Ford And The Cast Of 'A Different World' Took Over This HBCU's Homecoming And It Was Lit
All education is valuable, but there is a quintessentially Black experience attached to having attended or graduated from an HBCU. Sadly, in the last few decades, this experience has been diluted by financial trouble and has caused a number of historically black colleges to close their doors and lose their accreditation. Ford and the cast of A Different World just stepped up to change that narrative.
This time last year, one of the smallest HBCU's in the country made history by winning a prize experience worth $150,000 in Ford's Drive2Greatness competition, and that initiative came full circle last weekend in a major way.
Photo Credit: UWG for Ford Motor Company
In fall of 2017, a school with only 125 students outvoted colleges and universities like Spelman and Howard in a social media competition by Ford. As their prize, not only did the school secure the bag, but Ford also came through with the Ultimate Homecoming Takeover Experience, complete with a DJ, local food trucks, and a few very special guests, including the Grammy award-winning gospel quartet The Walls Group and the cast of
A Different World. This weekend, Ford Motor Company gave xoNecole a chance to link up with these students in Terrell, Texas to celebrate HBCU culture in a way that was just as black and magical as you would have imagined.
When I learned that I would be traveling to Southwestern Christian College for the weekend, I had no idea that it would be one of the most unapologetically Black experiences in my life so far. In layman's terms: It was lit. The campus was humble, but the community was strong.
When speaking to Jordan Williams (19), a sophomore pharmacy major, she said that the donation would be monumental for the small institution, which needs strong financial support in order to grow. She shared, "I believe that [we won because] we are a small school and we want big things, so we would work harder than probably other schools that would just take one or two pictures. We went around taking pictures wherever we could and working for our goal."
Photo Credit: Instagram / @omg_jerr
Jordan said that attending Southwestern Christian College, who garnered more than 114,000 points in the competition, taught her a valuable lesson that she won't forget:
"As a little school, as a little girl, we can do anything we want if we just work hard for it."
In addition to the takeover experience, in a blast from the past, the campus was visited by Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Cree Summer, and Darryl Bell, otherwise known as the true originators of the HBCU way of life.
Nearly 31 years ago, A Different World aired on NBC and created a culture that was both game-changing and essential to Black history. Today, the cast is making it a point to keep the culture they created alive by teaming up with Ford to offer SWCC the financial support they desperately need.
Photo Credit: UWG for Ford Motor Company
Many people, including myself, say that
A Different World inspired them to one day graduate from an HBCU, or go to any college for that matter. Dwayne, Whitley, Freddie, and Ron were just as much household names then as they are now, and helped to mold the culture of Black colleges that exists today. I got a chance to sit down with Jasmine, Kadeem, Cree, and Darryl to talk about the impact of their show and the importance of keeping the doors of black colleges open.
As mothers, Jasmine and Cree said that supporting HBCUs are especially important for the future of their daughters.
Cree told xoNecole that it was important to be a part of this initiative because she wants to allow her daughters the opportunity to learn and grow in spaces that feel familiar. The actress shared, "I have two beautiful daughters, Brave Littlewing, and Hero Stormborn, who are five and seven and they are voracious readers. Brave loves science and math very much. And why it's important to me is because I want to see little brown girls be engineers and doctors and teachers and all kinds of things to make this planet [an] equal, fair place to live. And I also think that it's imperative that we learn among ourselves because I think that helps with our comfort and it helps to see each other grow, and change, and learn. And so that is why I think HBCUs are imperative. I want to learn from people that I understand and feel a familiarity to, and also just because of the culture to keep our culture alive and thriving. So yes, [it's] profoundly important."
Photo Credit: UWG for Ford Motor Company
Jasmine, who has a 19-year-old daughter, echoed this sentiment and shared that if we don't know our history, it will be impossible to learn from it. Jasmine, who formerly played the fictional southern belle Whitley Gilbert told xoNecole, "It's imperative that we know our history and that we teach our history. I don't think we can afford to wait for other people to teach us our history. I know that HBCUs will focus on not just the American story about the African Americans and Native American story and the truth about how this country was founded and why things are the way they are and why we're still fighting for certain things. If we're ignorant of where we came from, we're not going to be able to grow."
"If we're ignorant of where we came from, we're not going to be able to grow."
Photo Credit: Taylor Honore for xoNecole
She continued, "I mean, some of this has to come from your own pride and your own understanding of your history and now it's your turn to make sure that we are protected in the future. And if you're not aware of what's going on politically right now, it's a problem because we're counting on you. We're counting on your generation. We're counting on this old generation to kind of fluff off. We need the new generation to come in with regenerated skin cells."
