2021 digital yearbook

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Social & Behavioral Sciences
Communication Studies • Mass Communication Political Science • Psychology • Sociology
Mass Communication
Amyre received the prestigious Rangel Fellowship.
The Rangel Fellowship is one of the most competitive national fellowships for graduates entering careers in the foreign service. To let you know how hard it is, there are over 500 applicants and 90 finalists and a grueling application and interview process.
And she did it! This is the first step in her career to work for the State department in Public Diplomacy, which is a mix of Strategic Communications and Diplomacy. The last time Xavier received the Rangel was in 2018 in Poli Sci under Dr. Moore’s mentorship.
Lighting The Road To The Future
“The People’s Paper”
Week of November 30 - December 6, 2020
Celebrating 95 years of providing ‘News that matters’
So this is a first for a Mass Comm major at Xavier to get it, as it often goes to Poli Sci students.
New Orleans commemorates the “New Orleans Four” on desegregation anniversary
Nigell Moses , whose story from the Intermediate Converged Media reporting class is the front page feature story for The Louisiana Weekly. Attached are the pdf files. Kaleb Crump in Intermediate was also the cover story for Data News Weekly on a piece on Covid-19.
The students have worked extremely hard to publish over 35 stories this semester in Intermediate with the Black Press and with Zoe at The Advocate and Aviwe at PBS Frontline. Attached is the full list of published reporting in Intermediate below and feedback from the students on how rewarding it is to see their bylines.
The Untold Story
Linda Thomas- Greenfield spent 35 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, including assign- ments in Jamaica, Nigeria, Gambia, Kenya, Pakistan, Switzerland and Liberia. Not bad for a girl
Recasting the Disney Princess in an Era of New Media and Social Movements
Edited by SHEARON ROBERTS - Contributions by JENNY BANH; ALEXIS WOODS BARR; SHANIECE B. BICKHAM; AHLI CHAT- TERS; CHARITY CLAY; SARAH A. CLUNIS; VERONICA NOHEMI DURAN; KRYSTAL GHISYAWAN; SUSANNE R. HACKETT; ABEO JACKSON; SHERYL KENNEDY HAYDEL; VARION LAURENT; LEECE LEE-OLIVER; SARAH MABEN; TURON NICHOLAS; PRAIRIE ENDRES-PARNELL; KELSEY DENISE RAY; DARON ROBERTS; SHEARON ROBERTS; ALBERTO RODRIGUEZ; HANNAH JOY SHAREEF; HOLLY PATE; JANA THOMAS; PRINSEY WALKER AND REBECCA WEIDMAN-WINTER
In the late 2000s, the Walt Disney Company expanded, rebrand- ed, and recast itself around “woke,” empowered entertainment. This new era revitalized its princess franchise, seeking to elevate its female characters into heroes who save the day. Recasting the Disney Princess in an Era of New Media and Social Movements analyzes the way that the Walt Disney Company has co-opted
contemporary social discourse, incorporating how audiences interpret their world through new media and activism into the company’s branding initiatives, programming, and films. The contributors in this collection study the company’s most iconic franchise, the Disney princesses, to evaluate how the company has addressed the patriarchy its own legacy cemented. Recasting the Disney Princess outlines how the current Disney era reflects changes in a global society where audiences are empowered by new media and social justice movements.
Local Candidates Advance to Run-Off
A Data News Weekly Exclusive
Data Zone Page 4 November 7 - November 13, 2020 55th Year Volume 28 www.ladatanews.com
and well-being, according to a new report
of a Pandemic
Indigenous, Latino and Black Rural Communities comprise COVID-19’s Forgotten Toll
Page 2
from Baker, La.
The East Baton Rouge
A young Ruby Bridges
Newsmaker
Hurricane Zeta’s Wrath
Page 6
Publisher’s Note
A Victory at the Polls
Page 6
Former Alabama state Sen. Hank Sanders, a friend of Boynton’s, on Tuesday confirmed his passing.
Millie Charles, educator, social worker, dies
Dr. Shearon Roberts, Assistant Professor of Mass
Communication at Xavier, took on the role of
Xavier Exponential Director, summer 2020
Since 1925 www.louisianaweekly.com 50 cents The state of Louisiana lags in human development
The study researched and evaluated three basic facets – a healthy and long life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living – that are key to a life of freedom and oppor- tunity. Measure of America, which is an initia- tive of the Social Science Research Council, examined government data regarding indica- tors of health, education and income and con- verted the numbers into a score on the
VOL. XCV NO. 12
By Ryan Whirty
American Human Development Index.
The AHDI tabulates a person’s well-being on a scale of 0-to-10 and compares the result- ing scores across different demographic
devastation of Hurricane Katrina as the state and its citizens struggled to regain their eco- nomic, health and social wellness.
Contributing Writer
Despite some progress since a similar study in 2009, a new report by Measure of America found that the state of Louisiana – and especially peo- ple of color – continues to lag behind Americans in other areas of the country when it comes to human development and well-being.
La. native appointed as ambassador to the UN
groups in Louisiana.
