Friday, January 17, 2025
A pair of panels held at Uniondale High School recently gave students a deeper understanding of historically Black colleges and universities and the cultural significance of the Divine Nine fraternities and sororities.
Students filled the high school’s Little Theater on the morning of Dec. 16 while the Marching Knights drum line kicked off the event.
The first panel, focusing on HBCUs, included four panelists who shared their personal experiences of attending these institutions and the different ways in which they impacted their lives. One of them was Kareem McKnight, a graduate of Morgan State University, in Baltimore, who emphasized the independence and growth that come with going away to school. That helped McKnight become the person he is today, he said, and learn valuable life lessons.
“You learn how to be responsible, learn to take care of yourself,” he said. “Meet your friends that become your family. Because a lot of people I met that first year, I’m still family with them.”
Valérie Volcy, a recent Uniondale High graduate who just finished her first semester at Spelman College, in Atlanta, said that HBCUs provide unique opportunities for Black students to excel, with the support of Black educators.
“I have never had such good experiences with advisers and teachers,” Volcy said, adding that the faculty at Spelman has been instrumental in her academic success.
Over the decades, HBCUs have been pillars of African-American culture and achievement, offering educational opportunities at a time when many predominantly white institutions refused to admit Black students. These colleges, as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965, were established with the primary mission of educating Black Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Education website.
The second panel at the high school focused on the Divine Nine fraternities and sororities, which are known as Black Greek-letter organizations. Eight panelists, including Uniondale alumni and staff, discussed their membership in these organizations and why it is important to them. The fraternities and sororities were formed through HBCUs during “significant national developments, including the rise of Jim Crow laws, the popularity of scientific racism, and widespread racial violence and prejudice,” the National Museum of African American History and Culture website states.
BGLOs emphasize personal excellence, community service and kinship, according to the museum, and panelists shared how joining them played a critical role in their growth and development.
Adeola Tella-Williams, dean of academic services at Lawrence Road Middle School, talked about her experience at Virginia State University, in Ettrick, Virginia, an HBCU, where she joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Tella-Williams explained how her membership helped her find her place on campus, surrounded by students from diverse backgrounds.
“You are meeting students from all over the world, all over the country, with different takes,” she said. “When you join a Black fraternity or sorority on an HBCU campus, you are trying to find your tribe.”
Jamel Vanderburg, a graduate of Wilberforce University, an HBCU in Wilberforce, Ohio, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, detailed the Divine Nine’s common purpose: “to make sure that we leave our communities better than where we left off.” Vanderburg, an entrepreneur and an adjunct instructor at New York Institute of Technology, told students about the importance of balancing academics and extracurricular activities to create a well-rounded and affordable college experience.
“Make sure your grades are on point,” he said. “Make sure that you are also not just being in classes, because those activities are what can help you afford to pay for school.” He mentioned band, sports, dance and other extracurriculars as keys to “what help you to make a total person, and that’s also what helps you to market yourself to be able to afford school.”
The speakers on both panels expressed similar sentiments about the importance of community and support in both their HBCU experiences and their Divine Nine involvement. They encouraged students to consider the lifelong impact of staying in touch with their community and culture throughout their educational journeys.
