Nov. 9: Spelman to House the First Educational Initiative of the Reparations Project

Spelman to House the First Educational Initiative of the Reparations Project

A gift from the Reparations Project, a multifaceted initiative created by the Quarterman & Keller fund, will benefit 10 students from Spelman College, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, who are working to create a more just society.

Housed at Spelman and managed by Cynthia Neal Spence, Ph.D., C’78, associate professor of sociology and director of Spelman’s Social Justice Fellows Program, the Quarterman & Keller Social Justice Scholarship is the first educational initiative supported by the Reparations Project.

"Spelman’s Social Justice Program is excited to partner with Sarah Eisner and Randy Quarterman and the Reparations Project. This new initiative will continue to build upon the legacy of the College," said Dr. Spence. "We have always supported anti-racist work and community transformation toward a more just and equitable society. It will be very exciting to work with fellows representing the Atlanta University Center, as we commit to social justice scholar activism."

Scholars will engage in oral history work focused on amplifying the voices of families descended from enslaved Africans. They will also chronicle the history of the Quarterman family, whose roots tie back to Port Wentworth and Savannah, Georgia.

Spelman Alumnae Victorious After Election Night

Several Spelman alumnae made "a choice to change the world," and were victorious in their political campaigns during the 2020 election cycle.

From Texas to Alabama, Georgia, and beyond, graduates of the College were elected to city councils and state Supreme Courts, and as distract attorneys.

In Chatham County, Georgia, Shalena Cook Jones, C’99, was the projected winner of the District Attorney’s race, beating out the incumbent Meg Heap. Kim Brown, C’90, was elected judge of the 254th District Court in Dallas County, Texas.

"I am so humbly thankful to God and appreciative of my family, friends, and voters for granting me this opportunity to serve Dallas County as your next Judge of the 254th District Court," Brown said via Facebook after the results were announced. "Now is when the real work begins... for children and families."

In addition, Monica Purdy, C’89, was elected District Judge in the 95th Judicial District of Dallas County; Rhetta Andrews Bowers, C’89, was elected to represent District 113 in the Texas House of Representatives; and Te’iva Johnson Bell, C’2002, was elected judge of the 339th Criminal District Court in Houston.

This summer, Ciara C. Smith, C'2020, was victorious in her run for city council in her hometown of Anniston, Alabama, and in Georgia’s Fulton County, Magistrate Judge Melynee Leftridge Harris, C’88, won a seat on the Superior Court.

SpelHouse Students Find Ways to Connect During COVID-19

Even though she had to be away from campus due to coronavirus and the global pandemic, Nina Greene, C’2024, felt it was necessary to find a way to be connected with her classmates.

As a result, on Oct. 3, 2020, she organized a SpelHouse event for some of her classmates in the Washington, D.C., area to have a chance to build community.

"As a freshman, I noticed that the academic portion of our college experience started but not the social aspect," she said. "I thought it would be important to host this event to bring us together and so we could meet one another in person."

For most of the guests, it was their first-time meeting in person. Despite having to keep the numbers low due to social distancing guidelines, Greene said they had a great time getting to know each other and interacting.

"We were sure to follow the Washington, D.C. social distancing guidelines and allowed a maximum of 25 people. We took everyone’s temperature when they entered and made sure that everyone who attended wore masks," said Greene. "It is our intention to stay in touch and get together again."

Spelman’s Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM to Host its Second COVID-19 Virtual Discussion

The second session of the Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM’s "Women in STEM Speaker Series," will feature a panel of Spelman alumnae scientists and mathematicians who are making scientific strides during the COVID-19 crisis.

"Spelman on the Front Line," moderated by COE-MWS Director Tamara Pearson, Ph.D., C’96, will take place at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 10, via Zoom.

Panelists will discuss COVID-19 vaccine development and dissemination, translating scientific information for a general audience, and the added responsibility of Black scientists' shoulder in advocating for their communities.

Panelists include Jessica Coates, C’2013, Insight Health Data Science Fellow at Emory University; Dawn Griffin, Ph.D., C’90, program manager for the National Center for Health Marketing located at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Janina Jeff, Ph.D., C’2007, senior bioinformatics scientists for Illumina and host of the "In Those Genes Podcast;" and Shelby Wilson, Ph.D., C’2006, senior data scientist for the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University.

Registration is now open for the event, co-hosted by the College’s Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement program. For more information visit Spelman.edu.

Alumna Named 2021 Co-Chair of Annual Breakfast Named for Bayard Rustin and Audre Lorde

Hillary Williams-Thomas, C’2002, has been named one of two new co-chairs of the annual Bayard Rustin/Audre Lorde Breakfast.

Sponsored by the Southern Unity Movement, Inc., the Bayard Rustin/Audre Lorde breakfast is held each year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to celebrate the social justice activity taking place in the metro Atlanta area.

The breakfast began in 2000 as the Bayard Rustin Breakfast, but was changed some years later to include Audre Lorde for her work and commitment to gender and sexuality equity. Lorde donated her papers to the Spelman Archives in 1995 and last year, through a generous gift from Jon Stryker, the College established an endowed chair in queer studies named for Lorde.

Williams-Thomas currently serves as the associate state director of advocacy and outreach for AARP, Georgia. In her role, she focuses on LGBTQ outreach, fraud prevention and federal lobbying. Williams-Thomas has 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector through her work with the Atlanta Bar Association, as well as years of experience in teaching in Atlanta Public Schools.