Black interns, young professionals, and graduate students from around the DC area convened at Lima, a popular restaurant in downtown Washington for the second annual Ascension. (Institute scholar Quinton Harper pictured at right with event attendee Erin Meadors)
Running from 6-9 PM, the event proved to be a huge success with over 150 people in attendance. Colleges and universities from all over the country were represented.
Students engaged in conversation concerning everything from their career aspirations to politics. It was a great chance for students to make contacts and socialize with other interns in the area. One person commented to the Institute scholars, “You all did a great job of planning the event. It was well attended and full of successful young professionals and goal-oriented interns.”
Ascension also showcased the growth of the Institute and its dynamic presence in the DC area. It directly coincided with the Institute’s mission of forging strong, black individuals who will make significant contributions to society by providing them with necessary tools such as networks and contacts. As a result of the success of the past two summers, Ascension will now be an annual event that each class at the Institute can plan and benefit from.
The students visited the White House to witness the official welcoming ceremony for the Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi.
The ceremony included a 19-gun salute, a military color guard, an Air Force brass band, and drum corps dressed in Revolutionary era uniform. (Institute scholars Fred Jones and Justin Wilson pictured at right on the South Lawn)
President Bush remarked that the United States and Japan have to remain united in their hard stance toward North Korea’s nuclear weapons’ testing plans. The President stated that it would be “unacceptable” for North Korea to launch a long-range missile for testing.
President Bush also joked of their impending visit to Graceland saying, “officially he is here to meet with the president, but I know the highlight of his visit will be paying his respects to the King."
Koizumi, one of Bush’s closest friends on the world stage, will be stepping down from office in September.
After the closing bell on Wall Street, eight key executives at Friedman Billings Ramsey briefed our students on the various aspects of the company, which is involved with investment banking, institutional brokerage and asset management.
The speakers included Maurice McKenzie, Vice President for Research; and Damon Munchus, Vice President, Investment Banking; and Doris McGhee, Senior Vice President, Human Resources. The briefing was hosted by Richard Walker, Vice President for Corporate Giving.
FBR is one of the fastest growing companies in America and one of the most active Initial Public Offering underwriters in the country.
Former civil rights leader, Congressman John Lewis met with this year’s junior class about the importance of leadership.
After the scholars watched a movie about Congressman John Lewis’s life, Congressman Lewis spoke about his experiences as a young civil rights leader. He referred to the March at Selma, sit-ins, and his experiences as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) as a way of expressing the battles that he and many other young African American leaders faced in their efforts to battle Jim Crow segregation.
In response to several questions that were asked by the students, Congressman Lewis stated that strong leaders “find a way to get in the way” in order to make change.
Ronald Arthur Sarasin, President of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society and a former Representative from Connecticut, led the Institute’s scholars on a private tour of the Capitol this morning.
The tour included Statuary Hall, the Rotunda and the Supreme Court chambers, which were in use from 1819 to 1860. The scholars also had the rare privilege of sitting on the floor of the House of Representatives.
On the floor, Sarasin discussed the history of the institution and pointed out many of the special features of the hall, such as the way the names of the members of Congress are illuminated on a wall panel for voting.
Students from the Institute interested in foreign service visited the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives guidance from the Secretary of State and advances US foreign policy objectives. USAID was first created in 1961 after President John F. Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act into law.
USAID focuses primarily on long-term economic and social development and offers direct support to developing nations.
Joseph Duggan, Senior Policy Advisor, met with students and encouraged volunteer service in organizations such as the Peace Corps, where passionate individuals travel overseas to volunteer for two years in various developing countries.
Jocelyn Rowe, Executive Director of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid, Chad E. Hayward, Senior Advisor for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and Sean Michael McClure, Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean spoke with the students as well.
Admiral Barry C. Black, the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate and the Senate’s first African American Chaplain, made a great impact on the junior class. The Chaplain hosted the students in his Capitol office, which has a most impressive view of the monuments along the national mall. (Black is pictured at right with Institute scholar Calvin Hadley)
Black, who has earned two doctoral degrees and three master’s degrees, encouraged the students to take extra measures to be prepared for the opportunities that God has in store for them. He also encouraged them to live lives of integrity.
