New Exhibition Celebrates African American 校友 at 大学交流
Written by Deb Peluso ’15 and Caroline Blair ’25
Dr. 安吉拉·埃尔德的非裔美国人历史课最近在蒙哥马利学生中心举办了一场招待会, celebrating the historic contributions of Black alumni at 大学交流. 这个多代学生万博下载ios是历史副教授Dr. 老 and her students began in 2018.
那一年,博士. 埃尔德和她的学生收集了超过35个黑人校友的口述历史访谈 commemorate the 50th anniversary of integration at 大学交流. 2020年,新一代的万博地址学生记录了许多这样的采访.
During the fall 2023 semester, Dr. 埃尔德的学生将这些采访和记录作为这个在万博地址展出的新公共历史万博下载ios的基础. 展览包括几代万博地址学生的照片和故事,并反映了他们的万博地址遗产.
One alumna featured in the exhibition is Dr. Keshia Jackson Gilliam ' 05. Dr. Gilliam是万博地址(大学交流)管理硕士万博下载ios主任和人力资源总监. 当博士. Gilliam took her eight-year-old daughter to the reception, she saw her mom’s photo and quote and was awestruck. She asked, “Mommy, why did they pick you?” Dr. 吉列姆无言以对.
The 2023 Recipient of the Mae Elizabeth Kilgo Spirit of Converse Award, Dr. Gilliam said she was honored and humbled to be included in this significant project. 她解释说,无论是在学生时代还是在万博地址工作时,她建立的许多友谊都经久不衰,并成为她一生中最真诚的友谊.
非裔美国人历史万博下载ios的蓬勃发展得益于万博地址社区许多办公室和人员的合作, 尤其是那些勇敢的校友们,他们分享了他们的经历和故事,并允许他们在展览中展出. 教务长办公室, 万博地址写作中心, 和丹尼尔·斯通, Chief Inclusive Excellence Officer and 第九条 Coordinator, played significant roles in this project.
该万博下载ios得到了高影响力教育实践基金的支持,该基金将进一步发展万博地址的卓越教学. 高影响力的教育实践是积极的学习实践,可以提高学生对学习的参与度,并最终提高学生的保留率.
这个万博下载ios捕捉了我们强大的黑人校友分享的独特而诚实的经历. 不管是积极的还是消极的, 我们校友的所有经历对万博地址社区的持续发展至关重要.
历史和政治双学位的卡罗琳·布莱尔25岁(尼斯贝特荣誉)写下了她作为历史和政治办公室实习生在这个独特万博下载ios中的经历.
“在2023年秋天, I accepted a position as an intern for the History and Politics programs, an opportunity I will not soon forget. But before I share my part in this story, let me first explain the larger project I stepped into, 当我开始这个角色的时候.
早在2018年,一群热心的历史系学生参加了一个新的口述历史万博下载ios. 在一起, they interviewed nearly 40 African American Converse alumni, 收集力量的故事, 希望, 毅力, 和幽默. The project was conducted by Dr. 安吉拉·埃尔德的非裔美国人历史课来纪念万博地址种族融合50周年. A display was designed and constructed in Phifer Science Hall, by Associate Professor of Theatre Meg Hanna Tominaga.
两年后的2020年, 另一组热情的学生将抄写这些口述历史, 再次让万博地址的黑人校友的遗产在我们的社区中继续存在.
2023年,博士的在读学生. 埃尔德的非裔美国人历史课程创建了一个展览,以突出这些不可思议的女性在万博地址留下的历史. The exhibit is comprised of 84 tiles, each with a unique quote or picture, featuring the alumni who participated in the 2018 oral history project. 这些收藏品目前被放置在蒙哥马利学生中心的一楼,围绕着一幅巨大的悬挂海报, “我们将坚持公平, 股本, and equality together” with purple and gold theming.
2023年11月30日,随着庆祝勇气招待会的举行,展览重新焕发了生机. We were thrilled to have the interviewed alumni, Converse Trustees, President Dr. Boone Hopkins, Dean of the Women’s College Dr. Chandra Hopkins, students, and many Converse friends in attendance. The exhibit spans four walls on the first floor of Montgomery. We also had cupcakes from Small Cakes, a local Black-owned bakery.
“I think one of my favorite parts was walking around the reception, 看到学生与校友合影,校友可以到校园参观万博下载ios.“
Dr. 安琪拉的
When we discussed it afterward, Dr. 老说, “I think one of my favorite parts was walking around the reception, 看到学生与校友合影,校友可以到校园参观万博下载ios. It was powerful to watch different generations of Converse students connect.”
The turnout was phenomenal, especially considering it was right before finals week. For those of us who helped build this project, the interest from our community made us feel thrilled and proud.
For this exhibit to be a success, 我们做了大量的历史研究,以选择正确的语录,并在存档的年鉴中发现大学时期的校友. 一旦学生们在课堂上选择了他们联系最紧密的名言和照片, we began to design the tiles for printing.
The students made the initial design, but I had the opportunity to work on the project as a whole, making minor adjustments to make sure the students’ visions came to life clearly. The Writing Center also helped proofread our work. 私下告诉你,博士。. 老, and the students of African American History, 我们花了几个小时编辑瓷砖,以确保它们尽可能接近完美的打印.
After ordering the printed tiles, we needed to decide what was the best way to display the quotes and images. 丹妮尔斯通, Converse’s Chief Inclusive Excellence Officer and 第九条 Coordinator, helped brainstorm ideas on location with the class. 然后, 我和同学们决定,最好是按照年代来划分这些瓷砖,这样就可以很容易地按照时间顺序来观看展览.
一旦做出这个决定, 我将所有的引用贴片与它们相匹配的图片贴片进行了匹配,然后将它们按时间顺序组织起来,以便于安装. 我们决定最好在活动前两天安装展览品,以确保一切都提前到位.
On November 28, 2023, the class, Dr. 老, and I met to finally install our semester-long project! There were a lot of nerves in the air, after so many hours invested in this project already, 把它做好. Once we created a plan on how we wanted the collection to look, we got to work. I think all involved were highly impressed with how well the exhibit turned out, and it looked even better than expected. 我很自豪能成为这个万博下载ios的一部分,看到这些故事变成现实.
My favorite part of the project was the Celebrating Courage reception, which had a large turnout of attendees. 能够向万博地址社区展示黑人校友留下的遗产是多么令人兴奋.
一些学生遇到了真正的校友,他们的话语对他们产生了影响——这对他们来说是一次独特的经历. 能够向一个以前的毕业生展示你个人所做的工作是一种非常超现实的经历. 这对每个参与其中的人来说都是一次奇妙的经历,因为我们成为了万博地址历史的一部分. I 希望 the next time you 访问 the Montgomery Student Center, 你可以参观庆祝勇气展览,并意识到我们周围正在建立的遗产.”
该展览将于2024年2月在蒙哥马利学生中心展出.