Dr. Tammie Holmes, a tenured Prairie View A&M College (PVAMU) professor, has been honored as a 2023 Black Future Maker by way of AT&T’s prestigious Dream in Black program.
This accolade celebrates visionaries shaping tradition, and Holmes stands out for her dedication to connecting college students and the Black group with world alternatives, emphasizing the importance of understanding their world identification.
She is dedicated to addressing the disparity in worldwide publicity amongst Black college students by creating “Residing Studying Communities” by way of journey and impactful documentary filmmaking, exemplified by her current work, “A Legacy Misplaced & Discovered.”
Pushed by this mission, she is one in all 4 distinguished feminine recipients awarded a $25,000 grant by AT&T, which she passionately channels into bringing her newest documentary to the large display screen.
With over twenty years of expertise in training, specializing in Communication, Management, Africana Research, and Grownup Studying, Holmes is holding it down for the tradition. At the moment serving as a lecturer at PVAMU and an adjunct teacher at Lonestar School, her analysis facilities on fostering elevated scholar participation in worldwide packages.
The Defender spoke with Holmes about her story and her plans for the grant.
Defender: Are you able to share your preliminary reactions and what this recognition means to you ?
Dr. Holmes : I’m nonetheless processing the preliminary response. It’s an awesome honor. The primary query I requested was, “Am I an alternate?” Generally, you do what you do however don’t suppose a lot about it. So, I undoubtedly depend it as a privilege. I depend it as an honor. I depend it very humbling as a result of I do know that lots of and hundreds of individuals doubtless have a dream and work in communities like mine. So, in some regard, you’re nonetheless attempting to internalize and simply say, I suppose at this level, that is the work you’ve been ready for, and that is what you do. So, it’s good to be acknowledged in that capability.
Defender: Your work connects college students and the Black group to world alternatives. How did you develop this ardour, and what drives your dedication to world training and consciousness?
Holmes : I grew up in a predominantly white, small city and was in Spanish language immersion. A trainer got here to me and mentioned, “I’m taking a visit in the summertime to Mexico, to the Yucatan Peninsula, and I would really like you to think about going and speaking to your mother and father.” That’s how my journey started. I didn’t go speak to my mother and father. My trainer determined to speak to my mother and father unbeknownst to me. And that was the start of my Mayan language immersion, understanding the world was a lot greater.
I didn’t comprehend it was gonna be a part of the aim. Shifting ahead to varsity, I made a decision to go to Africa and assist develop a program the college had by no means had. Little did I do know that was the start of a journey. Shifting on to grad faculty, I continued to check overseas. It modified the way in which I noticed studying. It modified the way in which I approached life. It modified my mindset. I don’t suppose that may proceed in greater ed if it weren’t for these specific packages. I didn’t know that right here we’re 30 years later, this might be a part of the aim. It began at 14. So right here I’m, the professor attempting to do one thing {that a} trainer noticed in me at 14, now the place I can affect different college students and different individuals the way in which she impacted me.
Defender: You’re a transplant from Tennessee. What introduced you to Houston?
Holmes : I used to be born in northwest Tennessee. Raised in southern Illinois. I lived in Chicago for 12 years, taught there, after which relocated to Houston by way of Hurricane Harvey, working for FEMA. However my mom is a local of Houston, and her entire aspect of the household. At one level, I had considered profession change, however one thing about catastrophe restoration had my consideration. I got here, and I by no means left. Six months later, Prairie View A&M College referred to as me for a part-time job I utilized for, which was a full-time job. Right here I’m, six years, however 24 years in greater training.
Defender: Being a 20+ 12 months tenured HBCU professor, how have you ever seen the training panorama evolve, particularly regarding Black college students’ illustration and world consciousness ?
Holmes : I got here from a house of educators. My mother was an educator. My grandmother was an educator. My uncle was, as effectively. Actually, being a trainer was by no means what I needed to be. Instructing discovered me. I’m not an HBCU scholar. I wasn’t HBCU-made. Rising up in Illinois, HBCUs aren’t a complete bunch to select from except you pay out-of-state tuition. I used to be PWI [predominantly white institutions] made. All three levels. One in every of my targets was that if I didn’t go to [an HBCU] and stayed in greater training, I’d train at one.
I keep in mind after I did my dissertation on examine overseas, particularly world training. I needed to concentrate on a selected goal demographic group, not simply U.S. college students. I needed to slim my focus. I made a decision to choose African-American college students to concentrate on as a result of I used to be an African-American scholar, not as a lot an HBCU. Nonetheless, the demographic is so small for US college students in world training. Nevertheless it’s even that a lot smaller once you speak about non-majority populations and demographics of race which are non-white. I’ve a love for college students who appear to be me. They, too, can have these alternatives. I all the time inform my college students right here that the best-kept secret on the college is your examine overseas program. Getting a passport is your world citizenship.
Defender: Your current movie, “A Legacy Misplaced & Discovered,” explores underrepresented tales. What narratives do you hope it brings to mild?
Holmes : The concept got here from one in all my former undergrad professors. She was a Black research professor, and he or she occurred to be right here in Houston on enterprise, and we related. And she or he was educating me about how recreation parks had been segregated. Little did I ever take into consideration segregation in regard to recreation. We train segregation because it pertains to transportation, the bus boycott, and the separate water fountains. However what does it appear to be with leisure parks, trip locations, and elite teams of Black individuals who needed to journey and go locations that they had been discriminated in opposition to simply because they had been Black? There was a grant from the Nationwide Belief and Historic Preservation. [They were] doing this historic preservation of those locations, way more highlighted for the reason that film of the Inexperienced E-book. That’s the way it began. I’ve all the time had a love for filmmaking. That is my directorial debut.
Defender: Are you able to inform us extra about how you propose to make the most of AT&T’s $25K grant from AT&T, particularly in bringing your newest documentary to the large display screen?
Holmes : Primary is investing within the Black group. As all the time, it’s an enormous funding. I imagine the grant will assist me to assist college students journey, complement some funding prices, and in addition for publish productions with documentaries. We stay in a really video-oriented tradition, and folks like to press play and ask questions later. This permits me to not solely leverage programming but additionally leverage the affect, amplify it, and share factors of view about individuals who appear to be me.
