Medgar Evers College Top Five 2023 Highlights
2023 proved to be a standout year for Medgar Evers College, and it’s a great preview for 2024
Wow, 2023, what a year at Medgar Evers College.
Hundreds of graduates. Thousands raised at our annual gala. Incredible cultural diversity with both Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month. Continuing to lead by example when it comes to food insecurity, hosting a well-attended summit.
And we’re just getting started.
What do they say about history? You should learn from it, right?
And we are, as 2024 is looking like a beauty already.
Commencement will once again be returning to The Amphitheater at the Coney Island boardwalk on Friday, May 31. Our upcoming Black History Month observances will be jam-packed with lots of events ranging from our Renaissance Festival featuring intimate in-studio dance performances celebrating the African Diaspora and innovation and a screening/Q&A of the Haitian documentary Madan Sara to our annual soul food festival and a special event celebrating the life and achievements of the late Dr. John Flateau.
If you’re considering making Medgar Evers College your home in 2024 (and beyond!), check out some of these amazing 2023 highlights as we fully came out of pandemic restrictions and brought back the MEC energy that is synonymous with our campus.
2023 Commencement
Medgar Evers College held is 52nd Annual Commencement Ceremony on Thursday, June 1, 2023 at The Amphitheater at the Coney Island boardwalk. Following opening remarks by Dr. Patricia Ramsey (MEC President), 2022-23 SGA President Joanna Dorsey introduced Commencement Speaker Lezli Baskerville, Esq. (CEO National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education [NAFEO]). This was followed by the awarding of a Doctor of Letters to Eric Edwards, founder, collector and executive director of the Cultural Museum of African Art-The Eric Edwards Collection. Senior Class President Sherifa Clarke was the Valedictorian and Zhoe Emmanuel was the Associate Degree Scholar for the 780 students who received their Bachelors and Associates degrees along with those earning Nursing certificates at the Spring 2023 Commencement that also included the August 2022, Fall 2022 and January 1, 2023 graduating classes.
Black History Month
The theme for this year’s Black History Month was, “Tell it Like it is: Sampling Black History, Building Black Futures.” A month full of events kicked off with screening of The Sun Rises in the East chronicling the birth, rise and legacy of The East, a pan-African cultural organization founded in 1969 by teens and adults in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and led by educator/activist Jitu Weusi. Moderator Dr. Brenda Greene hosted filmmakers Tayo Giwa and Cynthia Gordy Giwa along with guest speakers Malika Iman and Dr. Segun Shabaka. Other events included a multimedia exhibition called “This BE Us: We Live in Brooklyn, Baby!,” highlighting the works of Brooklyn-based street and studio photographers Jamel Shabazz, Hollis King, Laylah Amatullah Barryn, Kerika Fields, Michael Young, Kisha Johnson, Kay Hickman, videographer Vixon John and Marcia Wilson, who also served as the exhibit’s curator along with Black Live Matters, an showcasing New York-based freelance photographer Chris Cook, who led a discussion about the 150 photos he snapped during the 2021 BLM protests. Other events included a Soul Food Festival, the annual Medgar Evers College Big Read featuring poet/scholar/author Hafizah August Geter and a Black Greek symposium called “The Significance of Membership in Black fraternities and Sororities: Then and Now!”
A major highlight was a panel discussion centered on preeminent director and filmmaker Woodie King Jr., who is also the founder of the New Federal Theatre. King appeared as part of a discussion focusing on his lifelong career and his work as a Black American film and TV director. He also donated a trio of his films—1980’s The Torture of Mothers, 1981’s Death of a Prophet, and 2006’s Segregating the Greatest Generation—to the Medgar Evers College archives.
Hispanic Heritage Month
The key event for Medgar Evers College’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Latina/O/X Voices was held on Friday, October 6. The theme was Transforming the Academic Landscape: a CUNY-wide Interdisciplinary Symposium whose conference strands included “Writing Our Stories: Publishing opportunities and strategies for Latina/o/x Writers and Scholars,” “The Impact of Latina/o/x Identity on Academic Outcomes,” and “Latino/a/x representation in the Arts, Media, and Entertainment Industry.”
