Student Unity Summit
Jackson, MS · April 26-27, 2002
Held in Conjunction with Green/Gibbs Week (April 21-18)

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This year's Student Unity Summit was hosted by Jackson State University, in conjunction with Green/Gibbs week. The summit this year was sponsored by Jackson State University, the University of Mississippi, New Mississippi, Tougaloo College, Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Mississippi State University, Millsaps College, State Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees and the University of Southern Mississippi. The first summit was sponsored by the University of Mississippi in partnership with Jackson State University, and this partnership was renewed through the New Mississippi alliance. Other Sponsors were (JSU) Student Government Association, (JSU) Office of the President,( JSU) Office of Facilities, (JSU) Office of Student Affairs and Student Activities, (JSU) National Alumni Association, Inc., (JSU) Frederick Douglass Honors College, (JSU) Gibbs/Green Week Planning Team, (UM) Center for the Study of Southern Culture, (UM) Associated Student Body, (UM) McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College, and (UM) Office of Student Life.

On Friday, April 16, 2002, the summit was kicked off with a luncheon followed by the Presidential Forum, "Unity and Diversity in Mississippi's Schools."  Dr. Susan Glisson, Assistant Director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi gave the welcome address and Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr., President of Jackson State University acted as moderator of the panel discussion. The panelists were Mr. Bill Crawford, President of the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees (State of Mississippi; Dr. Robert Khayat, Chancellor of the University of Mississippi; Ms. Beverly Hogan, Interim President of Tougaloo (since named President); and, Dr. Frances Lucas-Taucher, President of Millsaps College. The panel lead off with a brief message from each panelist and the ensuing discussion was lively, with questions being fielded by the panelists from the students attending.

The next phase of the summit involved team building exercises. "A House Divided" was the first, facilitated by Dr. Monique Guillory of JSU, in which attendees were divided into groups and given the task of building a house from skewers and gumdrops. The tallest house standing at the end was declared the winning house. Each team soon learned that a strong foundation was required to hold the house up, and organizational skills and the cooperation of all was necessary to construct a tall but sturdy edifice.

The exercise was educational, but it was loud, it was lively, and it was hilarious as well. Each team selected a name, and drew up a list of things to be accomplished during the summit. A poster of goals was created by each group, and displayed on the wall for perusal by one and all, and for later reference.

Friday night at the banquet, the keynote address was given by Mr. Herman Boone, the former coach for the Titans at T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA. Coach Boone was the inspiration for the movie, "Remember the Titans," in which his part was played by Denzel Washington.

Coach Boone gave an inspiring address on unity and the things that can be accomplished if everyone will work together rather than wasting their time and energy working at cross-purposes. His emphasis was on getting past resentments and old hostilities and cooperating for the advancement of everyone. He spoke about the lives that were changed when students (and parents) learned about one another by working for a common goal, and finding that they could work together in spite of their differences.

Saturday began with a social awareness exercise, "The Level Playing Field" which was both very enlightening to everyone, and a lot of fun at the same time. Afterwards the groups were seated together again and a challenging discussion was facilitated by Mr. Curtis Mohammad, who worked for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1961-1970 in Mississippi and helped to organize Freedom Summer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party..

After lunch each group put their heads together and made plans for the coming year, and the plans of each group was discussed before the whole group in turn. Alliances between schools were formed and contacts established for interaction between the attending schools (Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, Tougaloo College, University of Mississippi and the University of Southern Mississippi).

Saturday afternoon, everyone gathered at the Jackson City Hall for a service in honor of Phillip L. Gibbs and James E. Green, the two young men killed at Jackson State University in 1970, entitled "A Celebration of Life." Brief remarks were given by Janelle Hannah, JSU Student President Elect, LaSha' Baylis, JSU Student Vice President Elect, Tangelia Kelly, JSU Student Chief Justice Elect, JSU President Dr. Ronald Mason, and the closing remarks were made by Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson.

This service was followed by a march from City Hall to Green/Gibbs Plaza at JSU. The students were joined by others from the city at large in this procession, during which songs of freedom and unity were sung.

At Green/Gibbs Plaza, a dance tribute was done by Narah Oatis of the JSU Dance Ensemble and remarks were made by Daniel I. Ballard, of the JSU Student Government Association and JSU President, Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr. Afterwards, candles were lit and placed at the foot of the memorial in tribute to Phillip L. Gibbs and James E. Green.

THANKS AND APPRECIATION

One last thing must be said. The Student Unity Summit was a unified effort involving a lot of hard work and planning from all the sponsors and volunteers, and on behalf of everyone involved, both students and other participants, we thank you so much for the successful and wonderful Student Unity Summit this year!

There are a couple of people, however, who have to be singled out for special thanks and appreciation. Without the vision, the commitment, the effort, and the hard work of two people, this Student Unity Summit might never have taken place. Those two people are Dr. Monique Guillory of Jackson State University and Dr. Susan Glisson of the University of Mississippi. Dr. Guillory hosted, managed and babied this summit along at Jackson State; Dr. Glisson worked on the planning phase for a year with Dr. Guillory, and plowed through all obstacles to make it happen. Both of these educators spend untold hours and effort working on this summit throughout the past year, and basically made it happen.

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