Nineteen Fifty-Six Vol. 2 No. 4, Hidden Figures

HIDDEN FIGURES
MARCH 2022

DEAR
BLACK
STUDENTS,
You do matter. The numerous achievements and talents
of Black students deserve to be recognized. As of Fall
2021, 11.16% of students on campus identified as Black or
African American. Black students are disproportionately
underrepresented in various areas on campus. Nineteen
Fifty-Six is a Black student-led magazine that amplifies
the voices within the University of Alabama’s Black
community. It also seeks to educate students from all
backgrounds on culturally important issues and topics
in an effort to produce socially-conscious, ethical and
well-rounded citizens.

EDITORIAL STAFF
EDITOR IN CHIEF
MANAGING EDITOR
VISUALS & DESIGN EDITOR
PHOTO EDITOR
ENGAGEMENT EDITOR
ASST. ENGAGEMENT EDITOR
FEATURES & EXPERIENCES EDITOR
CULTURE & LIFESTYLE DIRECTOR
Tionna Taite
Nickell Grant
Ashton Jah
Tyler Hogan
Madison Davis
Jolencia Jones
Ashlee Woods
Farrah Sanders
ISSUE CONTRIBUTORS
WRITERS
DESIGNERS
SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING
PR SPECIALISTS
Christine Thompson,
Jolencia Jones
Tonya Williams, Lyric
Wisdom
Karris Harmon, Asia
Smith, Christian Thomas,
Jordan Strawter
Danielle S. McAllister,
Farrah Sanders
COPYRIGHT
Nineteen Fifty-Six is published by the Office of Student Media at The University of Alabama. All content and
design are produced by students in consultation with professional staff advisers. All material contained herein,
except advertising or where indicated otherwise, is copyrighted © 2022 by Nineteen Fifty-Six magazine. Material
herein may not be reprinted without the expressed, written permission of Nineteen Fifty-Six magazine. Editorial
and Advertising offices for Nineteen Fifty-Six Magazine are located at 414 Campus Drive East, Tuscaloosa, AL
35487. The mailing address is P.O. Box 870170, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. Phone: (205) 348-7257.
Cover illustration by Ashton Jah.

FROM THE EDITOR:
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is making
history as the first Black woman to be
nominated to the United States Supreme
Court. If she is confirmed, she will be
the first Black woman to serve on the US
Supreme Court and only the sixth woman in
US history. As someone who aspires to make
lasting change in the legal profession, I am
inspired by her in more ways than one.
I believe it’s important to highlight women
such as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Trailblazing Black women not only pave the
way for young Black girls and women, but
these women also serve as proof that we are
capable of accomplishing whatever we set
our minds to.
“
There are also women I have
never met but who are recorded
in the pages of history and whose
lives and struggles inspire me
and thousands of other working
women to keep putting one foot
in front of another every day.
”
- Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
Often, Black women are not properly given
their flowers for the outstanding work
that they have done. Black women have
become used to being overlooked and
underappreciated. However, that should not
be the case. I challenge you to recognize
and educate yourselves on the contributions
of Black women at your university, in your
career field, and other aspects of your life.
Truly, you will realize that many Black
women are ‘hidden figures’ deserving of
recognition.
I am delighted to present the March
2022 issue of Nineteen Fifty-Six in honor
of Women’s History Month. I hope this
magazine issue inspires you and educates
you about the beauty and resilience of
trailblazing Black women.
TIONNA TAITE, EDITOR IN CHIEF
4

