By Cal Sutton
The acknowledgment of Black individuals’ contributions to society goes deeper than Black History Month.
Charles Ray, Tyrone Clinton Jr. and Sheena Howard are all accomplished Black professors at Rider who have made differences in their communities.
Ray, an associate professor-lecturer in the Norm Brodsky College of Business, expressed strong ties to Black history within the reasons he felt inspired to pursue his career path.
Ray is one of only three full-time Black male faculty members at Rider, according to reports from the deans of each academic college.
“[Black History Month] is an important opportunity for us to give reverence to trailblazers in the Black community and in America,” he said.
Ray is an attorney and a professor, with a deep-rooted passion for justice, which developed for him in the second grade.
He did not want to be a doctor due to a fear of blood, and he did not want to be an engineer because his impression of an engineer was that they drive trains and trains do not have a steering wheel to turn, Ray said. This led him to think that being an attorney was his best bet in the second grade.
That decision, fueled by childhood dreams, set him up for his future career’s success. Ray attended Louisiana State University to obtain his bachelor’s degree and got his Jurist Doctorate degree from Rutgers School of Law.
His interest in law can also be attributed to learning about Black history.
“It was really during Black History Month celebrations when they would talk about things like the Civil Rights Movement,” Ray said.
Ray highlighted learning about Thurgood Marshall because he argued the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which is integral to the rights of Black people in the United States today.
Ray has experienced “life in extremes.” He attributed his success and his bountiful knowledge of the human experience to that.
As the oldest of 10 children, living in a single-parent household on welfare, Ray expressed that his humble upbringing helped him understand a breadth of individuals’ experiences.
Despite Ray’s challenges, he brought himself to a new “extreme” later on, which was having the privilege to access a bountiful education, possessing a doctorate degree and having the ability to teach future generations.
“I’ve experienced a lot of struggle, and I’ve also experienced great privilege,” Ray said. “It’s made me a very understanding leader.”
Leading with compassion
Clinton, an adjunct faculty member, conductor of Chapel Choir and a faculty member of Master Singers, has also had an expansive educational experience.
He obtained a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, which is the only all-male historically Black college or university in the U.S. studying conducting.
Clinton moved onto Ohio State University to get a master’s degree and to Northwestern University for a doctorate degree.
He also studied abroad during his doctoral research in Mexico and Spain.
Clinton has loved music his whole life, and has been truly passionate about it since he was young. “I was always a musician, even as a kid,” Clinton said. “I [knew] I wanted to be a music educator after high school.”
Clinton’s passion for music goes deeper than just his education. He founded a Harlem-based nonprofit to help aspiring Black musicians in New York and share the Black experience through music.
“I started a nonprofit organization called The Unsung Collective, which is a community partner with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra,” Clinton said. “I started that because there was an absence of storytelling and voices … within the realm of classical music or Western art.”
He leads with compassion for others both in education and his music nonprofit organization. “Nobody is going to experience your experience the way that you do,” Clinton said. “My walk of life is not your walk of life.”
Clinton attributes his well-rounded life experience to his travels. From Brooklyn in his early life to the south, midwest and abroad during his collegiate years, he believes he is “a reflection of all those places.”
His resiliency is important to who he is, because he knows that he will never stop learning and wants others to know that it is important to be understanding of others.
“As an educator, I think it’s important for me to never reach a space where I feel like it’s OK to stop learning,” Clinton said. “I always want to be in a space where I learn.”
Using experience to assist others
Howard, a professor in the department of communication, journalism and media, has been published on multiple occasions and has written many books and research articles.
To Howard, acknowledging Black history means, “Recognizing the history and contributions of Black people and the African Diaspora.” She said, “It’s also a time for me to reflect on the work my ancestors and Black leaders have put in to allow us the freedoms we have today.”
Howard went to Iona University and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing. She then went to New York Institute of Technology, acquiring a master’s degree in graphic design, and to Howard University to get her doctorate degree in intercultural and rhetorical communication.
Since she was six or seven years old, Howard knew she wanted to teach. She already loved writing, so she enjoyed being able to channel her passions into what she does as a career.
Howard now has an expansive portfolio, filled with writing, online courses, professional communication examples and webinars.
“Writing has always been my creative and emotional outlet as well as sports. I went to Iona … on a [Division I] basketball scholarship. After my basketball career, I focused on continuing my education which allowed me to write more,” Howard said.
As a leader, Howard wants others to feel like they are assisted to the highest level possible.
“I’m a leader that tries to empower others and give them tools to help them reach their goals,” she said.
Ray, Clinton and Howard all have made positive contributions to Rider and their respective overarching communities.
About his outlook on his decisions, Ray said, “Anything that I say, anything that I do, … I try to think about everything. … I never second guess myself, but I always think twice.”
