Professional historian and advocate for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Dr. Crystal A. deGregory will deliver the keynote address at the University of The Bahamas’ Northern Bahamas Campus Commencement scheduled to be held on 1st June 2017 at the Grand Lucayan Resort.
A native of Freeport, Grand Bahama, Dr. deGregory is the founder and executive editor of HBCUstory, Inc., an advocacy initiative preserving, presenting and promoting inspiring stories of HBCUs past and present, for their future. She is also a passionate believer in the historic mission and contemporary vision for HBCUs and convened the third annual HBCUstory Symposium on October 9 & 10, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee in partnership with Fisk University.
Dr. deGregory is a proud alumna of the historic Fisk University. She holds a Master of Education from Tennessee State University and received masters and doctoral degrees in history from Vanderbilt University. Entitled “Raising a Nonviolent Army: Four Nashville Black Colleges and the Century-Long Struggle for Civil Rights, 1830s – 1930s,” her dissertation focuses on the role of these colleges and their students in the struggle for equality, justice and civil rights in Nashville, Tennessee.
Her research and teaching interests include black Nashville and black education in the 19th and 20th centuries, with special attention to black colleges, as well as their relationship to the modern Civil Rights Movement. She continues to explore interrelationships of these institutions and their civil rights efforts to the wider African Diaspora where they helped engender the social and political development of fledging black nations such as the modern Bahamas.
Her newest work is an epilogue for The Athletic Experience at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She has also written the book chapter, “The Relationships of Revolution: Martin Luther King, Jr., the Civil Rights Movement and Political Change in The Bahamas”. Her advocacy work includes serving as one of four doctoral-holding black female hosts of Black Docs Radio and she is a member of several professional and service groups including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Dr. deGregory is editor-in-chief of The Journal of HBCU Research + Culture, an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal which publishes scholarly articles relating to HBCUs. As the convener of the HBCUstory Symposium, she is responsible for securing host partnerships, keynote speakers, and sponsorships as well as organizing the two-day meeting of scholarly research and case studies outlining the historic and contemporary value of HBCUs. The convening has featured more than 100 presenters to date. A finalist for the HBCU Awards “Alumna of the Year” recognition, Dr. deGregory was the recipient of the Fisk University “Women of Prominence” award, her high school’s 50th Anniversary “Golden Warriors” award, and was recognized as the “Hope Dealer of the Year” by the Washington, D.C.-based The H.O.P.E. Scholarship Initiative.
This Commencement season UB is also hosting the following events for the Northern Bahamas Campus:
Awards Dinner Saturday, 27th May 2017, 7:00 p.m. A Social Affair Convention Centre 16 Brittania Boulevard
Teachers Commissioning Ceremony Wednesday, 31st May 2017, 10:00 a.m. Northern Bahamas Campus Courtyard
Baccalaureate Wednesday, 31st May 2017, 6:30p.m. Church of the Ascension Arden Forest Road
