Black History

Hamline’s Black Student Collective 50 years strong

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER — As the first student of color organization in the state’s oldest college, Hamline’s Black Student Collective has served to empower some of the state’s most prolific Black leaders and activists

Published

6 years ago

March 7, 2019

Oakland Post

Stephenetta (isis) Harmon

As the first student of color organization in the state’s oldest college, Hamline’s Black Student Collective (BSC) has served to empower some of the state’s most prolific Black leaders and activists — including Juanita C. Freeman, Washington County’s first Black judge, and Anika Bowie, vice president of NAACP Minneapolis and current candidate for St. Paul City Council.

Now, the BSC is set to celebrate 50 years of service this weekend.

Black student unions across the country have proven to be effective support systems for Black students entering higher education. Whether first-generation or part of a familial legacy, Blacks entering college face significant challenges and disparities in course-readiness and access to resources.

Only 47 percent of Black students earn traditional “four-year” degrees within six years, while Whites graduate at a rate of 67 percent, according to the National Student Clearing Research Center. That’s in addition to other intangible social, mental and emotional issues that may arise while competing for grades within a population that does not always feel welcoming to them.

The Hamline student of color population has doubled over the past 20 years, now boasting 30 percent students of color, nine percent of whom are Black. While the look and landscape of the BSC have evolved over the years — changing its official name from P.R.I.D.E. (Promoting Racial Identity Dignity & Equality) to the Black Student Collective — the need for support is still there.

“We’re still in the middle of a civil rights situation,” said Carlos Sneed, associate dean of students at Hamline. “Although our numbers are large for a private school in Minnesota, our students are still interacting in an environment that wasn’t necessarily designed with them in mind,” he admitted. “We’ve gotten better, as have most colleges and universities, but White supremacy is still real. White Ethnocentric European thinking is still real. Students of color — and White students — still come from high schools that didn’t teach about the accomplishments or the experiences of people of color or women or LGBT people.”

Hamline’s students and alumni are quick to speak on the BSC’s impact. Bowie, a Hamline 2014 alum, said the BSC was her lifeline. Coming from a very diverse high school, she said, “Going to Hamline and being the only Black person in my classroom was a cultural shock.”

Having access to PRIDE, she said, “helped build community, promote African American scholars, and relating to other students… It had a real diverse hub — there were students from Duluth, Chicago, or from out of the country, like Liberia.”

She also noted the importance in creating safe spaces for Black people. “If you don’t have intentionality, then you’d find us marginalized in the corners of these primarily White universities,” said Bowie. “Just like the NAACP is a place that people to know to go if they have experienced any discrimination, Black student unions serve as a trusted organization for Black faces.”

Current BSC president Shania Smith agreed. “[BSC] is a home away from home…[where] we can just celebrate our Blackness and be around other Black students” said Smith, who is now a junior. She added being able to talk about issues in the Black communityis key. “I can talk to them about things that I struggle with that only Blacks or other POCs would understand.”

Sneed said that the BSC also supports retention rates in “subtle unquantifiable ways” by putting members in key leadership roles, having people who look like prospective students of color, as well as providing resources and cultural opportunities to celebrate their identity.

Freeman, a 2005 alum, will serve as keynote speaker for this Saturday’s planned PRIDE recognition. “She came in with a lot of academic and cultural capacity,” Sneed recalled of Freeman.

“I remember those conversations we had about her not only wanting to be a lawyer, but being a judge. She became involved, intricate and important to the campus community. What she gained in PRIDE and what she gave to PRIDE still continue to serve the organization well.”

Watching the BSC’s growth over the past 20 years, Sneed conjured images of the Ghana’s House of Slaves.

“There are doors that say ‘Door of No Return,’” he said. “I hope that this 50th anniversary will be a door of return for Black alumni. I want them to come back and tell their stories of being at Hamline and being in school, in high schools teaching, in the courtroom being lawyers. I want them to talk about working at 3M and Medtronic, and I want them to talk about being parents and partners. The time is right.”

