N.C. A&T Students Selected for HistoryMakers Student Brand Ambassadors Program

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (July 7, 2021) – After a competitive application process, two juniors from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University are making history of their own as recruits for the 2021-22 HistoryMakers Student Brand Ambassador Program.

Jonezie Cobb, a political science student, and Theresa Davis-Nathaniel, a political science and elementary education student, join 22 peers from seventeen colleges and universities as official representatives of The HistoryMakers Digital Archives – the nation’s largest African American video oral history collection.

“This is a welcomed opportunity for North Carolina A&T students to participate in this national video oral history project,” said Frances Ward-Johnson, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. “Not only will students serve as brand ambassadors for The HistoryMakers, but this gives them an extended role of serving as ambassadors for N.C. A&T. We are thrilled they will be engaged in a project where they can provide research and technical skills and gain a wealth of knowledge about contributions of hundreds of history makers across the country.”

The digital collection can be accessed at any time and hosts more than 11,000 hours of first-person testimonies recorded in 413 cities across the country and internationally. The interviews cover a number of disciplines and feature African American leaders and icons, from renowned poet Nikki Giovanni to Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

During the summer, ambassadors will immerse themselves in the archives, teaming up to conduct research, and will create content for a weekly blog, newsletter and social media posts. Additionally, ambassadors are responsible for increasing awareness and use of the archives on their respective campuses, and will organize a campus-wide 2022 Black History Month Digital Archive Contest.

“We have a wonderful group of Student Brand Ambassadors, and we are extremely excited about what lies ahead. We will be able to provide them with 21st-century skills while they bring their innovation, creativity, and knowledge to work to increase awareness and use of The HistoryMakers Digital Archive on their respective campuses,” said Julieanna L. Richardson, founder and president of The HistoryMakers.

The program has grown from two to 24 ambassadors since its inauguration in 2020, further highlighting the demand for the preservation and exploration of Black experiences.

Students must represent institutions already subscribed to the archive at the time of application. A&T is one of three North Carolina-based subscribing institutions, along with Duke University and John C. Smith University.

The HistoryMakers Digital Archives is available at 148 colleges and universities, public libraries and K-12 schools.