President’s Circle Featuring Dr. Beatrice Vasser

Throughout Women’s History Month 2023, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH presents brief features on a female Branch member or a family member of the Branch member.

Dr. Beatrice Vasser, Prolific, Inspiring, Truth-telling Writer and Educator

Beatrice Wright Vasser, Ph.D obtained her Bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University and her Masters and Ph.D from the University of Pittsburgh. She has taught schools in Virginia, Pittsburgh and later assumed a position as the first African American Teacher, Athletic Director and Department Head at the famous elite Ellis School for 27 years.

Dr. Vasser later worked as a Therapist for Ruth Kane and Associates with clients afflicted with eating disorders.

“Bea” is a prolific, inspiring, truth telling writer and the author of three books: The Circle of Life Verses From My Journey, The Color of Black, and Black Mandemic. These poems depict her life and journey as a bold Black Woman in America. In respect of Black History and achievement, she collects African Art and designs Black Angels. It was indeed an honor for me to write the Preface in Dr. Vasser’s book, Black Mandemic. 

Dr. Vasser is an engaging world traveler. In the “Great Hall of the People”, located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing China, Bea as a great scholar educator, presented on the topic, “Sports Psychology”. The Great Hall of the People is the equivalent of the United States Senate. What a tremendous honor to have Bea present in this great historic building in the country of China, one of the oldest surviving civilizations in the world.

On February 13, 2021, Dr. Vasser gave a penetrating, moving, uplifting presentation in a McKenzie Branch Virtual Program titled: The Death of My Mother: A Teacher in a One Room School. This lecture by Dr. Vasser was greatly received by all of those in attendance and was a most informative presentation.

* Lynne Robinson is the daughter of Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch Member, Sylvia Robinson.

Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH

President’s Circle Featuring Isabella Rozalia Catalina Jordan

Isabella Rozalia Catalina Jordan, Scholar and Athlete

Isabella Jordan is 17 years old and attends the Neighborhood Academy which is located on North Aiken Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA. She is in the tenth grade. 

Ms. Jordan maintains a 3.8 GPA.  At the Neighborhood Academy, a C is a failing grade. Each year Ms. Jordan has taken AP classes in Logic and Statistics. She has been a track star since attending grade school at Dilworth Elementary School. She has received a college scholarship for track and has already earned several college credits. In addition to running track, Isabella  plays volleyball and is the MVP of the squad. Her team won the championship in its league. Ms. Jordan’s father, the late Hilly Jordan taught her to play the trombone and coached her in track.  Isabella participates in the following track events: 100 meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles and the 4 x 100 meter relay. 

Isabella’s current hobbies include making ceramic pottery, designing clothes, and participating in mock trials. Isabella hopes to have a medical career. In her spare time she loves to bake. 

With her mom as instructor, Isabella does yoga. She is a member of the Valle View Presbyterian Church. 

*Isabella Rozalia Catalina Jordan is the granddaughter of Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch member, Rozalia Harrison Jordan.

Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH

President’s Circle Featuring Dr. Carol V. Francois

Throughout Women’s History Month 2023, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH presents brief features on a female Branch member or a family member of the Branch member.

Dr. Carol François is a lifetime educator who describes herself as a catalyst for positive change.

Dr. Carol François began her teaching career at age three when she says she taught her dolls on the doorstep of her home. Since that career starter, she has served in a variety of educational roles.

Dr. Carol François’ roles include posts as Associate Commissioner of Education at the Texas Education Agency; Chief of Staff for the Dallas Independent School; Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources for Wake County Public Schools in Raleigh, North Carolina; Department Director at Region 10 Education Service Center; grade-level principal in the Richardson Independent School District; Dean of Instruction with the Dallas Independent School District; and Director of Learning at Learning Forward a 10,000 member international education association

Carol’s current learning/education project Why Are They So Angry? (WATSA?) aims to take participants into unexplored territory to unlearn what they thought they knew about American history and being Black/African American in the United States. The project examines how systemic racism is steeped into every institution of American life from education, business/labor, healthcare, housing, religion, criminal justice, pop culture, and politics. The end goal is to arm participants with the knowledge to see, say, and confront systemic racism then ultimately address it in their spheres of influence. WATSA? can be found on many platforms including a Facebook learning community, a weekly podcast, a public Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, website, Linked In, and an online course.

In addition to WATSA?, Carol continues using her expertise in education as a consultant to the Texas Education Agency, Learning Forward, and a variety of organizations. Dr. François holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication from Lock Haven University and a Master of Education degree in Education Media from Temple University, both in Pennsylvania. She earned a Doctor of Education degree in Education Administration at Texas A&M University – Commerce.