Smith said that door is always open, whether alum or current students. “We just want people to feel supported.”

Hamline’s Black Student Collective 50th Anniversary Gala takes place Saturday, March 2 at Hamline University Anderson Student Center and Forum. For more information, visit hamline.edu.

This article originally appeared in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

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Activism

‘Donald Trump Is Not a God:’ Rep. Bennie Thompson Blasts Trump’s Call to Jail Him

“Donald Trump is not a god,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

Published

6 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he not intimidated by President-elect Donald Trump, who, during an interview on “Meet the Press,” called for the congressman to be jailed for his role as chairman of the special congressional committee investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Donald Trump is not a god,” Thompson told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

“He can’t prove it, nor has there been any other proof offered, which tells me that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said the 76-year-old lawmaker, who maintained that he and the bipartisan Jan. 6 Select Committee – which referred Trump for criminal prosecution – were exercising their constitutional and legislative duties.

“When someone disagrees with you, that doesn’t make it illegal; that doesn’t even make it wrong,” Thompson said, “The greatness of this country is that everyone can have their own opinion about any subject, and so for an incoming president who disagrees with the work of Congress to say ‘because I disagree, I want them jailed,’ is absolutely unbelievable.”

When asked by The Grio if he is concerned about his physical safety amid continued public ridicule from Trump, whose supporters have already proven to be violent, Thompson said, “I think every member of Congress here has to have some degree of concern, because you just never know.”

This story is based on a report from The Grio.

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Activism

Biden’s Legacy Secured with Record-Setting Black Judicial Appointments

His record surpasses previous efforts by his predecessors. President Jimmy Carter appointed 37 Black judges, including seven Black women. In stark contrast, Donald Trump’s first term resulted in only two Black women appointed out of 234 lifetime judicial nominations. The White House said Biden’s efforts show a broader commitment to racial equity and justice.

Published

7 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

iStockphoto.

By Stacy M. Brown
WI Senior Writer

President Joe Biden’s commitment to diversifying the federal judiciary has culminated in a historic achievement: appointing 40 Black women to lifetime judgeships, the most of any president in U.S. history.

Biden has appointed 62 Black judges, cementing his presidency as one focused on promoting equity and representation on the federal bench.

The White House said Biden’s efforts show a broader commitment to racial equity and justice.

Meanwhile, Trump has vowed to dismantle key civil rights protections, including the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“Having the Black woman’s experience on the federal bench is extremely important because there is a different kind of voice that can come from the Black female from the bench,” Delores Jones-Brown, professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told reporters.

Lena Zwarensteyn of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights told reporters that these district court judges are often the first and sometimes the final arbiters in cases affecting healthcare access, education equity, fair hiring practices, and voting rights.

“Those decisions are often the very final decisions because very few cases actually get heard by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Zwarensteyn explained.

Biden’s nomination of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court further reflects his commitment to judicial diversity. Jackson became the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.

Patrick McNeil, spokesperson for the Leadership Conference, pointed out that over half of Biden’s Black female judicial appointees have backgrounds as civil rights attorneys and public defenders, experience advocates consider essential for a balanced judiciary.

Meanwhile, Congress remains divided over the expansion of federal judgeships. Legislation to add 66 new judgeships—approved unanimously by the Senate in August—stalled in the GOP-controlled House until after the election. House Republicans proposed distributing the new judgeships over the next decade, giving three administrations a say in appointments. President Biden, however, signaled he would veto the bill if it reached his desk.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., argued the delay was a strategic move to benefit Trump’s potential return to office. “Donald Trump has made clear that he intends to expand the power of the presidency and giving him 25 new judges to appoint gives him one more tool at his disposal,” Nadler said.

