Charlotte, N.C./April 3, 2023 – The Jane M. Smith Memorial Chapel was filled with music and a message on Sunday, April 2, 2023, as Johnson C. Smith University held its Founders’ Day Convocation.
The crowd of graduating seniors, faculty, staff, alumni and community members listened attentively as President Clarence D. Armbrister explained the history of Charlotte’s only HBCU.
“We gather here to commemorate the founding of this venerable institution so we will not forget those who preceded us and sacrificed so we could be here today,” he said.
Armbrister highlighted the founders of the institution, Rev. S.C. Alexander and the Rev. W. L. Miller. It was originally founded in 1867 under the name Freedman’s College of North Carolina.
The then college was renamed Biddle Memorial Institute and then Biddle University after Capt. Henry J. Biddle, the late husband of benefactor Mary D. Biddle.
In 1923, the institution was renamed Johnson C. Smith University to honor the generous donation of Jane Berry Smith in memory of her late husband. The chapel on campus where the convocation took place is named in her honor.
After highlighting the illustrious history of the institution, Armbrister, who announced in January 2023 he would retire as the University’s 14th president in June, called the crowd to action.
“There is something I want to leave each of you as I leave the institution at the end of the academic year,” he said. “There are growing forces trying hard to take your history away, change your history to fit a narrative that benefits them or keep you from learning your history at all.”
Armbrister’s speech came in the midst of ongoing discussions on banning the teaching of critical race theory, a cross-disciplinary examination of how laws and social and political movements are shaped by social conceptions of race and ethnicity.
He specifically mentioned Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of “1619 Project,” a book that investigates the ongoing consequences of slavery, who was denied tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021.
He also discussed how his own home state of Florida is defunding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in universities and schools in the state.
“There is an all-out assault on our history,” said Armbrister. “It is spreading throughout the country. As we gather to commemorate the history of our institution which was originally founded to educate formerly enslaved people, we remember that the nation owes much of its financial prosperity to the free labor of African-Americans.”
“I implore you to continue to stand for the truth of our institution,” he said. “I am most hopeful that the next generation of leaders, especially those in the graduating class of 2023, will take the knowledge and skills they’ve learned here to defend our history. Don’t let anyone take it away.”
The annual convocation featured performances by the JCSU Concert and Alumni Choirs, under the direction of Dr. Shawn-Allyce White, associate professor of Music, director of Choral Activities and University soloist.
Words of welcome were presented by Councilman Malcolm Graham ’85, Board of Trustees Chairman Steven L. Boyd ’79, President of the Charlotte Alumni Chapter Dr. Craig A. Bell ’87 and Student Government Association President Kennedy Pearson.
Inductees into the 1867 Giving Societies were also announced.
Johnson C. Smith University will celebrate its 156-year anniversary on April 7, 2023.
