HBCU Week starts with Porter-Gaud's Breakfast Program open to all students.

In honor of HBCU Week, the Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina celebrated its second annual breakfast program on Sept. 13. This program was initiated by the Black Excellence Society, a group of students from Porter-Gaud. HBCU Week was introduced in the 1980s by then-President Jimmy Carter as an official celebration honoring the rich history of HBCUs.

The breakfast event was hosted by the Office of Community Engagement and Belonging and the Office of College Counseling at Porter-Gaud. It ran from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Washington Hall on the school’s campus. This year, the program was opened to people of all races, whereas last year only Black students were able to participate. One of the students, Kendall Givens, expressed the importance of this change. “Something new we’re doing this year is last year our breakfast was only open to Black students, but this year we want to expand it,” Givens said. “Regardless of if you are a Black, white, Asian, Hispanic, whatever, you can be a part of this group and just be an ally peer.”

The Director of Community Engagement and Belonging, Dr. Yerko Sepúlveda, also spoke about the importance of including everyone in this year’s event. “They’re not only open to African American students, you know, they also want to bring in a little diversity,” Sepúlveda said. “So, what we’re trying to do is to highlight, you know, the existence of these colleges for kids who might be interested but also to allow other people to learn about the contribution of HBCUs throughout history.”

The overall objective of the program is to explain the pivotal role HBCUs have played in the nation’s history and their contributions as higher education institutions. Student Amber Wilson-Debriano shared her thoughts on how this initiative will make Black students feel more included. “I think opening this up to all people allows Black kids to feel less isolated,” she said.

Attendees of the breakfast heard from current and former students of Porter-Gaud about how their experience at an HBCU has helped them. This event was open to the community, including schools in the area. By opening up this program to everyone, the Porter-Gaud School hopes to spread awareness and appreciation for the significance of HBCUs.

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