WASHINGTON - Knowing our history is important. It allows for the study of successes and failures of the ancestral past. This historical understanding empowers most individuals to create a new course, which can either deaden toxic generational shortcomings, amplify familial legacies, or pave a new way for future generations. It goes without saying that accepting the challenge of creating a stronger lifepath can be seen as impossible by onlookers and bystanders. However, recent doctoral graduates of Howard University’s Graduate School have accepted the challenge to live a full life in their potential.

Howard is unique in its ability to help students do just that.  At Howard, more than at any other place, Dana A. Williams, Ph.D., interim dean of the Howard University Graduate School suggested during the Class of 2019 Annual Hood Presentation Ceremony, “You can find the plurality of our entire cultural inheritance as peoples of African descent and thereby as all of known humanity. In each person’s story at Howard, over the years and again today, you can find the whole of human experiences and glimpses—reminders of human history.”

Among the 2019 graduating class is Tabia Alexander Pope—who received her Ph.D. in communications sciences and disorders. Pope’s research focuses on the role of speech-language pathologists in academic concussions management, especially among African-American college football student-athletes. Pope also received her B.S. (communications sciences and disorders) and M.S. (speech-language pathology) from Howard.

What also makes Pope’s legacy so rich is the decision her family members have made to receive their education from Howard University. She is one of seven family members who are Howard graduates, including her grandfather and aunt who earned their M.D. from Howard University. “I would like to honor my grandfather [and other relatives] for paving the way for me to walk across the main stage as Dr. Pope. It is the same yard that has developed me and my family not only as scholars, but also as leaders for the global community,” Pope said.

Also, in this class was Anton House, a native of Racine, Wisconsin who earned his Ph.D. in history. Unable to resist the pull of an economic reality that had him selling drugs at the age of 13, House didn’t think he would live to see the age of 16.

During his second time in prison for selling drugs, a man serving a life sentence did what none of House’s teachers did—he saw his potential and knew immediately how positive self-identity would help set House on the right path. The inmate recommended that House read “The Destruction of Black Civilization” by Chancellor Williams, and House never looked back. He earned his high school equivalency diploma while in prison and entered into the Community Re-Entry Program upon release. In 2007, House became a full-time student at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and 2011, he was accepted into the Master’s program at Howard.

“As a kid, I would’ve never seen myself in this position,” said House, whose research focused on William Washington Browne and his vision for black self-reliance during the years of 1881-1897. “My past has awarded me a keen insight into many of the 19th-century issues, which affected African Americans.  From growing up on ground zero during the crack epidemic and mass-incarceration in Wisconsin, I can use concrete examples and contextualize them with abstract ideas or events of the past.”

Vanessa Moorer, who recently graduated with her Ph.D. in communication, culture and media studies, moved to D.C. in 2014 with a clear sense of what she might be able to do in the area.

 “Within a span of two months, I was selected as the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s first Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow and I was accepted into the Howard University Communication, Culture and Media Studies department,” said Moorer, who is originally from Tampa, Florida. “The opportunity to be a part of two symbolic Black institutions within the nation’s capital has been an empowering experience for me as I have grown from aspiring scholar to a Doctor of Philosophy.”

First-generation bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. graduate, Kimberly F. Monroe was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. There were not many African Americans in her community who had achieved degrees in higher education. “I didn’t have anyone to look to for guidance. I relied heavily on the words of my grandmother, who only had a 3rd-grade education: ‘Finish school, Kimberly. Just finish school,” said Monroe, who earned a Ph.D. in history and served as president of the Graduate Student Council (GSC) in 2018-19.

“I’m aware of the many privileges Howard has bestowed upon me. I will always make Howard proud. I was trained by Howard and made by the Mecca. I look forward to continuing the fight for the education and liberation of Africana peoples throughout the world.”

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(Featured image: Doctoral graduate Tabia Pope - courtesy of Howard University. Pictured above: Howard University Doctoral Graduates Tabia Pope, Anton House, Vanessa Moorer, Kimberly Monroe - courtesy of Howard University)

About Howard University Graduate School

Howard University offered its first master’s degree in 1867—the same year it was established. In 1934, the Graduate School was formally established and reorganized to its current structure with divisions in the arts and humanities, biological and life sciences, engineering and physical sciences, and social sciences. The school awarded its first doctorate degree in 1958 in the field of chemistry. The school offers 24 master’s, 31 Ph.D. and 7 M.D./Ph.D. Programs. The Graduate School has consistently issued on average over 100 doctoral degrees per year for the last three years.  For more information, visit, www.gs.howard.edu 

 

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States.  For more information on Howard University visit www.howard.edu

Media Contact: Imani Pope-Johns, Imani.popejohns@howard.edu