Ayesha Rascoe Discusses HBCU Made with Astead Herndon
Join Greenlight Bookstore and BPL Presents for a conversation around HBCU MADE: A Celebration of the Black College Experience, edited and with a foreword by Ayesha Rascoe, host of National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday. This joyous and moving collection includes a distinguished and diverse set of contributors including Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams, Branford Marsalis, Roy Wood Jr, along with other prominent and up-and-coming alumni. HBCU MADE beautifully pulls back the curtain on the lived experience of prominent graduates while also shining a bright light on the significant contribution that HBCUs have made to American culture.
HBCU MADE, the first book of its kind to feature famous alumni sharing direct accounts of their Black college experience, presents a collection of vulnerable and candid personal essays about the schools that nurtured, challenged, and educated them. From political figures to respected writers, from outstanding dancers to prominent performers, this array of voices describe why they chose their HBCU, their first days on campus, the excitement of homecoming, and the relief of finally feeling understood. Stacey Abrams recounts her time at Spelman as a crucial moment that inarguably altered her trajectory and shaped her sense capability; Honoree Fanonne Jeffers loved her time at Talladega because, for the first time in her life, she didn’t have to justify reading books by Black authors; and Brandon Gilpin describes his HBCU experience as being “nothing short of a miracle.” For some, the choice to attend an HBCU was an easy one, as they followed in the footsteps of their parents or siblings. And for others, it was a carefully considered step away from a predominantly white institution to be educated in a place where they would never have to justify their presence.
Rascoe’s deep sense of pride and gratitude for committing to an HBCU is abundantly clear both on and off the page. She declares, “Going to Howard University was one of the biggest decisions that I ever made in my life. It required me to step out of my comfort zone in a way that’s hard for me to even fathom now. But, it was the best decision that I could have made. Howard helped shape who I am today. So many members of my family —my mother, my brother, my sister—were educated at HBCUs. I’ve seen what a difference these institutions have made for Black people. I wanted this book to be a tribute to the schools that have given so much to so many.”
Participants
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Ayesha Rascoe is the host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday and the weekend episodes of Up First. Prior to her role as host, Rascoe was a White House Correspondent. She covered three presidential administrations. As a part of the White House team, she was also a regular on the NPR Politics Podcast. Before joining NPR, Rascoe spent the first decade of her career at Reuters, rising from a news assistant to an energy reporter to eventually covering the White House. While at Reuters, Rascoe covered some of the biggest energy and environmental stories of the past decade, including the 2010 BP oil spill. She’s a proud graduate of Howard University. Photo credit Mike Morgan
Astead W. Herndon is a national politics reporter for The New York Times and a political analyst for CNN. He reports and hosts The Run Up, a political podcast from The New York Times that debuted ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Previously, Herndon was an integral part of the Times political coverage in the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential elections. In 2020, Herndon was named to the Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 media list. His reporting -- on white grievance and former President Donald Trump -- was included among The New York Times package that was a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prizes. Last year, The Run Up was named "one of the best podcasts of 2022" by The Economist.
BPL Presents programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Join Greenlight Bookstore and BPL Presents for a conversation around HBCU MADE: A Celebration of the Black College Experience, edited and with a foreword by Ayesha Rascoe, host of National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday. This joyous and moving collection includes a distinguished and diverse set of contributors including Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams, Branford Marsalis, Roy Wood Jr, along with other prominent and up-and-coming alumni. HBCU MADE beautifully pulls back the curtain on the lived experience of prominent graduates while also shining a bright light on the significant contribution that HBCUs have made to American culture.
HBCU MADE, the first book of its kind to feature famous alumni sharing direct accounts of their Black college experience, presents a collection of vulnerable and candid personal essays about the schools that nurtured, challenged, and educated them. From political figures to respected writers, from outstanding dancers to prominent performers, this array of voices describe why they chose their HBCU, their first days on campus, the excitement of homecoming, and the relief of finally feeling understood. Stacey Abrams recounts her time at Spelman as a crucial moment that inarguably altered her trajectory and shaped her sense capability; Honoree Fanonne Jeffers loved her time at Talladega because, for the first time in her life, she didn’t have to justify reading books by Black authors; and Brandon Gilpin describes his HBCU experience as being “nothing short of a miracle.” For some, the choice to attend an HBCU was an easy one, as they followed in the footsteps of their parents or siblings. And for others, it was a carefully considered step away from a predominantly white institution to be educated in a place where they would never have to justify their presence.
Rascoe’s deep sense of pride and gratitude for committing to an HBCU is abundantly clear both on and off the page. She declares, “Going to Howard University was one of the biggest decisions that I ever made in my life. It required me to step out of my comfort zone in a way that’s hard for me to even fathom now. But, it was the best decision that I could have made. Howard helped shape who I am today. So many members of my family —my mother, my brother, my sister—were educated at HBCUs. I’ve seen what a difference these institutions have made for Black people. I wanted this book to be a tribute to the schools that have given so much to so many.”
Participants
Ayesha Rascoe is the host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday and the weekend episodes of Up First. Prior to her role as host, Rascoe was a White House Correspondent. She covered three presidential administrations. As a part of the White House team, she was also a regular on the NPR Politics Podcast. Before joining NPR, Rascoe spent the first decade of her career at Reuters, rising from a news assistant to an energy reporter to eventually covering the White House. While at Reuters, Rascoe covered some of the biggest energy and environmental stories of the past decade, including the 2010 BP oil spill. She’s a proud graduate of Howard University. Photo credit Mike Morgan
Astead W. Herndon is a national politics reporter for The New York Times and a political analyst for CNN. He reports and hosts The Run Up, a political podcast from The New York Times that debuted ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Previously, Herndon was an integral part of the Times political coverage in the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential elections. In 2020, Herndon was named to the Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 media list. His reporting -- on white grievance and former President Donald Trump -- was included among The New York Times package that was a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prizes. Last year, The Run Up was named "one of the best podcasts of 2022" by The Economist.