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Reggie Garrett ’98 shares what Black History Month means to him
Rev. Reggie Garrett speaks at Daniel Chapel for the Joseph Vaughn Day Commemoration on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
We’re asking a few Black members of the Furman community to share their thoughts about Black History Month.
Reggie Garrett ’98 is the president of the Black Alumni Council. He is also senior pastor of the Jubilee Baptist Church. He started his ministerial training while he was a student at Furman.
Q: What does Black History Month mean to you?
A: Black History Month should be Black History YEAR! Since the contributions of African Americans is seen in every aspect of American history and culture. I feel that BHM is merely a drop in a well but it is a start.
Q: What does being Black at Furman mean to you?
A: As a Black person who had an opportunity to attend Furman, while grateful for the experience, I feel obligation to help the next generation of Black Students. Due to systemic issues, we had a different road, a tougher road. “Being Black at Furman” has the same challenges of being Black anywhere else, but we make though by God’s Grace, leadership who sees the importance of DEI and we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us like Joseph Vaughn, Lillian Flemming, Sarah Reese and Idella Glenn.
Q: Who or what inspires you?
A: My inspiration lies in my faith. Christ being my foundation, but the Bible speaks that we have such a great cloud of witnesses. One witness that I look at is my grandfather, Waymon McDowell, who was a sharecropper, a father of 9, a Deacon and a Black man who understood with a fourth-grade education the importance of leading by example!