The recently released report, titled “A
Like that study done 11 years ago, the new effort by Measure of America evaluates well- being and human development at a time of great upheaval and challenges for Louisianans, who
Parish native will serve as THOMAS- President-elect Biden’s GREENFIELD new Ambassador to the United Nations, and given that Thomas-Greenfield’s area of expertise is Africa, her appointment is a signal that the new president seeks to focus many of his foreign
Continued on Pg. 11
Bruce Boynton, who inspired 1961 Freedom Rides dies
By Nigell Moses
policies towards the Great Continent. Thomas-Greenfield has been a civil rights
Sixty years ago, desegregation of New Orleans public schools began with four young, African-American girls, three of whom – Leona Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost – are wide- ly known as the “McDonogh Three.”
(AP) — Bruce Carver Boynton, a civil rights pioneer from Alabama who inspired the land- mark “Freedom Rides” of 1961, died last Monday. He was 83.
“We gather to celebrate this historic
Boynton was arrested 60 years ago for enter- ing the white part of a racially segregated bus sta- tion in Virginia and launching a chain reaction that ultimately helped to bring about the abolition of Jim Crow laws in the South. Boynton contest- ed his conviction, and his appeal resulted in a
By Fritz Esker
school’s dean until her retirement in 2006. When she began working at SUNO in 1965, she was the only per- son in the social work department. When she retired, there were over 30 employees in the department. In 2015, SUNO broke ground on the 40,000-square-foot Millie M. Charles School of Social Work Building on
the SUNO Lake Campus.
Dr. Rebecca Chaisson, dean of the
Continued on Pg. 11
Educator, social worker and civil rights activist Millie Charles died at her home on Friday, November 20. She was 97.
Three African-American girls, Leona Tate, Gail Etienne and Tessie Prevost, leave McDonogh 19 Elementary School in New Orleans on Nov. 28, 1960, where they had the newly integrated school to themselves due to a total boycott by white students. Deputy U.S. Marshals escort two of the girls out the walk; the third peers from back seat of waiting car. At right, a close up of two of the ‘McDonogh Three” AP Photos
On Nov. 14, 1960 the “McDonogh Three” made history by being the first Black students to attend and integrate the once all-white McDonogh 19 in the lower Ninth Ward. During a time of vio- lence and racial tensions, the resilience and bravery of the “Three” forged opportunities for African-American stu- dents and communities to have the rights and access to safe public education.
MILLIE CHARLES
Charles founded the SUNO School of Social Work in 1983. She was the
Continued on Pg. 11
Contributing Writer
school of social work at SUNO, said Charles’ efforts put SUNO on the map nationally. Chaisson said she has fielded many calls from social work- ers around the country who spoke of
Portrait of Louisiana: Human Development in an Age of Uncertainty,” follows a similar one completed in 2009, just a few years after the
Continued on Pg. 2
Don’t forget to Vote on Saturday, December 5th Polls open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m.
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Contributing Writer
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Psychology
Dr. Brian Turner, Associate Professor of Psychology speaks at Virtual Black History Convocation.
Dr. Elizabeth Yost Hammer, the director of Xavier’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development (CAT+FD) and a Kellogg Professor in Teaching in the psychology department, received the American Psychology Association’s (APA) Charles F. Brewer Distinguished Teaching Award. The award recognizes a psychologist with a career of significant contributions, who has proven to be an exceptional teacher of psychology.
Louisiana’s first Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Program graduates first class December 7, 2020
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier University of Louisiana Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program graduated its first class of psychologists. Launched in 2015 to help New Orleans rebuild its mental health infrastructure post-Hurricane Katrina, the program is the first of its kind offered in the state of Louisiana, and the only Clinical Doctoral Program in the New Orleans.
Sociology
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Dr. Charity Clay, Assistant Sociology professor was named a William T. Grant Scholar by the William T. Grant Foundation for her designation as a promising early-career researcher.
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Division of Biological and Applied Health Sciences
Biology• Public Health Sciences • Speech Pathology
Public Health Sciences — Masters of Health Equity
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Regina Benjamin, MD MBA Endowed Chair in Public Health Sciences and 18th United States Surgeon General
Tyra Gross, PhD, MPH Assistant Professor
Krista Mincey, PhD. Assistant Professor
Amy Thierry, PhD. Assistant Professor
L. Faye Grimsley, PhD.
Associate Professor and Head, Public Health Sciences Associate Chair, Division of Biological and Applied Health Sciences
Leonard Jack, Jr., PhD., M. Sc. Adjunct Distinguished Professor
Nedra Kelly Administrative Specialist
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Division of Business
Accounting • Finance• Management • Sales and Marketing • Entrepreneurship Institute
Dr. Joe Ricks, Division Chair
Blazer Ceremony
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Graduate Programs
Master’s: Education, Counseling, Public Health, Speech Pathology/Audiology and Theology • Doctoral program in Educational Leadership • The Chicago School of Professional Psychology—Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology
Speech Pathology/Audiology Lab
Maya Leslie
Xavierite Granted Scholarship, Selected as Student Representative for LSLHA
Xavier grad student and alum granted scholarship, chosen to serve as the student representative for the Louisiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association (LSLHA).
