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Connections
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
Connections

The legacy of HBCUs

By Evan Dawson,
Racquel Stephen, Elissa Orlando, Julie Williams
Published September 11, 2025 at 3:00 PM EDT
Five people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a woman front left has grey hair and is wearing red glasses, a white shirt, orange blazer and red skirt; a woman front center has short blonde hair and is wearing a blue turtleneck, black jeans and black strappy heels; a man front right has short dark hair and is wearing a grey plaid blazer, black button-down shirt and jeans; a woman back left has dark hair in a bun and is wearing glasses and a grey t-shirt; a woman back right has long dark hair and is wearing a black blazer and bright blue shirt.
Julie Williams
/
WXXI News
(foreground) Shirley Green, (background) Kearstin Piper Brown and Seanelle Hawkins with co-hosts Racquel Stephen and Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Thursday, September 11, 2025
Two smiling people wearing headphones sit in front of a microphone in a radio talk studio: a man at left has short dark hair and is wearing glasses, a grey plaid blazer, black button-down shirt, jeans and brown shoes; a woman at right has short blonde hair and is wearing a blue turtleneck and black jeans.
Julie Williams
/
WXXI News
Evan Dawson and Racquel Stephen co-hosting "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Thursday, September 11, 2025

We continue our look at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and their legacy.

Evan Dawson and co-host Racquel Stephen welcome guests who are graduates of HBCUs, and can talk about why they chose to attend.

They'll discuss the value of HBCUs today, after so much has changed in access to higher education.

In studio:

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Racquel Stephen
Racquel Stephen is WXXI's health, equity and community reporter and producer. She holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Rochester and a master's degree in broadcasting and digital journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
See stories by Racquel Stephen
Elissa Orlando
Elissa Orlando is a producer for “Connections with Evan Dawson.” She returns part-time to WXXI News after stepping back from a long career in public media and in translational science.
See stories by Elissa Orlando
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams