VIKING VOYAGE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

by Kristen Bannerman

The 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 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 journalists to help us continue to educate the people of our country and our world on who we are as Americans.” Harris believes that knowledge of the Divine 9 has importance because “It’s very much a part of the history of our country.”

The conversation changed from HBCU to the black and poor communities affected by environmental changes. In response to the question about climate change and its relations to racial inequality, Vice President Harris mentions a plethora of examples of how black and poor communities have suffered including Flint, Michigan with the toxic water issue, and Bayview Hunters Point, San Fransisco with their dumping group issues. Harris retracks on her prior years in previous political positions where she was still fighting for change in this area of the American economy. Vice President Harris conveyed her understanding of how racial inequalities and climate change not only affects the environment, but every aspect of the livelihood of black and poor communities. This includes an umbrella of adversities including the health of the residents to the learning abilities of the children in these environments.

Though a great deal of topics related to HBCUs and the black community were discussed, Vice President Harris closed the briefing by directly addressing the student journalists in the room with words of encouragement. Harris says, “Your voices are so important. You as journalists have such a unique skill, gift, and ability to really be a voice of a voice for so much that is important in our country. So, use your voices and continue to use your voices because we need you.” This White House briefing was a very monumental experience as the voices and student representatives from the black community received the chance to advocate for change directly with government officials who understand and mirror their backgrounds and experiences. Not only has this event been monumental for the history of America, but for Elizabeth City State University as we were included in this event and conversation. Having our own take-up space in rooms where historically we have not always been accurately represented and advocated for is a blessing, and shows the greatness that lies here in the land of the Vikings. ■