Resources

Several years ago, I decided to create a bucket list as a way to examine who I am and identify significant things I would like to explore and experience during the remainder of my life. One of the items on my list is to visit all 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). This is my way to celebrate the Black College Experience and its impact on the lives HBCU’s have shaped. During the past three Spring Breaks and summers I have visited HBCUs and engaged with students, faculty, and staff. I’ve even purchased campus paraphernalia to remember my visits – hoodies, T-shirts, and refrigerator magnets. To date, I have visited thirty-two campuses in ten states. Historically Black Colleges and Universities have existed since 1837, when Cheyney State University was established. Prior to the Civil War the education of Blacks was forbidden in most Southern states and dissuaded in Northern states. The majority of HBCUs were founded between 1865–1900 by free Blacks, philanthropists, religious organizations, or the federal government.The purpose of the HBCU in the United States is to provide undergraduate and graduate-level educational opportunities to people of African descent. At an HBCU, you will find African Diasporic Cultural Identity, rich history, and rigorous academic programs. Key trends for HBCUs in 2025 include record breaking applications, increased new student enrollment, growing selectivity, and affirming environments. Given the political climate and polarization within the United States, Black students are migrating to these institutions of higher learning to experience a culturally relevant academic experience, affordability, and higher graduation rates. In other words, Black students want to succeed.One of the HBCUs I’ve visited is LeMoyne Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee. Upon entering the campus I saw a sign saying “A Source of Black Excellence.” What is Black Excellence? It has been defined as a high level of achievement, success, or ability demonstrated by an individual Black person or Black people. It is also used to refer to an aspiration or goal to be achieved. #blackexcellence.Reflecting on my thirty-two HBCU visits I was inspired to create my own definition of black excellence. Black excellence is victory, achievement, and greatness exemplified by Black people individually and collectively. It is a perspective that originates in the mind and is embodied through fortitude and flourishing. Black excellence is the manifestation of our ancestors’ dreams and prayers.HBCUs produce some of the greatest scholars, doctors, lawyers, educators, and entertainers in the United States while receiving less funding than predominately white colleges and universities. HBCUs promote living and learning environments that encourage student leadership, support, and research that is second to none. However, HBCUs are committed to teaching more than academics – they form students in character. William R. Harvey, who served as an administrative leader at Fisk and Tuskegee University and forty-four years as the President of Hampton University, shares twelve principles of success that will assist any educator who desires to help their students obtain success.Harvey’s Principles (paraphrased) include: Never compromise honesty, integrity, respect, trust, and responsible personal behavior. There is no substitute for hard work. Be of service to others. Have a moral compass. Set your goals high and don’t dream small dreams. Never give up. Say NO to distractions. Make positive things happen in your life. You can’t finish a race if you don’t start it. Don’t allow anyone to steal your joy. Be significant in everything you undertake. Believe in yourself.During my visits to the various HBCUs I witnessed Black Excellence. However, the traditional coursework and assignments were not the only strategies for supporting student growth and achievement. I also witnessed across all thirty-two campuses a commitment to producing thriving humans by teaching character development, positive values, perseverance, and strategies for success in their classrooms and in life. This wholistic approach to education – not just focusing on external achievement but on the whole person flourishing from the inside out – is what Black Excellence in education is all about.

Character formation plays a crucial role in enabling students to engage effectively in endeavors related to social justice and civic engagement. I have wrestled for a long time with how best to help students respond to societal challenges such as inequity, prejudice, and discrimination that they face or observe. As an ordained clergy of the Wesleyan Church, I fully embrace my denomination’s rich tradition of social justice. In addition, I seek to live out the belief that humanity can experience deep spiritual transformation that leads one to embody Christlikeness. I integrated these concepts in my teaching very early on in my career. However, I became even more acutely aware of the centrality of character formation to my teaching when I joined the faculty at Indiana Wesleyan University. The University’s mission statement reads, “Indiana Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered academic community committed to changing the world by developing students in character, scholarship, and leadership.” Every semester, I would teach one or two sections of the BIL102—New Testament Survey course as part of the General Education core. One of the purposes of the GenEd core is to help students begin to embrace Indiana Wesleyan’s World Changing mission. In the course in question, I design the learning in alignment with the purpose “to develop and articulate a Christian way of life and learning that enables virtue, servant leadership, and citizenship in God’s Kingdom.” Since every student has to take BIL102, I relish the opportunity to have students from different backgrounds engage the biblical text. During the class, I am intentional about challenging students not only to engage the text but also to encounter the person about whom the text speaks: namely Jesus. In our reading of the Gospel of Mark, I focus particularly on Jesus’s encounters with the marginalized. I use narrative techniques to help students place themselves in the shoes of different characters, and challenge them to wrestle with the implications of reading the text from different vantage points. More particularly, I ask them to name an aspect of Jesus’s identity and character that they can emulate. I remember the day a student described Jesus as “sassy.” I was shocked! I am not a native English speaker. The definition of “sassy” that I learned—rude, impertinent—did not match what I knew of Jesus, nor what I hoped my students would want to emulate. Thankfully, I managed to not voice my initial reaction, “How did you get that from the text?!”, but instead replied, “Tell me more!” The student went on to describe Jesus’s direct and, in her words, “no-nonsense” posture toward people. The student used Jesus’ interaction with the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7 as a case in point. I conceded to the student that Jesus’s words seemed harsh, and I allowed the class to enter and dwell in the awkwardness and difficulties of the narrative. In the end, I was successful in encouraging the student to think of a different way of describing Jesus. My success was short lived. As we journeyed through the Gospel of John, the student became even more convinced of Jesus’s sassiness. I realized that it was necessary for me to pause and grasp the way the student understood the word, and what they were seeing in Jesus’s interactions with people. It dawned on me that Sassy Jesus was appealing because of the balance of truth telling and deep compassion that he displayed. While I struggled initially with the concept, Sassy Jesus eventually became part of the New Testament Survey experience. As I helped students prepare for a lifelong commitment to service and engagement as world changers, the idea of being bold and courageous in telling the truth while showing deep love and compassion began to take root. They found Sassy Jesus to be a relatable person. They found it less difficult to emulate and embody the requisite balance to speak the truth in love. To participate effectively in endeavors surrounding social justice and civic engagement, students need to be resilient and compassionate. It has become more and more difficulty to maintain this balance in public and private life. On the one hand, people hesitate to challenge or call out another person for fear of being viewed as intolerant. On the other hand, there is a tendency to confuse love and compassion with conformity and/or compromise. Jesus mastered the art of welcoming and going to people with whom he disagreed, people who were outcasts, and even people who thought they had everything figured out. He knew how to show them unconditional love and how to challenge them to embrace a better way of life, the way of the Kingdom. One of the greatest challenges we face as educators is to help re-create environments where students not only learn the skills but also develop the character necessary to engage in irenic conversation about difficult issues. We need to design learning opportunities that produce growth and maturity that lead to boldness. We need to construct experiential learning opportunities that build empathy in our students. This will enable them to stand against injustice, prejudice, and discrimination. It will empower them challenge others with the boldness and compassion that come from emulating and embodying the character of Sassy Jesus.