Overview
A year ago, I was at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University on a football game day. On February 1st, 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina, four A&T freshmen students, Ezell Blair, Jr. (Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil & David Richmond walked downtown and “sat – in” at the whites–only lunch counter at Woolworth’s. While standing near the Greensboro Four monument, I saw the entire football team arrive and touch the statue, receive encouraging words, then return to the bus for the game. Some would observe and simply say it was part of tradition. In that moment, I saw a team honoring four students that chose to be notable vs. famous. These four students made the sacrifice of ridicule, embarrassment and harassment in an effort for equitable treatment and access. This program will share actions on campuses that created change in our nation’s history and provide context on the long term effects of choosing to be notable for the lifetime versus famous in the moment.
Learning Outcomes
- The attendee will learn about the historical contributions of students that created national change
- The attendee will obtain a blueprint on how to combat cognitive dissonance when faced with the choice of being famous vs. notable
- The attendee will use reflective thinking to determine if they have ever made an impact through action
Speaker
Jarrod D. Benjamin, MBA
Mr. Jarrod D. Benjamin is the Florida International University Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program Director and Adjunct Professor. He currently manages and develops curriculum embedded certifications for the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy. He serves as a subject matter expert on the $3 million dollar Intelligence Community-Center of Academic Excellence consortium grant. His work on this grant provides a career pipeline for students to receive career opportunity in the Intelligence Community. Jarrod specializes in various business related issues, anti-hazing, and urban development.