Featured speakers were Dr. Patricia Ramsey (MEC President), Marilu Galvez (President/General Manager WABC-TV), and Dr. John A. Gutiérrez (director of the CUNY Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies). Irene Vazquez aw the event’s featured performer poet with Fabio Puentes being the featured Latino visual artist. Panelists included Sonia Rincón (WABC-TV), Saribel Pages (Gallt & Zacher Literary Agency), authors Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa (Daughters of Stone) and Dr. Theresa Varela (Murder in Red Hook), Raesha Cartagena (Chair of Puerto Rican Institute for the Development of the Arts [P.R.I.D.A.]) and Tony-nominated actress/dancer Daphne Rubin-Vega.
The day’s event ended with Sgt. Julio A. Feliu (Borinqueneer) receiving the Medgar Evers College Special Recognition Award for his service during the Korean War from 1950-1953. Feliu subsequently received the Bronze Star for Valor and the 2014 Congressional Gold Medal awarded by President Barack Obama. Rubin-Vega was also honored with the Medgar Evers College Latina Trailblazer of the Year Award.
Food Insecurity Summit
On Wednesday, October 18, the Medgar Evers College Transition Academy and the Food Bank for New York City (FBNYC) hosted the inaugural 2023 College Food Security Summit co-sponsored by the Food Bank For New York City (FBNYC) and Medgar Evers College Transition Academy. The free event featured panel discussions, take-action activities, and networking with academia, community, and government partners on our collective work to empower college students across the city to ensure a food-secure tomorrow.
Opening remarks were provided by Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Camesha Grant (FBNYC VP of Community Impact and Investment), Dr. Jesse Kane (MEC SVP of Student Success and Enrollment Management), Dr. Patricia Ramsey (MEC President), Dr. Waleek Boone (MEC Transition Academy Director) and Leslie Gordon (FBNYC CEO).The day’s keynote speaker was Akbar Cook, who is leading Newark West Side High School as its principal. Cook is also a consultant, mentor, the Amazon best-selling author of Focus on the Love: A Transformative Approach to Organizational Leadership, and a former contestant of The Amazing Race (Season 33).
Dr. Nicholas Freudenberg, a Distinguished Professor at the CUNY School of Health and the Faculty Director of Healthy CUNY, spoke about his research into food insecurity dating back to 2010. Freudenberg most recently did a series of studies in 2018, 2020 and fall 2022, with the most recent results showing that 38 percent of all CUNY students suffer from food insecurity. One of his biggest takeaways was that the most meaningful solution to reduce food insecurity is to enroll people who are eligible into SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and using food pantries, off and on campus, to find out who is SNAP-eligible.
Other speakers included Kate MacKenzie, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, students and food pantry managers at CUNY schools and a number of local elected officials including New York City Councilmember Crystal Hudson, New York State Assembly member Linda Rosenthal and Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Kim Council. There were also presentations on college food security statistics and high school students transitioning to college.
Legends & Legacy Social Justice Scholarship Gala & Dinner
Held on December 7, 2023, this year’s event revolved around the theme of Re-Imagine, Re-Engage and Re-Invest—a call to action for attendees and the local community to rally around Medgar Evers College’s well-known dedication to social justice, a cornerstone of the school’s legacy dating back to its founding. This year’s honorary co-chairs were Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, president of the NAACP New York State Conference and George Hulse, Vice President and Special Advisor to the CEO EmblemHealth. This year’s honorees were Medgar Evers College Community Council President Katie L. Davis (Dr. Albert Vann Leadership Legacy Award), the Honorable Annette M. Robinson (Social Justice Champion Award), the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce (Bridge Builders Award), The Cochran Firm (Sustaining Partner Award), EmblemHealth (Community Investment Champion Award) and The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation (Equity and Impact Award).
Sponsors included EmblemHealth, Paramount, The Cochran Firm, WABC-7 New York, JetBlue, Con Edison, the Center for Law & Social Justice, Estée Lauder andCapri Holdings.
The evening featured a silent auction that included a pair of Jet Blue tickets, a signed New York Giants football and an array of African artwork donated by the estate of Dr. Richard Schuster. The evening raised thousands of dollars and counting for Medgar Evers College.
