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She was also a beloved mother figure who, through the 51���� Love of Learning program, shaped young people’s understanding of themselves and showed them how they could become agents of change. She taught her students—Black teens who were selected through an application process to come to 51���� during the summer—about who they were and whose they were.

“The work of the Brenda H. Tapia Foundation carries on so many parts of Brenda’s legacy, just as this new partnership does,” said Boris (Bo) Henderson ’01, the foundation’s board chair and a former Love of Learning counselor-mentor. “She spent her whole life fighting for justice, equality and education and working to find ‘diamonds in the rough,’ as she would say, who had the potential to change the world. The connection to Freedom Schools speaks to her commitment to education, and 51���� is where she perfected and grew her ministry. Inspired by her Love of Learning work, we also intend to look for opportunities to ‘add a little Brenda’ to the existing program.”

An anonymous donor has made a generous gift to create an enrichment fund in support of The Brenda Tapia CDF Freedom Schools®. Former students, alums, loved ones and all members of the 51���� community are encouraged to add their support by  or a .

Rooted in the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964, the CDF Freedom Schools program is a literacy and cultural enrichment program designed to serve children and youth in grades K–12 in communities where quality academic enrichment programming is limited, too expensive or nonexistent. 

Learning Through Love

Daniel Heath is an associate chaplain for 51����. He also was a member of the Theta Class of Love of Learning at 14 years old, part of the reason he viewed his 2022 appointment at the college as a homecoming.

“Each of our classes was named, and then after we graduated from the program, we were given an African name,” he said. “Naming was a big part of the program because it was about community and belonging. We took pride in it. Brenda’s name going on this Freedom Schools program has greater meaning because of the value she placed on naming.” 

Each morning, Tapia would lead program participants through a time of devotion, giving honor to God and ancestors—Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks—who were Black leaders and thinkers and philosophers. She reminded students that they stood on the shoulders of others.

Heath remembers Tapia sharing her ultimate goal: for Black students to earn terminal degrees, something he will achieve next year, adding to the advanced degrees he currently holds in theology, law and music education. 

“Maximizing students’ potential—that’s what she was all about,” he said. “Thanks to the program, I was able to see myself in college before I even applied to college, walking through Chambers Building, staying in Richardson Hall. What a gift.”

Princewill came to the program unsure of herself and her place in the world. She felt Blackness was something to overcome, something to feel shame about. Tapia told her that’s not how it works, giving her the confidence to navigate whatever’s thrown her way.

“Brenda was fearless. She was a Black, dark-skinned, commanding woman, and she was like, ‘I got this,’ and would make magic anyway,” Princewill said. “Yes, we did SAT prep, math clinics and all the academic pieces; more than that, she was insistent that we love ourselves, love to learn and keep our curiosity open for the rest of our lives.”

A Forever Legacy

Henderson remembers when he first “met” Brenda Tapia. She was on the radio during his senior year of high school, and the shy kid was immediately drawn to her voice and presence over the air waves. 

“I was planning to come to 51���� for college, but I wasn’t even on campus yet when I started calling her,” said the Charlotte native. “Once I arrived on campus, I’d show up at her office every day after football camp. I was relentless. Eventually, she figured she should just give in and make me her second family.” 

Henderson became a counselor-mentor for the Love of Learning program, and their relationship continued to grow. From that moment until her final days, and even today, Tapia has been hard at work in Henderson’s life. What quickly became a mother-son relationship has guided him through every aspect of family life, work life and religious life. She even selected Henderson as her power of attorney and sent him an email to let him know of her decision. He admits he isn’t always the most organized person, and he overlooked the important message in his inbox.

“I was visiting Brenda during her final days, and a doctor came into the room and asked me who the power of attorney was,” Henderson recalled. “I started searching through my email and found a message from two years before that I had no memory of ever getting. In it, she told me she considered me her son and she was giving me the papers to prove it.” 

After he found the email, Henderson and a few friends went out to dinner and talked about the responsibility they had to carry on Brenda’s legacy. That’s the day they decided to create the foundation, and started talking about the mission and vision that would best carry on her work and the things she cared about most.

Henderson starts each day reading from the same books Tapia read from, including Acts of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant. In May, he, like Heath, will graduate from seminary as a doctor of ministry, a program he felt led to enter after Tapia’s death. 

“Brenda always said Bo reminded her of our grandfather,” Bailey said. “He has a humanitarian spirit, and he loves to serve the community.” 

Tapia’s influence stays with all her “children,” which is how she viewed every student and counselor-mentor who crossed her path. She taught lessons that lasted a lifetime.

“Brenda was ahead of the curve,” Princewill said. “She was a visionary. She taught us that Blackness was not something to overcome. That we didn’t have to play small or deny our identity in order to exist and thrive and be ourselves. There was an awakening after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, and people started talking about parts of history that had been hidden and not taught in schools—Juneteenth, Black Wall Street. Brenda taught us about all those things back in the 1980s. I thought, ‘ok, everyone’s finally catching up.’”

Jowette Bobray, assistant director in the 51���� Center for Civic Engagement, is the program director of Freedom Schools in 51����. 

“The Brenda H. Tapia CDF Freedom Schools represents Tapia’s ethos, her reason for being,” said Bobray. “She wanted children to love to learn and to exist in the world confident in who they were, who they could become and what they brought to those around them.” 

“Each one, teach one,” Princewill said. “That was Brenda’s thing. She was a treasure. She was my family.”