10


The HBCU Advocate


Volume 3 Number 1


Forbes Family Makes $1 Million Gift to Shaw University


Elijah Cummings FROM PAGE 1


his widow, stated Cummings was intentional in his advocacy for justice. According to the statement she released on Thursday, “He worked until his last


breath because he believed our


democracy was the highest and best expression of our collective humanity and that our nation’s diversity was our promise, not our problem.” Cummings


began


Afro-American newspaper. Many colleagues and friends


his political


Standing before a portrait of Bishop James A. Forbes, Senior, the Forbes family presents a $1 million legacy gift to Dr. Paulette Dillard, president of Shaw University. Board Chairman Dr. Joseph N. Bell, Jr. is standing in the rear, center. Photo courtesy of Shaw University


BY SHAW UNIVERSITY Raleigh, NC -- A highlight of


Shaw University’s 2019 Homecoming was the announcement of a $1 million legacy gift from the family of Bishop James A. Forbes, Sr. and Mrs. Mabel Clemmons Forbes. The Forbes family has been staunchly supportive of Shaw for many years, and this donation “will have a tremendous impact in the lives of Shaw University’s students,” said President Paulette


Dillard. At


the University’s 2019 EPIC Gala on Friday evening, Dr. James Forbes, Jr. impressed a ballroom filled with Shaw alumni and friends when he expressed the


University. We grew up and attended church just a few blocks from here, and some of our most wonderful experiences have been in connection with Shaw. Since this is the 400th year since the landing of Africans on these shores, it is a perfect time to celebrate the founding of the first university in the South for the education of sons and daughters of Mother Africa. I’m sure our parents will find great delight in glory to see Shaw University continue to


provide a quality education generations to come.” family’s “ongoing commitment


to do everything within our means to support this great university.”


The Forbes-Shaw connection is


deep: the late Bishop Forbes and two of the Forbes siblings, Evangeline Forbes Richardson (now deceased), and Dr. David C. Forbes, are Shaw alumni. Dr. David Forbes, Jr., along with fellow alumna Ella Baker, co-founded the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee on Shaw’s campus in 1960, and later served as dean of the Shaw University Divinity School and member of the Board of Trustees.


James A. Forbes, Jr.,


a nationally renowned theologian and senior minister emeritus of the Riverside


Church in Manhattan,


served as a recent guest lecturer for the Divinity School’s “Awakening” lecture series.


Board of Trustee Chairman Dr. Joseph N. Bell, Jr. underscored the Forbes’ long ties with the University at a reception for the family, saying “The Forbes name has been part of the Shaw University family tree for a long time, and you can see what your family means to us by where we are standing today.” The reception was held in the Bishop James A. Forbes, Sr. Conference Room of the Thomas A. Boyd Chapel on Shaw’s campus.


Speaking for the family, Dr.


James A. Forbes, Jr., said, “Our family is delighted to make this presentation to Shaw University on behalf of our parents, Bishop James A. Forbes, Sr. and Mrs. Mabel Clemmons Forbes. They believed in the power of education, and they loved Shaw


include:


Members of the Forbes family Mr. Gerard Richardson,


Mr. Cy Richardson and the late Mrs. Evangeline Forbes Richardson; Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Mrs. Bettye Franks Forbes and Mr. James A. Forbes, III; Congressman (retired) Edolphus Towns, Mrs. Gwendolyn Forbes Towns, Mr. Darryl Towns and Ms. Deidra Towns; Mr. Jonathon West, Mr. Terrance West and the late Mrs. Effie Forbes West; Dr. David C. Forbes, Sr., Mrs. Antoinette “Toni” Spaulding Forbes, Mrs. Cheryl Forbes Moore, Dr. David C. Forbes, Jr. and Ms. Denise Forbes; Ms. Barbara Forbes, Mr. Gregory Carr and Ms. Kimberly Carr; Mrs. Anna Forbes Towns, Esq., Mr. Jason Towns and Mr. Jerome Towns; Dr. Ronald Forbes, Sr., Mrs. Giola Greene Forbes, Ms. Alicia Forbes, Mr. Ronald Forbes, Jr., Mr. Carlton Forbes and Mrs. Melanie Forbes Goins.


The Forbes family’s legacy gift


was the largest in the Homecoming Week that saw several donations to Shaw University by individual alumni, alumni


chapters, corporations and


other supporters. The total amount raised to date is $1.7 million, and the gifts have continued to come in. “We are very appreciative of everything our alumni and friends do for the University and our students. Every donation helps us to fulfill our mission; every gift brings us nearer to realizing the vision for Shaw’s future,” said Dr. Dillard.


