Harvard University

Harvard University Names Dr. Claudine Gay as its First Black President 

Harvard University announced Claudine Gay, Ph.D., as its 30th president and the first Black person poised to lead the nation’s oldest educational institution. Gay, 52, was elected to the presidency by the governing board of the Harvard Corporation and will take office on July 1, succeeding retiring president Lawrence S. Bacow. 

Panel Discuss Supreme Court Case Threatening End of Affirmative Action

A webinar hosted by ChangeLawyers, American Constitution Society (ACS) Bay Area, and Equal Justice Society was held on Nov. 15 to discuss the possible outcomes of the United States Supreme Court’s pending decision in the case Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard. The online event titled, “The End of Affirmative Action: How SCOTUS Is Coming After BIPOC Students” delved into the impact of banning the consideration of race as a factor during the college admission process. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students would be affected by such a ruling, said panelist Lisa Holder, an attorney and president

Let’s Talk Black Education

The honeymoon is over in communities where the Delta variant has taken hold.  Since back to school, I’ve spent weeks filling in for principals, supervising children, checking children’s temperatures and providing them masks, directing traffic in the parking lot, picking up garbage, wiping down cafeteria tables — all of which are required to run safe schools in these times. I’ve talked to other heads of schools that can say the same thing or something similar since the start of this school year. The same culprit continues to affect us all — COVID-19. However, normally we have a village to manage these tasks. Now, we don’t.

Biden Administration to Appoint Kristen Clarke to Key Civil Rights Post

Clarke’s appointment adds even more diversity to an incoming administration that has kept its campaign promise to ensure that top staff and cabinet members reflect all of America. “Our first-rate nominees to lead the Justice Department are eminently qualified, embody character and judgment that is beyond reproach, and have devoted their careers to serving the American people with honor and integrity,” Biden said in a statement.

Biden Nominations Broaden Black Women’s Leadership Roles: 1st Black Woman to Chair Council of Economic Advisers, 2nd in 40 Years to Head HUD

The selection of California Senator Kamala Harris to join and then win the nation’s Vice-Presidency gave unprecedented hope to Black women across the nation. Not only had a woman broken a glass ceiling in professional development; she was also Black and a graduate of Howard University, one of the nation’s premier Historically Black Institutions.

Walking With Woodson in History: Seeking Truth, Justice and Transformation

Again, so we might remember and raise up, pursue and do the good. We owe this month of meditation, celebration and recommitment to increased study of our history to Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), the founder of Black History Month, who rose up from the evil and debilitating depths of post-Holocaust segregation and suppression to point to a new way to understand and assert ourselves in history and the world.

As The 65th Anniversary of Brown v. Board Of Education Passes Researcher Believe The Journey Is Just Beginning

May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court held that segregated education was “inherently unequal” and would only create further problems. This decision was followed by more rulings in favor of ending segregation, with great hope for a future of equal schooling for children of all races. However, today, many believe there is no reason to celebrate such a historic moment in the history of America’s civil rights.

New Interactive Website Featuring Henry Louis Gates, Tracks Slave Voyages

The new slave voyages website counts as the product of three years of development by a multi-disciplinary team of historians, librarians, curriculum specialists, cartographers, computer programmers, and web designers, in consultation with scholars of the slave trade from universities in Europe, Africa, South America, and North America.

First Black Democratic Nominee for Florida Governor Concedes

Andrew Gillum, who tried to energize Florida’s young and minority voters through a Democratic coalition seeking to end two decades of Republican control of the governor’s office, ended his hard-fought campaign Saturday as the state’s first black nominee for the post.