SU students attend HBCU Think Tank

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Delegates from over 20 Historically Black Colleges and Universities collaborated to abolish negative stereotypes, uplift our communities, and trail blaze new paths into the future at the first ever HBCU Think Tank.
Over 54 students from Southern University including members of the Student Government Association and The Southern DIGEST attended the meetings.
The Think Tank was February 22 through 24 in Nashville, Tenn. at Tennessee State University, and was the brainchild of TSU SGA representative-at-large Jamie R. Riley.
“HBCUs have been the livelihood of our community educating thousands of successful African Americans,” said Riley. “The time has come for us as HBCU students to work together to improve our community, uplift our generation, and make and impact on the world, like our ancestors did.”
However, Riley’s objectives and goals were overshadowed by school rivalries, false accusations from its participants.
“We all need to re-evaluate the reason why we are here,” said Avery Wilson, SU SGA president. “The whole point of this weekend is to learn from each other and come up with solutions.”
Campus leaders from Howard, TSU, and Hampton lead the delegation in an open-mic discussion to bring the conference back into perspective and remind participants their purpose of attending the Think Tank.
“If we are supposed to be the leaders of today we must first come together and learn from each other. It will be foolish of us to attend this conference and not be able to bring any useful information to our brothers and sisters,” said Varrette Matthews, a freshman delegate from Winston-Salem State University.
Despite the tension among schools during the opening day of the conference, delegates broke off into concurrent sessions ranging on topics from “Maintaining a Spiritual Life While in College” to “Are HBCUs of Importance?” opened up dialogue and stirred debate between conference participants.
Other discussion topics include, “Greek Leadership Within,” ” Recognizing and Appreciating Black Culture” and “Preparing for the Business World as an African Americans.”
“Everyone was so involved in the discussions and it was a great exchange of knowledge,” said Miss TSU Mia Evans, who attended the standing room only The Black Woman: Discovering the Queen Within session.
Poet and Professor Sonia Sanchez spoke of her insight on current issues plaguing Black America through her poetry. Bobby Seale, an original founding member of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, challenged his listeners to continue to fight oppression and seize the time. TSU alumni and motivational orator Lecia J. Rives delivered a message of hope, opportunity and self-empowerment.
Known as the “Chicago Dynamo,” 19-year-old Ayinde Jean Baptiste posed the question to delegates, “When will we start leading?” in his speech.
“We need to stop waiting to take action because there are things that are affecting us everyday,” said Baptiste. “What if our parents and grandparents waited…waited on places like this…places that didn’t exist.”
Hip-Hop scholar, spoken-word artist and publisher, Jessica Care Moore delivered her no nonsense style of spoken-word poetry that touched on subject of love, hip-hop culture, and the tragic events of September 11th.
“Hip hop is not a genre of music, it is a culture,” said Moore.
At the conclusion of the Think Tank, many participants came away with a sense of accomplishment and renewed hope.
“This conference has the potential to become something really monumental. I just think that once everyone realized the reason why we were here and let down their guards, we accomplished a lot,” said Michele Lawrence, Hampton University SGA president.
Plans are already being set for the 2nd Annual HBCU Think Tank.
“I would like to see the Think Tank stay at TSU for at least another year because it is located in a central spot,” said Riley. “However we have already received offers from schools who would like to host the event.”