3rd Annual
Black Student Summit
A full-day gathering to connect and uplift members of Black Student Unions & Associations, Advisors, School administrators and allies that support them as they fight for equity and justice. The 3rd annual summit is scheduled for March 23, 2024. Get notified when registration opens.
SPONSORED BY
Amplify Black Youth Voices Across Delaware.
What is the Black Student Summit?
The Delaware Black Student Summit is by and for students who want to turn up the volume and activism of Black Student Unions/Associations. Whether your school’s Black Student Union/Association is in development, active or re-emerging, the Delaware Black Student Summit is for you.
The Summit is meant to prepare, train, re-fuel and uplift students and the adults that support them. During the Summit, you will learn why it’s important to use your voice and how to do it in a way that powers up change for the better where you learn.
Enter the
Black Student Summit Challenge
The Top 3 schools with the most students at the Delaware Black Student Summit will win a cash prize!
Help your school win a cash prize for having the most students in attendance at the Summit! Show support by sharing Summit information and encouraging your friends to register and attend our March 18th event.
How Your School Can Win $500!
Register for the Summit
Complete the registration form on this page to secure your spot at this year’s summit.
Spread the Word
Send a text or DM to encourage your friends to attend the summit. Be creative and share why amplifying Black student voices in our state is important. Share it on TikTok, Instagram, and/or Facebook. Don’t forget to tag @unitedwayde & use #AmplifyBlackVoicesDE.
Attend the Summit
Your school must have a minimum of 10 attendees at the event to qualify. The top 3 schools with the most students in attendance will win a cash prize.
Learn More About the Challenge
Prizes:
- First Place (Most attendees) : $500
- Second Place (2nd most) : $250
- Third Place (3rd most) : $150
Contest Rules and Details:
- All event attendees must register to attend. Only one registration per person.
- Registration closes March 17th, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST.
- To qualify for prize entry – each school must have a minimum of 10 students registered and in attendance the day of the event (April 9th, 2022).
- Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 schools with the most students in attendance; first prize $500, second prize $250; third prize $150.
- Prizes will be distributed by the United Way of Delaware to each school’s BSU/BSA Administrator or staff member for appropriate tracking. Cash prizes will not be distributed directly to students.
- Participation is open to any student, regardless of race, color, ethnicity, nationality origin or membership in any other protected category.
Breakout Sessions & Panels
The below details are from the 2023 Black Student Summit. This section will be updated when more information is available for the 2024 summit.
For Students
Your (Mental) Health is Your Wealth
How do you approach navigating predominantly white institutions and being your authentic self
in places where you identify as a minority? Come and learn the best mental health practices to
live as your best self and protect your peace.
Times: 1:55 pm & 2:40 pm
Speaker: Dr. Juwan Mullens
Your (Mental) Health is Your Wealth (YOUNG MEN ONLY)
How do you approach navigating predominantly white institutions and being your authentic self in places where you identify as a minority? Come learn the best mental health practices to live as your best self and protect your peace.
Times: 11:15 am
Speaker: Dr. Juwan Mullens
Your (Mental) Health is Your Wealth (YOUNG WOMEN ONLY)
How do you approach navigating predominantly white institutions and being your authentic self in places where you identify as a minority? Come learn the best mental health practices to live as your best self and protect your peace.
Times: 11:15 am
Speaker: Crysta Harris
Know Your Rights (in School)
What rights do you have that protect you during the school day? Join us as we discuss the importance of advocating for your guaranteed educational rights.
Times: 11:15 am, 1:55 pm, 2:40 pm
Speakers: Cliffvon Howell
Know Your Rights (in the Community)
Can you record an interaction with a police officer?
What is defined as “probable cause”? Join us to learn how to navigate in your community and
the rights you are constitutionally guaranteed.
Times: 11:15 am, 1:55 pm, 2:40 pm
Speaker: Coby Owens
Advocacy 101
Come learn the importance of what advocating in your community can do and the steps to bring the change you want to see in Delaware. Join fellow HB-198 bill makers
to see what the process is like to create laws and programs.
