March 8, 2017 The Skanner Page 9
News
NAFEO’s Lezli Baskerville Calls HBCU White House Meetings Successful
By Stacy M. Brown
(NNPA Newswire Con-
tributor)
T
hrough the vitriol-
ic, and sometimes
venomous,
atmo-
sphere of the presi-
dential campaign, a high-
ly-regarded member of
then-Republican presi-
dential candidate Don-
ald Trump’s inner circle
focused on one issue that
was largely ignored: the
future of Historically
Black Colleges and Uni-
versities (HBCUs).
“[Omarosa] Manigault
was strategically plac-
ing HBCUs high on the
agenda of candidate
Trump and she kept HB-
CUs on his agenda,” said
Dr. Lezli Baskerville, the
president and CEO of the
National
Association
for Equal Opportuni-
ty in Higher Education
(NAFEO), a membership
association for the pres-
idents and chancellors of
the nation’s HBCUs.
The White House meet-
ings on Feb. 27 and Feb.
“
ships with Republican
members of Congress.”
Baskerville continued:
“NAFEO has consistent-
ly advanced the position
that federal, state, and
private teacher prepa-
ration programs should
be designed to expand
the pool of excellent,
diverse teaching pro-
fessionals,
especially
African-American, and
Hispanic teaching pro-
fessionals, and Black
male teachers.”
While Baskerville left
the meetings with Trump
encouraged, others were
more guarded in their
optimism.
“As I understand it, it
means that the White
House initiative on HB-
CUs returns to the White
House rather than re-
maining with the De-
partment of Education,”
said Loretta Parham, the
CEO and director of the
Atlanta University Cen-
ter Robert W. Woodruff
Library. “This suggests
that the president’s ear
will be closer and it sug-
‘We didn’t expect to have
an audience with the pres-
ident...it really was a photo
opportunity’
28 with HBCU presidents
and chancellors, and the
signing of the executive
order on HBCUs, grew
out of the Manigault’s
understanding of the
importance of HBCUs
and the realization of so
many of the nation’s do-
mestic, foreign, security,
scientific, technological,
research, and innovation
goals, Baskerville said.
“It happened, because
President Trump knows
and trusts the leadership
and judgment of Omaro-
sa,” Baskerville added.
Baskerville, who also
attended the meetings,
described them as suc-
cessful.
“The success must be
measured against the
reasonable expectations
going into the meeting,”
said Baskerville. “Rela-
tive to the ‘HBCU Fly-In’
on Feb. 28 hosted by Con-
gressman Mark Walker
of North Carolina and
Senator Tim Scott from
South Carolina and oth-
ers, HBCU presidents
were also engaged with
leaders of the 115th Con-
gress about inclusion
and diversity and about
the centrality of HBCUs
to American progress,
the legislative and ap-
propriations priorities
of HBCUs and ways in
which the NAFEO-mem-
ber institutions might
move
forward
and
strengthen our relation-
gests that HBCUs will be
included in conversa-
tions about the economy
and education.”
Walter
Kimbrough,
president of Dillard
University in New Orle-
ans, La., reflected on the
meetings and said that
not enough time was af-
forded to discuss press-
ing issues.
“We didn’t expect to
have an audience with
the president, and that
really, you know—it re-
ally was a photo oppor-
tunity,” Kimbrough told
National Public Radio
(NPR).
“We didn’t have any
significant conversation.
I mean he’s working on
his [address to Congress]
for the night. So, that was
okay, but I didn’t go there
for that. That wasn’t my
intent. It’s just some-
thing that happened.”
Kimbrough continued:
“I really was interested
more in a conversation
with [Secretary Betsy
DeVos], because she’s
new. She doesn’t really
know higher education.
She doesn’t know HBCUs.
And, so this is an oppor-
tunity to educate her.”
An opportunity that
Kimbrough said was
missed.
However, Baskerville
argued that it’s import-
ant to note that many,
like Representative Mia
Love, a first-term con-
gresswoman from Utah,
participated in the HBCU
Fly-In and made a num-
ber of thoughtful contri-
butions to the discussion.
“One of the things she
said that is telling of who
she is at the core is that
she is a member of the
Republican Study Com-
mittee and the Congres-
sional Black Caucus,”
said Baskerville. “[Love]
quipped that, ‘there are
some things that trump
political parties.’ This is
important, because this
is the manner in which
the
African-American
community has always
operated.”
Baskerville continued:
“We have understood
through the years that
we need friends in all
camps and that we have,
‘no permanent friends,
no permanent enemies,
just permanent inter-
PHOTO BY FREDDIE ALLEN/AMG/NNPA
NAFEO President Praises Omarosa Manigault for Orchestrating Trump’s Meetings with HBCU Presidents
Lezi Baskerville, the president and CEO of NAFEO said that she was encouraged by the meetings that were
held with President Trump and 88 presidents and chancellors of HBCUs. Photo was taken during a press
conference on an anti-hazing campaign at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in January 2012.
ests.’ We have built and
maintained bridges to
all houses of power and
with all political parties.
“We have had a core
group of African Amer-
icans, who have served
in leading positions and
championed the issues
and interests of Black
Americans and Blacks
around the globe.”
