While the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, another crisis happened with the civil unrest after the George Floyd video and the marching for justice. As stated in the Beaumont Enterprise, “What started as a conversation between an African-American mother and her son about the nationwide protests and calls for change in the wake of George Floyd’s death led to a community-wide discussion focused on local youth, hosted by Lamar University”(Windes, 2020).

Being an African American mother, Kathryn Washington, assistant professor in educational leadership, addressed these issues with her son, who was home from college because of the pandemic. He was very upset, disturbed as well as had questions. These concerns and discussions with her son were voiced to her colleague, Kelly Brown, assistant professor in educational leadership, who expressed that other students might need an outlet to give them a voice to process what was going on in the world. The idea of a Town Hall that would raise the voice of students in the Golden Triangle quickly took shape. The initiative was supported by the Dean of the College of Education and plans were moved quickly to supply an outlet for the community.

The objective was simple. The team set out to ensure that Lamar University centers the voices of young men and women focused on positive changes. The Town Hall will also give participants the needed information and resources to be a positive and active change maker.  It was important to help young men and women understand this moment in time and elevate their voices to mobilize for positive actions and sustainable changes.

The goal for the college was to use the resources at Lamar University to support young change makers in their pursuit for equal justice for Black Americans, share knowledge and inspiration from local leaders, activists, and advocates. The audience would extend beyond Lamar University to include High school students in the Golden Triangle area.

Town Hall Organization

Beaumont native and Lamar alumnus (91), Dr. Washington, reached out to the community area leaders. They were very excited to give their support and knowledge towards this effort with names of leaders, not only in the area, but also across the nation that had ties to the Golden Triangle. This effort yielded a phenomenal list of panelists that included local, state and national experts who have and continue to work for change.

·       Dr. Ken Evans, President of Lamar University

·       Ehsan Zaffar, U.S. Department of Homeland Security- Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (Virtually via Teams)

·       Zena Stephens, Sheriff of Jefferson County

·       John Eugene, President 100 Black Men Beaumont Chapter

·       Michael Cooper, President NAACP

·       Zenobia Bush, National Council of Negro Women

·       Dr. Shannon Allen, Superintendent BISD

·       Dr. Rahn Bailey, Asst. Dean- UCLA/Charles R. Drew University School of Medicine/Bailey Psychiatric Associates (Virtually via Teams)

·       Rev. Oveal Walker III, Pastor of Mount Cavalry Missionary Baptist Church

·       Karlton Johnson, Kinesiology- Teacher Education

·       Kynnedi Jackson, Beaumont United High School -Top Teen

 Furthermore, the committee wanted to have more intimate breakout sessions for students and by students.  The themes ranged from: Crucial Conversations, Women in the Movement, and Mobilization for Changemakers.

Crucial Conversations- Creating spaces to hold conversations that will be heard, and impact change is a cornerstone of mobilization and momentum.  Utilizing human capital, technology and social media can move the conversation forward. What ideas can streamline this process and keep the conversation focused on meaningful change?

The conversation addressed questions on how would one from another race can ask to help, what and how to use of social media to promote the movement, how to have more access to African American history in the curriculum and why the use of the n-word is so offensive to some, but not to others. This was an exciting discussion between the panel of students, faculty and local/national community leaders. Connections were made to continue the support of students as they move forward in their role as changemakers for a better society.

Women in the Movement- Women are often the backbone of the movement for racial justice. Taking on this role and ensuring the sustainability of Black women for duration of the struggle is the focus of this conversation.  What unique role can Black women play to continue the movement towards justice?

The conversation addressed a variety of topics from colorism, HBCU’s, respect, and honoring diverse constituents.  The panel of students and alumni were engaging, thoughtful, and honest.  Too many times, black women are not respected for the role they have played in current and past movements.  The conversation and support will definitely continue.

Mobilizing- After protests and other organized efforts, the focus needs to shift to coordinating sustainable change. This often includes educating leaders on racial equality and equity, bringing awareness to becoming an informed voter and constructive ways to hold elected officials accountable.

The conversation addressed the importance of voting as a student on a college campus, other races involved and supporting change movements, and ways to spread the word through social media platforms. In addition, overcoming voter apathy, youth participation and accountability through organization and planning with goals for sustainable change. The panelists of community leaders were thrilled to hear students eager to listen and learn how to mobilize for the next generation of changemakers.  

The Ripple Effect

At the end of our Town Hall, we announced that the College of Education and Human Development would develop a Task Force that will focus on student’s success to help them navigate to graduate. One of the first activities is to organize a voter registration drive on campus and form a Collegiate 100 chapter focused toward mentoring African American male students. The University also began a Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, Access and Equity. 

This was also a great networking opportunity for students. Several of our community panelists want to keep in touch with Lamar and students. Mr. Zaffar of the Department of Homeland Security -Community Division, offer students to come to Washington, D.C. by applying for an internship.

We heard from Lamar University Alumni, the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA), and the Texas Council of Women School Executives (TCWSE) that tuned in or watched the recordings. They were impressed with our panelists and students. Also, they said this was a meaningful and much needed discussion.

The High School students have kept in contact and have gone on to form a group of their own with Black Live Matter Voter’s registration drive. One parent reported that the Town Hall helped her daughter find her voice to impact change in her community.

One of our college students want to start up a group on campus to help with recruiting more African American males into the field of education by reaching out on campus and in area high schools. This was truly an eventful experience to help lead the next generation of #changemakers. The recordings are located at https://www.lamar.edu/changemakers.

Appreciations

There was an amazing group of facilitators, students and media team that help with this event that are deserving of special appreciation for their time and expertise.

Breakout Sessions

Crucial Conversations

·       Co-Facilitators- Dr. Kathryn Washington and Dr. Porchanee’ White

·       Community – Zenobia Bush, Zena Stephens, Dr. Rahn Bailey, Ehsan Zaffar, Rev. Oveal Walker, III

·       Students- Kameron Washington, Corey Perkins, Jerron-Micheal Arline, and Jakevian Wilson

Women in The Movement

·       Co-Facilitators - Dr. Kelly Brown and Dr. Lekeitha Morris

·       Lamar Alumni- Nadria Moore

·       Students- Jasmine L Patin and Da’Lacia Jackson

Mobilizing

·       Co-Facilitators - Dr. Johnny O’Connor and Dr. Donna Fong

·       Community- John Eugene, Michael Cooper

·       Students- Karlton Johnson, Kynnedi Jackson, Nancy Smith

Technology

A team of experts from Lamar University and Publicity Departments that help with the logistics from getting the word out to the newspaper, news media for interviews and appearances on the local news and morning show, to the virtual platforms via website, web design and Microsoft Teams. They worked tirelessly to set up all media platforms in the main room to breakout sessions in two additional conference rooms. They also help with ideas on how to incorporate closed caption and signers to make sure the town hall would be accessible to all.

Town Hall Committee:

Kathryn Washington, Assistant Professor -Educational Leadership
Kelly Brown, Assistant Professor- Educational Leadership
Johnny O’Connor, Associate Professor and Interim Chair-Educational Leadership Department
Robert Spina, Dean- College of Education and Human Development
Juan Zabala- Vice President of University Advancement
Shelbe Rodriguez - Public Affairs Manager
Daniel McLemore – Associate Director of Marketing Communications
Patrick Stewart - Sr. Director - IT Infrastructure / Operations 

Written by Dr. Kathryn Washington, Dr. Kelly Brown and Dr. Johnny O'Connor.