In addition to exhaustive preparation and commitment to integrity, he attributed his achievements to “the force” of God’s dominion in his life.
He showed the students numerous photos he had taken with many notable figures such as President George W. Bush and civil rights legends Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King. Additionally, he shared some of the experiences the position as Senate Chaplain has afforded him, such as speaking at the Presidential Inauguration and Parks’s funeral.
Despite his highly successful career and his innumerable accolades, Black remains humble and disciplined, making him a paradigm for responsible citizenship.
This marks Black’s second meeting with the Institute’s students.
In her chambers at the United States Court of Appeals, Judge Janice Rogers Brown asked the Institute’s seniors, “What does Superman fight for?” She continued, “I think we would agree on the definitions of ‘truth’ and ‘justice,’ but what is ‘the American way?’” With that, she began a stimulating hour-long discussion.
Judge Brown was confirmed to the District of Columbia Circuit on June 8 of last year.
Prior to coming to Washington, she spent nine years on the California Supreme Court, where she earned the reputation of being a brilliant and fair jurist, committed to the rule of law. In her most recent election, she was returned to the Court with the approval of 76 percent of California voters. She served on the California Supreme Court, beginning in May 1996, when her historic appointment made her the first African-American woman to sit on that court. From 1994 to 1996, she served on an intermediate California appellate court.
Prior to her judicial appointments, Justice Brown worked as Legal Affairs Secretary to California Governor Pete Wilson and served as the Deputy Secretary and General Counsel for the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. She also was a Deputy Attorney General in the Office of the California Attorney General for eight years.
In addition to her commitment to public service, Judge Brown has participated in a variety of important efforts, including the California Commission on the Status of African-American Males, which made recommendations on how to address inequities in the treatment of African-American males in employment, business development, and the criminal justice and health care systems.
Justice Brown’s personal story is an inspiring example of the American dream. She was born to sharecroppers in Greenville, Alabama and attended segregated schools. She grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories about NAACP lawyer Fred Gray, who defended Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks. Her experience as a child of the South motivated her to become a lawyer and devote her life to public service. When she was in her teens, her family moved to Sacramento, California. She eventually received her B.A. in economics from California State University in Sacramento and her law degree from the UCLA School of Law.
This year, for the first time, the White House exposed the Institute’s scholars to its youngest African American staff members.
Tina Hervey, who has worked in the Office of Public Liaison and the Office of the Press Secretary, spoke to the students about her background and how she worked her way up from poverty to success at the White House. She also discussed her motivations for supporting President George W. Bush.
Paris Dennard, 22, discussed his experiences during the 2004 Election and his ensuing opportunity to work in the White House Office of Political Affairs.
Lucas Boyce, Deputy Associate Director of Public Liaison, spoke to the students about the importance of hard work and forging relationships. Boyce organized and hosted the briefing, which took place in the Indian Treaty Room, the most ornate and expensive room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Several treaties were signed in this room, including the Bretton Woods Treaty establishing the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Charter. Additionally, President Eisenhower hosted the first “live” televised presidential press conference from the Indian Treaty Room on January 19, 1955. Today the room is used for meetings, receptions, and other ceremonies.
North Carolina Superior Court Judge Ola Lewis visited the Institute today to discuss ethics. The judge began her presentation by telling the Institute’s scholars, how refreshing it was for her to spend time with high achievers, since so many of the young men she encounters are facing criminal prosecution.
While her remarks were primarily focused on the broad application of ethical principles, Judge Lewis provided much anecdote from her experience on the bench. She spoke about the importance of being ethical in decision-making, and stressed how unethical behavior can ruin an otherwise promising career.
For the fourth summer, Justice Clarence Thomas spoke with the Institute’s first year students at the Supreme Court.
As in past years, the Justice made a compelling case to the students that the role of the Supreme Court is to defend the Constitution, not to legislate.