She has been awarded numerous honors including being named the Dallas Independent School District Teacher of the Year, a Meadows Foundation Principal Improvement Fellow, a Texas A&M University –Commerce Alumni Ambassador, and an inductee into the African American Museum of Culture and History’s Educator Hall of Fame. An avid gardener, she is married and shares a home in Dallas, Texas with her husband, Clyde Henderson. Dr. Francois and her husband are proud members of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH. 

I serve on the Johnstown Banishment Committee with Dr. Francois and her husband. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s largest ethnic cleansing in the State’s history. In 1923,the mayor of Johnstown Pa ordered most of the Black and Latino population out of said town. The Black and Latino population were forced out at gunpoint and threat of Imprisonment.

Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH

President’s Circle Featuring Lynne Robinson

Throughout Women’s History Month 2023, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH presents brief features on a female Branch member or a family member of the Branch member.

Lynne Robinson, CEO & Executive Producer of Black Robin Media

Award-winning producer, director and writer known for her commitment to empowering and inspiring audiences through stories of women and African Americans who have shaped our world.

With an expertise in history, pop culture, sports, and public affairs, she has produced a multitude of programming for networks including PBS, the Smithsonian Channel, BET, TV One, Audible Originals, YouTube Originals, Discovery, National Geographic, AspireTV and NBA Entertainment. 

Her recent works include directing the 2023 BET documentary BLACK+ICONIC: Style Gods hosted by award-winning actor, singer, producer, playwright and activist Billy Porter and executive produced by award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson and Firelight Films. She was an executive producer of the 2022 MPT and Firelight Films documentaries Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom and Becoming Frederick Douglass, which both aired on PBS.

Robinson executive produced Black Robin Media’s 2021 Smithsonian Channel documentary Reclaiming History: Our Native Daughters currently streaming on Paramount Plus and Amazon Prime. She also directed and produced the 2021 Audible Originals Daymond John: Founding FUBU, and is the executive producer and director of the films and media being produced by Black Robin Media for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture’s upcoming exhibition Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures from the Past, Present and Beyondopening in March 2023.  

Robinson is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She has been active in several organizations committed to the growth and promotion of our youth, including serving as a member of the Washington D.C. chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated, a founding board member of the City Collegiate Public Charter School, and a former board member of the Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in English Literature. 

* Lynne Robinson is the daughter of Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch Member, Sylvia Robinson.

Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH

President’s Circle Featuring Njaimeh Njie

Throughout Women’s History Month 2023, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH presents brief features on a female Branch member or a family member of the Branch member.

Njaimeh Njie, Multimedia Artist.

Working across photography, film, installation, and public art, Njaimeh Njie‘s practice centers everyday Black people, narratives, and landscapes with a focus on how the past shapes the present. She has worked on storytelling projects in communities across Western Pennsylvania, as well as Jackson, Mississippi, Paris, France, and Northern Ireland.

Njaimeh is the author of the photobook, This Is Where We Find Ourselves (2021), and she has exhibited in spaces including the Carnegie Museum of Art and The Mattress Factory. She has presented at venues including TEDxPittsburghWomen, Brown University, and Harvard University, and her work is included in the permanent collections of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, as well as many private collections.

2019-2021, Njaimeh worked with the Legacy Committee of the Historic Centre Avenue YMCA in Pittsburgh’s Hill District to create and install a photo mural paying tribute to the rich legacy of the institution. All Roads Lead to the Y collages a combination of archival and contemporary photos, and showcases images made by the legendary photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris, to stand as a marker of the past, present, and future legacies of the building and the Hill community at large. In addition to community collaborations such as this, Njaimeh has been honored with awards including the 2019 Visual Artist of the Year by the Pittsburgh City Paper, and the 2018 Emerging Artist of the Year by the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Beyond her independent practice Njaimeh is the Founder/Lead Producer of the nonfiction storytelling company Eleven Stanley Productions. She earned her B.A. in Film and Media Studies in 2010 from Washington University in St. Louis.

Njaimeh’s mother, Valerie Njie is a member of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH. I had the distinct and unique honor to work with Njaimeh on the Legacy Committee of the Historic Centre Avenue YMCA in Pittsburgh’s Historic Hill District where Njaimeh did an excellent job.

Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH

President’s Circle Featuring Dr. Shirley Biggs

Throughout Women’s History Month 2023, the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH presents brief features on a female Branch member or a family member of the Branch member.

Dr. Shirley A. Biggs, emerita faculty member in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Biggs earned an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education at Duquesne University, a master’s degree in Psychological Services and Reading at the University of South Carolina, and a doctorate of education in Language Communications at the University of Pittsburgh.  