Times: 1:55 pm & 2:40 pm
Speakers: Rep. Sherry Dorsey-Walker
Student Speakers: Tyler Busch (Junior at University of Virginia)
Tariah Hyland (Sophomore at Howard University)
Aakhai Hollis (Freshman at Bowie State University)
Black Student Union Best Practices
Running an organization can have many obstacles and challenges. Come learn how to run a BSO and manage and motivate your members effectively.
Times: 11:15 am, 1:55 pm, 2:40 pm
Speaker: Jalyn Powell, Outloud
Make it Make Cents
Come learn how to save, manage and invest your money with Stand By Me.
Times: 11:15 am
Speakers: Janet Peterkin and Lisa Farrow
Step Across the Line: How to Talk About Race with EVERYONE
Join the YWCA of Delaware to learn how to effectively talk about race and racial issues with people outside of your race.
Times: 11:15 am, 1:55 pm, 2:40 pm
Speakers: Janet Peterkin and Lisa Farrow
Black History 365: African History Before Slavery
Come learn about Black history before slavery.
Times: 11:15 am, 1:55 pm, 2:40 pm
Speakers: Khayree Bey
For Advisors, Teachers & School Administrators
I am Somebody
This workshop takes an anti-deficit (Harper, 2010) approach towards celebrating and championing the brilliance, the potential, and the humanity of black students, in and across school boundaries! The aforementioned stance is critically important, given the pervasive data and practices (Howard, 2014, &Morris, 2016) that continue to stereotype Black students as “nobodies” (Lamont-Hill, 2016), and “problems” (DuBois, 1903). Additionally, through the lens of Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education-CR-SE (Cole-Malott et.al, 2022), this workshop gives strategies towards supporting Black students to experience success in the 21st Century’s Global Marketplace.
- Participants will learn how the value gap (Glaude, 2016), is still being exercised on Black students.
- Participants will learn principles for becoming a Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Educator.
- Participants will learn how this workshop aligns with macro-level “DEI” goals.
Dr. Ronald W. Whitaker, II, will facilitate this session. Dr. Whitaker is the Culturally Responsive Associate Professor of Education & Department Chair, of EP&L; Assistant Dean for the School of Education; Director of District and School Relations; and Director of the Center for Urban Education, Equity, and Improvement CUEEI at Cabrini University in Radnor, PA.
Creating Culture and Community Within Your Black Student Union
Black Student Unions are gems in high schools that have seen an increase in being started throughout the state of Delaware. In this session, BSU/BSA/DEI advisors will learn how to strengthen the culture and community of their group, share their own best practices, and ask questions that help them better lead the next generation such as developing membership, generating funding, collaborating with other clubs and community organizations, getting support from administrators, and cultivating strong student leaders.
Taria Pritchett, will facilitate this session. She was recently named the 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year at Mount Pleasant High School. She serves as her building’s Equity Champion and is the advisor for two clubs, Black Student Union and Girls Empowered. Additionally, Pritchett is a life coach, transformational speaker, and award nominated author known for educating and empowering hundreds of women and teenagers across the US and Africa. She is a member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc. Delaware Chapter and served previously as an Adult Black Achiever at the Walnut Street YMCA. Recognized in 2020 as one of Delaware Today’s Top Teachers, Pritchett has been featured on FOX 29, Huffington Post, Sheen Magazine, and on the TEDx stage. Her TEDx talk entitled, The Magic in Empowering Black Girls has inspired many educators to improve how they approach connecting with African American female students.
10:45 pm – 12:00 pm: Superintendant Session
1:55 pm – 2:35 pm: Advisor’s Session
2:40 pm – 3:20 pm: Advisor’s Session
Special Guests
The below details are from the 2023 Black Student Summit. This section will be updated when more information is available for the 2024 summit.
Khayree Bey
TEACHER
McCullough Middle School
Becca Cotto
DIRECTOR, RACIAL & SOCIAL JUSTICE
YWCA Delaware
Lisa Farrow
FINANCIAL COACH
Stand By Me
Laura Gendreau
DIRECTOR, STAND BY ME
United Way of Delaware
Crysta Harris
MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR
Crysta Harris & Associates
Cliffvon Howell
EQUITY & DIVERSITY COORDINATOR
Caesar Rodney School District
Zjohdell Hudson
REALTOR
Linda Vista Real Estate
Dr. Juwan Mullens
CLINICAL SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER
Seaford High School
Janet Clarke-Peterkin
FINANCIAL COACH
Stand By Me
Coby Owens
Delaware NAACP
Jalyn Powell
CEO
Outloud LLC.
