Each year, sisters Michelle Hendrix-Nora and Regina Hendrix take about 20 Beloit-area teenagers on a trip to tour Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country. In many ways, this all began for the Hendrix sisters as college-bound teens. Ms. Hendrix-Nora says an influential teacher was an University of Arkansas Pine Bluff graduate and encouraged her to seek out an education at an HBCU.

On today’s show, host Yuri Rashkin talks with Michelle Hendrix-Nora about her mission to expose students to the opportunities that await them at one of the country’s 107 HBCUs. They are also joined by Dr. Melanie Carter from the Center for HBCU Research, Leadership, and Policy at Howard University. They talk about the history of HBCUs, the recruitment in a post-Affirmative Action era, and the power of a web of support for Black college students.

Michelle Hendrix-Nora is an administrator with the Beloit School District. For the last 12 years, Michelle and her sister, Regina Hendrix, have organized the Rising Knights HBCU College Tour.

Dr. Melanie Carter is Associate Provost & Director of the Center for HBCU Research, Leadership, and Policy and Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Howard University.

Image by Ernie A. Stephens from Pixabay

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