HBCU Students shine at last week's Essence GU Disruptor Summit
Written By: Kierstyn Pryor
“Disrupt or be disrupted!”
The Essence Girls United Summit returned for the fourth year and used this amazing slogan, inspiring ladies to become the next movers and shakers of their generation. Through panels with pioneering artists and creatives, the summit highlighted the power of disruption in one’s career field or industry. Hosted by Rachel Jackson, (Curator Artist & Livestream Partnerships, YouTube) there were a number of successful panelists and conversations geared toward developing each person in the room. Panelists included CEO and Chief Growth Officer of Essence Ventures Caroline Wanga, Pretty Vee, BIA, Grammy Award Winning artist Muni Long, and of course Rechelle Dennis (Founder) and Sophia Dennis (Co-Founder) of Essence GU. The event even ended with outstanding performances from Aliyah's Interlude and Mariah the Scientist.
Last year's summit consisted of panelists like Jayda Cheaves, Dess Dior, Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd, Jessie Woo, and many others. It was hosted by Reginae Carter and even included a guest performance from Rubi Rose. The panelists spoke on beauty, confidence, and how you can elevate your skills in any career field. However, this year's panelist dived a little deeper into politics, activism, and even education. Hence HBCU students were not only in attendance but also included in the line-up!
One panel in particular, titled “ On Strike”, included three students who attend HBCUs and pride themselves on working hard toward success. The students were Kamarie Brown, Marley Dias, and J. Simmone. They all not only spoke about their success at such a young age but also about the ongoing challenges students may face as a result of being an HBCU student. They discussed challenges such as the housing crisis at HBCUs, the lack of AC at these school's dormitories, the school's lack of urgency to fix these issues, and student loans. Their accomplishments already spoke volumes before they stepped onto the stage.
Marley Dias is an 18-year-old Harvard student, author, and owner of 1,000 Black Girl Books. While she also serves as a host and executive producer of the Netflix show “ Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices” and an ambassador of the National Educational Association, it is no secret that she has a passion for education. During the panel, Dias gave the audience a new perspective and a powerful speech regarding the HBCU struggle. When asked about the student housing crisis Marley delivered an amazing point that the housing crisis are a result of larger environmental issues in our country. “HBCUs do not have large enough endowments, and we aren’t given large enough land grants to have enough space for the amount of people that they’re supposed to teach and train, ” the scholar said.
Student Kamarie Brown weighed in on the matter by taking things a step further and mentioning a common stereotype when it comes to dorm conflicts within universities. “ We cannot continue to just say “Oh you’re at an HBCU”, no we are an HBCU and we deserve luxury like the rest.”
Brown was able to shine during the Essence GU not only from this empowering and relatable statement but also from being recognized as the first African-American student board member at only 17 years old.
Furthermore, J. Simmone, a member of Delta Sigma Theta incorporated and a proud student influencer used her platform and opportunity to be a panelist at this year's summit in order to represent her school. She continues to use her platform as a stepping stone for change in her school community. The student revealed that she experienced housing troubles in the past and her school's motto has kept her going even through trying times. The Clark Atlanta student stated that “ Find A Way or Make One“ continues to encourage her to make a seat at any table for herself and others who desire to disrupt.
Last but not least, Nani Edwards, is another HBCU student who was able to shine their light at the Essence 2023 summit. The fashion designer and Spelminite alumni spoke in a separate panel titled “Backstage Pass” where she and a few others gave the audience backstage pass advice on how they can thrive in the fashion industry. They each spoke of their past endeavors, leading Edwards to speak on her experience as a young fashion icon and being featured in GQ magazine. She also covered how she was selected to take on a very important task of designing her alma mater's new sneaker. The sneaker is a partnership with Nike and their yard runners collection and is set to be released on December 2, 2023.
With that being said, each lady panelist in the Essence GU disruptor summit has exceptional achievements. They are breaking barriers by continuously spreading their light and reflecting on what it means to be a disruptor and speaking on ongoing issues within our society. These ladies represented and showed every HBCU student that they too can do whatever they put their minds to. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year's HBCU panelists!
You can support each panelist on their instagrams @iammarleydias , @nanitheboss, @kamar1ee, @jsimmone