“It is imperative that we continue the work of creating opportunities
that will allow our children to thrive in the generations to come,” said
PCX Co-Founder Erich Thomas.
Atlanta – Pharaoh’s Conclave (PCX), Georgia’s leading organization for
diversity and inclusion in competitive video gaming, and the Thomas
Family Fund are proud to announce a contribution of $160,000.00 to
Morris Brown College in honor and memory of the family patriarch, Ronald
Floyd Thomas (MBC 2002). The gift was designated to establish the Ronald
Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and Innovation. The Morris Brown College
Board of Trustees unanimously approved the decision to establish the
center in October 2020.
Jakita O. Thomas, Ph.D. and Erich Thomas founded Pharaoh’s Conclave
(PCX) in 2017. PCX is a company that uses education and exposure to
video gaming to address diversity and inclusion in the technology
industry by leveraging eSports. They created the first high school state
eSports championship in the United States, which they featured at
DreamHack, the world’s largest gaming lifestyle festival. Through PCX,
the Thomases have exposed over 10,000 children across the country to
eSports. They have awarded over $30,000.00 in college scholarships and
guided youth and young adults in becoming eSports professionals. Their
work in technology has most recently received non-dilutive funding of
$100,000.00 from Google for Startups and financial support from the
Stadium Neighborhood Community Trust.
PCX will now complete its “Cradle to Career” model with the opening of
the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and Innovation at Morris
Brown College, the alma mater of Erich Thomas’s father. The focus on
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will help to
address the lack of diversity in eSports and technology.
“When my husband, Ronald Floyd Thomas, entered Morris Brown College to
complete the work on his degree, he fully embraced becoming a true
“Brownite.” Funding the establishment of the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center
for eSports and Innovation at Morris Brown College is a fitting tribute
to a man who valued education and the contributions of Historically
Black Colleges and Universities to our culture and family. Morris Brown
College, in the words of her Alma Mater, was “a welcome true to everyone
until thy work was done.” It is in keeping with his commitment to
educational opportunity that a program exists to equip this generation
of scholars with the skills to excel in STEM and be on the cutting edge
of this new technology at—Dear Old Morris Brown,” said Geri Thomas,
Grant Advisor of the Thomas Family Fund.
“Google has provided us with a very unique opportunity to be the people
on the ground doing the real work. My wife and I both grew up in
Atlanta; we are both graduates of HBCUs, and are now watching the fourth
generation of our family attend HBCUs. As a product of the Atlanta
Public Schools System, I was inspired to teach and work with youth by
graduates of HBCUs all throughout my life, many of whom were alumni of
Morris Brown College. So it is imperative that we continue the work of
creating opportunities that will allow our children to thrive in the
generations to come,” said Erich Thomas.
“I am so grateful for the gift from the Ronald Floyd Thomas family and
Pharaoh’s Conclave. This designated gift will help take our new eSports
program to the next level. I am so excited that Morris Brown College can
lead as Georgia’s first State approved eSports Performance degree
program. The institution has two tracks including a certificate and a
degree. Additionally, high school students will be able to dual enroll
and complete high school with 24 college credit hours in eSports. Morris
Brown will lead in eSports education and competitive gaming. This gift
just catapulted us forward. We will immediately begin plans to remodel
an area on campus into the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and
Innovation, which will include top notch eSports equipment. Moreover, we
will begin recruiting the best gaming students to attend Morris Brown
and compete competitively on our eSports team,” said Dr. Kevin James,
President of Morris Brown College.
Dr. Jakita Thomas was the recipient of the Blacks in Tech Award in 2019,
which recognizes African American Tech Entrepreneurs and Innovators. Dr.
Thomas is an author and researcher whose work was recognized by
President Barack Obama in 2016 with the Presidential Early Career Award
for Scientists and Engineers. For more information on Pharaoh’s
Conclave, visit pcxnow.com or email info@pharaohsconclave.com.
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