The Shaw Bears added even more


excitement to a big Homecoming Week with a win in Saturday’s football game.


for


career in the Maryland House of Delegates where he served from January 12, 1983 to January 10, 1996. One of the many accomplishments during his storied career, he was the first African American in Maryland history to serve as Speaker Pro Tempore in the House of Delegates according to news releases. A member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland’s 7th Congressional District from April 16, 1996 to October 17, 2019, he served as chair of the House Oversight Committee from January 3, 2019 until his death. A


proponent of education, Cummings graduated from Baltimore City College high school in 1969; received his B.A. degree in Political Science from Howard University; and Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law in1976. He was a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. Prior to being elected to Congress, Cummings practiced law for 19 years.


Public servant, a devoted civil


rights activist, a man who fought for his Maryland constituents and people from across this country, Cummings was respected by political colleagues on both sides of the aisle but also remembered for being kind and gracious. Cummings stood for his beliefs and up to those in power. During his life and stellar political career, he received numerous accolades and honors. According to his biography, Cummings served on boards and commissions including the University of Maryland Law School Board of Advisors and Board of Visitors to the U.S. Naval Academy; also wrote a biweekly column for the Baltimore


Tuskegee University FROM PAGE 1


those. He also mentioned the acclaimed Tuskegee Airmen of World War II and noted the Board of Supervisors recently celebrated some of the nation’s longest-living Tuskegee Airmen who resided in Los Angeles.


“Such deserves an an esteemed esteemed educator


institution and


leader at the helm. Thank you for that which you have done and that which you will do in the future for this great university and beyond,” Ridley-Thomas told McNair.


“I build on the legacy of Booker T.


Washington, who said that ‘excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.’ We can thank Dr. Washington and Dr. George Washington Carver for their efforts and vision,” McNair stated after accepting the Board of Supervisors’ commendations. “We are destined to become even better than Booker T. Washington imagined we could be more than 100 years ago.”


That vision, she noted, translates into excellence across many academic disciplines, engineering


including and aviation — professional She also


aerospace education,


veterinary medicine, architecture and agriculture


highlighted areas such as food sustainability and practice


areas where the university is continually cited as being a top producer of minority graduates.


bioenergy where the university seeks to expand its scope of influence.


The historically black university enjoys strong student representation from


California. With 10% of


its student body hailing from the “Golden State,” California ranks third behind Alabama and Georgia in terms of where its nearly 3,000 students reside. Likewise, 10% of the 642 graduates who comprised the class of 2019 had ties to the state.


chapters of its Tuskegee Alumni


Association


California also is home to two National


Inc.: the


Los Angeles Tuskegee Alumni Club and the Bay Area Tuskegee Alumni Club. Both are vital to the university’s alumni


relations and


student recruitment efforts in their local communities and throughout the state. In addition, some of these local club members serve the association in key district and national positions of responsibility.


The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the governing body of the County of Los Angeles, which encompasses 88 incorporated cities and 4,084 square miles. Serving more than 10.1 million residents, the board, comprised of five members elected to serve their respective districts, is the largest local government in the nation.


expressed their sentiments of sorrow upon hearing of Cummings’ death. Among them, friend, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and morning news show host, Joseph Scarborough (former Republican Congressman) and Mika Brzezinski, voiced their


morning.


condolences early Longtime


www.thehbcuadvocate.com


Thursday friend, Rep.


Clyburn said, “we have lost a giant” as he remembered how courageous Cummings was in his persistence for justice and fair play. On his morning show, Scarborough said he was heartbroken. “Cummings was a dear friend and trusted colleague. There is a great hole in our hearts.”


released


Former President Barack Obama a statement


Thursday


describing Cummings as “steely yet compassionate, principled yet open to new perspectives.” Obama also said “As Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, he showed us all not only the importance of checks and balances within our democracy, but also the necessity of good people


stewarding it.” A fiery speaker for justice,


Cummings voice was silenced on Thursday, October 17, 2019 and will be missed. In February as the country teetered on the edge of a White


House scandal involving


former Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen, Cummings displayed his “humanity to man.” Cummings thanked Cohen for agreeing to testify in front of the Oversight Committee; he assured Cohen that even though facing his destiny of a three-year prison sentence would be tough, Cohen should think about his legacy. Cummings declared, “When we are dancing with the angels, the question will be asked in 2019, ‘What did we do’…?” Prayerfully, Cummings is now “dancing with the angels.” Funeral arrangements were incomplete at the time of this writing.


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