Newly Formed South Florida HBCU Alumni Alliance to Advance the Interests of Local HBCU Alumni Associations
MIAMI – Established out of the growing need to foster a more progressive and nurturing social and professional environment for South Florida’s African-American demographic, the South Florida HBCU Alumni Alliance joins forces with the alumni associations of local historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The consortium is purposed to collectively advance the common goals and interests of South Florida HBCU alumni associations through networking and social events, professional and business development opportunities, community service and development, and the advancement of HBCU’s through local HBCU recruitment fairs.
As diverse as the South Florida metro area has grown to be with a melting pot of ethnicities and backgrounds, South Florida has not been as nurturing for professional African-Americans as other black metros have been. Cities such as Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Houston, among others, have created such a progressive and social environment for African-Americans that the cities have experienced a tremendous boost in population and have contributed to the significant expansion of the black middle class.
As evidence, numerous trend data studies have shown that South Florida’s middle-class African-Americans have migrated in large numbers to other metros in favor of more opportunities. Consequently, local black professionals often feel like South Florida is not the live, work, play community that it should be.
So why a local HBCU alumni alliance? Historically, HBCUs have served as the backbone of the African-American community and have awarded more undergraduate and graduate degrees to African-Americans than any other type of educational institution. HBCUs have also played a vital role in recruiting some of the largest numbers of National Merit Scholars. As such, forming a local HBCU alumni alliance will cultivate more collective efforts to unite and progress the professional African-American community of South Florida. Not to mention that while enrollment levels at colleges and universities across the board have been impacted by these tough economic times, the alliance will serve to stimulate interest among local students to seriously consider pursuing their education at any of the more than 100 HBCUs.
As the alliance establishes itself and begins serving its mission, local chapters of HBCU alumni associations are welcomed into the alliance and should contact [email protected] and visit the website, www.SouthFloridaHBCUAlumni.com for more information. The alliance also embraces corporate partners interested in collaborating with the alliance in many respects.
To commemorate the launch of the South Florida HBCU Alumni Alliance, a networking cosmopolitan Happy Hour social will be hosted on Wednesday, June 3rd from 6-9pm at Justin’s Bar & Lounge located at 17813 Biscayne Blvd in Aventura, FL. Attendees can RSVP at www.HBCUAlumni.eventbrite.com.
