Eboni Boykin gained attention for attending Columbia University despite a severely disadvantaged high school experience.[1][2][3][4]
Her story of earning a full scholarship to an Ivy League university, after spending some of her high school years homeless, circulated as an inspirational narrative.[2][5][6] She was used as an example in a criminology textbook to illustrate the social control theory of crime (with Boykin's success proving that "a strong bond to society" can prevent juvenile delinquency).[7] The wide press coverage of Boykin's story was held as exemplary of the way news stories describe primarily white institutions, but not historically black colleges and universities, as the real "liberators of Black students who are low-income and first-generation, despite HBCUs catering to these types of students for decades."[8]
Boykin successfully graduated from Columbia in May 2016.[4] In 2016, Boykin wrote and directed a short horror film called "Afterbirth."[4][9][10]
References
- ^ Crouch, Elisa (2012-05-10). "Normandy High senior overcomes hardships to land slot in Ivy League school". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ a b Starr, Terrell Jermaine (2012-05-28). "GO SISTA! HS Senior Goes From Homeless Shelter To Ivy League". NewsOne. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ Workneh, Lilly (2013-08-07). "Eboni Boykin: Once homeless, now thrives in Ivy League". TheGrio. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ a b c Crouch, Elisa (2016-05-30). "An Ivy League degree in hand, Eboni Boykin tackles the future". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ Crouch, Elisa (2013-07-17). "Normandy grad at Ivy League school inspires mother to complete GED". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^ Smith, Jamil (2012-09-29). "Good Look: Home at last, in the Ivy League". Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^ Siegel, Larry J. (2014-02-28). Criminology: The Core (Fifth ed.). Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-285-96554-3.
- ^ Allen, Brandon C.M.; Esters, Levon T. (2018-03-26). "Uplifting HBCUs As Models of Student Success". Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ "Afterbirth". IMDB. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
- ^ Blackwell, Ashlee (2016-05-07). "Black Women In Horror: Afterbirth (2016) Review & Talk With Writer/Director Eboni Boykin". Graveyard Shift Sisters. Retrieved 2020-03-06.