Dr. Meloney Jordan is a devoted educator, dedicated to attaining and disseminating knowledge for the betterment of her community and overall society. Her life-story is one of perseverance and determination. She overcame numerous obstacles as she navigated her way through a childhood plagued by family dysfunction, abuse, poverty and the systematic racial inequities nuanced within everyday living in the South. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, it was in elementary school that she was informed there was something “different” about her capacity for learning. Dr. Jordan’s 4th grade teacher pulled her aside and encouraged her to consider another school environment after she performed extremely well on a standardized test. When her teacher informed her that she qualified for placement into a school for gifted and advanced students, she was shocked but also intrigued.

Dr. Jordan’s teacher illuminated a path for a way out of poverty and dysfunction by helping her realize education would be her path to a better life. She accepted admission into James Weldon Johnson College Preparatory School for middle school, and then Douglas Anderson School of the Arts for high school. Unfortunately, Dr. Jordan struggled to keep up with the demands of her home life, working to help support her family, and meet the rigorous demands during high school. Dr. Jordan enjoyed the exposure to so much knowledge and opportunity from attending such schools of statue, but she was in survival mode which caused her to make decisions that would benefit the wellbeing of her family in the short-term. After having to transfer back to her neighborhood high school because it was no longer possible to juggle so many responsibilities, she contemplated dropping out of school altogether. She felt it would be easier to just get her GED and work more hours to help take care of her younger siblings. It was the words and wisdom of her now deceased pastor, Sherman F. Maddie, who happened to stop by on the day that she had decided not to return to school that encouraged her to stay on her academic journey. With a reignited perspective on the opportunities education could open for her, Dr. Jordan stayed in school on the advanced placement track, graduated high school with honors, and enrolled into community college for cosmetology and later to obtain her AA.

Dr. Jordan was the first in her family to attain a college degree, and return to school and acquire multiple graduate degrees. Although her academic journey wasn’t traditional, she thoroughly enjoyed the education process and wished to inspire students the way her 4th grade teacher had inspired her. She felt it was because of great teachers she was able to find joy in learning and a purpose for life. Dr. Jordan wanted to teach and inspire young people, especially the ones with stories similar to hers. She understood that the motivation to learn was inhibited for some because of their environment as opposed to their capacity to learn. After receiving her bachelors degree in Sociology she pursued a non-traditional route to becoming a public school teacher. Dr. Jordan spent the majority of her career teaching in urban schools where socio-economic struggle was common place, she felt aligned with purpose as her students always came back and thanked her for seeing the greatness in them and giving them the tools to navigate in school while trying to survive. Year after year students and teachers would come to her and thank her for insights, write her reflective letters, or visit her classroom and share their success stories. Seeing the impact she had on her students and colleagues, Dr. Jordan dreamed of one-day starting her own school to combat the socio-economic inequalities that hinder the success of students designated as “at-risk“ youth.

While working as a teacher Dr. Jordan continued her pursuit in education, she earned her MBA and then a masters in Theology. She taught for a span of 16 years and transitioned out of the public school system in to higher education after earning her Ph.D. from Howard University. It was on the campus of Howard that Dr. Jordan realized she could help educate the community with the same level of access to knowledge as her college students. She understood the barriers to educational access in communities that are the result of socio-economic inequalities and deployed a platform to bridge the gap as a solution. This was her inspiration for starting the Black Sanctuary Inc. through her nonprofit she has been able to teach at the university level while providing members of the community access to a higher level of education that has been historically marginalized, erased, or blocked from the public. The mission of the Black Sanctuary is to share the history, culture, and knowledge of the Africana/Black community with the world from an authentic insider perspective to help humanity see the contributions of all agents of progress in an effort to counter to misrepresentations of the past created by racism.