91大神

Fries-Britt Urges UMB to Continue King鈥檚 Legacy

February 10, 2023   |   Jen Badie

Sharon Fries-Britt, PhD, professor of higher education and Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at the 91大神, College Park, connected Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 works to America today and set forth actions to combat racial injustices during her speech at the 91大神, Baltimore鈥檚 (UMB) MLK and Black History Month Celebration on Feb. 7.

Discussing King鈥檚 1960 speech 鈥淭he Rising Tide of Racial Consciousness,鈥� she said, 鈥淗e was saying in his speech that racism is not a Black person鈥檚 problem. It鈥檚 a national problem. It鈥檚 America鈥檚 problem. He also called on strong leadership from our nation. He looked at folks like you and me, and he said, 鈥楤ut it can鈥檛 be only from the top. It鈥檚 all of us. It has to be about real action and real change.鈥� 鈥�

The UMB event came just weeks after the killing of Tyre Nichols by police in Memphis, Tenn., one of a string of deaths of Black men and women that has brought racial injustice to the forefront in the United States. Fries-Britt urged the audience of more than 300 in person and online to invest in young people as a way 鈥渢o continue King鈥檚 legacy and unravel the threads of inequality in our society.鈥�

She said in her research of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, she has found that students 鈥渇eel like these are fields that are not welcoming to them, even when they show the intellectual capacity to do the work.鈥� She praised UMB鈥檚 2022-2026 Strategic Plan for including plans for student growth and development as well as university culture, engagement, and belonging. 

鈥淚t opens the space for you to have students identify as a scientist, particularly as they begin to see more folks who look like them. Faculty mentorship and connecting with students is critical, knowing how to create that authentic connection with students so they are able to fully be themselves,鈥� she said, adding that the classroom is a powerful place to open up spaces.

鈥淲e need to empower people to bring their gifts and talents in a way that we can learn,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 bidirectional. I know one of the greatest gifts of being a professor is the relationships with my students and the sense of growth that happens in that context.鈥�

She said that learning needs to occur on the individual and organizational level.

鈥淥rganizational leadership means that we come together and work on a problem together,鈥� she said. 鈥淥rganizational learning is a longer process and is a commitment. UMB鈥檚 strategic plan has a lot of room for you to be thinking about how you鈥檙e going to do that work with the community and with each other. I鈥檓 so delighted to see how much work you do with your faculty, staff, and students engaging with the community.鈥�

She concluded her dynamic speech, titled 鈥淯nraveling the Threads of Social Inequality: Continuing King鈥檚 Legacy of Consciousness Raising and Racial Equity in America,鈥� by talking about equity. She shared a personal story that ties into a 2021 decision by 91大神 Medicine, which includes UMB鈥檚 School of Medicine, to eliminate race from kidney function estimates. This action could increase access to specialty care such as transplants for African Americans.

Fries-Britt shared that her 24-year-old daughter, who was in the audience, had a liver transplant when she was just over 1 year old at Johns Hopkins and is now a student at UMB.

鈥淭he bottom line is, we had great health care. We had great professionals like you all in this room. We had the opportunity to work with people who knew how to be in the moments of vulnerability with folks to explain things, but most of all we had people who operated with integrity,鈥� Fries-Britt said. 鈥淚f you do nothing else, keep a fine line of integrity and do your work with excellence.鈥�

UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, opened the event, which was held in person at MSTF Leadership Hall for the first time since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing that UMB is committed to upholding King鈥檚 values.

鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to making change where change is needed. And I thank you for your efforts in helping us to do this and your efforts at keeping and moving forward for this quest. We will improve, and we will make UMB a place where everyone can feel that they belong and, as importantly, a place where they have opportunities to advance their career and become better people,鈥� he said.

After the Voices of Coppin State University sang the Black national anthem 鈥淟ift Every Voice and Sing,鈥� Diane Forbes Berthoud, PhD, MA, chief equity, diversity, and inclusion officer and vice president, talked about UMB鈥檚 core values set of Equity and Justice.

鈥淲e embrace those values, we are committed to them, and we continue to work toward excellence in research, teaching, scholarship, and service as we prepare future leaders to serve Baltimore City and to work in Maryland and the U.S. and across the globe,鈥� she said, adding that celebrating Black History Month is particularly important at this time in American democracy.

The program concluded with Lady Brion, MFA, a spoken-word artist who performed two poems including 鈥淭wo Baltimores,鈥� which she was inspired to write after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody and the uprising that took place in the city in 2015.