The city of Charlotte will pay tribute to its Black male high school graduates in an inaugural baccalaureate service scheduled to take place next month at Johnson C. Smith University.
Sponsored by the Beta Nu Lambda Education Foundation in partnership with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), the event is the first of its kind. Organizers say that the gathering will be an opportunity to celebrate Black males for completing 12 years of school while also encouraging them to go on and be lifelong learners.
At a time when high school graduation rates for Black males continue to face a sharp decline, the organizers of the event say that not enough is being done publicly to laud those Black males who make it through despite a series of obstacles, setbacks and hardships.
“We want to change the narrative and create a new image,” says Trevor Beauford, a youth pastor and former middle school teacher who came up with the idea of the city-wide baccalaureate service.
And the service, which will be held June 5 and keynoted by Dr. Chance W. Lewis, the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Full Professor of Urban Education in the College of Education at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, isn’t just for Black males who are college-bound, although representatives from area colleges including Central Piedmont Community College will be on hand for graduating seniors who may still be interested in enrolling in college in the fall.
As the men march down the aisle in their caps and gowns, organizers say that older Black men throughout the Charlotte metropolitan area will be on hand to cheer them on.
“We want to have these men say to these young brothers, ‘Hey, we’re proud of you. You’ve got your diploma, now what?’” says Beauford. “We want the older men to show them affirmation and what is possible.”
