VGCC Guest Speakers Celebrate Black History Month

In February, Vance-Granville Community College welcomed a series of four guest speakers to its Main Campus as part of the college’s month-long celebration of Black History. The first speaker was Rob Jiggetts, a public health educator from the Granville-Vance District Health Department. He spoke in the Civic Center on Feb. 8 about health issues facing the African American community. Jiggetts has worked as a health educator and trainer for the past twenty years, including stints with the New York City Department of Health, the New York City Board of Education, the Washington D.C. Health Department, Howard University and other faith/community-based organizations. Jiggetts is a graduate of Brooklyn College in New York City. He calls himself a “city/country boy” because while growing up in New York City, he spent many summers visiting relatives in the Henderson area.VGCC welcomed Vance County commissioner, businesswoman and author Deborah F. Brown on Feb. 13. Brown, who currently serves as chairperson of the Vance County Board of Commissioners, was the second of four guests scheduled to speak to VGCC students, faculty and staff. In her presentation, Brown discussed black history and her 2004 book, Dead-End Road, which tells the story of her father-in-law, the late Jasper Brown. Jasper Brown fought to improve public education and to desegregate North Carolina schools. Deborah Brown said that her husband told her about Jasper, including a harrowing incident in which he thought he might be lynched, when they first met, but it has taken her many years to finish writing it. Brown is currently working on another book, this one chronicling the life and death of her son, Lunsford Brown II, who was killed while serving in the military in Iraq.Brown encouraged her audience to make Black History part of their everyday life. “Don’t ever stop learning about history — your history and the history of other people — because we’re all in this together,” she said.The series of speakers continued Feb. 22 with Jimmie E. Ford, a member of the North Carolina Board of Community Colleges, retired Wayne Community College administrator and former state legislator. Ford was accompanied by J.D. Evans, a former chairman of the Wayne County board of Commissioners and an Oxford native. Ford noted that he is a motivational speaker by trade, and his aim was to use black history as a source of motivation. “See what your ancestors did — they lived and died to make life better for all of us,” Ford reminded the audience of students, faculty and staff. “Black History Month is a time to evaluate yourself and get motivated,” Ford went on. “We gain strength from knowing the struggles of previous generations. The time from emancipation through the 1960s made it difficult for many people to dream the American Dream,” he recalled. Ford said that Martin Luther King, among others, brought to the United States a message that people of all races must work together as brothers and sisters. He encouraged students to continue their education. “Knowledge is powerful — you can’t take it away,” Ford said. “You should stay at Vance-Granville because you want to be here. You should study because you know that education is your gateway to the future.”Dr. Jesse Harris, retired Dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland, rounded out the series on Feb. 27. In a speech entitled “From Slavery to Freedom – Where will you get off?” Harris told his audience, which included representatives of local departments of Social Services, that he could report many encouraging statistics about African Americans today. “But there is still work to do,” Harris advised, “and it is up to young people to fight for justice just like those who came before.” Harris is a retired U.S. Army colonel who earned his master’s degree at the University of Maryland School of Social Work in 1971 and a doctorate in 1976. Harris was appointed chief of social work services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1985 and was later a social work consultant to the U.S. Army surgeon general, making him the Army’s highest ranking social worker. He is the recipient of two Army Commendation Medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Surgeon General’s “A” designator, and the Army Legion of Merit. Harris demonstrated the various ways that serving in the military was a pathway to freedom for previous generations of African Americans, starting with the Revolutionary War. The military also reflected the larger culture, however, since blacks served in segregated units until the Korean War, Harris said. Harris also recounted the history of African Americans taking pride in sports stars, including Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson. Citing a more recent example, Harris remarked, “Many people don’t remember the teams that played in the recent Super Bowl, but they do remember that both teams had black head coaches. Many African Americans, including myself, were proud of that. On the other hand, this is more than fifty years after Jackie Robinson, so it shows that some things have taken many years, more than we might have predicted.”In addition to the guest speakers, the college’s Black History subcommittee (part of the Global Awareness committee) arranged for artwork to be displayed in Building 7 on the college’s main campus, and for black history facts to be featured on the college’s website (www.vgcc.edu). Global Awareness committee chair and Vance-Granville Dean of Business Technologies Jo Anna Jones thanked Workforce Investment Act program director Sylvia Jones for leading the Black History subcommittee.Above: Retired University of Maryland School of Social Work dean Jesse Harris (center) speaks with VGCC Black History subcommittee chair Sylvia Jones (left) and Daniel Alvarado, VGCC Director of Counseling and a member of that committee, after his presentation to students, faculty and staff in the VGCC Civic Center on Feb. 27. (VGCC Photo)