February 2013 by UNC Black Ink Magazine

cHAVEZ aDAMS & THE NAACP PUSHING FOR ADVANCEMENT FEBRuary 2013

Letter from The Editors

1 Hello Readers! Black History Month is upon us and this issue of Black Ink will help you celebrate!

From a very young age we were encouraged by our parents to enrich ourselves in Black history and culture. Now, as we grow older, we understand the importance of not only knowing our history but also appreciating our present and pushing for a greater future. In the words of James Brown, “Say it loud: I’m Black and I’m proud!” The King of Soul exclaimed these lyrics during the late 1960s. Now, more than 40 years later, this sentiment still holds true for hundreds of other students of color at UNC-Chapel Hill, like you. We exude beaming pride on a daily basis and it’s even more visible during the celebration of Black History Month. This issue salutes all the accomplishments, honors and achievements that have defined the African-American community in Chapel Hill over the years. Infamous names such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Angela Davis are just a few examples of those individuals who made their imprint on history by pushing for the advancement of the AfricanAmerican people. The Black Ink staff hopes to continue this tradition of Black empowerment by giving our readers content that not only pays tribute to those before us, but also highlights the progress of the current Black generation. Check out our cover story featuring Chavez Adams, president of the UNC NAACP , as we recognize his advocacy efforts for not only African-Americans and but also other minority groups on campus. There’s no better time than now to have our voices heard both clearly and proudly, and Black Ink seeks to do just that. If you still crave more, be sure to visit our website www.uncblackink.com to take a look at our latest pieces of revolutionary media. Peace, love and happy reading! Averi & Briana Harper The Editors

MASTHEAD AVERI HARPER BRIANA HARPER CHANTREL REYNOLDS MBALLA “MIMI” MENDOUGA TYLER ROUSE LAUREN HOUSTON KIANA GLOVER

CONTRIBUTORS

CHASSITY BOBBIT DARRILYN FISHER KAMAARA LUCAS

EBONY SHAMBERGER ALYSSA TOWNSEND VICKI WIGGINS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR COPY EDITOR PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSISTANT

PHOTOGRAPHERS JOHN DANIELS NICK JOHNSON KRISTA MCGUIRE

Interested in joining Black Ink? Contact us at uncblackink@gmail.com follow us on twitter @uncblackink and visit our site www.uncblackink.com Our mission remains: “If Blackness can be transformed into pictures and words, we intend to do so, by any means necessary.”

Student Spotlight

HARPER Odic te prae. Ga. Tae voluptaquo tem quideli aepero elendel entione mporiati autatur rerestibus magnaturTur? To et esed molorem remquam alis corae modit, sequae vidis unt andi sectisque quuntio nsedign imporatem et quia cum dolut volupta volor ad quae perundicil is es nient aboris nos et quo essunt.

Chavez Adams, a UNC senior and Robert E. McNair Scholar, has a great sense of fashion and an outspoken personality. This personality is most evident when it comes to advocating Tyler Rouse for social justice for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds throughout UNC’s campus and within the Triangle area. He is successfully able to do just this through his involvement with the NAACP.

He joined the UNC chapter soon after.

“I joined [the NAACP] because I feel we have the agency to pursue social justice because it is ingrained in our community,” Adams said.

As president, Adams oversees the chapter’s four subcommittees: Community Outreach Committee, Community Service Committee, Political Action Committee and Health Committee. He spends between 15 to 18 hours per week bouncing between each subcommittee’s meetings, planning events with other leaders of the subcommittees and attending the

Chavez Adams—UNC’s Social Justice Guru

At an oratorical speech contest he attended during the fall semester of his sophomore year, he was intrigued by a NAACP representative and decided to go to the next weekly meeting.

During his junior year, Adams served as the Recruitment chair for the NAACP. But this year, Adams has moved up in the ranks to become the organization’s president. With 23 active due-paying members, Adams is surrounded by UNC students who have a heart for public service.