He also spoke to the students about his childhood in rural Georgia and the sacrifices that his grandparents and many friends made to enable him to leave the Jim Crow South and be educated at the College of the Holy Cross and Yale Law School. (pictured at left is the junior class outside of the Supreme Court)
The students asked Justice Thomas many pointed questions during the ninety minute session about education, race, and the workings of the Supreme Court. To one question about the lingering effects of slavery on African Americans, Justice Thomas replied, “black on black crime and illegitimacy rates are rampant today, but almost unheard of for my grandfather’s generation. My grandfather knew slavery, but he never used slavery as an excuse for anything. Why should your generation?”
Justice Thomas went on to say that racism will always exist, but urged the scholars to never let racism prevent them from achieving their ambitions.
After the discussion, Calvin Hadley, a junior at Howard University stated that “my eyes were opened to the reality of the life of a public figure. Before meeting Justice Thomas, I had a preconceived notion of what he would be like, but that all changed after talking with him and seeing that he was an honest, caring, and intelligent person.”
Institute members Elijah Heyward, John Saunders, and Bernard Holloway recently participated in “Keepers of the Dream: Advancing Research Policy & Practice in Urban Education” at Yale University. The conference was hosted by the division of Psychiatry at Yale’s School of Medicine. Participants discussed the current status of urban education and ways to improve it. Keynote speakers were Jonathan Kozol, a nationally acclaimed author and educator, and Dr. Edmund Gordon, a social activist and psychologist who studied under the legendary W.E.B. DuBois.
The conference was attended by educators from all over the United States.
On Friday, Heyward moderated a workshop entitled, “Curriculum Enrichment for Urban School Teachers”, which focused on mathematics and sciences. Holloway and Saunders served as featured panelists for “The New Crisis in Education: Disengaged Boys,” a panel discussion addressing today’s education policies and the ways in which they affect young men.
Heyward, an alumnus of the Institute, completed his first year as a student at Yale Divinity School last month. He is spending the summer working as a Yale Public Service Fellow. One of his projects was to help organize the conference. In the future, Heyward would like to help African American men achieve their highest potential through creating programs centered on mentorship.
Holloway, a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is also interested in creating programs to help encourage African American youths to excel academically. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, he intends to study education policy as well as become involved in government in his home state. During his high school years, Holloway served as a member on the Prince George’s County, Maryland Board of Education and collaborated with other students to write the book Freedom’s Answer: Too Young to Vote but Old Enough to Lead, which addressed civic engagement and political participation among young people.
Saunders is also interested in education reform. He would like to create educational programs in affordable housing developments to help underserved children get the necessary academic support needed for success. While attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Saunders served as an academic advisor to first year students and worked with the University’s Undergraduate Admissions department to increase the number of minority students on campus. This fall, Saunders will enter New York University’s Robert F. Wagner’s School of Public Service to study Urban Planning.
Nine returning and eleven newly admitted scholars arrived at the Georgetown campus today. Two students, one from each class, who attend Northwestern won't arrive until next week. The students were personally greeted by Adam Barr and John Saunders upon their arrival. The evening ended with a group dinner at Mr. Smiths of Georgetown.
This summer's internship assignments are as follows:
Chris Binns, Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund
Rob Bland, Constituency for Africa
Jay Finch, World Bank Institute
Calvin Hadley, US Department of Labor
Anthony Harbour, NBC Universal
John Harper, National Endowment for the Arts
Quinton Harper, Black Entertainment Television
Julian Hill, US Department of Labor
Bernard Holloway, Friedman Billings Ramsey
Joe Jenkins, US Senator George Voinovich
Fred Jones, US Department of Health and Human Services
Hasa Kingo, AARP Magazine
Stefan Lallinger, Institute of World Politics, US Senator Joe Biden
Chris McKee, Howard Divinity School
James Nortey, Friedman Billings Ramsey
Chuck Redmond, Washington Legal Foundation
Edward Sanders, American Legislative Exchange Council
Ashley Simms, US Helsinki Commission
Derek Sykes, District of Columbia Housing Authority
Mike Varner, Boeing
David Wilford, US Department of Labor
Justin Wilson, Gloucester Institute