Black Family Scholar, Pioneer: HU Presents Lifetime Award To Dr. Andrew Billingsley

Special to the Guide

HAMPTON

One of the highlights of Hampton University’s 42nd Annual Conference on the Black Family was a Lifetime Achievement Award for 98-year-old Dr. Andrew Billingsley, Hampton Institute Class of 1951. Billingsley, a renowned sociologist and pioneer scholar on the Black Family, served as the 8th President of Morgan State University. He is also the father of Bonita Billingsley Harris, local journalist and Director of Media Relations at Dominion Energy.

The prestigious award was presented to Dr. Billingsley by Bishop Dr. Courtney McBath, Founding Pastor of Calvary Revival Church, and Dr. Linda Malone-Colon, Dean of HU’s School of Liberal Arts and Education.

“Dr. Billingsley wrote the groundbreaking book, Black Families in White America in 1968, one of the first books written by a Black man with an earned terminal degree that addressed the plight of Black families in White America,” shared Bishop McBath. “What a courageous step for all of us. Dr. Billingsley’s brilliance, Blackness and bold perseverance make him a man that we can look up to.“

Billingsley received a standing ovation. The conference, a huge success, also honored Hampton University President Darryl Williams and the First Family.  It also featured local and nationally renowned leaders, including Keynote Speakers Otis Moss, III, Pastor of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ and Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes, III, Sr. Pastor of Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.

The  theme of the 42nd Annual Conference on the Black Family, March 20-22 was “Elevating Black Families – Actualizing the Vision of the Beloved, GlobalCommunity.”