Maya’s role as the student representative for the LSLHA is to serve
as a liaison between speech pathology and ideology students
across Louisiana. It is her duty to submit student reports and other information for the LSLHA newsletter and website. This is not Maya’s first time in an administrative role, having been on several committees and executive boards during her time at Xavier, and she was excited about the new challenge.
The Interprofessional Preparation for Related Services Personnel Services is a project funded partially by a grant from the U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, with LSU Health Sciences Center School of Allied Health Professionals acting as a liaison for scholarship recipients.
The scholarship program focuses on training personnel in interprofessional evaluation and management of school-age children with disabilities presented with high-intensity needs. It supports the need for highly trained personnel in much-need disciplines that are included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Maya’s selection to the cohort means being able to fund the rest of her education, which helps lessen the pressure as she completes graduate school. Maya was one of 10 students chosen for the 2020-2021 cohort.
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Division of Education & Counseling
Master of Arts — Counseling, Curriculum and Instruction - Reading Specialist, Curriculum and Instruction Special Interest - Teacher Leader, Elementary Education (Grades 1-5) •
Doctor of Eduction —Educational Leadership
Xavier University of Louisiana’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is now offering a Teacher Education Scholarship to seniors enrolled in the Undergraduate Teacher Education program and graduate students enrolled in the Norman C. Francis Teacher Residency (NCFTR) program. Xavier’s undergraduate education seniors and those enrolled in the NCFTR program who have an interest in seeking elementary (grades 1-5), middle school (grades 4-8), or secondary (grades 6-12) certification to teach at a high-needs school are encouraged to apply. Twenty scholarships valued at $10,000 each will be awarded
Xavier University of Louisiana Partners with Citywide organizations to celebrate new funding for critical teacher programs
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Mathematical & Physical Sciences
Chemistry • Mathematics • Physics and Computer Science
Physics/Engineering Department
Professor Dr. Basil Davis recently published “The Basic Physics of Quantum Theory” through
World Scientific Publishing. The publication is designed to help the layperson learn the intimi- dating subject of quantum theory.
Dr. Anderson Sunda-Meya received Excellence in Physics Education Award.
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College of Pharmacy
Doctor of Pharmacy • Physician Assistant Master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Louisiana Governor Edwards selects Xavier faculty to serve on COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force
COVID-19 Vaccine Info Seminar and Q&A Session — sponsored by LSHP
Theme: Fighting Back Against Anti-Vax and easing any concerns students and faculty may have surrounding the novel COVID-19 vaccine. Our goal is to help make everyone comfortable with the vaccine by sharing resources and addressing any concerns.
Xavier’s Dr. George Nawas, Dr. William Kirchain, and Dr. Christopher Williams will extend their expert knowledge on the new COVID-19 vaccine!
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The Good
Twenty years in my career as a pharmacist with varying degrees of support from my colleagues and supervisors have culminated in this job at NYP – for which
I am inordinately grateful. None of the senior leadership in my prior places of employment have truly embraced the idea of racial harmony and race reparations and inclusivity at the level I have witnessed at NYP. The compassion and commitment demonstrated by Drs. Corwin and Forese both prior to, and since the horrific incident with George Floyd, are unlike anything I have experienced in the past. And for this, I am thankful. This is the ‘Good.’
The Ugly
When I first saw the George Floyd video clip, I couldn’t move. Witnessing a man being murdered by a police officer with his hand in his pocket, unfazed by the camera recording him, with no sense of urgency to stop; even a certain smugness on his face – the unrepentant brutality of the scene is enough to enrage you, and to break you. This was a modern day lynching. The grief that overcame me was hard to bear, I literally “could not breathe”. My first thoughts went to my four sons and my sweet grandchildren. His blatant demeanor, flaunting his conviction: “I am allowed to do this because you are not human”. Killing a black person on flimsy pretexts has no consequences in today’s America. Police brutality is the ‘Ugly’. Police brutality is emblematic of larger societal issues faced by blacks in every aspect of life – ranging from education, to housing, to health care.
The Bad
The murder of George Floyd has pulled the blinders back – in the nation and in the world. It has also awakened something in me that I chose to ignore. The realization that I have been conditioned to live in two worlds. The white one and a parallel black one. As a black person, we hide our true selves, our histories, our challenges, our beginnings, our roots.... As a black person, we are conditioned to assimilate,
to keep our guard up, and we teach our children to do the same. We suppress our feelings, we are trained to be submissive, to not offend, and to ‘act white’. This submissiveness has allowed White Racism to place its knee on the neck of Black America since the days of slavery – with impunity, without consequence and without remorse. This is the ‘Bad’.
Why was it different this time? Because there was a video; because the murder took a slow, deliberate 8 minutes and 46 seconds; because the world watched a man die because of a $20 bill – in broad daylight. The days of conditioned submission may finally be over. This is the Emmett Till moment of our generation. There is no turning back. The world has seen enough – the protests include all manner of people, not just blacks. This is a teachable moment – the lesson being, it is not enough to ‘not be racist’, it is not enough to be passive; it is essential that we are actively ‘Anti-Racist’, that we act when we witness racism, injustice, brutality...
