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Maryville College is marking February’s Black History Month with a series of events designed to celebrate Black history, culture, and creativity — while also reflecting on the College’s own complex and meaningful role in that history.

“Celebrating Black History Month is essential — not only to honor the past, but to help us understand where we are and what responsibility we carry moving forward,” said Aja Rodriguez ’04, director of Community and Belonging at Maryville College. “Black history is American history, and it is deeply intertwined with Maryville College’s story. These events create space for learning, reflection and connection across generations.”

The month’s observances began with a special Chapel service on Tuesday, Feb. 10, featuring Dr. Adriel McCord ’00. A banker with First Horizon, a member of the Maryville College Board of Directors, and a noted community philanthropist, McCord spoke about his experiences as a Black student at Maryville College in the late 1990s and the role the institution played in shaping his path.

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m., the CCM will host a special edition of its weekly musical jam session, paired with a presentation on the History of Soul Food. The event will include music inspired by Black musicians, a slideshow tracing the cultural roots of soul food, a sampling of dishes, and a group discussion centered on personal and cultural food traditions.

On Thursday, February 19, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., the Black Student Alliance (BSA) will host a Natural Hair Workshop in the Proffitt Dining Room,.

On Thursday, February 26, 6-8 p.m., the observances continue with Rap History and How To, a workshop in Anderson Hall, Room 140, led by Lane Shuler and Jarius “J.BU$H” Bush of Knoxville-based Good Guy Collective. The presentation will explore hip-hop as an art form rooted in Black American history and include a hands-on rap workshop welcoming participants of all experience levels.

On Friday, February 27, 6:30-7:30 p.m., the month concludes with a karaoke event in Bartlett Hall Room 101, sponsored by the BSA.

Throughout February, the Division of Student Affairs will also share a Black History Month social media series highlighting Maryville College’s own contributions to Black history.

Maryville College’s relationship with Black history dates back to its founding year. In 1819, the Rev. Isaac Anderson, the founder, welcomed George Erskine, a formerly enslaved man, as a student.

In 1880, William H. Franklin became the College’s first Black graduate; he later founded the Swift Memorial Institute to educate Black students during segregation. State-mandated segregation began in 1901 and lasted until 1954, when Brown v. Board of Education paved the way for integration.

The “Maryville Six” were the first Black students to enroll after 1954 mandated integration: Shirley Carr Clowney, Queen Elizabeth Crossing, Freeman Wyche, Louise Hill Gilmore, Leo DeWitt “Jackie” Valentine and Nancy Smith Wright ’60. Wright would become the first Black woman to graduate from Maryville College in 1960, later earning a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and spending more than 20 years in higher education at the University of Tennessee as a faculty member and academic advisor.

Today, her legacy is honored through the Nancy Smith Wright Unity Award, presented annually to individuals or organizations that demonstrate unity through diversity within the Maryville College community and beyond.

Maryville College is a nationally ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges, located inMaryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Parkand the city of Knoxville. Maryville College offers more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs andcareer preparationfrom their first day on campus to their last, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”

Karen Eldridge, Executive Director of Communications: karen.eldridge@maryvillecollege.edu.

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The fate of Diego Hernandez Garcia, deported against a judge's orders, hinges on upcoming legal decisions, raising questions about ICE's deportation rights.

MARYVILLE, Tenn. — There are new developments in the case against Maryville High School graduate Diego Hernandez Garcia, a man from El Salvador who was deported against a judge's orders last month.

His attorney, Rachel Bonano, said he's been placed in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility outside of Memphis and paperwork from United States prosecutors is due to the judge presiding over the case by midnight Monday.

The judge will then determine if they have jurisdiction over Hernandez's case, and if so, schedule an evidentiary hearing to determine if he was deported illegally and when he could be released from ICE custody.

"(Prosecutors) are saying he has an old removal order from 2016, that makes him unlawfully present, that gives us a right to summarily detain and deport," she said. "And what we are saying is, no, it doesn't. We're saying even after he had the order of removal, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services granted his special immigrant juvenile status application."

Bonano said Hernandez had all the proper documentation to be allowed to live and work in the United States at the time of his deportation, and that his privileges were only revoked after he was taken into custody.

The case is currently in a complex position, and asks whether ICE had the right to detain Hernandez Garcia before revoking his deferred status, or whether that detention itself was unlawful.

Supporters of Hernandez said they want people to understand he's followed the rules of immigration.

"I think people just need to understand that he has done everything correctly, he has followed every deadline, every order, he has applied and done all the applications correctly," said Raquel Roy.

Roy taught him at Maryville High School and is currently raising some of his relatives.

"He feels a little bit better now. I also continue to share with him how many people are supporting him, and he's just completely overwhelmed that people even remember him," she said.

10News reached out to ICE for comment, but has not gotten a response as of Monday afternoon.