An Important Message from Dr. Stacey Patton
Dear Subscribers:
Last spring, something unexpected happened.
I put out a call on Facebook to help a few journalism students who were about to miss graduation because of unpaid balances. I thought maybe we might be able to help one or two people, maybe relieve a little pressure. Instead, in less than a week, people showed up and we raised over $80,000. It was absolutely amazing to watch community show up for these young people and their families.
More than two dozen students, students who had already done the work, passed their classes, and met every academic requirement, were able to graduate because strangers decided that money should not be the thing that stopped them at the finish line. Some of those balances were a few hundred dollars. Others were well over $10,000. The gap between walking across that stage and being shut out wasn’t effort. It wasn’t merit. It was money. And people closed that gap.
I’m telling you this because it’s happening again.
Graduation is one month away, and the emails have already started coming in. Students who are academically cleared, finished, done, and ready, are now at risk of not graduating because of financial holds they cannot resolve in time. One student owes $1,277. Another has exhausted every loan option. Families are stretched thin. There is no cushion, no last-minute fix coming from the institution.
This is the part no one talks about. The quiet, final barrier that shows up after the papers are written, the exams are passed, and the degree is earned, but before the university will let them walk.
So this year, I’m doing something different. I’m bringing this effort here. I’m launching a Student Solidarity Graduation Campaign through this Substack. If you’ve been reading my work for free, being challenged, shifted, and entertained this is a way to turn that reading into something tangible. For $80—a one-year subscription (a little under $7.00 per month)— you can help clear a student’s path to graduation.
That’s it. No complicated ask. No massive donation required. Just a collective decision that we’re not going to let this be the reason a deserving HBCU student doesn’t graduate.
There are 42,800 of you here. If even a small fraction of this community steps in, we are not helping a handful of students, we are clearing barriers at scale. We’ve already seen what happens when people move together. Now I want to see what happens when this community does it.
If you’ve ever read something here that stayed with you, challenged you, or helped you see something more clearly, this is the moment to turn that into action. Upgrade your subscription. Gift one. Share this post.
You can access the subscription link here: https://drstaceypatton1865.substack.com/subscribe?coupon=ffc10ed3
Let’s get these young folks across that stage so they can start their futures. Thank you for your support.
Love,
S.
Thanks for reading. If this piece resonated with you, then please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Paid subscriptions help keep my Substack unfiltered and ad free. They also help me raise money for HBCU journalism students who need laptops, DSLR cameras, tripods, mics, lights, software, travel funds for conferences and reporting trips, and food from our pantry. You can also follow me on Facebook!
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