#HBCUteenth 2021

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A NOTE ON FREEDOM Family + friends, #HBCUteenth was conceived during a time when so much was uncertain. Last year, we decided that as an HBCU advocacy organization it only made sense to celebrate Juneteenth because like HBCUs, Juneteenth means so much to our people. Unbeknownst to us, whatever plans we'd already begun to make had to quickly pivot due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. Alas, just as we began to adjust accordingly, George Floyd was tragically murdered by Derek Chauvin, a rogue officer of the Minneapolis Police Department -- in broad daylight for all the world to see. This senseless atrocity sparked national and international outcry against police brutality and for the sanctity of Black lives. And now, here we are a year later. Still battling against Coronavirus. Still gasping for breath. And yet, still finding reasons to smile.

The significance of Juneteenth to HBCUs and HBCUs to Junetenth is more than apparent.

Said significance goes beyond the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation at Hampton.

Said significance goes beyond the shadows and shade of the Emancipation Oak. Juneteenth and HBCUs are relics of what was.

Juneteenth and HBCUs are statements of what is.

Juneteenth and HBCUs are monuments of what can be.

If only we run on and see what the ends gon' be.

If only we keep our hands on the plow.

If only we follow the drinking gourd.

-Congratulations to this year's winners!

Freedom in Public Health Ebony Gordon Freedom in Storytelling Adarian Williams Freedom in Theology Pastor Glotavia Morris -For now, Marquise.

FREEDOM IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Ebony Gordon What Freedom Means To Me: Freedom is the ability to experience life in the absence of internal and external limitations; the ability to thrive unabashedly in the face of life's trials. Freedom is a privilege afforded to those who live in alignment with who they are mentally, physically, emotionally, and creatively.

A Note to Young People: Take the time to learn about who you are and how you show up in different spaces. Discover what passions you have. How can you coalesce your passions and your strengths, both creatively and practically, to see change through. Take the time to nurture who you are at each stage of the fight. Know that this fight will be hard; take the time to rest and recenter as much as you need to, in order to show up as your best self. Habitually practice and center self-care.

FREEDOM IN STORYTELLING

ADARIAN WILLIAMS What Freedom Means To Me: As a Black man in America, freedom is having the ability to go for a jog in the morning or take my little cousins for a walk in the park, or drive to the store without the worry of being targeted by a cop or racist who doesn’t know me or can’t identify with me because of their biases.

Freedom is about democracy, rights, liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as upward mobility for all people. Freedom is achieved when we have equal access to housing, food, quality education, employment, health care, and much more.

A Note to Young People: I would encourage young people who want to join in the fight for freedom to: 1.) Educate themselves 2.) Attend your local city council meetings 3.) Hold your elected officials accountable 4.) VOTE, VOTE, VOTE

FREEDOM IN THEOLOGY

PASTOR GLOTAVIA MORRIS What Freedom Means To Me: Freedom is holistically being liberated from systems mentally, emotionally, economically, and socially. Freedom to me is breaking generational curses, creating new mindsets, and thriving in generational blessings. Freedom is being able to freely be who and what one is called to be without the hinderance of race and economic bondage.

A Note to Young People: I would tell those who want to join the fight for freedom to first understand what they are joining. I would further explain the definition of freedom and the aspects of freedom which concerns the human race specifically African Americans. It is imperative that others are aware of our why. Lastly, I would ask them what is their why?

FINALISTS/RUNNER-UPS Jane Best, M.P.H. Freedom in Public Health Freedom means living in a world with personal autonomy, liberation, and choice that is not bound to societal norms. Freedom looks like a world where liberation is commonplace in communities and oppressive structures don't exist. It looks like Black people having the right to think, move, and act without restriction.

Veronica Cooper-Tucker Freedom in Storytelling Freedom has everything to do with the state of mind. You cannot talk about freedom without the liberation of the mind. The mind has to be free before the body can follow suit.

Rev. James Welsey Dennis III Freedom in Theology Freedom is the ability to be fully human without being subject to any form of domination and oppression. It is the liberation from being defined by identity markers and to be fully human without societies labels. Freedom is the opportunity to choose, to chart, and to create one's reality. For me, freedom is the basic form of being human.

MEET THE JUDGES

Ashlee Abraham Spelman College + North Carolina A&T

Tevon Blair, M.A. Dillard University

Jarrod Benjamin, M.B.A. Florida Memorial University

Ryan Dickerson Virginia State University

MEET THE committee

Marquise M. McGriff, M.A. Founder/Chief Visionary Florida Memorial University + Lincoln MO

Terrance T. McQueen, M.A. Committee Chair Morehouse College

Zion Gate-Norris Committee-person Florida Memorial University

Clyde Johnson Committee-person Texas Southern University

FREEDOM PARTNERS

Our Freedom Partners are all Black-Owned Businesses that supported this year's #HBCUteenth with in-kind donations for our participants.

Learn more about them by visiting rdevia.org/partners

Florida Memorial University

Our Freedom Sponsor is the Florida Memorial University Social Justice Institute.

This year's #HBCUteenth was made possible by their generous financial gift.

Learn more about them at socialjustice.fmuniv.edu

SOCIAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE The purpose of the FMU Social Justice Institute [SJI] is to serve as a resource for understanding and facilitating tangible reforms in order to achieve a more just and fair society.

“As South Florida’s only historically Black University, FMU has a fundamental responsibility to be a leading voice working towards the elimination of injustices that have served as barriers to high-quality education, health, economic, and political success for Black Americans for more than 400 years. From our founding in Live Oak to our time in Jacksonville and Saint Augustine, FMU has been an active participant and leader in the fight to make our country a more inclusive and perfect union.” said FMU President, Dr. Jaffus Hardrick.

The concept for the FMU SJI originated with Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, who is a historian and author of the award-winning book Democracy Abroad, Lynching at Home: Racial Violence in Florida. Hobbs has led social justice initiatives on the campus and the South Florida community.

“The launch of the FMU Social Justice Institute will allow FMU to coordinate and mobilize resources, both from the campus and from the community, in service of the greater good,” Hobbs says.

“In-depth analysis, collaboration, and concerted action are necessary to solve the problems associated with systemic racism. We are prepared to lead that work.”

Learn more about the Florida Memorial University Social Justice Institute at socialjustice.fmuniv.edu

A Public Charitable 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization | Founded March 5, 2015 rdevia.org | P.O. Box 470006 Miami, FL 33247 | @rdevia.inc

Marquise M. McGriff, M.A., Founder/Chief Visionary Raphael X. Moffett, Ed.D., Senior Trustee Clayran Delaney, M.S., General Parliamentarian Santarvis Brown, J.D., Ed.D., Senior Visitor Breana McBride, Historian Tameka Bradley-Hobbs, Ph.D., Associate Vistor Gloria Dulan-Wilson, M.S., Associate Visitor Adriel A. Hilton, Ph.D., Associate Visitor Michelle Hollinger, Associate Visitor Elyse Jones, M.P.A., Associate Visitor Emmanuel Lalande, Ed.D., Associate Visitor Minerva Santerre, Ed.D., Associate Visitor Damion Trout, MCC, PM-LPC, Associate Visitor Diane Wilson Onwuchekwa, M.S, Associate Visitor Earl Wright II, Ph.D., Associate Visitor Terrance T. McQueen, M.A., Ordevian of Distinction