My four sons watched their mother go to school...And so it is every day, this black mother has to fear for the safety of her sons... This black mother has to worry about the next encounter with racist America... This black mother has to worry about her sons being harmed by the very people who are supposed to protect them – the police...
The Hope
NYP gives me cause for hope. The CEO makes it his mission to foster diversity, tolerance and inclusion... I couldn’t have asked for a better work environment. It’s not perfect. It never is. I have had to respond to questions whether I am in the right place when I enter a room reserved for senior leadership meetings. Eyebrows go
up when the realization hits that the Vice President of Pharmacy is a black woman.
I have had to work twice as hard compared to my non-black counterparts to earn the same respect and recognition. Blacks know this, and accept it.... Why? Because society expects submission. It is time to understand how it feels to walk in the shoes of a black person. It is time to undo the dehumanization of the black race.
I have witnessed the Rodney King riots, Hurricane Katrina, the COVID 19 pandemic, police brutality..... These are the many faces of racial disparity. Racism is toxic. The world has finally erupted in fury. From Slavery to George Floyd – it has been a long journey. Now the world sees it too. No one is born a racist. Racism is taught. It is time to erase this particular lesson from the psyche of White Supremacist America; from the consciousness of Confederate America... Conversations, engagement, leadership by example...these initiatives are needed to make reparations for 400 years of wrong. And I believe NYP is poised to be a beacon in this endeavor. And I am proud and encouraged to be included in this process.
Professor Co-Authors Essay: “From Slavery to George Floyd; The Good, the Bad, the Ugly – and the Hope Narrated by: Dr. Patrice Dupart, Vice-President of Pharmacy, Apothecary-in-Chief New York Presbyterian Hospital with Commentary (Italics) by: Dr. Yashoda Pramar, Malcolm Ellington Endowed Professor of
Pharmacy Xavier University of Louisiana
“These are the many faces of racial; disparity. Racism is toxic. The world has finally
Erupted in fury. From Slavery to George Floyd — It has been a long journey. Now the world sees It too. No One is born a racist.”
From Slavery to George Floyd; The Good, the Bad, the Ugly – and the Hope As experienced by a mother, a professional, a Black American citizen
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Board of Trustees Administrators
Faculty & Staff
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Board of Trustees
Mr. Justin Augustine, III Board Chair
Dr. Gilda A. Barabino XU 1978
Ms. Christina Francis XU 1989
Ms. Claudia Marmolejo
Fr. Thomas O’Hara
Dr. Derek Robinson Board Vice Chair, XU 1998
Sister Donna Breslin, S.B.S.
Mr. Brandon Garrett
Mr. Meredith Marshall
Mr. James R. Swanson
Sister Amelia Bretón, S.B.S. Board Secretary
Sister Theresa Chato, S.B.S. XU 1971
Mr. Richard Gilder, III
Mr. Alden J. McDonald, Jr.
Ms. Angela Va;;ot
Dr. Jennifer Adams
Rabbi Edward Cohn
Dr. John H. Jackson, IV XU 1994
Mr. Randall McHenry XU 1986
Mr. Joseph West
Ms. Alexandra Allen
Ms. Nelda Connors
The Honorable Ivan L.R. Lemelle XU 1971
Mr. James Mitchell, Jr.
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Administrators
C. Reynold Verret, Ph.D. President, Board Member (ex-officio)
Keyana Scales
VP, Enrollment Manager
Kathleen Kennedy, Pharm.D Dean, COP
Marcus Cox, Ph.D.
Assoc. Dean CAS Graduate Programs/Director CCSDE
Fr. Etido Jerome University Chaplain
Anne McCall, Ph.D. Provost & Sr. VP Academic Affairs
Edward Phillips VP, Fiscal Services
Dangale Robinson Meda, Ph.D. Assistant Dean CAS
Gerald Villavasso Assist. Dean, CAS
Avis Stuard Registrar
Gene D’Amour, Ph.D. Special Assistant to President
Curtis Wright VP, Student Affairs
Linda Blakley, Pharm.D Associate Dean Student Affairs COP
Randall Schexnayder Asst. Dean for Professionalism COP
Philip Adams
VP Institutional Advancement
Marion Bracy VP, Facility Planning
Anderson Sunda-Meya, Ph.D. Acting Dean, CAS-XULA
Marguerite Giguette, Ph.D. Associate Provost & Chief Institutional Research Officer
Patrice Bell Mercadel
Vice President of Administration/ Chief of Staff
Kimberely Reese
AVP Institutional Advancement
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Congratulations to Xavier’s Communication and Marketing Team on the Covid-19 Award Winning Campaign
The first U.S. death known to be from COVID-19 occurred on Feb. 6 — nearly three weeks before deaths in Washington state that had been believed to be the country’s first from the coronavirus, according to officials in Santa Clara County, Calif. The person died at home and at a time when testing in the U.S. was tightly limited not only by capacity but by federal criteria.