TABLE OF
TRAILBLAZING BLACK WOMEN OF UA 7
THE DEVIL’S PUNCHBOWL 9
A Q&A WITH COACH JANESE CONSTANTINE 11
ACTIVISM REDEFINED: A PERSONAL NARRATIVE 15
A LETTER OF ADVICE FROM JASMINE HOLLIE 17
SEE MORE OF NINETEEN FIFTY-SIX MAGAZINE
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JOLENCIA JONES
TRAILBLAZING
BLACK
WOMEN
OF UA
7
Throughout history, Black women are often
overlooked and undervalued despite their
education, status or contributions. The following
examples are some trailblazing Black women who have
set the standards and paved the way at the University of
Alabama.
“Not enough Black students know about great Black
women who have come and done amazing things in
their lives. They are never talked about, and other young
Black women need to know that greatness can come from
anywhere. We need that spark of inspiration and drive
that says we are more than just our stereotypes,” said
Pearl Hargray, a junior majoring in accounting.
In 1965, Vivian Malone Jones became the first Black
graduate from the university. Her enrollment with
the university resulted in the infamous stand in the
schoolhouse door from George Wallace. After receiving
her degree she moved to Washington D.C. and joined the
civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice
where she worked as a research analyst. In 1977, she
became the executive director of the Voter Education
Project. In 2000, she received the honorary Doctor of
Humane Letters from UA.
Dianne Kirksey-Floyd was an actress, playwright, director
and pioneer that enrolled in 1967. During her time oncampus
she created a legacy that follows her today.
She founded the Black Student Union at UA. She was
the first Black Bama Belle and the first Black woman to
appear on the homecoming court. She was also the first
Black woman to be an officer of the Associated Women’s
Students organization.
Lena Prewitt became the first Black professor at the
university in 1970 for the Culverhouse College of Business
before her retirement. She is also responsible for being
the only Black person to work with Wernher von Braun at
NASA for the Saturn V project.
Laci Jordan graduated from the university with two
degrees, one in criminal justice and the other in design.
She has had her art commissioned by various brands such
as Disney, Nike, Ulta Beauty and New York Times to name
a few.
Sonequa Martin-Green is another UA alumna who
received a degree in theatre. Throughout the years she
has appeared in high-profile shows and movies. She has
also been featured in The Walking Dead and Star Trek:
The Discovery. Her appearance in Star Trek made her
the first Black woman to lead the Star Trek cast. She also
voiced a character for the 2021 movie, Space Jam: A New
Legacy.
“I’ve heard of Sonequa Martin-Green from watching
The Walking Dead and the preview for Star Trek: The
Discovery, but I never knew she was an alumna and I find
that very sad because I admire that woman,” said Hargray.
“In a predominantly white institution, it is important to
not just spotlight but also acknowledge Black women’s
contributions since many of us are overlooked or have to
work twice as hard in these spaces. This ensures that the
hard work that has been put in is appreciated,” said Jayla
Carr, a junior majoring in political science.
It’s important that we acknowledge these amazing Black
women so other students will know the lasting impact
they had on the university and in their career fields. The
university uses the phrase “Where Legends are Made”
and these courageous women are proof of that statement.

TIONNA TAITE
THE DEVIL’S
PUNCHBOWL
In the foothills of Mississippi, the trees grow heavy
with uneaten peaches. Tales have haunted the grounds
of the Devil’s Punchbowl for decades, from pirates to
planes crashing.While the lands may not be filled with
treasure, they are haunted by the history of genocide,
terror, and a past filled with hatred for Black Americans
that cannot be ignored.
The African American registry on December 13, 2020
asserts the Devil’s Punchbowl massacre took place in
Natchez, Mississippi in the 1860s. The camp was located
at the bottom of a cavernous pit with trees located on
the bluffs above, in which 20,000 formerly enslaved Black
Americans were placed in a concentration camp, and later
killed. Unfortunately, this story, like so many, has been
drowned beneath a ravine filled with pain and suffering.
The United States has a deep-rooted history of racially
motivated massacres that were frequently denied and
went undocumented by authorities explains USA Today
on June 21, 2021. We must understand America’s history of
hiding Black massacres, starting with Mississippi.
We’ll uncover the Devil’s Punchbowl by examining its
history, current understanding, and implications because
as noted writer and activist James Baldwin said in 1963,
“American history is longer, larger, more various, and
more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about
it.”
As formerly enslaved Black Americans made their way
to freedom, the town of Natchez quickly went from a
small town to an overpopulated metropolis. In order to
deal with the population influx, a concentration camp
was established by soldiers that essentially eradicated
the formerly enslaved people. The Natchez Museum of
African American History and Culture on February 17,
2021 explains bleak conditions of being cramped inside
locked walls and forced to work until exhaustion or death.
After visiting the Devil’s Punchbowl, James E. Yeatman
of the Western Sanitary Commission in November 1863
wrote an appeal to President Lincoln regarding the
condition of formerly enslaved Black Americans. Yeatman
stated “seventy-five died in a single day… some returned
to their masters on account of their suffering.”
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in
July 2019 explains the Devil’s Punchbowl was a camp in
Natchez, Mississippi that held as many as 4,000 Black
refugees in the summer of 1863, this number only
growing as years went on. The aforementioned African
American Registry estimates that over 20,000 freedmen
and freedwomen were killed in one year, inside of this
American concentration camp. According to Natchez City
Archives from 2009, Don Estes is a retired Natchez City
Cemetery Director, who conducted extensive research
into individuals buried at the cemetery. Estes said that
during his studies he learned that women and children
9

