SPRING 2023
VIKING VOYAGE TO THE WHITE HOUSE An HBCU Student Journalist Briefing Recap
by Kristen Bannerman
T
he discussion on the future of Historically Black Colleges and Universities has unfortunately always been directly related to the lack of funding, policy, student support, and problems related to race. These prevalent issues have been embedded in the knowledge of the American government since the construction of the first HBCU in 1837. However, these misfortunes that plague the HBCU community did not reach attention at the federal level until 1980 under the presidency of Jimmy Carter. According to the U.S. Department of Education, former President Carter put in place the initiative to further advance the prosperity of HBCUs, forever establishing The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Now the voices of HBCUs are being heard more than ever. Those who aid in legislative decisions regarding these issues are products of these institutions and are now advancing the urgency for change. In light of Black History Month, on February 22nd, 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris a Howard University graduate, alongside Keisha Lance Bottoms a Florida A&M University graduate, and now Senior Advisor for Public Engagement, invited 28 HBCU journalists including Elizabeth City State University to the White House. ECSU student journalist Kristen Bannerman and Professor Clarence Goss Jr. had the opportunity to sit in the briefing to be a part of the conversation discussing issues concerning their beloved campuses. The briefing opened with Keisha Lance Bottoms speaking about her experiences of being enriched at Florida A&M University while sharing a story on how her university’s law department was once uprooted and relocated
Kristen Bannerman, student journalist and Professor Clarence Goss, Jr.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Keisha Lance-Bottoms addressing HBCU Journalists questions.
to Florida State. To further help prevent stories like that from transpiring, Bottoms ensured journalists of the work that the Biden-Harris Administration is doing for the HBCU community. Bottoms attests saying, “President Biden and Vice President Harris have been very intentional on funding for HBCUs, very intentional on making sure that the voices of HBCUs are heard on this campus. I was just with a group of HBCU Presidents just last week on this campus. There is an entire committee that focuses on HBCUs. We have someone on the administration who leads HBCU initiatives. The money is being given and the input is being sought from HBCUs on how we can continue to be partners.” Though Elizabeth City State University is a part of the HBCU community, we still are met with a different angle of adversities as we are a smaller institution. One of the problems that affect the illustrious campus of ECSU is the continuous inclusion of our smaller university in the advancements curated for HBCUs, even in the light of our home being state-operated and funded. Bottoms covers this issue with an extensive answer in response to an Albany state journalist who has the same issue on her home campus. Bottoms reinstated the importance of state-funded schools advocating for themselves to their respective state representatives for proper financial support. Bottoms says, “Again, lean in on your representatives to make sure you all are getting the money and the funding that you deserve from the state. And I
think, just finally it’s important that you own your space.” The dialogue between the 28 HBCU journalists and government officials continued as Bottoms introduced the first black female Vice President Kamala Harris to the briefing to add to the conversation and answer questions of concern. Vice President Harris was greeted with a standing ovation as each of the student journalists expressed eagerness to continue the conversation about the present and future of HBCUs. The discussion took a different direction as the focus shifted to addressing the portrayal of HBCUs in media and politics and racial inequalities in the face of climate change. As a graduate of Howard University and someone who has immersed herself in the culture, Harris gives perspective on what she believes is not portrayed and understood enough about HBCUs in America. Vice President Harris provided insight on how she communicated that her family was a large factor in why she embarked on her journey to the White House, and this included the Divine 9. However, many people in politics did not understand what the Divine 9 was as they were not familiar with this culture that derives from HBCUs. Harris believes that this is an issue as she explained, “People who are covering, who will be the next president and vice president of the United States unfamiliar with the Divine 9. So that’s a quick example of my point, which is sadly there is still a lot that we are counting on you all as leaders and continued on page 2.