Howell Speaks to Hillside High Teens

Howell Speaks to Hillside High Teens

HistoryMakers is a national non-profit educational institution with a mission of preserving African American history through creating, maintaining and providing easy access to an extensive archive of video and oral interviews and presentations. The institute was founded in 1999 by Julieanna Richardson who now serves as the Director and on the Board of Directors of The HistoryMakers. Dr. Richardson received a B.A. degree from Brandeis University and a J.D. from the Harvard School of Law. She worked as a corporate lawyer before starting her production company, SCTN Teleproductions, which served as the production arm of C-SPAN.

The Back toSchool program is one of several public education activities  that utilizes the enormous network of African American educators and professions to inspire, broaden and teach young people in many fields. At the beginning of the school year The HistoryMakers annual Back to School program puts black leaders (those in the HistoryMakers archive) in direct contact with students across the nation to tell their stories and to encourage students to excellence. The program began in 2010 with 200 HistoryMakers in 107 Schools in 50 Cities in 25 States. In 2011 the program more than doubled - bringing 458 HistoryMakers into 286 Schools in 112 Cities in 35 States. 2011 Participating HistoryMakers ranged in age from 40 to 100 years old and represented a diverse range of professional backgrounds; from artists, musicians, and business leaders to politicians, religious leaders, and scientists. For more information about The HistoryMakers and their education initiatives visit their website.

This September was the second time that Professor Calvin Howell has participated in the Back to School with The HistoryMakers program at Hillside High School in Durham, NC. Howell's participation in the Back to School program is part of this effort to encourage minority students to consider curricula that will prepare them for college and majors in STEM areas. This article in the Herald Sun reports on the Back to School with The HistoryMakers at Hillside High School in this September. In addition to Howell, the students met with Professor Kenneth Rodgers, director of the North Carolina Central University Art Museum, and Mr. Herman Foushee, president of Foushee’s Business Management Services Inc.

Photo credit: The Durham Herald-Sun