Student Spotlight general body meeting.

male incarceration and how state of race, class and gender. sentencing policies play a role in who Adams said that UNC’s NAACP is put in prison and for how long. UNC senior Deondra Jenkins, who chapter is different from other social now holds Chavez’ former position and justice organizations on campus UNC Associate Professor of Political supervises the NAACP recruitment because as a group they investigate the Science Isaac Unah is conducting process, admires the organization’s different ways to protest community this survey along with Adams. The progress under Adams’ leadership. issues. More importantly, Adams research is directly related to Adams’ makes it a habit to follow up with involvement with the NAACP because “I believe that his involvement with the action. he says the organization “helps people organization has been a very positive find a voice or help people whose voice one,” Jenkins said. “It will carry on Adams said each subcommittee has has been taken away from them.” this semester as we have numerous to host two events per year. Last events coming up in the next couple fall semester the NAACP hosted a Adams is also a Senior Bonner Intern of months.” multitude of events on campus and with the Campus Y. throughout the community: As an intern, Adams helps facilitate Join the UNC NAACP Facebook group As a McNair Scholar, Adams also has to meetings, events and trips catered to at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ devote time to studying and engaging the needs of those in the Triangle area. naacpunc/?ref=ts&fref=ts and follow others on a research project. Since He also teaches 23 freshmen how to them on Twitter @UNCCHNAACP social justice is such an important think deeper about what service and to get more information on their part of his life, he is researching black social justice means to them in terms upcoming events.

campus

DANIELS

Living The Dream

a few of the qualities the scholarship committee felt parallelled well with Dr. King’s vision towards respecting Briana Harper human rights.

Infamous civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. Nearly 45 years following his untimely assassination, that dream still lives on through students like Kevin Claybren. For the past three decades, Claybren and numerous other Tar Heels have been honored with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship. “Dr. King has provided me with a template to live my life through activism and to really pursue things that I am passionate about,” Claybren said. His active involvement in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community along with his commitment to help establish genderneutral housing on campus are just

the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Committee, also adds that the students on UNC’s campus and their commitment to social change is one of the main reasons this scholarship This year Claybren received the first- remains relevant after so many years. place scholarship reward of $1,500 in honor of his accomplishments. With that said, Claybren was fully In addition, second-place rewards aware of the significance of this honor. were given to Viviana Bonilla-Lopez When asked to describe his reaction and Elizabeth Hawryluck who each after receiving the good news, he received $1,000 for their efforts summed the grandeur of his emotions of activism. But Claybren says the up with the words, “surprised” and scholarship reward means much more “humbled”. than just the money. “I was impressed with the work and “This has helped me to realize the activist efforts from all of the other struggles that Martin Luther King, Jr. candidates, so I was honored that fought for. And even though things someone saw my work and thought it have gotten better it is important to was important enough for me to win,” recognize that there are still other Claybren said. issues that need to be addressed,” And so, Dr. King’s legacy continues Claybren said. through yet another Tar Heel’s dream Mariah Street, a representative from to simply do what’s right.

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Current

In recent years it seems as if news of gun violence has taken over the airwaves. On every newscast, reporters tell the world of numerous deaths and injuries caused by bullets flying through the air. However, the focus on gun violence and gun control has dramatically increased following the Dec. 14, 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. This cruel and unfathomable incident has caused the nation to consider the role that gun laws play in tragedies of this magnitude. Tragedies that happen much too often in the United States. President Obama and Vice President Biden have set off on a path to reform gun laws across the nation. They intend to create legislation that would ban assault weapons, limit ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, and require background checks on all gun purchases. In creating legislation, the president and vice president also hope to penalize individuals who buy guns from unlicensed dealers. Despite their efforts, they have been met with much opposition. Many citizens have been speaking out about their belief in their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. They feel that the government is trying to take too much control by taking their guns away. These sentiments are being

expressed all across the nation without apology. Gun owners in North Carolina on the other hand will not have to worry much. North Carolina gun laws are not expected to change significantly. State lawmakers mentioned that they want to approach the issue of gun control cautiously. Instead of making extreme changes to state gun laws, the focus will most likely be on improving mental health and school safety. One could argue improving these issues could greatly decrease the likelihood of gun violence in some ways. The combination of gun control legislation and mental health and school safety improvement could decrease the likelihood of these kinds of shootings. While it is arguably impossible to find the resources to stop all of the gun violence in the United States, it is absolutely necessary for the government and individual citizens to take the steps towards finding a reasonable solution. The excuse that gun violence will never stop is not a valid reason to let guns end up in the hands of those who are irresponsible. We as a society must join together to find ways to stop the gun violence whether that be on Franklin Street or the streets of Chicago.

