attended a conference in 2005 that focused on health disparities, Dr. Bell was inspired to address this issue in South Carolina by concentration on health literacy in the African-American community. This led to the founding of “Closing the Gap in Health Care” (CGHC), which aims to decrease health disparities for African Americans and other underserved populations by providing health education through seminars, lectures, and health fairs. To reach a larger audience, several radio stations broadcast his health tips, which are informative, easy to understand, and humorous.
Dr. Bell’s radio health tips, television show, and CGHC website reach over 300,000 people each week; CGHC has been recognized several times as one of the country’s best consumer health information programs. The newly opened Thaddeus J. Bell, M.D. Family Health Center in Summerville is named in his honor. Dr. Bell delivered a very enlightening, emotionally-impactful message for this annual scholarship banquet. The focus of his message was about his “journey” from where he began to where he is now.
These are some highlights of his message:
–He reflected upon some people who influenced him on his journey: he recognized a former President of South Carolina State University, Dr. Maceo Nance, who was the school’s administrator while he was enrolled there. Dr. Bell’s father was a barber, so Dr. Nance would travel to Columbia every week to have his father cut his hair. Also, he would give Dr. Bell’s father a report on how his son was doing!
–While at South Carolina State, he worked for Dr. Adelle W. Stewart’s wife, and he said that he absolutely “hated her! However, after he graduated from medical school, he went back to thank her for the positive influence she had in his life. (She was the first AfricanAmerican woman to earn a Ph.D. from Clemson University. She passed away from a stroke while presenting a lecture at her alma mater, Morris College.)
–The Dean of Men at South Carolina State, Dean Vincent, played a major role in his being selected as a park ranger for three years at Yosemite National Park.
–One day his mother told him that he had received a call from Mrs. Edith Vaughn. He remembered her from having walked down the graduation line at South Carolina State University to pull out students who owed fees, thus not being able to march. When he heard that he had gotten the call from her, he wondered what it could be. When he returned the call, she told him that he had recommended to teach at an all-white school in Gaffney, SC. (He would be the first African American to do this in South Carolina.) He told her that he was a professional biology major and had not taken any education courses or the NTE. However, he accepted the position, and “it turned out to be one of the greatest experiences I ever had.” With a chuckle, he mentioned that students tried to get out of his class.!
–When Dr. Bell first applied to MUSC, he was interviewed by four white doctors. They told him that they would accept him as a student at MUSC, but he had to maintain a 4.0 average. Humorously, he said, “I couldn’t maintain a 4.0 at South Carolina State, so I know I won’t maintain that at MUSC!” So he turned it down the first time around.
–He was a part of “the movement” when black LPN’s protested and started a strike in 1969 at MUSC because of the way they were treated. He felt it was the right thing to do. He later began studying medicine at MUSC in 1972. However, he and the five black students in his class “suffered the wrath for having the audacity to want to become doctors.”
–Two of the most difficult times on Dr. Bell’s journey were the losses of two of his children: first, his son to a pulmonary embolism two months after having graduated from.
–Morehouse College in Atlanta, and then his daughter, to one of the deadliest forms of cancer a young person can have. After the death of his son, the President of MUSC offered him a job because the black students needed a role model there. Dr. Bell turned it down at first; however, the job was held for him for six months. He accepted the position and was at MUSC for 25 years.
–Dr. Bell said that his mother was his greatest influence in his life. He couldn’t figure out why she did so much for others. Therefore, he promised God that if He let him finish medical school, he would give back. Another doctor recommended to him to go back to his community and educate them on health issues and disparities in health care.
–“Closing the Gap” has received over a $1 million dollar grant. Therefore, within two weeks, Dr. Bell will be on CNN, BET, and the NBA Finals giving health tips.
–Dr. Bell worked at Colleton Regional Hospital for about a year. At first, they did not want to hire him because he was black. After they checked his credentials, they hired him. He chuckled and said, “I had some interesting experiences there!”
–He shared information on a report from DHEC—the top four cancers among African Americans: lung, prostate, breast, and gynecological. He mentioned that trying to get African Americans to believe and to trust medicine remains an issue.
–Dr. Bell took questions from the floor after his message. One of them was “What can we do as a community to help you complete your journey…?” He said, “Help this young lady (Miss South Carolina State University) while she is in medical school.” He went on to explain that those we help do not have to be doctors.
– One of the greatest challenges on Dr. Bell’s journey has been dealing with racism.
– He has been a practicing physician for 44 years and plans to make it 50.
