Ronni ButtsIt may be difficult to find an N.C. Central University alumnus that loves his alma mater more than Ernie Suggs. So, of course he is excited to return to campus to address NCCU graduates at the 145th commencement ceremony.
The first-generation college student spoke at NCCU’s Honors Convocation in 2010, but he said he never could have dreamed about the possibility of speaking at commencement.
“I’m still kinda pinching myself as to how I was chosen. How many people did they ask before me?” Suggs said jokingly.
You may be familiar with Suggs from his Pulitzer-nominated article series about HBCUs. Or maybe you’ve seen him on Instagram posting daily videos showing off a never-before-seen t-shirt from his extensive collection.
Regardless of how you may know him, Suggs wants NCCU students to know him as “an example of what they can achieve.”
Suggs, a race and culture reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, credits much of his life’s success to NCCU. It was NCCU that prepared him for a career in journalism and learn to become resilient and strong, he said.
But Suggs’ journey to NCCU was unconventional. He didn’t even apply.
As a high school senior, he was speaking to a counselor in a program that helped Black youth apply to college.
At the time, Suggs planned to attend N.C. A&T State University because it “seem[ed] to be the thing to do.”
But his counselor had other plans. He made a phone call to NCCU’s admissions director, Nancy Rowland, and told her about Suggs’ aspirations of being a writer.
And just like that, he was admitted.
“It was the greatest decision ever in my life,” Suggs said. “I never regretted it.”
Suggs comes back to campus every Homecoming and even makes sure to visit whenever he’s driving through North Carolina to “give to honor…to the most important institution in my life.”
Suggs said he looks back fondly on fun memories like being initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and even the more mundane ones, waiting in line at the financial aid office.
“The whole experience was cool…everything about it was fantastic,” he said.
His most memorable moment was listening to a lecture about James Baldwin by Kip Branch, Suggs’ professor and Baldwin’s close friend. He and his friends still talk about it today.
It was experiences like this that helped him develop his understanding of Black culture as an undergraduate student.
And of course, Suggs couldn’t forget the girls he met while on campus.
“All the girls loved me on campus,” he said. “I was the man.”
As an undergraduate student, Suggs wrote for the Campus Echo, serving as the editor-in-chief from 1988 to 1990.
He recalled the Campus Echo providing him unique opportunities, like his first ever flight to report on a NCCU vs. Grambling University football game in New York City.
Many of his experiences as a student journalist inspired his work as a race and culture reporter today, like reporting on civil rights icon Jesse Jackson’s visit to NCCU in 1988.
After living in Atlanta for 27 years, Suggs has had a flourishing career at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has been able to report on major U.S. news.
Throughout his career, Suggs also found opportunities to develop relationships with several civil rights leaders and politicians like former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and President Jimmy Carter.
Suggs recently published a book on Young in 2022 called “The Many Lives of Andrew Young.”
Now, as a seasoned reporter, Suggs enjoys coming back to the Campus Echo to see his newspapers line the walls of the newsroom.
Though Suggs hadn’t yet written his speech when he spoke to the Campus Echo, he said he plans to talk about his experience at NCCU, what it taught him and what students’ expectations about life after graduation should be.
“Hopefully it’ll be inspiring,” he said.
He also said that he plans to make a special announcement during his speech which will help “enhance his legacy” at NCCU.
Students, faculty and administration will have to wait in anticipation until May 10 for his announcement.