As of March 18, more than 536,000 people in the U.S. died after contracting COVID-19
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New/Promoted Employees
Kendra Tircuit, XU 1995 named Executive Director of Advancement Services
Phillip D. Adams, Vice President of Institutional Advancement
Kimberly Reese, Associate Vice President Institutional Advancement
Darrell Johnson, Major Gift Officer Institutional Advancement
Dr. C. Vanessa White, Associate Director Institute for Black Catholic Studies
Kerri Alexander, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Chief Onclusion Officer
Catherine Robinson, new employee/Technical Support Specialist 2—OTA/ Office of Technology Administration
Kenneth Smith, Director Network and Enterprise at Xavier —OTA/Office of Technology Administration
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XULA COVID-19 Testing Stay Healthy!
Xavier Covid Ambassador
Day of Prayer and Remembrance of those who lost their lives to Covid-19
As of March 10, we have lost 9,812 people in Louisiana from COVID-19. Governor John Bel Edwards has asked that today, the anniversary of the first COVID-19 related death in our state, be a day of prayer and remembrance. I hope that you will join me for a moment of silence and prayer as we mourn family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers we have lost.
The vaccine brings new hope, we must not let down our guard and allow infection to return. Stay the course.
We may need to remain apart for a while longer, but soon we will return and embrace one another again. Until then, remember that we are still connected by love and kindness.
Reynold Verret President
Thank you, Xavierites for being diligent in following the guidelines to protect yourselves and others. Only 8 confirmed cases in our campus community. That’s less than 1.3% positivity rate. #MaskupXULA and keep doing your part.
President Reynold Verret September 24, 2020
Health Department Covid Testing at Xavier’s Convocation Center parking lot in July 2020.
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XULA COVID-19 Screenings and Vaccinations
The Xavier Community has frequent health screenings for student faculty and staff.
Dr. Norman C. Francis, former First Lady of New Orleans Sybil Morial and Alden McDonald, Liberty Bank XU board of Trustees, all rolled up their sleeves and received their 1st vaccination January 6, 2021.
Covid-19 Vaccination at the Recreation Center for Xavier and Gert Town Community March 19, 2021
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Memorials
We pray for the repose of the souls of our loved ones lost during the COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic
COVID-19 is the name given by the World Health Organization (WHO) on February 11, 2020 for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. It started in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and has since spread worldwide. COVID-19 is an acronym that stands for coronavirus disease of 2019. It has caused a cluster of cases of an acute respiratory disease, which is referred to as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). According to media reports, more than 200 countries and territories have been affected by COVID-19, because major outbreaks of the disease have occurred in the United States, central China, western Europe, and Iran. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic. As of March 2021 543K deaths in the USA and 12.73M.
U.S. Surgeon General VADM Jerome M. Adams visits Xavier
“I had family members disown me when I started my work under the current leadership. But do you think we can afford to take four whole years off our mission? I work for you all. I work for the American people and I work for God.”
In the UC for a much needed conversation on health care and priorities in our country.
Left: Artwork of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus. (Science Photo Library via Getty Images)-red cover-19 artwork
Top: Photo credit- Aspen Ambulance District paramedic Lisa Hicks wears a powered air purifying respirator and a Tyvek suit next to an ambulance in the ambulance bay in Aspen, Colo. on April 3, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times via AP)
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New Orleans Community & National Leaders
A tribute and poem from President Reynold Verret to Ellis Marsalis “Tolling the Bell’
April 03, 2020
“1918, tantôt de morts, qu’on enterait sans leurs sonner le glas”
1918, Les Cayes,
So many laid to rest,
Without our tears, or the tolling of the bell. No Kaddish, as in Elie Wiesel’s Night.
Last Night, Ellis Marsalis went away,
Piano keys tug at their locks and rend their robes, And each in their seclusion weeps so silently.
No second line,
No coming home of acolytes,
The many musician daughters and sons, Emissaries of the old man to many places, To share the gift.
Photo - New Orleans Festival, 2011
None may return To ring the bell, To celebrate, To mourn.
In the emptiness of St. Peter’s Square A lonely Pope stood before God And called me from afar,
That I too may join with him in prayer, Make my return, give thanks,
As thanks we must.
In solitude, we remember.
In cells of marble or made of simpler thing, We weep.
New Orleans Calliope Tribute for Late Jazz Great Ellis Marsalis 4/6/2020 by Associated Press
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
Top Left: Ellis Marsalis performs as part of the 2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 8, 2011 in New Orleans.
A tourist riverboat calliope blasted hymn and gospel tunes across New Orleans’ French Quarter on Friday as a tribute to the late jazz pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis. Marsalis, who taught generations of jazz players, including four of his six sons, died Wednesday of pneumonia brought on by COVID-19.
On Friday, a medley including “How Great Thou Art” and “I’ll Fly Away” climaxed with “When the Saints Go Marching In” and the “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Coach Wayne Reese Sr.
Wayne Reese Sr. a beloved and heralded member of our community passed away on April 2, 2020 at the age of 75 years old. He was affectionately called by many as Coach Reese or just Coach. He went on to complete his education at Xavier University Preparatory High School, where he met his wife of forty-seven years, Mrs. Stella Chase Reese. Father of his four children, including alumni Kimberly Reese, Institutional Advancement Associate VP.