After Dr. Bell’s impactful message, Beverly Haynes (’80) introduced this year’s scholarship recipient. He is Elijah Robinson, a member of the 2019 graduating class of Colleton County High School. His awards include Perfect Attendance, Good Citizenship, Honor Roll, Principal’s List and scholarship awards via Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., CTS/CHS Alumni Association, Inc., and Arthur L. Williams Scholarship. He is a teacher assistant in his drafting class. He will matriculate at South Carolina State University in the fall.
Celia S. Price, a retired teacher from Colleton County School District, received the South Carolina State University Distinguished Alumni Award. She was introduced and given red roses by her sister, Esther Black. She was also presented a trophy. Central Williams (’76) gave closing remarks and recognized other special guests: Past National Alumni President, Vernell Brown; Van Gaffney of the Orangeburg Alumni Chapter, and members of the Beaufort-Jasper County Alumni Chapter.
In his closing remarks, the banquet chairman, Art Williams (’92) shared greetings from Senator Margie Bright Matthews (District 45), who could not be present due to her daughter’s graduation celebration. He mentioned that she said we can always be assured that she is on South Carolina State University’s side.
The banquet closed with the alma mater and the benediction by Rev. Marvin Jones, Pastor of Jericho United Methodist Church.
This article originally appeared in the Charleston Chronicle.
Black History
Women’s Suffrage Forged by Founding Sisters: Happy Birthday to Ida B.
CHARLESTON CHRONICLE — So proclaimed Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who fearlessly shined a light with words on the abominable dark days after slavery and into the 20th century. Journalist, publisher, author, activist, and suffragist leader, Ida B.’s spirit soars. July 16 marks the 157th anniversary of her birth. Blood, sweat, and ink sealed her legacy and the future of a nation still struggling to be whole.
By Gwen McKinney
“The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.”
So proclaimed Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who fearlessly shined a light with words on the abominable dark days after slavery and into the 20th century.
Journalist, publisher, author, activist, and suffragist leader, Ida B.’s spirit soars. July 16 marks the 157th anniversary of her birth. Blood, sweat, and ink sealed her legacy and the future of a nation still struggling to be whole.
Ida B. revered the Black press as an organizing tool. Though her newspaper The Memphis Free Speech was destroyed by racist mobs, she was never silenced. During her life, she would publish three newspapers and authored “Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases” and “The Red Record,” investigative reports that remain definitive sources on racist violence more than 100 years later.
Small in stature but huge in courage, Wells, an emancipated slave, joined a cadre of Black contemporaries – scholars, activists, and thought leaders – who pledged to change the trajectory of bondage and demand that Black women have a voice.
They defy the clichés and caricatures planted in popular culture with their searing voices. Their cadence would not be paraphrased or translated into the often quoted “Ain’t I A Woman” reprise. But forever burdened by their womanhood and Blackness, their path – then and now – is littered with obstacles.
Educator and writer Mary Church Terrell observed, “Nobody wants to know a colored woman’s opinion about her own status [or] that of her group. When she dares express it, no matter how mild or tactful…, it is called ‘propaganda,’ or is labeled ‘controversial.’”
Poet, teacher, and Baltimore abolitionist Frances Ellen Harper was among the suffragists who pleaded the case for linked fate unity. “We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity,” she said. “Society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.”
These Founding Sisters forged civil rights organizations with Black men, sororities, and service clubs with their women peers, and joined “woke” White women against lynching and disenfranchisement and for education and economic development.
It was Ida B. and a coterie of Black women publishers, writers, and teachers of the era who led the movement for universal suffrage even when Black women were shunned and excluded.
Nonetheless, women’s suffrage, deeply rooted in abolitionism, is depicted in a single dimension as the jumpstart for the white feminist/voting rights movement.
Regarded as social reformers, White suffragist – many of them supporters of abolition – confronted a fork in the road, conflicted between the “Negro question” and universal suffrage.
With passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870 granting Black men voting rights, universal suffrage would be sacrificed on the altar of patriarchy and white supremacy. Defended or oversimplified, the words of Susan B. Anthony, crowned the mother of women’s suffrage, illustrate the entrenched stranglehold of whiteness.
Though she counted abolitionist Frederick Douglas as an admired cohort, Anthony’s contradictions can only be measured today in the context of racism and exclusion.
“I would sooner cut off this right arm of mine before I would ever work for or demand the ballot for the black man and not the woman,” she said. One might conclude that she was seduced by the divide-and-conquer tactics of the male proponents of the 15th Amendment. But Anthony’s view was widely embraced by the White women’s suffrage movement.
