KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Born in Rolland Township, Michigan, Merze Tate worked hard to become the first African American graduate of Western Michigan's Teachers College (Western Michigan University), as well as the first African American woman to attend the University of Oxford in England. Tate passed in 1996, but her legacy is still inspiring women, like Sonya Hollins, with her accomplishments.
The Kalamazoo native founded the Merze Tate Explorers in 2008, a nonprofit that uses exploration and journalism to prepare girls with the skills they might need in their future careers, such as critical thinking and communication. Over a dozen girls auditioned at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum Saturday for one of the 12 coveted spots for the season.
Hollins was first inspired by Tate when she was working as a journalist for the Kalamazoo Gazette. A Western Michigan University alum, she came across Tate's archived scrapbooks on campus.
"I went to the archives and was like, "Oh my gosh, there are pictures of her around the world." There are pictures of her with students, taking them to Washington, DC and Niagara Falls during the Depression Era. And like, "Why do I not know who this woman is?" said Hollins. "And there were letters to her from Mary McLeod Bethune, John Hope Franklin, Benjamin O Davis, who was the first black general."
When Hollins found out that Tate had started a travel club while working as a high school teacher in Indiana, she felt compelled to do the same. Hundreds of girls have since graduated from the nonprofit's program, which started as a grassroots organization.
"We had 12 girls show up on East Campus, and we just started from there. And while we didn't have money or resources to travel the world, we visited our local museum and did things there," Hollins said. "It got bigger and bigger, and we started, we went to Europe and we went to Japan, then we went to Hawaii. And so it just started branching out more and more."
Hollins said the organization is now focused on using journalism to help fifth through eighth grade girls learn necessary skills in conjunction with exploration.
"I'm not trying to create journalists, but all the skills that you have as a journalist, you can use in any profession that you have," said Hollins. "We're really focusing on teaching them those skills in media and literacy. And it's so hands on that we really need that time to work and develop with those girls over the next few months, and they'll take those skills and use them to interview local philanthropists, people, different women."
Hopeful Merze Tate Explorers were put to the test Saturday as they researched exhibits at the museum and produced individual news reports on paper and on camera, all under a deadline.
"It's been kind of challenging. Even though I thought it was gonna be easier, I learned it's not that easy. You have to work harder if you want to do something, you have to make a difference to do it," said 10-year-old Kaylee Hampton.
Like several of the girls auditioning, Hampton has been an Explorer before.
"We went to Louisville, Kentucky. We learned how to make hats. Actually, fascinated hats. We also learned about Muhammad Ali," Hampton said. "We also visited his childhood house."
"I actually got the opportunity to interview Dr. Sian Proctor, where she was an astronaut, the first African American [woman]. And it was just a really cool experience. We went to the Air Zoo, and I got to play games. I got to learn different ways to control the airplane," said 13-year-old Lena Richardson.
The experience has sparked an interest in multimedia skills for many, like 11-year-old Akiela Taylor.
"I think everything has been pretty cool because I was sitting there thinking I should do a fun report with videography one day," Taylor said. "I think journalism and reports are important so people can know what's going on in the world."
It was a sneak peek for what some of these girls can expect in the future, whether they're reporting in Michigan or across the world. Previous Merze Tate Explorers recently returned from a trip to the University of Oxford in England where an archivist there created a website based on the group's experience.
"I want to learn about new things and learn about new people that I probably never knew before," said 10-year-old Korey Thomas-Pritchett. "I didn't know that I can, like, express a lot of new feelings just by writing."
Hollins said many of the girls who have since graduated are now putting the skills they learned to good use in their careers.
"Over the years, we've had hundreds of girls who have gone through our organization, and many of them have graduated. Now they have professions that started off by them learning about things in the Explorers," Hollins added. "So one is a photographer, one works in public policy. So they learn different things about Merze Tate and her amazing journey, you know, she was a Fulbright Scholar. We had a student who was a Fulbright Scholar."
The experience has only added to Richardson's positive outlook on the future.
"You could do whatever you put your mind to, so just always follow your dreams and your heart," said Richardson. "Whatever you put your mind to, or whatever you dream, you can, of course, do it if you just keep going with it. And just keep going and going and going."
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