By VICTORIA ADDISON
Executive Editor
While many people were busy finishing their shopping the week before Christmas, a professor at the College of Saint Rose was recognized for his efforts to educate others on African American culture.
Awarded by the NAACP, Donald “the Soul Man” Hyman was commended for cultural enrichment at the association’s annual Freedom Fund Dinner. Held in downtown Albany on Friday, Dec. 18, the dinner recognized those who empower the idea of “pursuing liberty in the face of justice” in fields such as education, government, business and community service.
“This award is important to me because it recognizes me as a product of determination and dedication of my family to climb to higher ground,” he said.
Hyman, 60, credits his nomination to his work in the classroom and the community.
“I was the coordinator for the Selma 50 Celebration and currently produce a cable television show on Channel Albany which is in its fifth season,” said Hyman. “I have written and produced several plays that have been performed at the College of St. Rose including last year’s ‘I Search the Heart, I Try the Reins’ for Women History Month which had Maya Angelou’s niece as a special guest.”
Among his many other accomplishments, Hyman has also produced and directed a TV special on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was featured in a History Channel series called “The Revolution.”
As a professor, Hyman shares information about African American history to his students.
An instructor at Saint Rose since 2010, he currently teaches in the American Studies Program, which focuses on the study of society and culture in the country. The first course Hyman taught at the College examined the Watts Riots that broke out in Los Angeles in 1965.
“He [Professor Hyman] is an advocate for social justice and civil rights in the classroom as exemplified in the course curriculum and the creative experiential learning opportunities that he has provided for students through the years,” said Shai Butler, associate vice president for student success at Saint Rose.
Although it was recently announced that the American Studies Program will be cut, Hyman is grateful for the opportunity he had to teach students.
“My students at St. Rose have been the greatest joy in my life,” he said.
Apart from his classes, Hyman has hosted many of his plays at Saint Rose including ‘Freedom Summer’, ‘Mayarhythms’ and most recently, ‘I Search the Heart, I Try the Reins’. He believes it is important that students participate in his productions, especially in the case of ‘Freedom Summer’.
“I was determined to have this play performed at a college with college students. I wanted to make them aware that the civil rights movement was a very much a student movement,” he said.
Currently, Hyman is working on the upcoming “Salute to Capital Region Women”, which will air in May. Entering its fifth year, the event honors multicultural, diverse women who have contributed to the community throughout the year.
“I started this event to honor women in the community who do not get recognized in the Times Union or Channel 13 or Metroland, yet they are making contributions in the Capital Region every day,” said Hyman.
For members of the community, Hyman’s continuous work has not gone unnoticed.
“Don Hyman is doing an outstanding job bringing history to the people of Albany,” said Paul Stewart, co-founder of the Underground Railroad History Project in Albany.
Yet, for Hyman himself, his work benefits more than just his students and the people of the Capital Region.
“I grew up in Brooklyn in the 1960’s as child where the events of the civil rights movement were daily on the news. My grandparents and family members left the south as part of the great migration and lived in a society dominated by segregated institutions. My attending integrated schools and going to college was something they never experienced,” he said. “Yet, their hopes and dreams lie in my future.”