At Pitt Dr. Shirley A. Biggs taught, conducted research, and published books and journal articles about reading education and the literacy development of students at the secondary, college, and adult levels. She has been editor of several academic journals—which include The Journal of College Literacy & Learning and The Negro Educational Review.

However, she began her career in education as a teacher at Baxter Elementary School in Homewood and Dilworth Elementary School in East Liberty. She later entered higher education by teaching for four years at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. During her stay in Columbia, she also served as a consultant and curriculum developer for 14 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) sponsored by the Georgia-based Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. 

Upon her return to Pittsburgh, she simultaneously earned her doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh and taught courses in Reading Education. Her early research explored how middle, high school, college, and adult students read and learn from textbooks. This led to her work as consultant to the National Center for Counseling and Instruction and the National Assessment of Educational Progress as a reading and study skills specialist. Her most recent research addresses the mentoring of adolescent children. 

In addition to her teaching and research roles in Pitt’s School of Education, Dr. Biggs provided leadership in two areas. She was the School’s Director of Affirmative Action and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. She also served as Director of Pitt Project Tutor (a program pairing Pitt students with elementary and middle school children in Pittsburgh to improve reading and math skills). 

Dr. Biggs has also served as reading consultant locally, nationally, and internationally for institutions serving students in elementary grades through high school and in post-secondary settings—from Penn Hills and Southwest Butler school districts, and Cleveland and Denver Public Schools to Wilberforce and San Jose State universities, to the University of the North (now Limpopo) and the University of Durban-Westville in South Africa. 

Dr. Biggs’ record of service includes her role as a past chair of the Youth Enrichment Services, Inc. Board of Directors. She was also a board member of Imani Christian Academy, as well as chair of its education committee. She continues to function as an executive editor of the international academic journal, The Negro Educational Review, and also as a volunteer who serves as chair of the Core/Steering Committee of middle and high school mentoring programs at the Mt. Ararat Community Activity Center (MACAC).  Dr. Biggs is a member of Mt. Ararat Baptist Church. 

*Dr. Shirley Biggs and her daughter Cheryl Biggs are members of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH.

Ronald B. Saunders, President of Dr.Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH

Crossing Waters & Fighting Tides

The Efficient Womanhood of the Negro Universal Improvement Association Black Global World 

Women’s History Month Program
Presented By Dr. Natanya Duncan Associate Professor of History and the Director of the Africana Studies Program Queens College CUNY 

Dr. Duncan’s talk will focus on the endeavors of Black women to resist inter-racial and intra-racial oppressions during the first half of the 20th Century.  Their efforts, she argues, shaped an activist strategy where gender and race concerns were pursued in tandem.  She has labeled their activism  “efficient womanhood” and traces the legacy of this activist strategy to modern day movements #BLM and #MeToo.

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Biography

Natanya Duncan is the Director of Africana Studies and Research Institute at Queens College City University of New York and an Associate Professor of History. A historian of the African Diaspora, her research and teaching focuses on global freedom movements of the 20th and 21st Century.

Dr. Duncan’s research interest includes constructions of identity and nation building
amongst women of color; migrations; color and class in Diasporic communities; and the engagements of intellectuals throughout the African Diaspora. Her forthcoming University ofIllinois Press book, An Efficient Womanhood: Women and the Making of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, focuses on the distinct activist strategies enacted by women in the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), which Duncan calls an efficient womanhood.

Following the ways women in the UNIA scripted their own understanding of Pan Africanism, Black Nationalism and constructions of Diasporic Blackness, the work traces the blending of nationalist and gendered concerns amongst known and lesser known Garveyite women. Duncan’s publications include works that explore the leadership models of UNIA women and include “Now in Charge of the American Field”: Maymie De Mena and Charting the UNIA’s New Course” in Journal of Liberty Hall (Vol. 3 2017); “Henrietta Vinton Davis: The Lady of the Race” in Journal of New York History (Fall 2014 Vol 95 No. 4); “Laura Kofey and the Reverse Atlantic Experience” in The American South and the Atlantic World (University of Florida Press, 2013).

Most recently she co-edited a special volume of Liberty Hall Journal “UNSILENCED: AFRO-CARIBBEAN WOMEN IN BLACK NATIONALIST ACTIVISM”(December 2021) and Caribbean Women and Gender Studies Journal “Gender and Anti-colonialism in the Interwar Caribbean” published December 2018. The award winning 12 article volume examines the political ferment of the interwar period (1918–1939), tracking how gendered conceptions of rights, respectability, leadership, and belonging informed anti-colonial thought and praxis. Rather than constructing a singular narrative of Caribbean anti-colonialism, we grapple with the varied political visions and modes of resistance that animated critiques of colonial rule, attending at once to place-specific strategies and to shared regional agendas.

