Black History Month: Exchange Recognizes Associates from HBCUs
In honor of Black History Month and the legacy of historically black colleges and universities, the Exchange wants to recognize associates who have graduated from HBCUs.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Diversity and Inclusion office is asking associates who graduated from an HBCU to submit photos of themselves pictured with a school logo or item. The event is sponsored by Building Resources in Diversity Growth of Employees (BRIDGE), the African American Special Emphasis Program at the Exchange.
“Graduates from HBCUs have played a pivotal role in the Exchange mission of serving our Warfighters and their military families,” said Bee Persaud, the Exchange’s diversity manager. “It is an honor to recognize these associates for their contributions in strengthening the Exchange.”
Kenneth Boston, a contract specialist for the Exchange, is a 2008 graduate of Paul Quinn College and is one of a several family members who have attended the Dallas college.
HBCUs are defined as “… any historically Black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans, and that
is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] …” according to the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Alumni of HBCUs include Vice President Kamala Harris, who graduated from Howard University, Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Booker T. Washington and Toni Morrison.
Kenneth Boston, a contract specialist for the Exchange and a BRIDGE member, is a 2008 graduate of Paul Quinn College, one of a succession of family members who have attended the Dallas college every decade since the 1930s.
“One of the things I like to do is go to schools and talk about the importance of HBCUs,” Boston said, who was student body president at Paul Quinn during his senior year. “They serve a special purpose in this country’s history and have been a special part of my life.”
Associates have until Feb. 19 to submit their photos to DiversityInclusion@aafes.com. The event is open to all associates.
Photos will be published in a future edition of the EEODI digest and on the EEODI portal.
Photos must be in JPG or JPEG format and sent as attachments to the submission email. Photos embedded in the message will not be accepted. Selected photos will be kept in an EEODI photo historical file.
Submissions must contain the associate’s name, email address, contact phone number and a short description of the HBCU logo or item.