Guns First, Legislation Later? Darrilyn Fisher

Student Safety & Crime

UPDATE ON FAITH HEDGEPETH’S MURDER

Although no arrest has been made, police have found DNA at the scene. The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit

7 biology major from Warrenton, N.C., and she was involved in the UNC American Indian Center.

Chassity BobbitT released a profile of the suspect, Multiple awards totaling $39,000 have

It’s been nearly five months since the tragic murder of UNC junior Faith Hedgepeth. She was found dead in her apartment Sept. 7 just miles from campus.

believing him to be someone who once lived close to Hedgepeth. The suspect is said to have shown a particular interest in the case and commented on Hedgepeth in the past. Nineteen-year-old Hedgepeth was a

been offered to anyone with information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

For those with any information on the case, email crimetips@townofchapelhill. org or call the Chapel Hill Police Department tip-line at 919-614-6363.

Sexual violence awareness

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VDAY CAROLINA

Ensler is the founder of the V-Day organization and author of “The Vagina Monologues.” The monologues Lauren Houston are a compilation of her conversations Ever heard of “The Little Coochie and interviews with women. She was the first to perform the play during Snorcher That Could?” its premiere at New York City’s HERE It is nothing like Thomas the Toy Arts Center in 1996. Train, nor is it a tale like any you may have heard before. In fact, the tale is V-Day Carolina is the student-run a monologue. It’s a realistic account of chapter of V-Day International, both a woman’s lived experience with her of which aim to carry out the mission most personal and private possession. of V-DAY. Her vagina. This along with twelve other monologues will be featured in V-DAY is a global activist movement to end violence against women and “The Vagina Monologues.” girls. The movement also sponsors The monologues will be performed in interactive and unique events such both Spanish and English by students as The Vagina Monologues to spread in the V-day Carolina Organization. awareness, raise funds and revitalize The play’s co-directors Kei Alegria- existing anti-violence organizations. Flores and Carla Davis-Castro say the monologues talk about women’s For more than a decade V-Day Carolina experiences and sexuality, especially has dedicated one week out of the year to involve UNC students in its efforts to those that are social taboos. eliminate widespread violence against “They cover everything from birth to women. During “V-Week,” Feb. 25 – sex, to menstruation, to rape,” said March 1, V-Day Carolina will sponsor Castro. “Eve Ensler created these its own version of the award-winning monologues to infuriate people about Vagina Monologues as well as several all of these things that happen.” other campus events aimed to spread

awareness and eliminate violence. This will be the first year students perform the monologues in Spanish. “This year we really want to expand and connect with the community,” said Flores, a bilingual UNC student. “This is our first year doing [the monologues] in Spanish, so we hope to start a new tradition.” Tickets will be available in the Carolina Union Box Office and by phone 919.962.1449. This year’s proceeds will benefit two organizations, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center and the El Centro Hispano’s Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Prevention Program. Several campus organizations, faculty and students are already beginning to spread the word about the show. Directors are urging audiences to be open to new dialogue. “All the dialogue that happens can’t happen unless you are in touch with yourself,” says Castro. “Know thyself. Listen and learn.”

Campus Involvement

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CAROLINA M.A.L.E.S.

student retention.”

Alyssa Townsend Shortly after the organization was

Faced with the question “What is there for Carolina minority men?,” three UNC-Chapel Hill students sat around a table one evening in Rams Village 4 searching for the answer.

created, M.A.L.E.S. held its first informal meeting entitled M.E.N. (Male Empowerment Night) Session. This gathering created the perfect opportunity for males throughout campus to come and discuss what it meant to be a minority man at Carolina.

Mycal Brickhouse, Michael Dyson, and Jeremy Martin began to list the names of young men who had started their first year here at Carolina with the rest of their class, yet after a couple semesters are no longer here.

“It’s not just black men, it’s men of color,” said Brickhouse. “We are at the bottom of the totem pole in our performance at Carolina.”

