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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Okay, first of all, how's everybody doing this morning, afternoon, everybody have a good
00:17essence?
00:19Where's everybody from?
00:20Do we have anybody from out of town?
00:22Tampa!
00:23Atlanta, of course, DC, Houston is always here.
00:33We love it, we love it, we love it.
00:35Well listen, I'm here with our friends at MasterCard, they brought us together because
00:39of their belief in potential in the black community, and therefore the economy at large.
00:45They want to continue to strengthen their support for HBCUs, and I'm so proud to be working
00:50with them on these initiatives.
00:52Now they believe in meeting black excellence where it is, and helping foster black leaders
00:58of the future.
00:59So we're going to dive into what that means.
01:01I'm here with two very exciting people, Dr. Bradley and Sutherland, to introduce themselves.
01:07Please talk a little bit about yourselves first.
01:09How's everybody doing?
01:12If you went to an HBCU, raise your hand and shout.
01:15All right now.
01:17My name is Melissa Bradley and I have the privilege to be the director of the Center for Black
01:21Entrepreneurship, which was recently launched between Spelman and Morehouse.
01:24It is the first time there's initiative between two HBCUs.
01:29Who's from Spelman?
01:30What?
01:31Who's from Morehouse?
01:33Okay, thank you, brother.
01:36And our goal is to foster entrepreneurship and wealth creation of the black community not
01:41only on the campuses, but throughout the entire United States.
01:44Good morning, everyone.
01:46Good morning.
01:48My name is Bill Sutherland.
01:49I'm a professor of biochemistry at the Howard University College of Medicine, H-U. That's
01:55right.
01:56And I'm also the principal investigator of Howard's RCMI program that stands for Research Centers
02:03and Minority Institutions.
02:05And I'm the interim director of Howard's brand new Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics.
02:11Love it.
02:12All right.
02:13So you just spoke about your new program.
02:15You're running a program as well.
02:17Tell us a little bit about these programs and their potential.
02:21Okay.
02:22First, let me just tell you a few words about Howard's new center, the Center for Applied
02:28Data Science and Analytics.
02:30That center focuses on four umbrella areas.
02:35They are minority health and health disparities, social justice, environmental justice, and economic
02:41development.
02:43Those are very broad areas of study and research.
02:50They're deliberately broad because we believe no matter what your major is at Howard University
02:55or what your interest is, you can find yourself somewhere in one of those broad areas.
03:03And what we do at Howard, we are attracting new talent in the area of data science to come
03:08to Howard to help us expand our footprint of research at Howard in data science.
03:15And we also just recently launched a new program, the Masters of Science in Applied Data Science.
03:22We'll be launching accepting its first students for fall of 2023.
03:28So we are very excited about that.
03:30How many students for that?
03:33The first entering class will be about 30 students.
03:37Got it.
03:38Beautiful.
03:39Beautiful.
03:40We're looking at the center for black entrepreneurship, some very exciting things.
03:41Tell us a little bit about your program.
03:42Yes.
03:43So the center for black entrepreneurship is designed to really help bridge the racial wealth
03:47gap.
03:48While we recognize that not every single student is going to be an entrepreneur, we're looking
03:51at it two ways.
03:52We recognize that it's important for members of the black community to have an entrepreneurial
03:55mindset.
03:56Post the great resignation, we know that people are looking for alternative ways to spend their
04:00careers.
04:01So the idea is that we provide both a minor at Spelman and a minor at Morehouse to be able
04:06to help the students who may be English majors, arts majors, and engineering majors to understand
04:11how to actually run their own business unit or actually run their own business.
04:15In addition to that, we're proud that the two universities have come together to launch
04:19eSpelman, which is the first entrepreneurship certificate program offered by an HBCU in the United
04:24States that is welcome to any person of color throughout the United States who are interested
04:29in becoming an entrepreneur or developing that mindset.
04:32I love it.
04:34Incredible program.
04:35What does our future workforce look like when students come out of programs like this?
04:40Very specified.
04:41Okay.
04:42I can say that the future looks very good, it's very bright, because we notice the students
04:48coming to Howard University now, they're at a much more sophisticated level, and they're
04:54not just looking for a career, they're really looking to be change agents.
04:59So they're choosing a program to study where they're combining technical skills with the
05:05humanities to really get a broad look, and that gives a certain freshness to any company
05:12that they would work for or work with.
05:14So we're excited about that.
05:16And I would say between the two schools, there's over 5,000 students.
05:19Because they're both liberal arts institutions, students are coming to really become better people
05:23and amazing and strategic thinkers.
05:26So having entrepreneurship acts as an underlying opportunity, I would say, has done three things.
05:30One has allowed our students to advance, as always, because I think the future is black
05:34after all.
05:35And so many of them are going to Wall Street or other opportunities that are related to
05:39economics or wealth creation.
05:41Many are thinking about how do they give back to the community and thinking about acts of
05:44service.
05:45And of course, because both have very strong engineering programs and we also have innovation labs, we do
05:49see a small percentage of students actually launching their business while in school and using that
05:54as an opportunity to start whatever career they so choose.
05:57Now, who's here at Essence for the first time?
06:00Anybody here for the first time?
06:02Wow.
06:03A lot of first timers at Essence, welcome to Essence, welcome to the family, we like to
06:07call it.
06:08You know, over the past couple years, you know, since all of the movements, all of the
06:12conversations, we see large corporations that are really diving into diversity, really making
06:19the efforts, you know, from the boardrooms to the universities to really make the investment
06:24in our communities.