Her friend and suffrage leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton, arguing against the 15th Amendment, protested: “It’s better to be the slave of an educated white man than of a degraded black one.”
One year away from the centennial of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote, how much ground have we gained as women and a nation? How much of the conversation about gender equality denies the overlapping impact of white nationalism, patriarchy, and privilege? Where and when do the voices of Black and Brown women enter?
But first and foremost, when do Black women get the recognition that they have earned in their unbroken march to freedom?
Our compass should be guided by that path forged by Ida B. Wells and other courageous Black women whose intersectional quest to make America stand upright changed the world.
This opening salvo embraces Suffrage. Race. Power. Spurred by my collaboration with a small collective of women that is Black-led, cross-generational, and supported by “woke” White women, we’ve named ourselves “Founding Sisters.” This space will offer regular installments that honor our Founding Sisters of the last centuries and spotlight the unfinished business of Suffrage. Race. Power.
To kick it off: Happy birthday Ida B.!
Gwen McKinney is President and Founder of McKinney & Associates Public Relations, for which she is responsible for translating the vision of “public relations with a conscience” into a sustained, bold and tested suite of communications services and activities. She is also the founder and lead collaborator for Suffrage.Race.Power.
This article originally appeared in the Charleston Chronicle.
Charleston Chronicle
Home Telecom Partners with Berkeley County School District to Roll Out Free Internet to K-12 Student Households in Cross Schools
CHARLESTON CHRONICLE — Award-winning Lowcountry technology provider Home Telecom announces the rollout of free internet to households with school-age children in the Cross community this upcoming school year. As part of their partnership with the Berkeley County School District (BCSD) who has support from Google via a grant, Home Telecom will be making network improvements that make the free service available to households with children from kindergarten through 12th grade that are attending Cross Elementary or Cross High Schools.
By The Charleston Chronicle
Award-winning Lowcountry technology provider Home Telecom announces the rollout of free internet to households with school-age children in the Cross community this upcoming school year. As part of their partnership with the Berkeley County School District (BCSD) who has support from Google via a grant, Home Telecom will be making network improvements that make the free service available to households with children from kindergarten through 12th grade that are attending Cross Elementary or Cross High Schools.
Previously, BCSD implemented the One Berkeley Connects initiative by supplying students in the district with Chromebooks to be used in school and at home to assist in the learning process. In order to benefit from this initiative, it is important to have reliable broadband internet access in students’ homes. Access to the internet for the betterment of education is a priority for Home Telecom.
Home Telecom began a project in late 2017 to invest a significant amount of capital into making higher speed internet available to the Cross community. Currently, only 60% of homes with school-age children in that area have internet service. Additional capital is being invested by Home Telecom to improve the internet speed available, and to provide access to at least 95% of the remaining homes without internet access.
BCSD is partnering with Home Telecom to provide greatly discounted high-speed internet service with in-home WiFi to 365 addresses identified by BCSD as being occupied by Cross school students. Funding provided by a Google grant will allow internet service to be provided to these homes at no charge for the 2019-2020 school year.
BCSD has begun notifying eligible families and requesting they contact Home Telecom to begin the process to set up the free internet service in their homes. From now through August, Home Telecom technicians will be performing necessary construction and installations to ensure these homes are internet-ready by August 2019.
Residents in the designated area with school-age children who currently have Home Telecom internet services that are slower than 10Mbps may upgrade to 10Mbps in order to take full advantage of this program. Residents who are capable and desire to have speeds higher than 10Mbps will be able to upgrade at a discounted price.
This article originally appeared in the Charleston Chronicle.
Charleston Chronicle
Regulatory rollback on student loans takes away borrower protections
CHARLESTON CHRONICLE — Every Fourth of July celebrates this nation’s founding. But this year, only a few days before the annual freedom celebration, an ill-advised governmental action will financially doom rather than free millions of student loan borrowers – as of July 1. Moreover, this action arrives as the cost of higher education continues to soar and household incomes remain largely stagnant.
By Charlene Crowell
Every Fourth of July celebrates this nation’s founding. But this year, only a few days before the annual freedom celebration, an ill-advised governmental action will financially doom rather than free millions of student loan borrowers – as of July 1. Moreover, this action arrives as the cost of higher education continues to soar and household incomes remain largely stagnant.
![Charlene Crowell](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/charlene-crowell-300x200-1.jpg)
Charlene Crowell
On June 28, the Department of Education announced the end of an important student loan regulation that since 2015 has held colleges with career training programs accountable for failure to provide an education that resulted in marketable skills and earnings high enough to repay student loans.
