Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hbcu Tour topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Robbinsdale students recap HBCU college tour and museum visits to the school board
Summary
Students who participated in a spring HBCU research and travel course described visits to Howard, Morgan State, Hampton and Norfolk State and the educational impact of museum visits in the Washington, D.C., area.
Nineteen Robbinsdale students who took part in a spring HBCU research course presented a recap of their trip to Howard University, Morgan State University, Hampton University and Norfolk State University and of their visits to museums and memorials in the Washington, D.C., area.
Assistant director Tony Patterson and student representatives told the board the trip combined classroom instruction with an experiential visit to historically Black colleges and universities and civil-rights sites. Student Richard Bassett Jr. described Morgan State’s campus culture and library; another student highlighted Howard University’s Founders Library and the Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts. Students said the National Museum of African American History and Culture was especially powerful because of its narrative structure that traces enslavement to the present day.
Students described practical takeaways — nursing programs at Hampton, tight-knit campus communities at Norfolk State, and the historical significance of Howard Law and alumni such as Thurgood Marshall — as well as the conversations they held each evening to process the visits. Patterson told the board that several past course participants have gone on to enroll at those colleges, and he emphasized the course’s role in elevating student voice and deepening student engagement with history.
Board members asked whether students were sharing the trip with peers; students and staff said the class’s end-of-year assignments include recaps for social media and presentations to peers. Director Holmes urged the district to expand access and help amplify student-produced materials so the program’s reach can grow.
The presentation included a list of colleges visited (Howard University, Howard University School of Law, Morgan State University, Hampton University, Norfolk State University) and museum stops (National Museum of African American History and Culture, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, White House exterior visits). Patterson and student presenters described day-by-day highlights and recommended the program as a model for experiential learning.
