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http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1117619972233980.xml&coll=7#continueSouthern college tour proves eye-opening
An annual program by a Portland group starts students' education early by introducing them to historically black schools
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
ANGIE CHUANG
The Oregonian
When asked to describe the feeling of stepping onto the campus of Spelman College in Atlanta for the first time, Portland high school students Nyema Sims and Jane'la Stone use phrases like "culture shock" and "kind of scary."
Even though Sims and Stone are both African American, visiting nine historically black college in the South as part of a recent tour opened their eyes to a world that felt foreign to them. Growing up in predominantly white Portland, they say, you just don't see that many other black people.
When Self Enhancement Inc. conceived of the historically black college and university tour eight years ago, the aim was twofold, said Robin Beavers-Robinson, who leads the annual trip. Staff at the Portland-based education nonprofit wanted to expose their high school students, many of whom are deemed at-risk, to college environments. Secondly, she said, visiting the South gives students a chance to learn about black history and to experience a different racial and social dynamic.
Despite a relatively small African American student population, Portland students often show interest in historically black colleges because they are trying to get in touch with a culture and experience they didn't have here, Beavers-Robinson said. In recent years, as many as 10 percent of students from SEI's programs enrolled in historically black colleges.
Sims and Stone were among the 20 students who went on SEI's college tour this past spring. In 10 days, they visited campuses in Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Texas -- including Morehouse College, Tennessee State University, Alcorn State University and Texas Southern University. They also went to historical landmarks such as the King Center in Atlanta and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, at the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.
In their own words, Sims and Stone describe their experiences on the tour:
Nyema Sims, 17, a junior
at Jefferson High School
I really wanted to get a feel of what college life would be like, and if I was on the right track to get there. I grew up in Portland and hadn't been to the South since I was little.
As soon as we landed in Atlanta, we went to Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College and Morehouse College (three campuses that are joined as a consortium of historically black colleges). There were a lot of African Americans everywhere I looked -- in the bookstores, in the work spaces, in the game rooms.
It was almost a like a culture shock. You just don't see that in Portland. But I just liked the feeling. It was nice and warm and inviting. They really have a lot of Southern hospitality.
We went to the women's center, where they had a class going on. They were just having an open discussion about African American women in today's society -- how they're being treated, how they're rising up and things of that nature. I just think that you can read stuff in a book, but to be in a class where there are so many strong opinions and you're getting real-life experiences -- well, you're just learning a lot of stuff you had no clue about.
Most of the schools we went to, we would meet up with students from Portland who graduated from Benson, Grant or Jefferson and they would tour us around. They said it was good that they left Portland because they're beginning to see a lot of different views of different things.
It seemed like when you were down there, college was the norm and it was something that was cool. It made me feel good to see a lot of African Americans who were going to college and doing something good with themselves.
Personally, the Lorraine Hotel (the site of King's assassination and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis) was the highlight of my trip, to see different re-enactments of racism and to see the hotel preserved exactly how it was when King was ****. It was a little shocking to see all of that.
It makes me appreciate more the people who stood up for themselves and for African Americans to try to do something.
The tour made me see that there's so much you have to do to get into college. For me, now it's not an option not to go to college. If all these people can do it, then I can, too.
Jane'la Stone, 17,
a junior at Grant High School
It was my first time in the South. I've never been on a plane before. I cried all the way to the airport because I was so scared to fly. I didn't know what to do.
When we got to Spelman, I thought that is was so big and there were a lot of African Americans, which I'm not used to. I go to Grant. It was like, "Wow. I'm not noticeable. Everybody's the same."
It was kind of scary. At my school, it's kind of like -- I don't know -- it's like I'm really noticed there. In a way, African Americans are looked up to and imitated. I'm kind of in, but I'm kind of not.
And at Spelman, it was like, "Oh, this is kind of weird." But I felt welcomed after I went to a couple of schools. Everyone there thought it was so strange we were from Oregon. They were saying, "Are there any black people there? Do you live on farms?" I was like, "Duh."
I liked Tennessee State University best. It was so tight. The campus was so huge and the people were so nice. I just loved it. I had never ever thought about going to a historically black college before this. I just planned to go to PCC (Portland Community College) for a couple years and then move to University of Oregon. I used to think I couldn't afford to go out of state. But they told us about all the scholarships they have.
Going to the (National) Civil Rights Museum, I was so shocked. I went to King (Elementary School) and we learned about (Martin Luther King Jr.), but it just wasn't that detailed. It was like, wow, this is really, actually true. I don't know what I would have to do if I had to go through that -- the people who brought their kids to have a picnic during a lynching and stuff like that.
That really got to me.
This trip changed the way I look at colleges in every way. I used to think I was just going to community college. At these schools, it was kind of like if you don't go to college, you're not going to be anything. It opened my eyes that I had to go to college.
Angie Chuang: 503-221-8219; angiechuang@news.oregonian.com.
