Local students, alumni leave for tour of historically Black colleges and universities
Apr. 11—NEW LONDON — Students and parents joined hands and formed a prayer circle outside the city's high school early Tuesday before students boarded a bus bound for a tour of historically Black colleges and universities along the east coast.
Pastor Jack Madry of Madry Temple Church stood in the center of the circle and told the young students they were strong and untouchable.
"You are our hope for tomorrow," Madry said.
This is the Historically Black College Alumni, Inc. of New London County's 29th week-long college tour with youth from across New London County during spring break. The HBCA, formed in 1992, has led a tour every year with the exception of two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vouise "Vice" Fonville, president of the HBCA, said the purpose of the tour is to expose students to other options for college. Fonville is a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, a historically Black university in North Carolina.
Fonville said there were 34 students taking the tour this year, with students from New London High, Robert E. Fitch High School, Norwich Free Academy, Ledyard High School and one student from Westerly High School.
In the next five days, the students will be visiting Howard University and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.; Virginia Union University and Virginia State College; Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina A&T State University.
There are currently 107 public and private historically Black colleges and universities in the country and they serve more than 228,000 students. Nearly a quarter of students enrolled in the schools were non-Black as of 2019.
Fonville said historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, "are like family, and most are smaller with small classrooms." The HBCUs were established to give Black Americans access to higher education in the 19th century when they could not be admitted elsewhere.
He said the alumni group wants to show students that these schools offer an education just as good as a "PWI," or a predominately white institution. He said the students don't have to be A+ students, and the tour is about inspiring them with people that look like them and are doing well at these colleges.
Fonville said the trips are funded partially through grants and sponsorship by local organizations and community members. He said the students complete workshops on financial aid and a student orientation program prior to going on the trip.
Melinda Georges was among the parents saying goodbye to their children Tuesday morning. She is mother to Juliette Georges, a Fitch student who decided on her own to join the tour.
Georges said she is excited for her daughter, and thinks it is important for the students to know the history of colleges and see what's available to them.
"They are collectively experiencing the Black experience," Georges said.
Some of the students have parents that have been through the same or a similar college tour when they were in high school.
Sierra Davis of Uncasville, mother to New London High School senior Dante Davis, said she went on the tour with HBCA while attending high school. She said she didn't go to an HBCU, but it was still a great experience to gain a support system and make connections.
"It's important for my kid to see a different way to achieve academic excellence and see more than the state has to offer him," said Davis.
Connecticut is not home to a historically Black college or university. New Haven was almost home to the first Black college in the U.S. in 1831 but was rejected by white property owners of the city, according to research done by Yale's Beinecke Library.
Calvin McCoy, 17, of Fitch High School, was on the tour for the first time and is interested in attending an HBCU. He said growing up, it has been hard to meet others that take academics seriously, and that he's looking forward to meeting like-minded individuals on the tour.
The Westerly High student is Na'Vellah Najie, who said she heard about the program from her family in Connecticut and the pastor at her church.
Najie said she is especially excited to see Howard University, where she hopes to be a first-generation college student. She said she wants to go to an HBCU to "feel more connected to my culture and Black excellence."
