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Los Angeles County Leaders Honor McNair as Tuskegee University’s First Female President

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — Met with cheers from dozens of Tuskegee University alumni clad in crimson and gold, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, as “Dr. Lily D. McNair and Tuskegee University Day.” The Board of Supervisors presented McNair with a scroll commemorating her day of honor at its regularly scheduled meeting at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Downtown Los Angeles. The document and specially proclaimed day celebrated the university’s impact on its students and the nation. It also marked McNair’s milestone as the first female president in the university’s 138-year history.

Published

4 years ago

October 28, 2019

Oakland Post

President McNair (center, left) and Supervisor Janice Hahn (center, right) are joined by (left to right) Tuskegee’s First Gentleman Dr. George W. Roberts, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Tuskegee Board of Trustees Chair Norma Clayton, Supervisor Hilda Solis, Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and Victoria Pipkin-Lane, retired executive director of the County of Los Angeles’ Quality and Productivity Commission, who organized the Board of Supervisors’ recognition efforts. (Tuskegee University)

By Michael Tullier, Tuskegee University

Met with cheers from dozens of Tuskegee University alumni clad in crimson and gold, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declared Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, as “Dr. Lily D. McNair and Tuskegee University Day.”

The Board of Supervisors presented McNair with a scroll commemorating her day of honor at its regularly scheduled meeting at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in Downtown Los Angeles. The document and specially proclaimed day celebrated the university’s impact on its students and the nation. It also marked McNair’s milestone as the first female president in the university’s 138-year history.

Supervisor Janice Hahn, who chairs of the five-person Board of Supervisors, commended McNair for her leadership and her focus on providing Tuskegee students — specifically those from California — with a quality education.

“Los Angeles is home to thousands of Tuskegee University alumni, and apparently the graduating class of 2019 was dominated by students from Los Angeles,” Hahn said.

Along an honorific scroll, Hahn presented McNair with a letter penned and signed by Tuskegee’s founding president, Booker T. Washington, on Oct. 17, 1910. Hahn’s father Kenneth, who served as a county supervisor for 40 years and is the namesake of the county’s governmental headquarters, acquired the letter, which he framed and hung in his office during his tenure with the county.

Fellow county supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas joined Hahn in touting the university’s noteworthy achievements — the nation’s only center for bioethics in health care and research of its kind included among those. He also mentioned the acclaimed Tuskegee Airmen of World War II and noted the Board of Supervisors recently celebrated some of the nation’s longest-living Tuskegee Airmen who resided in Los Angeles.

“Such an esteemed institution deserves an esteemed educator and leader at the helm. Thank you for that which you have done and that which you will do in the future for this great university and beyond,” Ridley-Thomas told McNair.

“I build on the legacy of Booker T. Washington, who said that ‘excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.’ We can thank Dr. Washington and Dr. George Washington Carver for their efforts and vision,” McNair stated after accepting the Board of Supervisors’ commendations. “We are destined to become even better than Booker T. Washington imagined we could be more than 100 years ago.”

That vision, she noted, translates into excellence across many academic disciplines, including aerospace engineering and aviation education, veterinary medicine, architecture and agriculture — professional practice areas where the university is continually cited as being a top producer of minority graduates. She also highlighted areas such as food sustainability and bioenergy where the university seeks to expand its scope of influence.

The historically black university enjoys strong student representation from California. With 10% of its student body hailing from the “Golden State,” California ranks third behind Alabama and Georgia in terms of where its nearly 3,000 students reside. Likewise, 10% of the 642 graduates who comprised the class of 2019 had ties to the state.

California also is home to two chapters of its Tuskegee National Alumni Association Inc.: the Los Angeles Tuskegee Alumni Club and the Bay Area Tuskegee Alumni Club. Both are vital to the university’s alumni relations and student recruitment efforts in their local communities and throughout the state. In addition, some of these local club members serve the association in key district and national positions of responsibility.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the governing body of the County of Los Angeles, which encompasses 88 incorporated cities and 4,084 square miles. Serving more than 10.1 million residents, the board, comprised of five members elected to serve their respective districts, is the largest local government in the nation.

This article originally appeared in The Los Angeles Sentinel.

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IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.

Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.

Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.

Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”

Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.

“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”

The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.

Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.

President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.

Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.

Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.

The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.

Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.

Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.

Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.

The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.

The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.

In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.

The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.

The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy

May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.