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by Blair C. Washington ‘04
The New Year brought with it the 18th Annual Carroll F. S. Hardy National Black Leadership Development
Conference. The Conference was held in Williamsburg, Virginia, and was sponsored by the Stuart
Educational Leadership Group. In
attendance were college students from across the country.
The Conference's theme was “Wanted: Leaders of
the Neo-Underground Railroad to Liberate a Whole People.” This theme was thoroughly articulated in the
opening address by keynote speaker Nikki Giovanni - poet, professor, and
activist. Giovanni explained the
correlation between the courage and strength of Harriet Tubman, leader of the
Underground Railroad, and the ability and leadership potential within the
Conference participants. Giovanni also
made clear the importance of being a leader to liberate a
“Whole People,” which embraces every race, religion, and gender.
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(left
to right) Louis Burrell '07, Blair Washington '04, Mr.
Marvin Dickerson, CEO-Dickerson Technology and Conference
Coordinator, and Donald Davis '05. |
At the Conference, representing Hampden-Sydney, were Louis Burrell '07, Donald Davis '05, and
Blair Washington '04. My experience was an unforgettable one. This was my fourth year attending the Conference, and every year has been very informative and inspirational.
The Conference gave me a chance to mingle and network with others with the purpose of learning ways to better my community
and myself. I am currently the
Vice-President of the Minority Student Union, and I was able to meet other
officers in organizations very similar to mine and to collect tips and advice on
leadership. Dr. Carroll F. S. Hardy has
consistently created a positive atmosphere of excellence and encouragement in
order to celebrate the potential and success of student leaders from an array
of college campuses.
In order
for Dr. Hardy to completely communicate her theme, she formulated a team of
speakers and facilitators to lead sessions and to act as mentors. Facilitators included professors, authors,
deans, and business people, who gave us different ways to tap our leadership
ability and who challenged us to take the lessons back to our campuses and to
apply them. The ideas of the
Conference were expressed through the many sessions. Some of the sessions were:
"Ten Ways to Fight
Hate on Campus" by Brandon Wilson, "Outreach Associate Tolerance," organized by
the Southern
Poverty Law Center, "What Every African American Leader Needs to Know" by Dennis
Rogers, Dept. of Political Science, Howard University, and "Faith and Spirituality:
Their roles in Student Leadership Development" by Dr. Debbie Thomas, School of
Communication, Howard University.
The closing
speaker of the Conference was Elaine R. Jones, Director of the NAACP Legal
Defense Fund. Jones was the first black
woman to graduate from the University of Virginia School of Law and the first
woman to serve on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association. She eloquently summed up the Conference when
she stressed the importance of using your leadership abilities to make a
difference. She noted her struggles as a Black woman striving to succeed and dared us to be fearless in our
quest for leadership.
The
National Black Student Leadership Development Conference was a great
opportunity, and I am very excited to bring the tools and inspiration from the
Conference back to Hampden-Sydney in order to apply the theme of the Conference
in being a “Leader for the Neo-Underground Railroad to Liberate a Whole
People.”
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The Hampden-Sydney College and
Randolph-Macon Woman's College Delegations Confer. |
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