“The forgotten few turned into the forgotten many,” said Brickhouse, who graduated from UNC this past December. According to a 2010 study, the four-year graduation rate of black males is 49.2 percent. “As long as there is no one holding up that banner of minority male success, it’s going to fall by the wayside,” said Brickhouse. With the hopes of solving this issue, Carolina M.A.L.E.S. (Men Advocating Learning, Empowerment, and Success) was officially chartered in March of 2012. According to its constitution, M.A.L.E.S’s mission is to “find solutions to combat the issue of minority male

Following Brickhouse and Martin’s graduation in December, Dyson eagerly planned to take took over in the new year and “hit the ground running.” The organization held its first “M.A.L.E.S Week” at the end of January hoping to increase exposure, awareness, and membership. The week featured events like yoga, health night, and the organization’s second M.E.N. session. “The issue is more than something we could talk about in a day,” said Dyson. “It’s more than something we could even talk about in a week, really.” “I know so many guys itching to find a way to get involved. Hopefully this will be the right organization for them.” Brickhouse, now a graduate assistant in

the Office of New Student and Carolina Parent Programs, said he plans to remain involved by being present and active. “When I come across something, the first person I’m going to send it to is Dyson so he can put it on the listserv. I want to make sure that the people who are involved in M.A.L.E.S know about the opportunities that are around and are applying for those opportunities,”Brickhouse said. In order to keep MALES alive and thriving, Dyson hopes to establish signature programs held by the organization to create continuity and consistency. He also said it would take dedicated leadership, which is why he was glad to have found underclassmen such as Dillon Robinson and Joseph Level III.

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“You can’t do this by yourself,” said Dyson, referring to success at Carolina. “And that’s what M.A.L.E.S is about.”

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For more information about Carolina M.A.L.E.S. and how to join, visit https:// studentlife.unc.edu/organization/ carolinamales/about.

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Media

“My n*gas ain’t no joke. And we keep them blows, so please don’t get smoked. F* around with them f*-arounds, and you f* around and get smoked,” are the lyrics in the chorus of 13-year-old Lil Mouse’s popular song “Get Smoked,” which was released summer 2012.

lyrics.

Born and raised in Chicago, Lil Mouse has experience first-handone of the U.S. cities most affected by youth violence and fatalities. For a majority of his life he has been raised solely by his mother as a result of his father’s incarceration. Prior to being behind bars, his father served a big part in Lil Mouse’s life, encouraging him to play sports with baseball becoming one of his favorites.

backing him on it.”

he’s rapping and making money off of

The Lil Mouse Controversy

Lil Mouse is a member of HellaBandz Music Group. He released his latest mixtape, “Mouse Trap,” in December and since then has gained numerous fans. The mixtape has gotten over 500,000 views on the prominent Dat Piff and Live Mixtapes websites.

his surroundings.

Tyler Rouse

“I thought it was pretty ridiculous that a kid was rapping about what he was rapping about,” Caldwell said. “And grown people were in the video

There have been mixed reviews from the black community on whether Lil Mouse’s music is positive or negative. People who think he’s doing something positive with his music say that it’s because he’s not just living in Chicago,

The latter blame his environment and the people who are negatively encouraging him to spit such profane rhymes, tote around guns and have

Freshman biology major Charles half-naked women draped over him Brunson thinks that Lil Mouse has become very successful since his on motorcycles. single “Get Smoked.” UNC senior Darius Watson believes “I feel like he’s successful because his the latter: “It’s what he knows and has message appeals to so many of his peers,” Brunson said. “His lyrics seem been highly influenced by, so it’s not to be a mirror image of his lifestyle. his fault necessarily, but instead his “His explicit style attracts the young surroundings.” hip-hop generation in our society.” But does that really excuse the fact But not everyone shares that same that three-fourths of the songs on view. “Mouse Trap” persuade people to use Julian ‘JSWISS’ Caldwell, a UNC gun violence in order to solve their senior from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. who is renowned on campus for his authentic “beefs” with other people? lyrics and label No9to5 Music, was disturbed by the kid rapper’s harsh That’s for you to decide.

THE PERSUASION OF GUN VIOLENCE IN BLACK MUSIC:

DJANGO Unchained Quentin Tarantino holds nothing back in his latest film Django Unchained, and for this reason the film could very easily be seen as racist. In addition to spewing the n-word over the screen for two hours, Tarantino also makes the plight of Jamie Foxx seem like a backdrop to the adventures of a white man. Although these may not seem like issues, it reinforces the stereotypical roles that African-Americans have been forced to play in this society in order to keep Black people in their place.

