What is HOBA?

The Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement (HOBA) at Bridgewater State College was founded in 1987. The mission is to discover, detail and disclose the significant achievements and contributions of people of color. HOBA will preserve, teach, research and make available for advanced inquiry and public awareness all of its work. This will create new scholarly endeavors, institutional pursuits, and, most of all, uplift and broaden social conscience, enlighten the unenlightened and make the country a better place in which to live. HOBA is a repository of the records of the significant achievements and contributions of African American, Cape Verdeans and Hispanics of African descent. The Hall also serves as a forum for research, discussion and analysis of the significant contributions that people of color continue to make to this country and around the world.

Each winter a Heritage Celebration is held to posthumously induct a historic figure into the Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement and to present the Mary Hudson Onley Achievement Award and Onley Medallion to a living individual. These individuals have made significant contributions to society or within his or her field. In addition, HOBA honors future leaders from the nine Massachusetts state colleges with its Student Achiever Award. The Heritage Celebration has been a marvelous vehicle for connecting our shared past, our present and our future.

The commissioners have moved HOBA beyond one evening’s celebration into the realm of educational programs offered throughout the year. Some of these exciting initiatives are:

• The HOBA Web site (www.bridgew.edu/hoba) serves as a teaching and learning resource that enhances the viewers knowledge about people of color. It is a comprehensive, stimulating and interactive learning experience. The Web site features a gallery of the historic figures inducted into the Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement and chronicles their lives, contributions and periods of history in which they lived. It also features the recipients of the HOBA Student Achiever Award from the nine Massachusetts state colleges. As it evolves, it will include a gallery featuring the recipients of the Mary Hudson Onley Achievement Award and will be enhanced by audio and video technologies.
  
• The HOBA portraits, developed by Rev. Larry Johnson and Mr. Ted Charron, showcase the significant contributions and achievements of African American, Cape Verdeans and Hispanics of African descent to our society. The portraits serve as a teaching and learning resource for children and adults. Individuals and groups who view and study the portraits will develop an appreciation of the history of people of color.

It is hoped that these endeavors will help strengthen America’s understanding of the extraordinary contributions made by people of color. We invite you to share its vision. The Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement program seeks ongoing partnerships with school systems, community and civic groups, churches, and corporations to expand the opportunities to share knowledge of these significant accomplishments and contributions. Your input and involvement will help to ensure that HOBA’s programs will flourish for years to come.

Thank you for your support of the Massachusetts Hall of Black Achievement at Bridgewater State College

Last Modified: August 18, 2009