To help this regeneration of the new generation, the cast along with Ford's Multicultural Communications Manager, Dee Guerrero, presented the school with a check for $100,000 and a promise to help keep HBCUs doors' open for good.
Photo Credit: UWG for Ford Motor Company
In addition to the generous scholarship donation given to Southwestern Christian College, Ford offered a $20 donation to the Tom Joyner Foundation to help support HBCUs for every attendee that test drove the Ford F-150. In total, Ford will donate $20,000 through
the "Drive 4 Ur Community" initiative in the company's efforts to support Black colleges in the U.S.
If there's one thing I learned this weekend, it's that Ford Motor Company knows how to throw a party. Although I graduated from my HBCU in 2016, meeting the cast of A Different World took me all the way back to the 90s and emphasized the importance of maintaining the culture that they helped create nearly 30 years ago.
Photo Credit: Taylor Honore for xoNecole
Be sure to do your part in helping HBCUs survive by test driving the Ford F-150 XLT and Limited. Learn more about features of the Ford F-150 XLT and the company's initiative to help multicultural communities go further by clicking
here.
Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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How A Stay At Switzerland's Luxurious 7132 Hotel Reminded Me To Live The Life I Deserve
Sometimes, as women—especially as single Black women—we simply need to be reminded that we are deserving of living a life we dream of. Even if that means creating it for ourselves. I recently set out on a weeklong trip to Switzerland, a trip I’ve been wanting to take for years, and near the end of my visit, I had an epiphany.
“DeAnna, this is the life you deserve,” I thought to myself as I took in the gorgeous bathroom in my suite at the famous 7132 Hotel and Thermal Spa. It was one of the most luxurious hotels (and bathrooms) I had ever stayed in—and that’s saying a lot for someone who often travels for work.
To help you better understand why this was such a mental awakening for me, I first need to give a bit of my backstory. I’m in my late thirties. I’m an attorneyand a journalist. I own a home and have traveled the world extensively. Essentially, I’ve done everything in life I set out to do. However, when it comes to dating, I struggle. Not because there is anything wrong with me per se, but because my career and “lifestyle” often create problems in my romantic relationships.
View from my hotel room
Courtesy
I’ve been told everything from, ‘I can’t continue to date you because you seem to choose your career over wanting to settle down and have kids’ by a man after only the second date to ‘Maybe if you just sat down somewhere for a while, I’d actually wife you’ by someone who has honestly never proven themselves to be the settle down type. And these are only a handful of the things I’ve been told over the years.
It’s been frustrating, to say the least, and there have even been seasons where I purposely dimmed my light in hopes that my career wouldn’t push away potential suitors. I know what you’re thinking, “Girl, why would you even consider that? If they’re for you, it won’t matter what you do.” Hey, don’t judge me, but also, I one hundred percent agree.
My hotel bathroom
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That’s why this recent moment in Switzerland was right on time. When I first walked into the hotel to check in, I was blown away by the surrounding beauty. It was a five-star property with one of the world’s most famous thermal bathhouses. Yet, it was something about seeing that 90% of the hotel’s guests were couples, that forced me to sit back for a bit of introspection—while soaking in the thermal spa, of course.
As I went through the mental conversation, there was a battle of sorts. On one hand, I knew that being able to partake in experiences like the one I was having at that moment was important to me. I knew that, at times I actually love being able to dabble in the finer things—after all, I’ve worked hard to be able to afford them. On the other hand, and sadly, I knew that sometimes being a single Black woman that publicly showcases her “luxurious” habits can intimidate men and even scare them off from pursuing you under the guise of them feeling like they “can’t do anything for you, because you have everything.”
My hotel room
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So, what is a girl to do?
Do I minimize/hide the life and experiences that I have? Do I play down the hard work I’ve put in to get where I am professionally? Or, do I risk being single in exchange for being able to have said life, without backlash?
Luckily, the joy that I felt while being at this property won. There was something about taking a full day to simply pamper myself at the bathhouse and in my in-room steam shower and soaker tub, indulging in cuisine from a 2-star Michelin restaurant and doing all of this while surrounded by an amazing group of Black women that reminded me—this is certainly the life I was meant to live and that I deserve. Even if it means that right now, I’ll just have to provide it for myself until the right partner comes along. And honestly, I’m okay with that.
Restaurant at 7132 hotel
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