By Shannon Thomason
UAB News
UAB’s Student Involvement and Leadership organization will host its third Birmingham 101 event, a series focusing on Birmingham high schools and ties to UAB, this time focusing on A.H. Parker High School and the surrounding community.
A panel of Parker High School graduates will honor the school’s legacy on Tuesday, Feb. 21, in a discussion at UAB’s Hill Student Center Ballroom, 1400 University Blvd. At 5 p.m. an open reception will start off the event, followed by the graduate discussion panel at 6 p.m. and a Q-and-A session at 7:30 p.m. The Birmingham 101 series is free and open to the public.
At the first event in September 2016, Birmingham 101 highlighted West End High School. The second event in November focused on Woodlawn High School. Following the Parker High event this month, Birmingham 101 will focus on Ensley High School in April.
The aim of the discussion panel is to emphasize the developmental experiences that each panelist had while attending Parker High, in addition to the development of the surrounding neighborhood, says David Dada, coordinator of Leadership and Service in the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership.
“The overarching goal from a Student Affairs perspective is to give students more insight on the areas in which we provide service opportunities, in order to provide a deeper sense of meaning to the experience,” he said.
The A.H. Parker High School panelists include:
Willie May, Ph.D.: Parker ʼ64, Director of National Institute of Standards and Technology
Pamela Bowen, Ph.D.: Parker ʼ84, Assistant Professor, UAB School of Nursing
Rodney George: Parker ʼ90, Campus Dining Services Coordinator, UAB
Alanah Melton: Parker ʼ98, Operations Administrator, City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office, Division of Youth Services
This month’s event is part of the Student Involvement and Leadership’s Black History Month Lecture Series. Parker High is recognized as the first black public school in Birmingham, built in 1900 and originally named Negro High School. The school was renamed in 1939 to honor the school’s first principal.
In 1946, with an attendance of 3,761 students, Parker High was named the largest black public high school in the country, and still boasts one of the strongest alumni bases in the nation.
Two Parker High graduates, Dr. Samuel W. Sullivan and the late Dr. Richard C. Dale, became the first black medical students to attend what was formerly known as the University of Alabama’s School of Medicine, now the UAB School of Medicine.
Contact Student Involvement and Leadership at 205-934-8020 or at getinvolved@uab.edu for more information.
