Education

Globally ready: Advocating for Black Students to Study Abroad

NEW ORLEANS DATA NEWS WEEKLY — African American students make up only 6.1 percent of all U.S. college students who complete an educational experience in another country.

Published

6 years ago

January 2, 2019

Oakland Post

By Kimani Hamilton

A standard list at the start of a New Year often include eating healthy, achieving a career goal, and making a trip abroad. Yet for the last item on this list: going overseas, African American students make up only 6.1 percent of all U.S. college students who complete an educational experience in another country, according to a 2016-2017 study by the Association of International Educators with the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors. The main deterrent for African American students is that the rising cost of attending college leaves little funds left over for enhanced educational experiences.

Study abroad advocates and educators hope that a new Congress in 2019 will recognize the importance of having a diverse workforce that has been exposed to international study. They expect to continue the efforts of a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress who introduced H.R. 4379, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program Act, in November 2017. The legislation, supported by Senators Richard Durbin, D-Ill, and Roger Wicker, R-Miss. in the Senate, and Representatives Cheri Bustos, D-Ill and Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. would support challenge grants that encourage college and universities to enhance opportunities for study abroad.

“If we try to find more funding out there, I think our numbers will increase,” said Karen Lee, the associate director for the Center for Intercultural and International Programs at Xavier University of Louisiana.

“A lot of students want to go, but when you look at your funds and have to pay for your airfare, that holds a lot of students back from going,” Lee said.

Study abroad programs can range from $4,000 for two to four week programs to $18,000 for semester-long programs. Historically black universities like Xavier are working to create more affordable educational experiences abroad, like its Spring Break in Cuba program for faculty, staff, students and their relatives, which costs $1,400 as a program fee that covers accommodations and transportation, among other expenses. Airfare costs are approximately an additional $500. In November 2018, the Mayor’s Office of International Relations recognized Xavier’s center for international programs on International Education Appreciation Day for its service in the community for promoting international study experiences for institutions and residents.

Providing cost effective opportunities for African American students is one strategy to change the numbers, but international education advisers also work to help Black students navigate cultural differences abroad.

“Sometimes traveling as a black student, we run into racism or just see things from a different perspective,” said Nia Laing, a senior, sociology major, at Xavier. “For example, going to West Africa can have such a deeper meaning for us because we are the descendants of slaves from that region,” Laing said.

Organizations like the Diversity Abroad Network now exist to provide both financial and social resources for students of color to successfully navigate study abroad experiences. Such networks share stories, testimonials and travel preparation to help students anticipate all aspects of global travel. This can range from anticipating foreigners who intrusively touch black students’ hair to understanding religious and gender norms in other countries.

More importantly they underscore to students the benefits. Students who study abroad are more likely to finish their degree transfer from a community college to a four-year university. They are also more likely to have a higher grade point average than those who don’t study abroad.

Laing, who now serves as a study abroad ambassador for Xavier said it is very difficult to persuade students to join the program because they aren’t sure if the travel is worth the cost.

“People think it’s expensive, even though there are so many scholarships out there just sitting,” Laing said, adding that she often encounters with students a “general disinterest of going to a new place, and worrying about something bad happening.”

Sometimes companies will give students scholarships just because they attend an HBCU, she explained.

“My travel would not be possible without several scholarships,” Laing said.

This article originally appeared in the New Orleans Data News Weekly.

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Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

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McClymonds High Names School Gym for Star Graduate, Basketball Legend Bill Russell

William “Bill” Felton Russell was born on Feb. 12, 1934, and died on July 31, 2022. He achieved fame as a U.S. professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career.

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Bill Russell and Brian McGhee in McClymonds High School Gym, 2011. Photo courtesy of Brian McGhee.

By Ken Epstein

West Oakland’s McClymonds High School, “the School of Champions,” this week named the school’s gymnasium in honor of one of its most famous graduates, basketball legend Bill Russell (class of ’52).

Russell is widely known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. In 2011, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civil honor, from President Barack Obama for Russell’s contributions to basketball and the Civil Rights Movement.

The McClymonds’ naming ceremony was held on Wednesday, the same day as Russell’s birthday. Oakland leader Bill Patterson, a longtime friend of Russell’s, was scheduled to cut the ribbon at the reopening of the gym, which had been closed for several months for renovation. Russell’s daughter Karen was scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting.

Russell’s name and signature are now printed on the gymnasium floor.

Patterson was working at DeFremery Park when he met Russell. “I befriended him as a boy and during his years at University of San Francisco” said Patterson. “We stayed friends for the rest of his life.”

Said McClymonds Principal Darielle Davis, herself a McClymonds graduate, “We are excited to honor Bill Russell for his sports accolades and because he broke color barriers. He is part of our legacy, and legacy is really important at McClymonds.”

Brian McGhee, community schools manager at McClymonds and former football player at UC Berkeley, said that Russell meant a lot to him and others at the school. “He was a beacon of light and hope for West Oakland,” he said. “He did a lot for sports and for civil rights.”

Starting in 2018, Ben “Coach” Tapscott worked with Patterson and other McClymonds grads, community members, and former coaches to encourage the Oakland Board of Education to endorse the naming of the school gym, which finally happened recently.

“We worked hard to make this happen,” said Tapscott. “He’s an important part of McClymond’s history, along with a lot of other famous graduates,” he said.

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Tony Thurmond Urges Educators to Stay Focused Amid Federal Funding Battle

In a statement and a letter to California’s local educational agencies (LEAs), Thurmond praised efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism and close achievement gaps, particularly for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. “Now is not the time to be distracted by external efforts to demean and divide,” Thurmond wrote. “Please continue to stay the course with local programs that are producing results. Our students need consistency, support, and community more than ever.”

Published

1 month ago

February 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Tony Thurmond. Courtesy of Tony Thurmond’s Facebook page.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has urged educators to remain focused on student achievement following a court ruling that temporarily blocks the Trump administration from freezing federal funding for schools, health care, law enforcement, and disaster relief.

A U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Jan. 31, halting federal efforts to pause funding while a lawsuit led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 22 other state attorneys general moves forward. Thurmond, a declarant in the case, welcomed the decision and reassured educators that funding for critical school programs remains in place.

“Now is not the time to be distracted by external efforts to demean and divide,” Thurmond wrote. “Please continue to stay the course with local programs that are producing results. Our students need consistency, support, and community more than ever.”

Thurmond emphasized that state officials will continue advocating for stable funding to ensure schools can maintain and expand programs that help students succeed.