were all but left to die in the three “punch bowls.”
“Thousands and thousands died. They were begging to
get out [to go] anywhere but there,” said Estes.
The Devil’s Punchbowl’s lesser-known history as a
mass grave points to the city’s ghosting of certain
demographics. The New York Times on April 5, 2019
asserts the city, Natchez, is even more riddled with history
than it is with Old South manors and manners. Without
the relatively recent recovery of the records of these
bodies, their stories would not have been publicized in
the modern age. Tours and guides by the Garden Club,
the historical representative of the Devil’s Punchbowl
focus on the period immediately preceding the Civil War
and the long clash between North and South. Natchez,
however, was established in 1716, meaning there are over
100 years of unaccounted history not represented by most
of the Pilgrimage’s tours, erasing the Black lives that lived
and died in the area.
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History in
July 2013 documents Lizzy Brown, who in her diary, speaks
of “flimsy structures built with her father’s lumber, which
she could see from her plantation home.” This Under-the-
Hill area of Natchez was where the camp was located, and
Lizzy saw the horrors of a hastily constructed shack city.
The Heritage Post on December 12, 2020 explains that
today, the bluffs are known for the wild peach grooves,
but the locals will not eat any of the fruit because of the
bodies that fertilized the trees. One researcher noted
that skeletal remains still wash up when the area becomes
flooded by the Mississippi River at the Devil’s Punchbowl.
While some of the stories remain told, they’re relegated
to legend, not history due to the lack of research in the
area. The Devil’s Punchbowl in and of itself is a story to
be told and worth the research to uncover what really
happened.
information about heinous acts such as the Devil’s
Punchbowl in Mississippi. However, as was the case with
the Tulsa Race Massacre it often takes years of research
to even bring the stories to light and actually bring some
form of justice to the victims.
The aforementioned Atlantic asserts the inevitable
response of Americans to tragic stories of mass murder,
of extreme destitution, of dangerous injustice, of a raw
attack on democracy within the very borders of the
United States, is ‘this is not who we are.’ But for white
America, the reality of history should not be ignored.
The Devil’s Punchbowl was not the only Black massacre
swept under the rug The 1866 Memphis Massacre left 46
Black Americans killed, 285 injured, and 5 raped yet no
arrests were made. A 2020 report by the aforementioned
Equal Justice Initiative points out the 1866 Memphis
Massacre did not receive a historical marker until May
2016. In a city with multiple Confederate monuments and
a park named for Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Forrest,
this effort marked the first publicly funded historical
commemoration of the massacre. Now, as other Black
massacres like Lake Lanier in Georgia gain traction,
the time for the reckoning of the Black lives lost is long
overdue, and continues without attention.
After uncovering the history of the Devil’s Punchbowl,
with some crucial implications we learned...America’s
history of intentionally not documenting events
highlights its racist history. Prominent journalist Ida B.
Wells puts it plainly: “The way to right wrongs is to turn
the light of truth upon them.” In short, by uncovering
Black massacres and addressing America’s history of
racial violence we can finally begin reconciling with the
past.
It often takes years of extensive research for Black
massacres to properly be brought to light.
The Equal Justice Initiative in 2020 asserts quantitative
documentation of past racial violence remains imprecise
and incomplete. It should not be difficult to find
10

ASHLEE WOODS
Q&A
JANESE
CONSTANTINE
ALABAMA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ASSISTANT COACH
Alabama athletics has its fair share of unsung
heroes. For the Crimson Tide women’s basketball
team, that’s assistant coach Janese Constantine.
Constantine has been an integral part of the
success of the tem under head coach Kristy Curry.
Features and Experiences Editor Ashlee Woods sat
down with Constantine to talk about her coaching
journey, motherhood and Christianity.
What started your passion for basketball?
Janese Constantine: So I had an older brother, he was
already involved in basketball, baseball, and soccer. Those
were the four things he was involved with. My dad also
plays football. My dad is still coaching right now. So I
grew up in a basketball family. I just was naturally drawn
to playing ball, being rough and being outside. I started
playing around five, so I just had a natural passion for the
game. That’s what got me going.
Did you have any players that you looked up
to when you started playing basketball?
I was a huge, huge Lisa Leslie fan. I was actually really tall
for my age. I was always the tallest kid in class, boy or girl.
I’ll never forget when I was in fifth grade, my nickname
was baby Shaq. I was taller than all the guys out there.
Then, around seventh or eighth grade is when the guys
started shooting on me. I really just stopped growing,
then. But I was the tallest in class for a long time. So, I
11
Photo courtesy of UA Athletics

