The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) recently held their UNCF Summit 2024 at the Signia Hotel in downtown Atlanta.
For more than eight decades, UNCF has embodied the principle that “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” raising over $6 billion to help more than 500,000 students attend college, thrive, and become leaders.
The five day event consisted of a jammed packed agenda that included a range of pre-conferences, plenaries, breakout sessions and an 80th Anniversary Concert Celebration featuring Yolanda Adams and Ledisi.
This commitment to education and community empowerment was prominently displayed at the UNCF Summit, where scholars, educators, and advocates gathered to discuss topics like STEM initiatives, mental health, climate action, community empowerment, career pathways and more. UNCF also announced the launch of ‘HBCUv,’ a visionary virtual learning platform that reduces barriers to access and fosters a collaborative space for students and faculty across HBCUs.
Furthermore, one of the featured breakout sessions during the summit was titled: “The Role of HBCUs in Efforts to Achieve The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” where esteemed speakers Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall and Kenoye Eke, Sr took the stage.
Dr. Guy-Sheftall, the Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Comparative Women’s Studies and Founding Director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center at Spelman College, brought decades of experience and insight into the conversation. Kenoye Eke, Sr., Vice President for Institutional Advancement & Development at Jarvis Christian University, joined her in exploring the unique contributions of HBCUs to the global effort to meet the SDGs.
One of the top five goals deeply discussed was the importance of gender equality. Dr. Guy-Sheftall highlighted the groundbreaking work being done at Spelman College, where the curriculum has been transformed to include a focus on Women’s Studies.
“African diaspora in the world has been one of the primary focuses of our work,” Dr. Guy-Sheftall shared during the session. “We decided that we would have a Women’s Studies program, and we started with a minor, eventually developing a comprehensive curriculum that includes quizzes like ‘The Black Female Body,’ which examines how society constructs harmful stereotypes about Black women. This course, along with others, helps students critically analyze and deconstruct these narratives, promoting a more inclusive and accurate understanding of Black womanhood.”
Dr. Guy-Sheftall also emphasized the importance of addressing gender-based violence and toxic masculinity, both in academic settings and the broader community. “We talk about intimate partner violence, but we don’t just talk about it; we explore ways to disrupt and dismantle it,” she said. “One approach is discussing toxic masculinity as a construct, which is crucial for both our male and female students.”
One of the key challenges highlighted during the session was engaging male students and faculty in Women’s Studies and gender equality initiatives. Dr. Guy-Sheftall pointed out the success of Morehouse College students who participated in Spelman’s Women’s Studies courses, noting their passion and commitment to the subjects.
“We’ve had some students come across the way from Morehouse, who have maintained contact and gone on to teach at prestigious institutions like Harvard Divinity School and Princeton,” Dr. Guy-Sheftall said. “Though we’ve tried, we’ve had less success actually going to Morehouse and having faculty development workshops around these issues.”
With more work that needs to be done, she encouraged other HBCUs to consider implementing Women’s Studies programs, noting that even a minor could significantly impact students’ understanding of gender issues.
As the UNCF Summit concludes, it is clear that the legacy of HBCUs extends far beyond the classroom. These institutions are at the forefront of shaping some of our most influential future leaders.
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