Shultz being so opposed to the idea of slavery and teaching Foxx how to operate in a white man’s world, the movie would have no plot and would’ve been over after the first half hour. In order to push the film forward, Foxx had to have an issue of his own that seemingly trumped Shultz’s. The issue with this is that Foxx never would’ve been able to solve his problems without the help of Shultz and never would’ve succeeded without the “sacrifices” this white man made on his behalf.

Let’s ignore the fact that the n-word slipped past in Tarantino’s script once, twice, even ten times. But one hundred? With such a broad audience following Tarantino, the n-word should be a weapon that is not at his disposal. To place it in a comedy that already dramatizes slavery does nothing but disassociate the word from its history and make it acceptable to use as long as the person spewing the hate is “joking.” Look at it from the other side of the table – if this white producer can write a movie, make millions off of a n-word filled script and still have a large Black following, what’s going through the mind of the white guy who wants to greet his friends with a hearty “what’s up n-word?”

Most importantly, Foxx isn’t killing white people for the advancement of the Black race, but rather to get Miss Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) back by his side. Out of all the plantations that Django came across, he didn’t attempt or offer to free any of his fellow men. Although it may seem this film is progressive and forward thinking, Tarantino didn’t write it in a way that displayed a rebellion occurring or how the slaves stood up for themselves after years of mistreatment. One slave killed a bunch of white people (and even a few Black people) to get his woman back and that was it. Moral of the story: if you’re going to take a stand as a Black person, you should stand alone.

Don’t get me wrong, the movie was entertaining and I’m not at all saying we should boycott it (Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington need all our support they can get), but Tarantino’s attempt to portray slavery from the views of the oppressed still gave a very whitewashed picture. Without Dr.

While I highly enjoyed Django, I can see why it could leave a bad taste in people’s mouths. Tarantino’s biggest flaw is attempting to portray a point in time from a perspective he could never be familiar with, but at least we’ve finally made it to the big screen, right?

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KIANA GLOVER

DJANGO Unchained

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Mballa “Mimi” Mendouga

“Django Unchained isn’t racist, it’s real.”

Quentin Tarantino made a movie, not a statement. He made art. Now, if only people would allow themselves to experience it as such and quit politicizing the root of everything we could avoid wasting our breath countering egregious claims of the movie and thus the director, being racist. But if we must, let’s discuss the ways in which Django Unchained and Tarantino are, in fact, not racist. The film tells a story of love between two black people and is placed in the historical context of slavery. The protagonist’s role is essentially to force stubborn and closed-minded white slave-owners to treat him as an equal — to demand respect and to collect it by all means, while on a quest to find his estranged wife. Jamie Foxx, who plays the role of Django, fights seemingly insurmountable obstacles to reach his goal —the story of the perseverance of a former slave. Still, audiences are determined to counter Tarantino’s claim that Django Unchained depicts images of slaves rising up and fighting back. Others find racism in the fact that Tarantino’s writing is “historically elastic,” at times. Africans being transported in chains, beaten when “disobedient”, separated from their loved ones, prostituted, tortured, branded and sold among other inhumane treatments seem historically accurate to me. Perhaps the elasticity comes from the fact that Tarantino made some stuff up. I would assume that’s a prerequisite to a fictional western. Today, the renowned director is forced to defend the reason his movie circling around the topic of slavery has the word “nigger” in it. That should be a nobrainer. Others find adversity in that the movie — set in slavery — showed a majority of white people in a position of power and advantage. I would think that’s exactly what slavery entailed.

12 Some people will cry racism at every turn if any white person approaches the topic, neglecting to realize the magnitude of the buzz and discussion, however negative, only solidifies the work’s impact. The sensitivity around slave stories, specifically as told by a white man, who by the way has frequently, if not consistently cast black actors in leading roles — something most major producers in Hollywood (black or white) can’t say, created the perfect temperature for publicity. And to Hollywood’s pleasure everyone got sucked in. Instead of noticing our own hyper-sensitive ways we’re accusing a film of being socially irresponsible. Tarantino’s movies become a social responsibility because that’s what people have made them. Great art takes on a life of its own. That’s not Tarantino’s doing, that’s society’s doing. The conjured significance is what the audience creates, often referred to as interpretation. But somehow, the movie has become more about Tarantino and his “whiteness” than the actual plot, setting, story development and characters that are required proponents of a fictional story. It seems some would have preferred Tarantino keep this genius of a movie in his brain, or pass it on to an “ethnic” person and stay behind the scenes as a ghost-writer for the sole purpose of it being deemed an “acceptable perspective.” Black people, we are now free. If in 2013 we’re offended by an accurate depiction of slavery within a beautifully written story about love and determination just because a Caucasian person is telling it, we need to ask ourselves why that is.