thought I was going to be a post player. I thought I was
going to be 6’5. But I am not, but growing up I was a huge
Lisa Leslie fan. I still am.
How did you know or when did you know
when you wanted to start to coach?
Probably when I was in high school and college --- more so
college. I went to this thing called Point Guard College. It
was a really cool opportunity for me. It gave me a chance
to see the game in another way, another light. It was more
about talking about the game versus playing the game. It
was in a classroom-like setting, so I really enjoyed that. It
was seeing the doors basketball could open and thinking
about how I can be involved once I got done playing.
That’s when it kind of opened my eyes that I could really
do this. Now back then, I didn’t really know if I thought I
wanted to be a college coach. But I knew, at some point, I
wanted to be coaching in my future.
You’ve talked pretty frequently about being
a tough coach when you started out in your
coaching career. Was there a particular
player, experience or even a season
where you realized that maybe this style of
coaching wasn’t the way to mentor these
players?
After my third year in coaching. I was at IUPUI at the time,
and we got to the end of the year. I always feel like coaches
get to do evaluations on players, tell them their strengths
and weaknesses. I feel like as coaches, we don’t always take
the time to then do that, ourselves. So what I did was I
asked my players, ‘Tell me one thing that you think I’m
good at and one thing I can do better.’ All of them told
me you bring good energy, but they consistently all said,
‘You’re too negative.’ I was like ‘Wow,’ and it kind of hurt.
I was really kind of hurt. I had to take a step back and say,
‘What do you mean? I’m coaching.’ They [the players] said
‘Yeah, but it’s always with a negative connotation. You
don’t pump us up enough.’ That was the turning point.
I have to say, I’m not perfect at it. I’m sure I’ve still been
deemed as negative at times. But, I am conscious of it. I
try to make sure that I am filling their cups. I try to make
sure I’m not nitpicking. I do try to make sure that I look
at their effort, their intent. If they’re trying and they’re
not getting it, then maybe I need to coach it better. Again,
I’m not perfect. I’m sure I fail at times. I just try to have an
awareness of just being positive.
You’ve been very open about your faith.
Have you always practiced Christianity? If
not, when did you decide to delve into the
faith a little bit more?
I was fortunate enough that my parents introduced me
to Christ at a young age and He’s always been a part of
my life. I grew up going to church and Sunday School. I
was a Sunday School teacher for a while. It’s always been a
part of my life and I’m not perfect. There have been times
where I’m like, ‘Whoa, I’m kind of triggered right now.
I’ve got to get back to where my foundation is.’ I don’t try
to force [my faith] on anyone. I don’t try to make you talk
about it. I’m not trying to make my players talk about it.
But if they want you, I’m hoping they aren’t afraid. I’m
here for them if they want to have a conversation. I’ve had
players that want to be saved, but don’t know how to do
that. So, I think I’ve tried in that manner to just be there
for them.
We’ve seen different players, coaches and
athletes become more open about their
faith. Has that been inspiring to you at all,
seeing that become more mainstream in
sports culture?
I think it’s all good. I think it’s about whatever you want
to do personally. I love the boldness and the courage. But
I think there are so many other people who may not be
as outwardly and openly about it. It still doesn’t mean
you’re not as strong and as passionate about it. For me,
I’m one of those nights. I don’t wake up every morning
and shout out or I make sure I tweet something spiritual.
But if there is something on my heart, if I’m led to say
something, I’ll do it. I’ll post it and I’ll talk about it. But I
don’t feel like I have to always be over the top. But when
I’m led to [share something spiritual], then I’ll definitely
12

