Black History Month: Leaders tell students to block out the noise and follow your dreams
Racism and discouragement are often baked-in facts of life for young Black Americans but they should seek mentors and believe in themselves, a group of Black leaders told Palm Beach County students during a Black History forum at the Wellington Community Center on Wednesday night.
The forum, held in Wellington for the second year in a row, gave Black Palm Beach County students an opportunity to hear directly from and ask questions of high-level Black officials in fields as varied as aviation, law, journalism, law enforcement, engineering and education.
Those officials didn't sugarcoat or hold back, sharing their own stories of pushing through pessimism to reach their goals. Several said they could recall an instance when they were told in often blunt and painful terms that they could not reach a particular goal.
Glenda Sheffield recalled being told by a teacher that she "wouldn't amount to anything" because her mother was a single parent.
Sheffield defied that prediction and now serves as chief academic officer for Palm Beach County Public Schools.
"I wanted to set myself up to protect students like those in front of me," Sheffield told the students in the audience.
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Lamont Humber wanted to fly airplanes from the time he was 2 years old. But when he was 16, a high school guidance counselor urged him to set a different goal.
"'Based on what we've seen of you, we think you should do something where you can work with your hands'," Humber said the guidance counselor told him.
Humber, encouraged by his parents, didn't follow that advice. Instead, he enrolled at Delaware State University, a historically Black university in Dover, and began his path to becoming a pilot.
Humber said that, after he got his pilot's license, he wore his flight suit on a return trip to the school where he had been discouraged.
"There's a reality to this thing," Humber, now a captain for United Airlines, told the students. "Roses aren't always red. Take the things that people do to you as fuel for your ambition."
Setting goals and leaning on mentors are keys to success, the Black leaders told students.
Feaman, principal at Emerald Cove Middle School, observed the example of her parents, both educators, and decided that's the field she wanted to be in, too.
"I always wanted to be a teacher," she said, recalling how she "taught" her stuffed animals as a child.
Nicole Cummings told students how her father pushed her to pursue engineering, a field she didn't think would be a good fit for her.
Her father pushed her to pursue that which is difficult and not take an easier path. Cummings wasn't sold.
"I didn't see the beauty and the fun of engineering," Cummings said.
But Cummings heeded her father's advice, attended Florida Atlantic University on an engineering scholarship and is now a rocket scientist who helps build and test rockets for NASA as a manager for Aerojet Rocketdyne in Jupiter.
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The industry leaders who addressed students said they are aware of the challenges young Black students face — limited financial resources and limited representation in high-profile, high-paying fields.
Grasford Smith, president of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, said he has told young Black lawyers not to expect racism to fade as they climb their career ladder.
"I don't want you to think that, when you make partner, racism goes away," he said. "It just takes different forms. As people of color, people like to define us and put us in boxes. But it's up to us to determine what we do."
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Black History Month: Leaders tell students to follow their dreams