Sports

HEAD OVER HEELS Vicki Wiggins

This year’s basketball season has not produced the greatest results for UNCChapel Hill. Beginning the season with a 10-3 record in non-conference play, Tar Heel fans knew the real challenge would begin on Jan. 6, 2013, against the University of Virginia Cavaliers. The start of conference play would allow people to see if losing four starters from last year’s team caused adverse effects. The Tar Heels suffered two quick losses to Virginia and Miami. Although both losses were not ideal, they also aren’t too depressing considering the Heels started off 0-2 prior to winning the 2009 championship. Sports analysts, critics and even fans are doubting how well this season will end for the Tar Heels; however, all hope is not lost in Chapel Hill. Last year, Carolina basketball had its front court

dominated by Tyler Zeller and John Henson. Freshmen Joel James and Brice Johnson now have the responsibility of defending the paint to help McAdoo. Marcus Paige and JP Tokoto are also amongst the 2012-2013 freshman class. In response to some of this year’s changes, Head Coach Roy Williams says, “We had two guys that were drafted 14th and 17th in the NBA Draft. Now we got two guys that were playing high school basketball...But I think my guys are going to be very good players.” Coach Williams believes his team will be a force to be reckoned with if they can play with a sense of urgency on the defensive end. Two big conference wins over Florida State and Maryland have given the team a new found confidence. Hopefully, this confidence will continue throughout the rest of the season.

Junior guard Reggie Bullock has been one of the most consistent players this season. Reaching a season high of 24 points on Jan. 19 against Maryland. Bullock welcomes the challenge of being an impact player on this developing team. Returning sophomores, James Michael McAdoo and PJ Hairston also play key roles on this team. Bullock also believes the season will get better. “I feel like we got some good vets (veterans) with me, Dex (Dexter Strickland), and McAdoo. We have to do a better job at leading the younger guys and us gelling together as a team.” Tar Heel fans still believe in their team and are anticipating the rest of the season, especially their rival games against Duke University.

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In the Pit

“WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE PROMINENT BLACK HISTORY FIGURE AND WHY?”

By Kamaara Lucas

Averi Harper, Class of 2013 Audreina Blanding, Class of 2016 “Madame C.J. Walker for her contributions to the AfricanAmerican hair and beauty industries, as well as for being a successful business woman. She traveled the country giving lectures and speeches to teach black women how to build their own businesses like she did.”

“I’m in love with what Tyra Banks stands for. She’s an advocate for the inclusivity of the perception of beauty. Through her work in the modeling, media and publishing industries she has surpassed the career expectations of an ordinary model. She has broken beauty barriers in the black community and beyond. She’s a businesswoman with an admirable agenda.”

Briana Harper, Class of 2013

“In my opinion, Maya Angelou is the definition of a phenomenal woman. As an author and poet, her creative use of words ignite a feeling of empowerment to nearly anyone who reads or hears her works. She exhibits what it means to be a strong, black women in a way that is an inspiration to all. When she speaks, we all listen and that is an accomplishment that I truly admire.”

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Jasmine Neely, Class of 2016 “I’ve always admired Harriet Tubman because she did things that were unimaginable to me. She walked miles to freedom and led many others along with her. She’s the epitome of a strong woman. She was determined, smart, and caring. And she gave hope to so many other African-Americans trying to gain freedom at that time.”

Trey Gass, Class of 2016 “W.E.B. Du Bois because he’s the first person that made me realize that blacks could be intellectuals. Going to a white elementary school, I was not exposed to black figures of his kind. He was the first historic figure I took the time out to study and understand.”

Symone Morales, Class of 2013 “I admire James Farmer for his dedication to the Civil Rights movement and his role in orchestrating the “Freedom Rides” of the 1960’s. He paved the way for many other peaceful protests of the time.”