06:26Have you been seeing that trend happen more since, you know, 2020, 2019?
06:31And where does it look towards for the future with these large corporations?
06:34So I would say post George Floyd, we should acknowledge that out of all the commitments,
06:40we need to recognize not all of them have been met, but for the companies that have come
06:45forward, they have come forward in a really big way.
06:47And so in the case of the CBE, we're honored that MasterCard is one of our sponsors.
06:51And we saw companies come through not just with money, but other resources, being able to
06:55provide faculty support, being able to invest in research, being able to bring new technologies
07:01to the campus.
07:02And of course, if anybody paid attention, we saw the massive launch of Ralph Lauren with
07:06Spelman and Morehouse.
07:08And some people said, well, was that really good?
07:09I can say that that was a huge economic driver for the universities, but also the fact that
07:14it allowed several students who were interested in the field to move into jobs.
07:18So I think the good thing is, is that the companies came in not just with dollars and leaving, but
07:22thinking about what is the longitudinal partnership they can have with the
07:25HBCU community?
07:28You know, from our perspective, there's definitely been an uptick in interest from a lot from
07:35the private sector.
07:38And what we have to be careful of at HBCUs is that make sure that we can tap into that
07:44interest that want to partner with us in a more long-term way.
07:50And that will give us more sustained movement and interest.
07:54Long-term, long-term relationships.
07:55Yes.
07:56We want to be here for the long haul.
07:57Exactly.
07:58Not these one-offs.
07:59Now, progress has been great, but what's still missing?
08:02What needs to happen next?
08:04And if your corporate audience is out there listening, like I know they are, what is your
08:09message for them?
08:11You know, if there's corporate people listening now to me right now, this is my message to them.
08:18Think about your philanthropy with a different mindset.
08:24Re-evaluate your objective of thinking.
08:28For example, it's very easy for an organization or company to make a contribution or a donation.
08:37But I would suggest that they think long-term and look at their giving from a philanthropic
08:45partnering perspective, such that they can really begin to really understand the needs
08:51of the institution and not just give a gift, but really solve the problem.
08:57Sometimes you can give a gift, and yet the problem is still not solved.
09:01So I would encourage the corporate partners to really re-evaluate their motivations and
09:08their objectives.
09:09They're all good, but think deeper about what they want to do, and look at it from a philanthropic
09:13partner.
09:14You've got to help solve the problem.
09:15Don't just get me a car.
09:16You've got to teach me how to drive it, too.
09:18Exactly.
09:19You've got to put my seatbelt on me.
09:20Exactly.
09:21I've got to make sure I'm safe out there.
09:22Exactly.
09:23Put the gas in the tank.
09:24I would also say it's beginning to think beyond philanthropy, but in addition to investment.
09:28So I'm very happy to say that part of the work of the Center for Black Entrepreneurship,
09:31in partnership with the Black Economic Alliance, we are launching a $50 million investment
09:36fund for black entrepreneurs with a specific emphasis on those who've come from HBCUs, and
09:42that's not charity.
09:43That is a $50 million investment that they are betting on our community knowing that we
09:47have the capacity to actually return those dollars.
09:50It's okay to clap for that.
09:52I love that.
09:53I love that.
09:54We have an audience full of entrepreneurs.
09:59What are HBCUs doing for them, and what can they do for you?
10:03Well, first, we need to acknowledge that HBCUs have been at the center of entrepreneurship
10:07for a long time because that's what black people do.
10:10Whether it happens informally on campus dorms or happens formally outside of that, we see
10:15many major celebrities and entertainers, but also entrepreneurs, like Sean Diddy, who just
10:21got an award and a major shout-out to his contribution to Howard University.
10:25But I think there's three things that HBCUs can do.
10:27One, there's a company called Honeypot.
10:29How many people heard of Honeypot?
10:31That's right.
10:32So, one of my favorite people, Cy, is one of the co-founders.
10:37And we talk about that entrepreneurship is a team sport, and within the black community,
10:41it's also core to who we are, that it's not about one individual or for the black community,
10:45entrepreneurs, it's about how do we preserve wealth for our community.
10:48And so the HBCUs are doing that because you have a natural sense of community.
10:52The second thing is with amazing investments, at least for Spelman and Morehouse, and I know
10:56Howard does as well, amazing resources.
10:58So there's innovation labs.
11:00Spelman is about to break ground on a brand-new innovation building, not just a room.
11:05And you have the most recent technology and amazing professors who are coming with real-life
11:09experience.
11:10And then the third thing I would say that HBCUs are uniquely positioned for is the aspect
11:14of alumni.
11:16The good thing is, no matter what HBCU you come from, there is a sense of community.
11:20And to your point, welcome to the family.
11:22And again, because entrepreneurship is a team sport, there is a natural nexus that happens
11:27between your educational experience and your co-curricular experience.
11:31Yep.
11:32I love it.
11:33Again, guys, thank you so much.
11:34So much good information.
11:35I went to North Carolina A&T.
11:37We got a lot of different HBCUs out here representing.
11:41So I hope that both of these programs go incredible, like I know they will, and can create that infrastructure
11:46so that we can push them out and get them at more of our HBCUs.
11:50Thank you guys again.
11:51You guys have been a phenomenal audience.
11:53Thank you to our friends at MasterCard for giving us this platform for these incredible conversations.
11:59Thank you, guys.
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