try and put it out there for people because I never know
who I may be encouraging.
Transitioning over to your journey to
Alabama, when did you know that you
possibly wanted to branch out and leave
Indiana?
Well, I actually got here by way of my husband. He got
a football job here before I got the basketball job here.
So when he got the football job here, we decided to leave
Indiana to help to pursue his career. It’s hard to say no to
anything Alabama football-related. So, I got down here and
after three weeks, that’s when they [women’s basketball]
had the opening. That’s how I got involved with Alabama
women’s basketball so my journey down here was a little
different. I was actually content in Indiana, where I was,
and I was 45 minutes from home, from my parents. All
that was a big plus when I had my first child.
How has being a mother impacted your
coaching style?
It’s made me a better coach. I think I’m looking at things
differently. I see things differently. I think it’s helped
me relate to kids differently. I think it helps me relate to
their space differently. It helps me be more gracious. It
helps me to be way more forgiving and try to be kinder.
There was a situation where a young lady on a team got
into some trouble on our team. My heart was broken.
Someone said, ‘Well, why does that hurt you?’ I said,
‘Because that’s somebody’s baby.’ They made a mistake
and now their business is kind of out there. I don’t think
they did that on purpose. She didn’t wake up to try to
make a mistake, but she made it. So I’m saddened that I
know that’s somebody’s baby, and I know they still raised
them right. I would want someone to have the same grace
and compassion towards my girls. I just think everything
has made me more in touch with the reality of what these
young ladies go through day-to-day and the decisions
that they have to make --- whether right or wrong --- but
the decisions they have to make and how they learn from
them.
athletics at the collegiate level. What does
it feel like to be a part of this new wave of
women’s sports mentoring these players
that are being broadcast on ESPN and
ABC?
It definitely feels good because I think you’re part of an
evolution of a way that is allowing just more and more
access to them. More access to their personal lives, more
access to how they handle things and do things and the
publicity that they get. I think it’s amazing. But, I think
it challenges them of why making good decisions is such
a huge thing now because of the access and now you have
put on and plastered on the front of TVs and posters.
Everything is in the light, everything that they do and
so being a good role model, things of that nature [is
important]. It’s fun to be a part of this and it’s fun to have
all your games on TV. It’s fun to tell your family. ‘Hey, we’ll
be on this channel!” All that’s fun. I think it’s a fun, fun
time to be involved with athletics.
What has been the most inspiring part of
your coaching journey?
When I see the ladies that I’ve coached post-college.
When I see them now with babies, husbands, jobs and
careers and different moves. That is what to me becomes
the most inspiring. For them to tell me, ‘Hey, I appreciate
you. You just mean so much to me,’ I think that’s probably
what brings me the greatest joy knowing that. I tell them
all the time, I pray that one day we can be friends. I pray
that when you get done, we had a strong enough bond
that you didn’t mind me pushing you. One of my former
players --- her name is Brenna --- she’s done playing now.
One of the things she tells me all the time, ‘I appreciate
you every day for never letting me settle. Never letting
me settle for anything less than my best. That, for me, lets
me know to keep going. Keep pushing these young ladies
because they’ll be thankful, they’ll be grateful. You won’t
win them all, you won’t. I’ve had players I’ve coached that
when they’re done, we may never speak again. It’s nothing
bad. It’s just that maybe we just didn’t click. But I still
have way more that still stay in touch, still reach out.
We’ve seen over the past couple of years
rapid growth and coverage of women’s
13

SUMMER AND FALL
REGISTRATION OPENS
April 8!
Visit sheltonstate.edu to apply and register!
It is the policy of the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees and Shelton State Community College, a
postsecondary institution under its control, that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion,
marital status, disability, gender, age, or any other protected class as defined by federal and state law, be excluded
from participation, denied benefits, or subjected to discrimination under any program, activity, or employment.

CHRISTINE THOMPSON
ACTIVISM
A PERSONAL REFLECTION
REDEFINED
15
Introduction
Sorting through the countless files in the Google drive,
I began logging and transcribing each of the audio
files in the folder. It was the first week of my fellowship
with United Women of Color – a nonprofit dedicated to
community-based solutions for racialized violence in my
hometown of Huntsville, Alabama.
UWOC was my latest attempt at identifying the needs in
my community and actively working to supplement the
gaps. Law school was the end goal, and meaningful civic
engagement would allow me to identify the areas of law
I wanted to practice, and prepare for long-term advocacy
in the legal field.
The audio files contained various interviews of Black and
white families sharing their perspective on race-relations
in 2021. My supervisor had given me little information
on the content of the interviews – only that the
transcriptions and summaries would be presented to the
Huntsville City Council in a case against the Huntsville
Police Department. I clicked on the file labeled “Ava 1” and
began typing short descriptions as the audio played:
“Woman says that in everyday life she felt safe when seeing
police officers in the community: she had no reason to be
nervous, never felt like they had any ill will or malice.
Woman describes seeing police officers at a protest heavily
armed like they were about to ‘invade.’ ‘impending doom.’
‘It felt scary and it felt like I couldn’t trust them-’
Before the minute-long interview could end, a realization
washed over me: The protest “Ava” was recounting, was
the same demonstration I attended a year and a half ago.
Brief Background
The morning of the protest, I told my cousin, a former
parole officer, that I didn’t plan on attending. It wasn’t
because I didn’t believe in the cause – but, rather, I
felt better suited to engage in alternative forms of
activism. That summer, I had edited 12 poignant articles
highlighting the racial justice movement for the limitededition
summer issue of Alice, interned for a New York
politician with projects focused on COVID-19 healthcare
equity, and participated in a Pre-Law Program. Surely,
most of this involvement allowed me a “rain-check”
from this potentially dangerous protest. Yet, there was
a lingering sentiment of guilt that accompanied my
declaration that I was staying home.
My father, born and raised in Monroeville Alabama, to a
farmer and housewife, was 62 years old when I was born.
Throughout his life, he advocated for Black families of
fallen WW2 veterans, served as a magistrate, marched for
civil rights on Bloody Sunday, and eventually, became an
Organic Chemistry professor at Alabama A&M University.
Only a year after his untimely death, the more exciting
stories of his activism contributed to an overwhelming
pressure to advocate for racial justice like he did: loudly
and on the front lines.

