DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library

All works in this collection either are protected by copyright and/or are the property of the Robert W. Woodruff Library, and/or the copyright holder as appropriate. To order a reproduction or to inquire about permission to publish, please contact the Archives Research Center at: archives@auctr.edu with the web URL or handle identification number. (Copyright claimant)

Unidentified Building, circa 1935

View of two unidentified people standing outside of a home

Man and Woman, circa 1935

A group of unidentified people sit in a room at a gathering

Party Gathering, November 4, 1947

Three Men Play Baseball, circa 1955

A woman and a group of children pray before a meal

People Praying, circa 1960

Statement submitted by Kanika Bell, psychology department faculty at Clark Atlanta University

Bell, Kanika (Author)

Documenting the AUC Response to COVID-19 Collection 
 
 
April 22, 2020  
 
Kanika Bell, Clark Atlanta University 
 
“My students have just frankly been through it all this school year at CAU. We started school a 
day late because a student was shot in front of the library and the first day of classes needed to 
be used as a vigil. Then another one of our students was brutally murdered by the hands of 
another student, her very best friend. Then a pandemic eliminated the entirety of their semester. 
All of the research conferences, the study abroad experiences, the graduation, the associated 
family and friends events, senior week, pledging, I could go on and on. I will say that I came to 
know my students on a deeper level during this time. Some don't have loving parents to whom 
they could retreat. Some don't have computers or reliable internet access. Some slept in the 
library or in their cars during the school year. Some were in recovery and this almost caused a 
relapse. Some were so afraid...so very, very afraid of getting sick or coming back to school to 
find that their favorite older professor had passed away. Many miss the personal interaction in 
class. I miss it too. I never thought I would yearn to hear the murmur of students during class. 
That sound that normally call the class to attention in stern reminder of the requirement of 
silence, is missing from my classes now. Some of them had best friends and romantic partners 
from across the country. School was how they could be together. They feel isolated and 
separated. I must say that Dr. French's response to this event has been impressive. He has 
addressed the masses with compassion in situation that required decisive and immediate 
leadership. The students were so angry. They asked in droves how CAU could cancel their 
graduation...not yet grasping the global nature of this event. So I held discussions about it in 
class. No one on earth is having a graduation ceremony in May. It isn't personal. We went from 
joking in class about someone coughing to literally fearing someone being less than six feet 
from us. They said that it helped to have a discussion about it. I forgot several things in my 
office I needed before the quarantine. I didn't realize the last time I was in my building would be 
the last time for a while so I didn't bring home things I needed for the rest of the semester. I felt 
like I was sneaking to campus. Sneaking into my own building and into my own office. Rushing 
to make it back home as my city was on a curfew. The hallway was empty not just because 
people weren't there but because the school had been abandoned. There are COVID-19 signs 
everywhere but no signs of humans. It felt like a sci-fi movie. I am also a Spelman alum. We 
celebrated founders' day on April 11 and there were numerous virtual events to bring sisters 
together. Convocation was a medley of past convocations. There were pieces of speeches that 
were chillingly prophetic. As it was live you could type in thoughts. I cried several times. Mainly 
when a sister from the class of 2020 spoke out about their emotions around this and the 
overwhelming nurturing responses from sisters all over the world committed to ensuring that 
2020 Spelmanites feel inducted into the fold. Spelman alums everywhere participated in social 
media challenges to stay connected to one another. Monies have been raised by AUC alums to 
provide travel and housing funds to stuck students, PPE for AUC alum health professionals 
working directly with COVID-19 patients, and countless video messages have been posted in 
support of AUC family members directly impacted by this crisis. What I truly, truly hope...is that 
this event increases AUC resolve to be active participants in political spheres.” 


English

Kanika Bell, Clark Atlanta University, April 22, 2020

Morris, Elton (Author)

The rehousing of non-whites displaced by urban renewal in Atlanta, Georgia, 1964

Duckworth, George Lee (Author)

A study of the relationships of a selected group of high school principals with the guidance program in their schools, 1961

Flemmings, Loreno R. (Author)

(Creator)

(Degree supervisor)

(Editor)

(Copyright claimant)

An analysis of the Georgia department of human resources: efforts to develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinate service delivery system among aging agencies and programs in Georgia: a case study of aging programs in Fulton County, 1979

McClendon, Rowan (Author)

Problems of blacks in the military

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