By Hedda T. Schupak
Given your civil rights background, do you see any parallels or contrasts between the United States in the 1960s and Africa today?
The ’60s movement [in the United States] was all about self-empowerment. In Africa, it’s through education that people will be able to participate in the economy, not just have the economy serve them. Young people in Africa yearn for education, especially higher education, to empower and advance their society. Education is no longer something reserved for the elite.
I grew up in North Carolina. Schools were segregated, and I didn’t sit in a classroom with whites until my sophomore year of college. Black education wasn’t of the same quality as white education, and as a result, black young people were systematically denied the chance to get ahead. But not anymore. The fact that our president and first lady both went to Harvard signifies how much things have changed. And in Africa, through working with the Diamond Empowerment Fund, I’m very pleased to be able to assist young African people in getting a higher education. Read more...
Given your civil rights background, do you see any parallels or contrasts between the United States in the 1960s and Africa today?The ’60s movement [in the United States] was all about self-empowerment. In Africa, it’s through education that people will be able to participate in the economy, not just have the economy serve them. Young people in Africa yearn for education, especially higher education, to empower and advance their society. Education is no longer something reserved for the elite.
I grew up in North Carolina. Schools were segregated, and I didn’t sit in a classroom with whites until my sophomore year of college. Black education wasn’t of the same quality as white education, and as a result, black young people were systematically denied the chance to get ahead. But not anymore. The fact that our president and first lady both went to Harvard signifies how much things have changed. And in Africa, through working with the Diamond Empowerment Fund, I’m very pleased to be able to assist young African people in getting a higher education. Read more...
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