For 93-year-old Verlie Decay and 91-year-old Hortense Reine, attending Xavier University of Louisiana was more than a chance at a degree—it was a gateway to opportunity in a segregated city. The two alumni recall creating their own social and cultural spaces, forming lifelong friendships and finding purpose in careers shaped by the barriers of their time.
Category: Education
Posted inEducation
Where Black students find racial healing on campus
Four Black recent college graduates reflect on the spaces that helped them process racial stress and feel whole. By Aaliyah Amos Word In Black On many college campuses, Black students navigate racial stress without spaces designed to help them heal from it. So when those spaces do exist, Black students say they can be transformative. […]
Posted inEducation
Perfect homework, blank stares: Why colleges are turning to oral exams to combat AI
By Jocelyn Gecker AP Education Writer The assignment involves no laptop, no chatbot and no technology of any kind. In fact, there’s no pen or paper, either. Instead, students in Chris Schaffer’s biomedical engineering class at Cornell University are required to speak directly to an instructor in what he calls an “oral defense.” It’s a […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Women to watch: A look at the ladies making change at Johns Hopkins University
The AFRO recently spotlighted the Black women making change via their roles at Johns Hopkins University. Take a look at the movers and shakers in public health, policy development and more.
Posted inBaltimore Community
McDaniel College surprises Baltimore City high school seniors with full-tuition scholarships
McDaniel College has awarded five Baltimore City high school seniors with full-tuition scholarships, valued at approximately $200,000 each, as part of the incoming Class of 2030.
Posted inEducation
Meet the women educators creating space and opportunity for youth
Rosalind Cauthen and Dr. Nicol R. Howard are just two of the leading ladies making waves in education by creating spaces where Black youth and communities can thrive. Their work highlights the impact of Black women educators shaping institutions and the next generation.
Posted inBaltimore News
United Way of Central Maryland, Wellpoint Maryland celebrate Read Across America Month with Baltimore scholars
United Way of Central Maryland and Wellpoint Maryland recently partnered for a Read Across America Month event with scholars from Curtis Bay Elementary and Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle Schools in Baltimore City. More than 900 titles were donated, allowing students to choose which books they wanted to take home.
Posted inPrince George's County News
Bowie State, DPSCS spotlight unity, education at Black History Month program
Bowie State University and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services hosted their annual Black History Month program at Jessup Correctional Institution. The day served as a time to spotlight Bowie’s Prison Education Program and the importance of investing in recidivism prevention efforts.
Posted inBlack History
Autherine Lucy Foster’s courage opened doors at the University of Alabama
Autherine Lucy Foster became a civil rights pioneer when the University of Alabama rescinded her 1952 admission after learning she was Black. With legal backing from Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP, she won the right to enroll in 1956, but violent protests led to her suspension and expulsion. Decades later, the university reversed its decision, and Foster earned her master’s degree in 1991. She was later honored by Morgan State University for her role in desegregating higher education.
Posted inObituaries - Baltimore
Funeral set for Rev. Dr. Delores B. Dorsey, trailblazing minister and educator
The Rev. Dr. Delores B. Dorsey, a pioneering minister and longtime Baltimore City kindergarten teacher, died Feb. 8. In 1994, she became the first woman ordained at Wayland Baptist Church. Funeral services will be held Feb. 26 in Baltimore.
Posted inEducation
Judge blocks 47th president’s anti-DEI directive in U.S. schoolsÂ
A federal judge in New Hampshire blocked a directive from the 47th president’s administration that would have forced schools to end DEI programs or risk losing federal funding, ruling it violated educators’ First Amendment rights and was unconstitutionally vague.
Posted inEducation
Ed. Dept. dismissed 90 percent of discrimination cases, report says
A Government Accountability Office report found that the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights dismissed about 90 percent of discrimination complaints in 2025 after the Trump administration laid off nearly half its staff. Advocates warn the cuts have left students unprotected, allowed serious cases of racial and disability discrimination to go unresolved, and cost taxpayers up to $38 million while employees were paid but barred from working.