Spring Convocation Delivers a Rallying Cry to Stillman College's Next Generation of Leaders

Dr. Jamal WatsonStillman College students received a message of hope, courage and liberation during a spring convocation ceremony Jan. 29 at the Tuscaloosa campus, reported The Tuscaloosa News. 

Dr. Jamal Watson, an award-winning journalist and author and the former editor of Diverse: Issues In Higher Education (now The EDU LEDGER), delivered the convocation's keynote speech before holding a book signing for his latest work, The Student Debt Crisis: America's Moral Urgency, published by Broadleaf Books.

The event drew Stillman faculty, staff, alumni and community members to the college's Birthright Auditorium, where the traditional ceremony formally kicked off the spring semester — a milestone moment for an institution celebrating 150 years of education this year.

Watson, who a professor and associate dean at Trinity Washington University, grounded his remarks in the weight of Stillman's history. 

Stillman students wait in line to receive a signed copy of The Student Debt Crisis: America's Moral Urgency. Stillman College"I am reminded that this institution was not simply built, it was willed into existence," he said. "It was conjured up by people who understood that education was not a luxury, not a privilege, but a weapon, a tool of liberation, a declaration of possibility in a world that said Black people had no business pursuing higher learning."

He turned that historical lens directly toward the students in attendance. 

"Your very presence here today in these classrooms on this campus is a continuation of that defining act of hope," Watson said.

Throughout his address, Watson urged students to strive for excellence, embrace bravery, build meaningful connections and use their voices to advocate for social justice. He framed individual achievement not as an end in itself but as part of a larger collective mission.

"You are being called to something larger than individual success. You are being called to collective liberation. You are being called to bend that arc towards justice," Watson said. "You are being called to get up, to stay up and to help others get up."

Stillman's President, Dr. Yolanda Page, who welcomed Watson to the Stillman stage, underscored how his message aligned with the college's broader vision. 

"Dr. Jamal Watson delivered a powerful keynote on the promise of opportunity, challenging our students to be excellent, informed, connected and brave," Page said. "These four words capture exactly what we're building at Stillman College."

Watson closed his remarks by charging students to carry Stillman's legacy beyond campus walls. 

"With the education you received here, with the community that you built here, and with the courage that you've cultivated here in solidarity, get up and change the world," he said. "The long arc of justice is waiting in your hands."

Following his keynote, Watson met with students and community members for a talk and book signing of The Student Debt Crisis: America's Moral Urgency — a book that frames the national student debt crisis as a civil rights issue and a moral imperative.

Stillman College, which sits on more than 100 acres in Tuscaloosa, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and held its first classes in 1876. The college is named after its founder, Charles Allen Stillman, who served as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa.