HBCUstory founder Dr. Crystal deGregory, right, presents Dr. Johnetta Cole with the HBCUstory Storyteller of the Year emerita award.
Meeting under the umbrella theme “Where do HBCUs Go From Here? Strategic Partnerships + Sustainable Futures,” scholars from across the country convened for the second annual HBCUstory Symposium, presenting research and case studies around the modern relevance of these institutions at the Association of Public Land-grant Universities headquarters in Washington, D.C. Oct. 24-25.
The inaugural symposium was held last year in Nashville to “offer rank-and-file members of the HBCU community as well as our allies, the opportunity to satisfy academia’s pressing demand to publish and present or perish,” said HBCUstory founder and executive editor Dr. Crystal A. deGregory.
Dr. John Lee, Jr., vice president in the office of access and success: advancement of public Black universities and minority-serving institutions for APLU, said partnering with HBCUstory for this year’s event helps APLU re-write “what it means to be a part of the HBCU community.”
“We believe that telling the unique historical and contemporary stories of HBCUs is important,” Lee said. “We believe that these partnerships are important.”
For deGregory, the conference, which gave her an opportunity to present icons—such as Dr. Johnetta B. Cole and Dr. Ivory A. Toldson—with Storyteller Awards, presented a needed personal boost. In addition to being in the presence of her idols, deGregory was overwhelmed with emotion as she reflected on the months leading up to the symposium.
The months between April and October “have been among the most trying of my entire life,” she said. “Not because things couldn’t have been much worse, but because people can and will disappoint you.”
