Dear Southernites:

...This weekend, I traveled to Bowie, Maryland to attend the National HBCU Alumni Associations Foundation (NHBCUAAF) Leadership Conference at Bowie State University. This organization is working to develop an even greater reach than the HBCU Alumni Coalition.  Its objective is to help alumni associations from all of the HBCUs around the country...In a recent article in HBCU Digest, JL Carter, Sr. opined that only 50 of the 101 HBCUs will survive over the next 10 years...I couldn’t resist asking several of the speakers at the Leadership Conference if they agreed with Mr. Carter’s article...That said, there was also a theme throughout several of the presentations that only the strongest HBCUs will survive this “rightsizing” of higher education...The point, Southernites, is that we must remain aware and “woke” to the notion that self-inflicted wounds and external attacks can be fatal...I’m up for the challenge of being the protectors of our great institution...“Stay woke,” Jags, Knights, and Kittens!