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Black History Month Event: Black Resistance in Pittsburgh

February 11 | 4-5 PM ET

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Dr. Ralph Proctor
Community College of Allegheny County, Professor Ethnic & Diversity Studies, Academic Advisor

“Black Resistance in Pittsburgh”

Building Our Own Self-Sufficient Communities as a Way of Resisting Racism & The Modern Pittsburgh Civil Rights Movement

EDUCATION
1979 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA PhD, History
1965 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA BS, Psychology

EXPERIENCE
2001 – Present Community College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA
Professor Ethnic & Diversity Studies Department
Teach a variety of courses in History and Ethnic Studies
2006 – Present Community College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA

Academic Advisor, Allegheny Campus
Advise students in all matters related to their academic time at CCAC
2006 – 2008 Community College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA

Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer
Created, designed, taught and implemented college-wide Diversity Program
2001 – 2007 Community College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA

Chairman Afrikana & Ethnic Studies Department
Department creation, including new courses and degree and certificate
programs; budget submission, faculty supervision, administrative
responsibility, teaching courses
2006 In collaboration with Dr Elmer Haymon, conceived, planned and assisted in the building of the K Leroy Irvis Science Center
2001 – Present The Carnegie, Pittsburgh, PA

Consultant
Consulted on the identification of more than 80,000 photographs of Pittsburgh
Courier photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris; wrote articles about the exhibition;
trained museum Docents; appeared on panels about the exhibition
2000 Lord Cultural Resources, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Provided consultant services related to feasibility study (part 2) for African
American Cultural Facility of Pittsburgh

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21st Century Black Resistance: Antiracism Activation Through Conversation

11 AM – 1 PM ET January 21, 2023

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ANITA D RUSSELL, MEd

Personal Transformation Expert, International Bestselling Author, Professional Speaker, and
Founder/CEO The Place to SOAR.

VP Media Relations for the Dr. Edna B.McKenzie Branch of ASALH

A Virtual Event
Presented by
Anita D Russell

“Antiracism activation is a verb. It is sustainable grassroots movement tied to generational leadership.”

Anita’s journey towards antiracism activation begins with her George Floyd origin story and the Cairo Questions: Will Cairo have to protest in his lifetime for the birthright to freely and peacefully exist in the skin in which he was born?

Anita’s work since 2020 has been greatly influenced by Dr. Robert Livingston of Harvard University, and author of The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations. She has developed an Activism through Coaching Model build on personal transformation and four basics tenets : courage, conversation, relationship, and accountability.

In 2021 she created InflexionPoint Podcast with a strong bend towards historical and racial literacy, and exploring what it means to be Black globally.
In 2023 she produced the First Annual Antiracism Activation Summit, featuring 15 speakers in 5 days.

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First Annual Antiracism Activation Summit 2023

Produced & Hosted by Anita Russell, VP of Media Relations, Dr.Edna B McKenzie Branch of ASALH

Personal Transformation Expert | Professional Speaker | International Bestselling Author
Founder/CEO The Place to SOAR
Creator/Host of InflexionPoint Podcast

SUMMIT DETAILS & REGISTRATION

15 SPEAKERS IN 5 DAYS

VISION

Antiracism activation is tied to generational leadership and influence

The virtual experience, First Annual Antiracism Activation Summit 2023, is created for the express purpose of highlighting work currently being done by individuals, entrepreneurs, organizations, businesses, and educators whose antiracism activation work originated, was enhanced by, or expanded in response to the culminating moment of the murder of George Floyd. Fifteen featured speakers come together to share their origin story of how they stand with George Floyd posthumously to fulfill his dream and purpose to change the world.

“The picture that emerged from the series and our subsequent year of reporting is that of a man facing extraordinary struggles with hope and optimism, a man who managed to do in death what he so desperately wanted to achieve in life: change the world.” 

His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa

GOALS

While the need for achieving a sustainable future based on equity, diversity, and inclusion is real, it requires awareness and meaningful action to put it into practice.

  • Identify individuals, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and educators dedicated to generational leadership through equity, diversity, and inclusion for the purpose of activating antiracism.
  • Serve as a resource for those who are seeking to expand their awareness of racism, equity, and social justice through courage, conversation, relationship, and accountability.
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CHALLENGE

Participants will be challenged by speakers to…

  • Learn more about the work of antiracism activists.
  • Gain exposure to experts in the antiracism activation space and discover new opportunities for your own antiracism activation work.
  • Be inspired by generational leaders in antiracism activation work,
  • Step into your discomfort zone to find the transformational power that exists there.
  • Build your legacy of antiracism activation while encouraging others to do the same. 
SUMMIT DETAILS & REGISTRATION