June 22: $40M Gift From Patty Quillin and Reed Hastings Will Fund 200 Full Scholarships

$40M Gift From Patty Quillin and Reed Hastings Will Fund 200 Scholarships
Over the next 10 years, 200 first-year students will be able to attend Spelman College with a full, four-year scholarship thanks to a generous gift from philanthropists Patty Quillin and her spouse, Reed Hastings, co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Netflix.
Quillin and Hastings have awarded a total of $120 million to Spelman, Morehouse College and the United Negro College Fund. Each institution will receive $40 million.
Spelman will use its allocation to fund a scholarship named for Dovey Johnson Roundtree, C’38, a civil rights and criminal defense attorney whose groundbreaking 1955 bus desegregation case helped dismantle the practice of separate but equal.
"This historic gift in response to the historic moment we’re experiencing comes from two people who care deeply about education, equity and the future of our country. We are enormously grateful for this affirmation of the importance of the work that HBCUs do to educate the next generation of Black leaders," said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman.

Kayla Smith, C’2021, Reflects on Atlanta’s Protest Environment With WABE’s Rose Scott
During a recent episode of WABE’s "Closer Look with Rose Scott," Kayla Smith, C’2021, reflected on protests against racial injustice across Atlanta and the world. Smith, founder of Spelman’s official podcast The Blue Record, believes that the best part of the current movement is that it recognizes the intersectionality of oppression.
"This country, that exudes these principles of democracy and liberation and freedom, has never prioritized human dignity," she said. "We are so used to violence in this nation. Our history is rooted in violence. In our current state, human dignity is not the priority and that is the concern," Smith said during the discussion, which aired on Friday, June 5.
There is a perception that the current generation is not organized or clear about the issues that are important to them, the social justice fellow said.
"To the elders... we want them to know that we hear you. We see you. We were inspired by you. We want to take up that mantle that you haven’t stopped carrying," Smith said. "But we recognize we are in a new generation. We are in a new time. We are in a digital space. What we are doing is not to disrespect or belittle the work you have done, but to add to it with a new voice."

Dr. Yasmine Espert, Visiting Art History Professor, Writes About Photography and Racial Justice in Recent Article

Photos may never die, but according to Yasmine Espert, Ph.D., visiting professor of art history, the stories behind photos have the potential to fade.
In her recent article, commissioned by Annette Joseph-Gabriel for Public Books, "Can Photography be Decolonial?" Dr. Espert focuses on the relationship between visual culture and racial justice. She points out that while photography can capture a moment, in some instances it cannot always tell the full story.
"It takes an attentive spectator to imagine what’s beyond the frame," she wrote. "The story behind a photograph may be aspirational or marked by confrontation. Investigating the (decolonial) possibilities of each story takes time, and it takes guts to process what’s recovered."
Dr. Espert’s scholarly and curatorial interests include cinema, ritual, sexuality, the fiber arts, and the research methods of scholar-artists. Her dissertation, "The Cinema of Social Dreamers: Artists and Their Imaginations Return to the Caribbean," investigates popular and experimental films by Caribbean women. Her writing has been featured by the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Museum of Modern Art.

Alumna Named Executive Director of National Student Voting Organization

As the new executive director of the Andrew Goodman Foundation, Alexandria Harris, C’2004, will lead the expansion of the non-profit's efforts to increase student voting. In her role, Harris will oversee the strategic and sustainable growth of the organization, which works to increase student voter participation and protect voting rights by training college students to increase voter turnout on their campuses.
"When I was a freshman at Spelman, I experienced voter suppression first-hand when I was turned away from the polls during the 2000 presidential election. It was my first-time voting, and I will never forget how crushed I felt that my vote would not be counted. I turned my anger and disappointment into organizing my campus and community," said Harris. "All around this country, there are millions of young people who want to participate in the democratic process. Every election matters and every student voter matters. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work to ensure that no student feels as defeated as I did when I cast my first ballot."