CRV April 2, 2020
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John Lewis - Civil Rights Leader
John Lewis’ activism began at Fisk University, where he “organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee,” and participated in Freedom Rides that “challenged segregation at interstate bus terminals across the South. Lewis risked his life on those Rides many times by simply sitting in seats reserved for white patrons.”
He suffered physically for his heroism. “He was also beaten severely by angry mobs and arrested by police for challenging the injustice of Jim Crow segregation in the South,” the biography says. During the Movement’s height, he became Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and he became a national voice in the Movement in his 20s. By 1963, according to his biography, “he was dubbed one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.”
His activism extended to voter registration drives and he helped lead “over 600 peaceful, orderly protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. They intended to march from Selma to Montgomery to demonstrate the need for voting rights in the state. The marchers were attacked by Alabama state troopers in a brutal confrontation that became known as ‘Bloody Sunday,’”. He was arrested 40 times and suffered serious injuries from physical attacks, yet he remained, his biography says, “a devoted advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence.”
Bruce Seals, an All-America athlete and one of the leaders of the renaissance of Xavier University of Louisiana men’s basketball in the 1970s, died Tuesday morning (Dec. 15, 2020) in the Boston area at age 67. Seals was a native New Orleanian who played two seasons for XULA (1971-73) before playing five more seasons (1973-78) in the ABA and NBA. He also played professionally in Europe.
Vidal Easton, a 1955 Xavier University of Louisiana graduate with a longtime connection to XULA Athletics, died Jan. 10, 2021, at age 86.
1972-73 Team
Easton was a three-year starter as a lineman on the XULA football team, then spent 52 seasons as the clock operator at basketball home games
before retiring from that position after the 2014-15 season.
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Photo - New Orleans Festival, 2010 and 2011 Alton Tommie Carson, affectionately known as “Big Al Carson”, on Sunday, April 26, 2020 at the age of 66. He attended Xavier University of New Orleans majoring
in Music. In the late 70’ he became known within the Gospel Music Community while performing with the popular Christ Elite Gospel Choir. In the late 80s, his tremendous talent as a Tuba player as well as his one of a kind voice scored Al a role in the Nationally Acclaimed stage play One Mo’ Time. A highly visible musician, Al was an intricate part of several highly regarded New Orleans Dixieland and Jazz Bands.
The Xavier community was deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Dr. John P. McCall, Executive- in-Residence and father of Provost Anne E. McCall.
John P. McCall, age 92, of New Orleans, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, May 22, 2020.
Dr. John McCall joined the Xavier community as a volunteer in Institutional Advancement around 1997, after retiring from the presidency of Knox College followed by a period of service with his wife in the Peace Corps. Over the years, he helped garner financial support for university scholarships, building projects, and the Institute for Black Catholic Studies. Recently, Dr. McCall has been supporting Admissions initiatives and the President’s Office.
Ramona Felton Jupiter, age 91 passed away peacefully on August 30, 2020. Ramona attended Corpus Christi Elementary School, St. Mary’s Academy and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Xavier University, New Orleans. She was married to Clarence J. Jupiter for 48 years until he preceded her in death in 1999. She is survived by 11 of her 12 children; many of whom are Xavier alumni.
Sr. Doris Blum, S.B.S. Xavier University English Professor Passed August 29, 2020
in Bensalem, Pennsylvania
Kirk Gaddis
Associate Director and faculty — Institute for Black Catholic Studies
May 23, 1965 -June 20, 2020
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Ursula Bernice Carrere Rochon Jupiter passed on December 2, 2020, at the age of 96 years old. She was a graduate of Xavier University Preparatory School (now St. Katherine Drexel Preparatory School), and worked as Supervisor of the Chemistry Dept. Laboratories and Stockroom at Xavier University of Louisiana for 32 years.
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Alum Robert Ryland
Robert Ryland, a Xavier University of Louisiana alum and the first to integrate the mainstream U.S. pro tennis tour, died Sunday (Aug. 2, 2020) in New York at age 100. Ryland became a centenarian June 16, 2020.
Robert Ryland attended XULA on a tennis scholarship in 1941, and won eight singles matches before heading to the Army in the 1940s. In 1959, Robert Ryland became the first black man in the country to
play professional tennis.
Sports Pioneer, at 100, was the Oldest Tennis Player in New York City The first male African-American pro, Robert Ryland remained active teaching as he approached his 100th birthday.
Robert Ryland was a tennis lifer. He got his first racket from his dad at 8 years old, was a national champion at 35, and at 38 became the first black man to play professional tennis.
He quit playing competitively at 85. He gained great fame as a tennis teacher. Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Leslie Allen, Arthur Ashe and Harold Solomon were some of Ryland’s proteges. Ryland also taught entertainers Eartha Kitt, Bill Cosby, Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand.
Ryland and three other XULA standouts — Jimmie McDaniel, Dick Cohen and Louis Graves — were part of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum’s exhibit at the 2007 U.S. Open to honor black tennis pioneers.
Hank Aaron
Aaron, the Braves legend and baseball’s one-time home run king, died on Friday at the age of 86.