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Arts and Culture

Promise Marks Performs Songs of Etta James in One-Woman Show, “A Sunday Kind of Love” at the Black Repertory Theater in Berkeley

“The (show) is a fictional story about a character named Etta, aka Lady Peaches,” said Marks. “She falls in love with Johnny Rhythm, leader of the Rhythm Players Band and headliners of Madam G’s Glitta Lounge.” Marks channeled the essence of Etta James, singing favorites such as “Sugar on the Floor” and “At Last.”

Published

8 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo Courtesy Of Promise Marks.

Special to the Post

It was “A Sunday Kind of Love” at the Black Repertory Group Theater in Berkeley on Saturday night, Dec. 7. The one-woman musical based on the music of Etta James featured the multi-talented singer Promise Marks

Marks, who wrote and directed the musical, also owns PM Productions.

Marks channeled the essence of Etta James, singing favorites such as “Sugar on the Floor” and “At Last.”

In between her soulful songs, Marks narrated impactful moments of the love story and journey of blues and forgiveness.

Marks sultry voice carried the audience back to an era that echoed with the power of Black music and a time of great change.

Marks said James shared love for the Black community by singing at gatherings during the Civil Rights Movement uplifting the people.

“She spoke to the movement, spoke to the people, and let her music speak for itself,” Marks said.

Backing the musical’s monologues, images and videos of Etta James are projected for the audience to view. While the production is fictional, Marks infused script with the unfairness and heartbreak James experienced while performing.

Marks performed gospel artist Donnie McClurkin’s “We Fall Down” as she narrated acts of reconciliation and forgiveness among the characters at Johnny Rhythm’s deathbed.

Marks, who regularly sings for the Miss America Pageant, was asked to perform as Etta James last year. “(At the event) a lady yelled out to me: ‘You’re Etta James!’ And then the audience went crazy. I said to myself, ‘I may have something here,’” she said.

Within 12 months, Marks created the musical production, which featured a dozen songs honoring “the great legacy of Etta James,” she said.

Marks says she was saddened to see how Etta James was often judged by the struggles in her life and wanted to offer attendees a more layered view.

“Etta’s life was so big. I want people to know that she was more than her drug addiction,” said Marks. “We can’t make that her legacy. Her catalog is too amazing. You can’t just be that and have the catalog that she (created). I don’t want the addiction to be the focus: I want her music, her element, her sassiness, and what she brought to be the focus – her woman-ness, that she was strong, and I wanted to honor that.”

Set Designer Nora Burnette says she created the set segments to mirror James’ life story. A set designer for BRG since 2016, she explained that her process of researching the scenario and the character serve as her inspiration for her design.

“I try to design a set as close to real life as possible so that the actress can deliver the performance sincerely,” said Burnette. “By creating the right setting, it helps the actors release the true essence of a character.”

The set brought the story to life and absolutely floored Marks. “Once Promise (Marks) saw the actual set, she understood my vision: ‘Wow, you get me. You get it,'” Marks told the designer.

Born Jamesetta Hawkins, Etta James, began her career in 1954 and gained fame with hits such “At Last” and “I’d Rather Go Blind.” She faced a number of personal problems, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album “Seven Year Itch.”

Co-producer and BRG Development Director, Sean Vaughn Scott, works with Overseer Production. According to producer Pamela Spikes, “Marks talent truly does Etta’s life story justice.”

Pam Jacobs of Hercules, a friend of Marks’ mom, Jackie Smith, said, Marks “was fabulous and sang all of those songs flawlessly.”

“I’m so proud of my daughter,” said Smith.

Marks, who has served as an instructor for BRG, will return on Feb. 21- 23 for an encore run of the musical.

“It’s an honor to be a part of the BRG (Black Repertory Group) family and continue our executive director Dr. Mona Vaughn Scott’s vision for the Black Repertory Group theater,” said Marks.

The Black Repertory Group Theatre is located at 3201 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703. For information, visit: BlackRepertoryGroup.com