Known as the Gainful Employment rule, it required career and technical training programs that receive federal financial aid to prove that students would receive the education promised or forfeit future federal funding dollars. Additionally, covered institutions and programs were required to disclose to prospective students the career earnings and student debts of recent graduates.
In other words, the rule was intended to rein in abusive schools before they could harm students or waste taxpayer-funded aid.
Finalized in 2014, the rule was too late to help the tens of thousands of student borrowers affected by the failures of huge for-profit institutions, Corinthian Colleges, and ITT Technical Institute. Borrowers at these now-shuttered colleges were left without degrees, or credits that could be transferred, but carried with them unaffordable debts that have devastated the stability of their families. These closures also resulted in massive losses to taxpayers who fund federal financial aid.
Even so, the Gainful Employment rule has been effective in two other ways. First, it pushed many other for-profit institutions to cut their worst performing programs. Secondly, it controlled tuition costs. Either violation brought regulatory sanctions.
Now, instead of these protections, consumers are left on their own — directed to an expanded web resources known as a ‘College Scorecard’ where information on student debt and earnings now includes 2,100 certificate-granting programs.
“These important reforms are a more complete and effective way to hold all types of higher education institutions accountable and make sure that students have a full suite of data when making a decision about their education,” said Secretary DeVos in a statement.
Saying that information is the equivalent of regulation is simply not true. Effective regulations impose penalties, fines, and conditions on future actions – all to deter bad actors from repeating behaviors. By contrast, information only discloses with no guarantee that what is shared will be truthful, complete, or current.
Elected officials and consumer advocates were quick to point out the shortcomings of student loan deregulation.
“[B]y eliminating this rule without enforcing any alternative standard the Education Department is giving low-quality, for-profit colleges a free pass to charge high tuition for worthless credentials that leave students with insurmountable debt,” noted U.S. Representative Bobby Scott, chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
“Students need protection against unaffordable loans,” said James Kvaal, President of The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS). “This rule rolls back the clock on those very protections. At a time when millions of borrowers are struggling with debt they cannot afford, the Department’s repeal of the gainful employment rule is reckless and irresponsible.”
The ills that TICAS’ Kvaal points out are well-documented.
A 2018 research report entitled, The State of For-Profit Colleges, by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) analyzed student debt on a state-by-state basis. It concluded that investing in a for-profit education is almost always a risky proposition. Undergraduate borrowing by state showed that the percentage of students that borrow from the federal government generally ranged between 40 to 60 percent for public colleges, compared to 50 to 80 percent at for-profit institutions.
CRL also found that women and Blacks suffer disparate impacts, particularly at for-profit institutions, where they are disproportionately enrolled in most states. For example, enrollment at Mississippi’s for-profit colleges was 78 percent female and nearly 66 percent Black. Other states with high Black enrollment at for-profits included Georgia (57 percent), Louisiana (55 percent), Maryland (58 percent) and North Carolina (54 percent).
“Betsy DeVos’ decision to eliminate this important education protection is a disservice to the public and only serves to put corporate interests ahead of struggling students and taxpayers,” said Debbie Goldstein a CRL Executive Vice President, following the recent rescission of the Gainful Employment rule. “Completely removing oversight of these programs and leaving parents and students to navigate the college loan system is irresponsible and wastes federal money on programs that aren’t performing.”
Similarly to CRL, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has found that for-profit college students borrow more, and more often. More than 80% of for-profit college graduates incurred nearly $40,000 in debt at the time of graduation. Further, Black and Latino student loan borrowers were found to default on their loans at twice the rate of similarly situated whites.
“Repealing the Gainful Employment rule will cost taxpayers over $6 billion over the next decade, and ending this rule will worsen the student loan debt crisis, especially for the people of color and low-income students who disproportionately attend career education programs and who are often targets of predatory recruitment practices,” said Abby Shafroth, an NCLC attorney who works with its Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project. “The Department’s unfounded claims that students will benefit from “more access” as a result of the repeal are bogus: Students don’t need access to more failing schools, they need a student loan system that doesn’t set them up to fail.”
With 44 million student borrowers owing $1.5 trillion nationwide at the end of 2019’s first quarter, removing federal guard rails against future borrower risk is as costly as it is unsustainable. As the federal government turns its back on these borrowers, perhaps another level of government can and will fill the void.
“Now more than ever,” concluded Goldstein, “states have important roles to play in regulation, oversight, and enforcement.
Charlene Crowell is the Center for Responsible Lending’s Communications Deputy Director. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.
This article originally appeared in the Charleston Chronicle.
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