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Continue the Mission of Saint Katharine Drexel
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I Can’t Breathe
Statement from the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament on the Death of George Floyd
“If there is any prejudice in the mind, we must uproot it, or it will pull us down. If we live the gospel, we will be people of justice.” St. Katharine Drexel
We, Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, are saddened, angered and heartbroken on the killing of George Floyd. We pray for the repose of his soul and for comfort and peace to his family. We are appalled by the murderous conduct by members of our law enforcement officers, who are sworn to protect and serve everyone in their community. Their failure to live up to their duty is rooted in the systemic racism that has been a part of our society since its foundation. In recent weeks we mourn Dreasjon “Sean” Reed, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubery, and now George Floyd.
As Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and in the spirit of St. Katharine Drexel we join our voices with those who march against these injustices demanding accountability from those who have the obligation to create a just society . Instead, they preside over our nation as it suffocates in racial hatred, inequality, and disrespect for human life, especially the lives of its African American citizens. All of us are accountable for our response to the gospel message of Jesus Christ; a message that challenges us to love, and to model that love daily in our interaction with our fellow brothers and sisters. We pray that justice will be served.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Photos from various television sources:
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People of Color Killed in 2020
On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Marquez Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia, while jogging just before entering the Satilla Shores neighborhood.
Protesters clash with the police in Louisville, Ky. They were calling for police accountability in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.
Photo: Family of Breonna Ta/Afp Via Getty Images
On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American woman, was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police Department officers.
Breonna Taylor was killed on March 13 during narcotics raid on her home.
Kentucky grand jury’s decision not to indict the officers involved in the March 13th murder of emergency services worker Breonna Taylor. The only indictments rendered were in response to three bullets that found themselves in her neighbor’s apartment, which meant that the officer was being reprimanded not for her death, but for endangering someone else. Breonna’s death was unnecessary.
Dreasjon “Sean” Reed, 21, was fatally shot by Indianapolis police on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. (Photo: Provided by the family)
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died in police custody after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck. Horrifying bystander video of Floyd’s death spread quickly on social media, showing the officer driving his knee into Floyd’s neck as the handcuffed man repeatedly says he can’t breathe.
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Unarmed People of Color killed by Police
April 30, 2014: Dontre Hamilton (Milwaukee)
July 17, 2014: Eric Garner (New York)
Aug. 5, 2014: John Crawford III (Dayton, Ohio)
Aug. 9, 2014: Michael Brown Jr. (Ferguson, Missouri)
Aug. 11, 2014: Ezell Ford (Florence, California)
Aug. 12, 2014: Dante Parker (Victorville, California)
Nov. 13, 2014: Tanisha Anderson (Cleveland)
Nov. 20, 2014: Akai Gurley (Brooklyn, New York)
Nov. 22, 2014: Tamir Rice (Cleveland)
Dec. 2, 2014: Rumain Brisbon (Phoenix)
Dec. 30, 2014: Jerame Reid (Bridgeton, New Jersey)
March 6, 2015: Tony Robinson (Madison, Wisconsin)
March 31, 2015: Phillip White (Vineland, New Jersey)
April 2, 2015: Eric Harris (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
April 4, 2015: Walter Scott (North Charleston, South Carolina) April 19, 2015: Freddie Gray (Baltimore)
1999-2014
Wendell Allen, 20, New Orleans, La.—March 7, 2012
Nehemiah Dillard, 29, Gainesville, Fla.—March 5, 2012
Dante Price, 25, Dayton, Ohio—March 1, 2012
Raymond Allen, 34, Galveston, Texas—February 27, 2012
Sgt. Manuel Loggins, Jr., 31, Orange County, Calif.—February 7, 2012 Ramarley Graham, 18, New York, N.Y.—February 2, 2012
Rumain Brisbon, 34, Phoenix, Ariz.—Dec. 2, 2014
Tamir Rice, 12, Cleveland, Ohio—Nov. 22, 2014
Akai Gurley, 28, Brooklyn, NY—Nov. 20, 2014
Kajieme Powell, 25, St. Louis, Mo.—August 19, 2014
Ezell Ford, 25, Los Angeles, Calif.—August 12, 2014
Dante Parker, 36, San Bernardino County, Calif.—August 12, 2014 Michael Brown, 18, Ferguson, Mo.—August 9, 2014
Shem Walker, 49, New York, N.Y.—July 11, 2009
Oscar Grant, 22, Oakland, Calif.—January 1, 2009
Tarika Wilson, 26, Lima, Ohio—January 4, 2008
DeAunta Terrel Farrow, 12, West Memphis, Ark.—July 22, 2007 Sean Bell, 23, New York, N.Y.—November 25, 2006
John Crawford III, 22, Beavercreek, Ohio—August 5, 2014 Tyree Woodson, 38, Baltimore, Md.—August 2, 2014
Eric Garner, 43, New York, N.Y.—July 17, 2014
Victor White III, 22, Iberia Parish, La.—March 22, 2014 Yvette Smith, 47, Bastrop, Texas—February 16, 2014 McKenzie Cochran, 25, Southfield, Mich.—January 28, 2014 Jordan Baker, 26, Houston, Texas—January 16, 2014
Henry Glover, 31, New Orleans, La.—September 2, 2005
Ronald Madison, 40, and James Brisette, 17, New Orleans, La.—Sept. 4, 2005 Timothy Stansbury, 19, New York, N.Y.—January 24, 2004
Alberta Spruill, 57, New York, N.Y.—May 16, 2003
Ousmane Zongo, 43, New York, N.Y.—May 22, 2003
Orlando Barlow, 28, Las Vegas, Nev.—February 28, 2003
Timothy Thomas, 19, Cincinnati, Ohio—April 7, 2001
Prince Jones, 25, Fairfax County, Va.—Sept. 1, 2000
Ronald Beasley, 36, and Earl Murray, 36, Dellwood, Mo.—June 12, 2000 Patrick Dorismond, 26, New York, NY—March 16, 2000
Malcolm Ferguson, 23, New York, N.Y.—March 1, 2000
Amadou Diallo, 23, New York, N.Y.—Feb. 4, 1999
Tamir Rice, 12, Cleveland, Ohio—November 2014
Akai Gurley, 28, New, N.Y.—November 2014
Eric Harris, 74, Tulsa, OK—April 2015
Walter Scott, Charleston, S.C.—April, 2015
William Chapman II, 18—Portsmouth, Va.—April 2015
Jeremy McDole, 28, September 2015 in Wilmington, Del.
