UNDERGRADUATE SPOTLIGHT
and legislative negotiations that shape everything from higher education funding to health care access. In a reflective statement about his summer in Wash- ington, Bates wrote that the opportunity to intern in Congress and work in proximity to leaders such as House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (Mu Kappa 1988) was “both inspiring and deeply enriching.” He watched how ideas move from draft language to debated bills, and from votes on the floor to programs that affect families in Char- lotte. The work, he noted, changed the way he saw his potential role in public life. Bates’ account of his time on Capitol Hill focuses less on the prestige of the setting and more on the process. He describes long days that began with early briefings and ended with late-night review of draft language or constituent messages. He paid close attention to how senior staffers framed issues, translated complex policy into accessible language, and weighed political constraints against community needs. One of the most import- ant lessons, he has said, “was seeing how incre- mental change interacts with larger structural problems.” Many of the
For Bates, every day on Capitol Hill was also a day he carried Johnson C. Smith University with him. In his reflections, he often returns to the significance of being a HBCU student in spaces where such perspectives have historically been underrepresented. He has pointed to the persistent underfunding of histor- ically Black institutions across the country and the ongoing fight for equitable investment as reasons that HBCU students must be at the forefront of the policy conversation. Decades of research and federal analyses have docu- mented funding disparities that have left many public HBCUs shortchanged by billions of dollars compared with predominantly white land-grant universities, thus limiting their ability to expand programs, upgrade facilities, and recruit faculty. Bates’ own campus, like many private and public HBCUs, has navigated these challenges while still producing gen- erations of successful Black professionals, educators, clergy, entrepreneurs, and public servants. In meetings, conver- sations, and informal moments with staffers and fellow interns, Bates found
Top: Bates with Congressman Al Green (D-TX). Bottom : Bates with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY).
issues that highlighted his coursework— voting rights, criminal
Congress push, negotiate, and sometimes compro- mise on these questions gave Bates what he calls a “deeper understanding of how legislative action can drive equity and opportu- nity, as well as where it can fall short.”
justice, health disparities— appeared in front of him in the form of amendments, appropriations language, and oversight hearings. Watching members of
16 THE JOURNAL ♦ WINTER 2025-2026
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting