Past Events
Blackburn Fall Kick-Off
August 2011
What is the Blackburn Institute? I can’t recount the number of times that I’ve been asked this exact question. I’ve tried to explain to my friends and family that Blackburn is something significant, something to be proud of. I’ve tried to tell them` that it is a forward leaning force to be reckoned with, but whenever I opened my mouth to speak, I found that my words somehow failed me. I found that I could never quite do the Institute justice. Until the Fall Kick- Off Event, the Blackburn Institute was an abstraction that somehow managed to linger just beyond my grasp.
On August 23rd, in room 205 of Gorgas, I listened with intense captivation as individuals, whose beings are obviously suffused with integrity, spoke of the actions of Dr. Blackburn with such clarity and righteousness as to demand nothing less from those of us fortunate enough to be in the audience. As I heard these honest, upright voices speak with quiet compassion for their brothers and sisters in humanity, I came to understand what the Blackburn Institute really is.
The Blackburn Institute is an instrument for fostering leaders who labor for the sake of others, who have grit and resilience, who take what they’re given and make it better. Blackburn challenges the rabble-rousers who exploit the weaknesses and needs of others for personal pleasure or advancement, and Blackburn protects those who, for whatever reason, need protecting. Furthermore, the Blackburn Fellows whom I encountered at this event, put names and faces to the idea that true leadership is not a title or a position, but rather it is an earnest, good-seeking force that does not rest until each member of our society is granted the opportunity to be the sole arbiter of his or her future.
Simply put, the Blackburn Institute is, in my eyes, the epitome of what I hope for in the state of Alabama. I look at the Institute as a microcosm of our society, made up of individuals from different races, backgrounds, socio-economic statuses, creeds, and political leanings, all vying for the cause of a better humanity. With each act of service, with each person we meet, with each story we hear and tell, we strive to make our world in miniature a little more expansive, until we, in the words of Dr. Blackburn, himself, truly, profoundly, and indisputably “change the damn state.”
-Hannah Hicks, New Student
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