Jamar Clark’s, 24— November 2015, Minneapolis, Minn.
Alton Sterling, 37, July 2016—Baton Rouge, La.
Terence Crutcher, 40—May, 2016, Tulsa, O.K.
Philando Castile, 32—July 2016, St. Anthony, Minn.
Sam Dubose, 43 — July 2015, Cincinnati, O.H.
Freddie Gray, 25— 2015, Baltimore, M.D.
Atatiana Koquice Jefferson, 28—October 2019, Fort Worth, Texas
Rayshard Brooks, 27, Atlanta, GA, June 12, 2020
...continuing
Andy Lopez, 13, Santa Rosa, Calif.—October 22, 2013
Miriam Carey, 34, Washington, D.C.—October 3, 2013
Jonathan Ferrell, 24, Bradfield Farms, N.C.—September 14, 2013
Carlos Alcis, 43, New York, N.Y.—August 15, 2013
Larry Eugene Jackson, Jr., 32, Austin, Texas—July 26, 2013
Deion Fludd, 17, New York, N.Y.—May 5, 2013
Kimani Gray, 16, New York, N.Y.—March 9, 2013
Johnnie Kamahi Warren, 43, Dotham, Ala.—December 10, 2012
Malissa Williams, 30, and Timothy Russell, 43, Cleveland, Ohio—November 29, 2012 Reynaldo Cuevas, 20, New York, N.Y.—September 7, 2012
Chavis Carter, 21, Jonesboro, Ark.—July 29, 2012
Shantel Davis, 23, New York, N.Y.—June 14, 2012
Sharmel Edwards, 49, Las Vegas, Nev.—April 21, 2012
Tamon Robinson, 27, New York, N.Y.—April 18, 2012
Ervin Jefferson, 18, Atlanta, Ga.—March 24, 2012
Kendrec McDade, 19, Pasadena, Calif.—March 24, 2012
Rekia Boyd, 22, Chicago, Ill.—March 21, 2012
Shereese Francis, 30, New York, N.Y.—March 15, 2012
Unarmed People of Color killed by Police
Kenneth Chamberlain, 68, White Plains, N.Y.—November 19, 2011 Alonzo Ashley, 29, Denver, Colo.—July 18, 2011
Kenneth Harding, 19, San Francisco, Calif.—July 16, 2011
Raheim Brown, 20, Oakland, Calif.—January 22, 2011
Reginald Doucet, 25, Los Angeles, Calif.—January 14, 2011 Derrick Jones, 37, Oakland, Calif.—November 8, 2010 Danroy Henry, 20, Thornwood, N.Y.—October 17, 2010 Aiyana Jones, 7, Detroit, Mich.—May 16, 2010
Steven Eugene Washington, 27, Los Angeles, CA—March 20, 2010 Aaron Campbell, 25, Portland, Ore.—January 29, 2010
Kiwane Carrington, 15, Champaign, Ill.—October 9, 2009
Victor Steen, 17, Pensacola, Fla.—October 3, 2009
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Thank You
Thanks to the University for your support
Support staff:
André Farve, XU 1984—cover design, endsheets and cap & gown portraits (partial) Yamlak Tsega, action photography cross country, tennis, basketball, groups Physical Plant - moving new books
Technology Information - New student i.d. photos Communication & Media department / Mask up Xavier ads/department news Joey Fasullo & Candid Campus Photography — cap & gown portraits-Pharmacy /Arts & Sciences (partial)
Friesens Press, printer
Yearbook staff 2020-21:
Zaviyah Hudson Managing editor/photographer — volunteer Jazmynne Massey, volunteer
Veronica Farve XU 1978/1981, yearbook coordinator
Enjoy the memories... What a year!!! - 2020 & 2021
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Zaviyah Hudson Junior—Chemistry Pre-Med
Jazmynne Massey Junior—Chemistry Pre-Med
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