When Internships Goes Virtual

In early 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ravaged countries across the world, causing them to essentially shut down. Communities had to retreat indoors and socially distance from one another. One aspect of life that drastically changed was schooling. It moved from traditional face-to-face spaces to online digital platforms. Students, faculty, and staff across all levels of schooling shifted to teaching and learning vis-a-vis online digital platforms. Those of us connected to the training of the next generation of teachers navigated through the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic at the preschool to post-secondary levels as well. This chapter focuses on the authors' experiences as a Black university supervisor and as a Black field placement coordinator.

The Social Impact of Sport

The COVID-19 pandemic assumed an international health threat, and in turn, spotlighted the distinct disparities in civil rights, opportunity, and inclusion witnessed by lived experiences of African Americans. Although these harsh disparities have existed through the United States of America's history, the age of technology and mass media in the 21st century allows for a deeper and broader look into the violation of African Americans civil liberties in virtual real time. Also, historically, the sports world has been instrumental in fighting for the civil rights of African Americans; athletes such as Jesse Owens and Muhammed Ali led by example. This chapter will showcase how the sports world continues to support social justice overall and specifically during this international pandemic. The authors will examine contemporary events like the transition in support for Colin Kaepernick's protest against police brutality and the NBA play-off (Bubble) protest in 2020.

Odes of Tree of Life

This chapter aims at revelation of the significance of odes of Tree of Life, especially when moulding the post-colonial curriculum in all social spheres including education sector in Africa and the world in general. Literature reveals the possibilities in the personal development in relation to various social developmental opportunities and curbing of threats to human life and specifically to tenants of indigenous knowledge systems. A review of various literature that included documents and related research reports from various sources—including journal articles, books, policy, and observation—on the significant aspects of African knowledge creation such as the Tree of Life is explored. In conclusion, this chapter argues that each knowledge system is embedded in its social order. Thus, the notion of a multicultural education system becomes a considerable intervention to put an end to the historical intellectual violence against Black African wisdom including indigenous African knowledge system practice in general.

Advancing the Demarginalization of African American Students

This chapter presents theoretical discussions about advancing the demarginalization of African American students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by bringing in insights from Afrocentric and symbolic-interaction perspectives. Here, the authors discuss demarginalization related to certain intra-racial and intersecting class, gender, and mental health issues emerging since COVID-19 and online learning. The ideas presented here are equally viable in student face-to-face and virtual learning environments. It begins with discussing marginalization and Afrocentric and symbolic-interaction theories. It reviews relevant literature about the history of African American education since the American Civil War, including 19th and 20th century reconstructions, Jim Crow, the rise of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Black student campus union and Black power movements, and other relevant happenings in Black American education.

Black Men in Higher Education Discuss the Impact of Police Brutality, Protest, and the Coronavirus Pandemic on Black Boys and Men

Police brutality has a long history of causing havoc in the Black community. The impact of police brutality on Black men has been intensified during the coronavirus pandemic when the world witnessed George Floyd's murder on video by a white male police officer. This state of affairs caused international outrage and protest that has highlighted how Black men have been disproportionately impacted by police brutality and placed at risk for contracting COVID-19. As university professors and administrators, the authors are constantly concerned about how police brutality impacts Black men under their tutelage on a college campus. The authors argue what must be addressed is the never-ending racial pandemic continues to plague the Black community, especially men. Higher education environments are critical components of the Black community, especially in producing an educated Black male population. This chapter offers solutions to support Black males against the racial pandemic.

How to Nurture Virtually

The students of color face a variety of obstacles in higher education, and the recent pandemic exacerbated many of the existing issues: lacking access to valuable resources, affordable course materials, and technological challenges. The inception of the COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented disruption to higher education that has resulted in an amassing paradigm shift for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. These institutions that have traditionally offered a curriculum in a face-to-face format with a small percentage of courses online. This chapter explores the challenges of replicating the HBCU experience online.

Pandemics

The whisper of COVID-19 floated through schools like a wind blowing in the midst of a late winter day. A harbinger of something remote seemed so far away from everyday life, yet imminently chilling and foreboding. Spring 2020 erupted into distinct intersections: COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd. What began as a highly anticipated sense of renewal morphed into living life in a bubble of surrealism in the midst of a national shutdown. Americans became astounded witnesses to the disruption, and at times destruction, of their lives and livelihoods, signifying a modern-day time of trials and tribulations. No time in recent history has tested the fortitude of so many. Yet, this time has also presented an opportunity to determine who educators are and who they will become. The uncertainty as a result of the shutdown of the education system, its transformation, and re-launch has driven educators to reevaluate their future roles.

The Role of Followers in Higher Education During a Pandemic

The campus community was notified that classes were cancelled leading up to spring break due to COVID-19. Aggressive preparations for remote teaching began taking shape for the time when classes would resume. This chapter delves into leader/follower dynamics among faculty-student and student-student relationships. Examples describing how faculty accomplished the task of addressing some of these issues from a leader/follower relationship perspective will be an additional focus in this chapter.

Beyond Social Distance

COVID-19 forced abrupt shifts to e-learning, deepened an existing digital divide at a mid-Atlantic Historically Black College/University (HBCU), and exacerbated perennial inequity issues at HBCUs. The campus community was ill-prepared to navigate remotely due to unreliable internet service, insufficient technology, and shared spaces that were not optimal for teaching and learning. Work-life imbalances threatened the well-being of students, staff, and faculty who struggled to meet academic and professional demands amid homeschooling, caregiving, and coping with COVID-19 fatalities. By contrast, the pandemic inspired creative teaching, galvanized and humanized the campus, and evoked resilience. This chapter illuminates disparities and celebrates triumphs of HBCUs, including factors that shielded the author's university from further hardship. Readers will think critically about culturally responsive strategies to address socioeconomic and digital inequities and ensure that HBCUs are poised to meet campus needs during major crises.

The Development of an Entrepreneurial Mindset at a HBCU During a Pandemic

Over the years, African American leaders and entrepreneurs have been preaching the gospel of preparing students at Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to have an entrepreneurial mindset. The entrepreneurial mindset concept at an HBCU is at an early stage of development. As a result, the concept lacks rigorous theoretical foundations to adapt. The goal of this chapter is to introduce a conceptual change intelligence approach to explain the factors leading to the evolution of the way that an entrepreneurial mindset is developed in an HBCU. The conceptual change intelligence approach draws upon the Input-Process-Output (IPO) Model. In this chapter, the authors postulate that to develop an entrepreneurial mindset (output), the environment (process) in which the student (input) resides must be changed. This chapter is intended to highlight how an HBCU student environment can assist the students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset during COVID-19.