From the Desk of the President

On Feb. 26, 2022, I attended a Black History Month Drive-Thru at Steelton-Highspire High School (SHHS) for more than two hours and engaged with many students, including several who are part of our Harrisburg Promise program. Many of these students staffed booths in the gymnasium highlighting their artwork (as seen in the middle photo below this article) and pop-up displays of prominent Black people who significantly contributed to American history.

As I walked away from this student-sponsored event, facilitated by a former HACC student who now teaches at the high school, I began to think about how my engagement with these teenagers – coupled with a month of reading, reflecting and conversing with many Black HACC students, colleagues and community members on topics such as racial justice and empowerment – have provided me additional insights into my lack of information and unconscious biases. Here are my brief action-oriented reflections:

We need to continue to evaluate the structures at HACC to determine how structures of domination and racial power have embedded systemic racism in our shared governance policies (SGP), for example. INSIGHT: A thorough review of our SGPs will need to occur to ensure each of them are written from an equity lens that upholds our core value of inclusivity.

We need to relearn history and the impact of Black culture to better understand how this country and many of our communities were influenced and built by African Americans. INSIGHT: In 1904, George Edwin Taylor ran for president of the United States as the first Black candidate of the National Negro Liberty Party.

We need to understand, through our relearning of history, how we got to where we are, how Black lives have and continue to influence us and what we need to do to address so many challenging issues that still exist to realize Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. INSIGHT: Black history is American history. We need to ensure it is integrated into our curriculum to reduce who controls the dissemination of knowledge so it is not relegated to one month out of the year but to every month of the year.

We need to become more informed about the history and current issues facing voting within the African American population. INSIGHT: Numerous studies have been conducted uncovering evidence of basic impediments to the ballot for Black voters. From my readings, it seems as if the “deep wounds of Jim Crow endure, leaving America’s democratic promise unfulfilled,” the Atlantic Monthly, July 2018.

We need to realize that during Black History Month, a specific theme is always selected. This year, the theme focuses on the importance of Black Health and Wellness. According to Association for the Study of African American Life and History, this theme acknowledges the legacy of not only Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of serving(examples: birth workers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths and herbalists). INSIGHTS:

4. • Over the past two years, we have read about the historical health-care disparities African Americans have suffered throughout our history as well as those highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

   • Did you know that HACC has only had one full-time Black professor of nursing in our College’s history? 

We need to better understand the rich heritage, culture, achievements/accomplishments and adversities African Americans have and still experience. INSIGHT: From the first photo at the bottom of this article, this sophomore student enthusiastically educated me about the contributions of:

4. • Harriett Tubman who led

   • Ruby Bridges who learned

   • Maya Angelou who wrote

   • Mae Jemison who shot for the stars

   • Jackie Robinson who played

   • DJ Kool Herc who sang

We need to remember that slavery has deeply influenced our culture. It influenced the adoption of some of the language of our Constitution and state and local laws. It caused racism. INSIGHT: As we read in our social media feeds almost daily, the vestiges of slavery remain evident in our criminal justice system, educational institutions and healthcare systems, and in the punitive discipline and discrimination that our Black colleagues, students and friends are disproportionately subjected to throughout this country.

We need to better understand what role students played in the civil rights movement and what role they can play today in dismantling power structures that are not equitable for all. INSIGHT: Four-in-10 Black eligible voters are Millennials or GenZers.

I, as the president and CEO of HACC, will use my White privilege to ensure:

4. • Our College’s culture is inclusive for ALL

   • We eliminate systemic racism from our policies

   • HACC’s values embrace diversity, inclusion and belonging

   • Safe spaces are created especially when members of our Black community experience a traumatizing event triggering feelings of grief, anger and hurt

   • I listen and act, when appropriate

   • I promote anti-racism in all my words and actions

   • I double down on calling out microaggressions and unconscious biases and humbly accept being called out when I express them

   • Workplace inclusion policies support our workers’ needs

   • We eliminate internal isolation for our employees of color

So, as we conclude Black History Month, let us continue learning about the rich Black culture we have been exposed to throughout the month of February

and how each of us can better integrate it into our personal and professional lives. More importantly, let us integrate it into the fabric of our teaching and learning community 365 days a year! 

From the book, This is the Life: Mindfulness, Finding Grace and the Power of the Present Moment, Terry Hershey.

Messiness exposes vulnerability. I will admit, vulnerability is not my strong suit. I do prefer self-sufficiency. And rising above. And yet, self-reliance sounds laudable, but can be an obstacle, because it is difficult to say the words “help” or “thank you.” So, here’s the good news: There is power in embracing vulnerability. And vulnerability never exempts us form the sacrament of the present. Because vulnerability allows us to rest in that touch, that blessing