2/27/26
February’s McCain-Ravenel Day is named for alumnus and journalist Homer A. Jacobs ’83, and was established by his classmates and friends to celebrate his spirit of empathetic leadership and curiosity. According to Jacobs’s friends, “one of the things that made Homer such an exceptional journalist was that he was a good listener. He valued the opinions of others, and he treated everyone with respect.”
The day opened with a journalism panel in Pendleton Hall that included Julia Ainsley from NBC News, Izzy Ortega, Deputy Communications Director for The LIBRE Initiative, and author (and EHS faculty member) Dr. Charlotte Taylor Fryar, and was expertly moderated by Louis Smith, director of the Office of Community & Equity. These writers provided insight into their work, shared analysis about current events, and helped students understand how to be better consumers of information.
“One of the biggest takeaways I had during the panel today was the importance of getting multiple sources of information rather than only getting one because it is very important not just to understand your point of view but also to understand multiple perspectives and stories,” said Tina Vu ’26.
Coupling the celebration of Black History Month with Homer Jacobs's passion to engage with the community, students and faculty honored the struggles and achievements of marginalized people through musical performance, historical exploration, and off-campus experiences centered on resilience and achievement. And, drawing from our Portrait of a Graduate trait of “listening and communicating effectively,” students were challenged to actively connect with, and better understand, both our local and global communities in all of the day’s endeavors.
On campus students had the privilege of making music with Samuel Prather and the Groove Orchestra, and attending a workshop with School Archivist Laura Vetter and Historian-in-Residence Mike Reynolds to learn about the early years of integration at EHS. Off campus explorations took students to the National Museum of Asian Art, the National Museum of African American History, and the National Portrait Gallery where they were able to learn about and celebrate different cultures and encounter powerful stories highlighting adversity and accomplishments of myriad people.
The day also included the introduction of an optional journalism competition honoring Jacobs, with winning pieces to be published in The Chronicle, the school newspaper.
