Washington
Hundreds of top administrators and faculty gathered in Washington, D.C., this week for the HBCU Week Conference, which concluded Tuesday. Attendees were exposed to a wide array of programming focused on a “fulfilling the covenant” theme, inspired by Tavis Smiley’s best-selling book, The Covenant With Black America.
A town hall meeting Monday did indeed touch on a topic of great concern to Black America and the nation as a whole: the Black male crisis. A panel moderated by Morehouse College President Dr. Robert M. Franklin discussed ways HBCUs can encourage and inspire Black students to reach their full potential, both inside and outside of the classroom. Other panelists included United Negro College Fund CEO Dr. Michael Lomax and Bennett College President and former Diverse columnist Dr. Julianne Malveaux.
As an all-male HBCU, Morehouse is testing out an invasive counseling approach — meeting potential academic and behavioral problems proactively, rather than reactively, Franklin said.
“We get in their business. If you came here, you have an interest in our having our fingerprints-on kind of approach to your development,” Franklin said.
“We don’t just let [Black male students] get away with behaving badly. We see them drift — we get in their face. For the most part, that has worked well. But we’re testing it, because a lot of young brothers have grown up in neighborhoods where they resist authority of any kind,” he adds.
Dr. Norman C. Francis, president of Xavier University of Louisiana, received an award from the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs, commending his leadership on the national level in aiding the recovery of HBCUs devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In his speech, Francis exhorted the assembled presidents to continue to fight for increases in federal funding and keep federal officials informed of the large role HBCUs play in producing Black professionals.
