In honor of Thomas W. Dortch, Jr., the National Coalition On Black Civic Participation And Clark Atlanta University launched the Thomas W. Dortch, Jr. Institute For Leadership, Civic Engagement, Economic Empowerment And Social Justice.
Dortch, who passed at the age of 72 earlier this year, was leading businessman and community advocate for over 40 years.
The historic partnership between Clark Atlanta University and NCBCP is intended to expand, deepen and strengthen NCBCP’s work in the South and establish a Southern Regional Office on the campus of CAU.
Powered by NCBCP’s initial $1 million investment, the NCBCP TWD Jr. Institute will provide internships, graduate assistantships, and fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students at CAU and other HBCUs in The South—with a focus on voting rights, racial justice, economics, and other social justice issues affecting Black and other communities impacted by systemic racism and social injustice.
As part of this groundbreaking initiative, the launch will also unveil NCBCP’s Black Women’s Roundtable Digital Equity, Connectivity & Women’s Economic Empowerment Three-Year Project (BWR Digital Equity Project), an integral component of the NCBCP TWD Jr. Institute’s mission to advance economic empowerment throughout the South.
Supported by the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women Initiative, the BWR Digital Equity Project aims to bridge the digital divide and promote access to digital resources, training, and opportunities for underserved Black communities, with a particular focus on women across southern states.
The NCBCP, which is the country’s longest-serving and largest historically Black-led national civil rights coalition, has a historic reach in the South, where active and robust state-based affiliates are based. This partnership will build on the NCBCP’s 47 years of work in the Southern Region and nationally, helping to implement additional strategic and effective programming, training, issue advocacy, and entrepreneurship institutes throughout Black urban and rural communities across the South, including AL, FL, GA, LA, MS & VA.
Dr. George T. French Jr., President of Clark Atlanta University, served as the hosts for the launch and convening that will be co-hosted by over 40 national and state-based organizations from across the South.
Distinguished speakers will include: Melanie L. Campbell, President and CEO of The NCBCP and Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable, and Dr. George T. French, Jr., President of Clark Atlanta University. They will be joined by Founding Donor, Alba Castillo Baylin, Vice President, Stakeholder and Community Engagement, the Coca-Cola Company and others.
The launch of the NCBCP TWD Jr. Institute is supported by the generous partnership of the following sponsors: AARP, AT&T, The Coca Cola Company, Comcast NBC Universal, Dr. William Pickard, Goldman Sachs, NEO Philanthropy/State Infrastructure Fund, T-Mobile and Verizon.
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