The 2015 Stanford Black Alumni Summit offers inspiration, rededication

Earlier this month, about 325 black alumni gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, for the 2015 Stanford Black Alumni Summit, hosted by the Stanford National Black Alumni Association. The event was an opportunity for alumni to reconnect and reflect, not only on their time on the Farm but also on their role as global citizens in the future.

Building on the success of the group’s first summit in New York in 2013, the theme of the second summit was “Rising to the Occasion: Answering the Call for Leadership in the Black Community.” With 10 panel discussions ranging from career advancement to alumni service to “parenting while black,” the two-day event provided a lot of food for thought.

One of the primary goals of the summit was to bring together alumni from all disciplines and class years, with special emphasis on engaging young alumni. To that end, participants represented classes from 1960 to 2014 and they came from across the country and beyond – including Bermuda, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Among the keynote speakers were MICHAEL TUBBS, ’12, who gained national prominence when he became the youngest person in the history of Stockton, California, to be elected to the city council. Dr. HILDA HUTCHERSON, ’76, director of the Center for Sexual Health at Columbia University and associate dean for diversity and minority affairs at that institution’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, gave a keynote address about sexuality in the black community. DERECA BLACKMON, ’91, a diversity consultant, led an interactive activity called Beyond the Line, modeled after Crossing the Line, the community-building program for undergraduates sponsored by Residential Education.

HARRY ELAM, vice provost for undergraduate education, and JAN BARKER ALEXANDER, associate dean of students and director of the Black Community Services Center, shared updates from campus.

There also was plenty of time for socializing, including a mixer at Morehouse College and an Ujamaa party at a local club, where alumni partied and also watched the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. There also was a tour of Atlanta’s historic civil rights sites.

During the summit, Barker Alexander and JAMES JORDAN, ’93, senior manager of regional and diversity outreach for the Stanford Alumni Association, were honored with the Stanford National Black Alumni Association 2015 Summit Award. This award was presented to each of them to honor and recognize their “excellent service to the Stanford black community.”

Describing the summit as “amazing and uplifting,” Elam noted that attendees recognized the need to support their alma mater and “explored different ways that they could give back to and still be involved with Stanford.”

Despite the wide range of diverse panel topics, organizers wrote in a recap of the weekend: “A common theme reverberated throughout the summit from the beginning to the end. That theme was black alumni have power and synergy in numbers, and we need to leverage that power to bring about positive change within our communities.” The recap added that the summit ended with a call to action to address educational, judicial and police reform and that committees are being formed to find solutions to the issues addressed by the panel.