Sherry Dorsey Walker
STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Delaware House Assembly
Taria Pritchett
BLACK STUDENT UNION ADVISOR
Mount Pleasant High School
Michelle Taylor
PRESIDENT & CEO
United Way of Delaware
Madinah Anton-Wilson
STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Delaware’s 26th District
The below details are from the 2023 Black Student Summit. This section will be updated when more information is available for the 2024 summit.
Keynote Speaker
Ashley S. Christopher, Esq.
Ashley Christopher is a mother, CEO, Attorney and Survivor. A mother to her son, Ryan; CEO of HBCU Week Foundation; licensed to practice law in the state of Pennsylvania; and stroke survivor.
Ashley founded HBCU Week Foundation in 2017, a company whose mission is to encourage enrollment into HBCUs, provide scholarship dollars for matriculation and sustain a pipeline of employment from undergraduate school to corporate America. The purpose of HBCU Week is to gather high school aged students and expose them to the historical significance and proud legacies of HBCUs, with the goal of those students considering HBCUs for higher education opportunities.
+ Read More
HBCU Week offers an authentic homecoming-like experience featuring a weeklong of activities. The cornerstone of this initiative is the college fair. This fair is unique because participating colleges engage in an on-the-spot acceptance process, whereby if attending students come equipped with the requisite SAT/ACT score and GPA, they can be offered acceptance on the spot and a scholarship award.
Over 6,000 acceptances on the spot have been offered, and over 50 million dollars in scholarships have been awarded. In addition to the HBCUs offering scholarships to the college fair attendees, HBCU Week Foundation has secured several corporate partners who offer significant scholarship and internship opportunities to students who attend HBCU Week and commit to attending an HBCU.
Those companies include but aren’t limited to the NFL, Capital One, DuPont, and The Chemours Company. Most notably, Ashley brokered a partnership with the American Chemistry Council (ACC), whereby the HBCU Week Foundation will administer 150 $40,000 scholarships to students who commit to an HBCU and declare a STEM major annually.
Ashley is a double HBCU Alumna. She attended Howard University for undergraduate school, where she worked on the renowned Howard University Homecoming Steering Committee, most notably as Vice-Chair, and was initiated into Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She later attended the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law.
Today, Ashley is unequivocally dedicated to the mission of the HBCU Week Foundation by exposing high school-aged youth to the opportunity to attend an HBCU. As a double HBCU alumna, she believes it is her responsibility to reach back while she climbs, exposing youth to the fact that you can do and be anything from an HBCU.
Ashley’s favorite job is being a mother to her son, Ryan. She lives by the scripture, Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”
Need a Ride?
We Got You!
We don’t want transportation to keep you from attending the summit. That’s why we organized buses to get you there. Transportation from all three counties will be provided. More details will be available as we get closer to date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is invited?
The Summit is open to students and advisors leading BIPOC organizations within their schools along with their allies. We are focusing on tough topics so the Summit is focused on high school students, however, mature 7th and 8th graders can attend.
Will this be fun?
Yes! We are going to have a lot of fun sprinkled throughout the learning. There will be a DJ and special guest performers throughout the conference.
What will the advisors be doing during the conference?
We will have special sessions for the advisors to attend. They will be able to learn and grow from other advisors attending. Our intent is to equip advisors with the skills they need to amplify their Black Student Association at their school.
How much does it cost to attend?
The event is absolutely free. There is no cost for students or their advisors thanks to the generous donations from our sponsors.
Will there be food?
Yes, we will have snacks in the morning and lunch for everyone in attendance at 12 pm (noon).
Can I invite friends?
Yes—all students interested in Racial equity and social justice can attend. You don’t have to identify as Black and you don’t have to have a Black Student Association at your school. You do have to be interested in racial equity, attending a Delaware high school, and ready to learn.
I’m not a part of a Black Student Union. Can I still come?
Yes, if you’re interested in racial equity and social justice, THIS IS FOR YOU!
I’m interested in the sponsoring the event. What do I do?
Contact Tierra Fair at tfair@uwde.org or call 302-494-5442 if you have questions.
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