Moreover, as his sole offspring, I had a responsibility to
continue his legacy. With this in mind, I threw together
a makeshift poster, organized a carpool, and headed
downtown.
Despite being entirely nonviolent, the protest ended in
the brutal tear gassing of several hundred protesters.
Even with 20 years of racialized harassment under my
belt, I always said that the country my father described
was an America I didn’t know. The chaos that ensued
on that foggy Wednesday evening served as a terrifying
introduction to that America.
Reflection
My attendance was fueled by a desire to advocate for racial
justice as he did, but criminal justice law was traumatizing
and heavy for me. My undergraduate research featuring
true cases of Black, underage human trafficking survivors
was rewarding, yet horrifyingly memorable.
how academic empowerment can be the biggest blow to
white supremacy.
Conclusion
Like that summer, my fellowship soon came to an end.
However, like parting gifts, I treasured the lessons they
left for me: There are countless ways to advocate for
racial justice - all equally impactful. Racial inequities in
healthcare or family law are equally as important as racial
inequities in policing and incarceration.
Whether it’s representing Black entrepreneurs cheated by
predatory legal agreements in contract law, or protecting
Black creators in intellectual property, the legal field I
choose will advance the values my father championed. In
doing so, reminding others of a reality that myself, “Ava”,
and countless Black Americans know all too well – the law
is a lived experience.
Post-protest, I reflected on my academic journey up to that
point. On my quest to make a difference, I had – albeit
unintentionally - created a self-imposed monolith about
what it meant to combat racial injustice. One composed
solely of dramatically leading protests and sit-ins, but
excluded creative writing, working for nonprofits in my
community, and shamelessly pursuing a field where I am
drastically underrepresented.
Essentially, I didn’t have to protest to join the fight against
anti-blackness. Similarly, I don’t have to practice criminal
justice law, to advocate for racial equity in the legal field.
Further, when analyzing my father’s history, I had
overlooked his most impactful and lengthy form of
activism: his 40 years as an Organic Chemistry professor.
Throughout my childhood, I perceived the highlights
of his activism to have been the ones recorded in the
history books. Yet, the Black graduates he inspired in his
decades of teaching are living, breathing, examples of
16

A LETTER OF ADVICE FROM
JASMINE HOLLIE
Dear Students,
My greatest advice for having a successful and flourishing
undergraduate career is to take advantage of all resources
on campus. Right now, as a student at THE University of
Alabama you are already ahead of the game. There are
countless mentors, programs and organizations available
to help you succeed as a student. Take advantage. You
already have the world at your fingertips, you just have to
grab it. Personally, if I could redo my college experience I
would take advantage of more resources and opportunities
offered at UA.
Another key to success: Internships. Interning has helped
me land my first job in Journalism just one short year
after graduating. Internships will provide you with the
professional experience needed to succeed in your field.
They will also open countless doors for you once you
graduate. I highly recommend researching different
internships that best suit your professional goals. Finally,
but most importantly, prioritize your mental health. Your
mental health is just as important as your education. You
won’t be able to perform your best academically if you
are not okay mentally. Get some sleep, stay organized,
practice self-care and take deep breaths. As long as you
work hard and apply yourself, everything will work itself
out.
So remember: Take advantage, intern, and don’t forget to
breathe.
Jasmine Hollie
Class of 2020
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