Friends of Shaw U

10/28/2026

IT'S HOMECOMING, Y'ALL! ❤️ But before you head to Raleigh this weekend, there are a few things you should know!

Join Eugene Myrick, founder of the Save Our Shaw Coalition (Class of '94), for a quick but important briefing on Shaw's future, the complaint to the NC Attorney General, and what comes next.

Just 30 minutes of your time!

📅 Wednesday, October 28 | 7:30–8 PM
📍 Via Zoom

Registration required:
https://tinyurl.com/WeAreShawU

Safe travels to everyone heading to Raleigh! Enjoy Homecoming, reconnect with old friends

10/27/2026

There are people in Raleigh who still don’t understand just how much power City Council has over the future of Shaw University.

What you’re about to hear is more than a family story. It’s a powerful reminder of what Shaw University means to generations of Raleigh families.

Jared Ollison is the 10th person in his family to graduate from Shaw University. His son became the 11th. His daughter, was the 12th and graduated in May 2026. His family’s ties to Shaw stretch back generations, including his grandmother, aunts, and even a former president of the university.

That’s not just history. That’s a legacy worth protecting.

Every election has consequences. But in District C, those consequences will shape the future of the first HBCU in the South. That's why voters need to look beyond “what’s familiar” and examine the decisions candidates have actually made.

Corey Branch voted in favor of Shaw’s rezoning and the removal of historic protections from portions of its campus.

Jared Ollison represents generations of Shaw’s living legacy. He understands that Shaw University is more than valuable downtown real estate. It’s an institution that has educated generations, shaped families, built communities, and helped define Raleigh’s history.

One candidate has a voting record that raises serious questions about the preservation of Shaw’s historic campus.

The other has a family history that demonstrates exactly why that preservation matters.

THE CHOICE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR.

If Shaw U’s future matters to you, if preserving Raleigh’s history matters to you, and if you believe progress should never come at the expense of our legacy, consider voting for JARED OLLISON FOR DISTRICT C now thru Nov 3rd.

People deserve to know the truth BEFORE they vote.

10/06/2026

Different network.
Same story.
Same unanswered questions.

And once again, Shaw University has NO COMMENT.

Yet the University continues to say it values transparency.

We have to ask: Where is it?

Because from where we stand, if transparency had truly been the standard, alumni and community members would not have spent years asking the same questions about governance, finances, property and the future of Shaw’s campus.

And we certainly should not have had to take those unanswered questions to the North Carolina Attorney General.

When multiple news organizations keep arriving at the same doorstep, maybe it’s time to stop asking why people are raising concerns…

…and start answering them.

Transparency isn’t something you say.
It’s something you demonstrate.

10/03/2026

The questions are now on the record.

Thank you to WNCN/CBS17 for covering the Save Our Shaw press conference and helping bring these concerns before a wider audience.

We’ve asked the questions. We’ve submitted the documentation. Now we pray that Shaw alumni finally get the answers we deserve.

10/02/2026

WE HAVE ASKED FOR ANSWERS FOR YEARS. NOW, WE’RE ASKING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Yesterday, the Save Our Shaw Coalition held a press conference announcing the formal complaint that they filed with the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, raising concerns that include at least six alleged violations of North Carolina nonprofit law.

We pray that this process will finally give alumni the answers we have been seeking.

We also pray for a positive outcome that protects Shaw University and the land entrusted to it. As this complaint is reviewed, we hope that any activity that could place Shaw’s remaining property at risk or create an opportunity for outside interests to gain control of that land will be halted until the questions surrounding governance, finances, property transactions and institutional authority are fully examined.

Review the complaint here: https://tinyurl.com/ReadTheShawComplaint

That's the link to the FULL COMPLAINT so that you do not have to rely on social media commentary, rumors, the board, Dr. Dillard or even our interpretation. Read it for yourself. Look at the documentation. Ask your own questions.

And to our Shaw family preparing to come home for Homecoming: COME HOME. Celebrate. Fellowship. Love on your university. But while you are here, ask leadership the questions that deserve to be asked. Ask about the land. Ask about the audits. Ask about governance. Ask about the master plan. Ask what has been sold, what may be sold next, and what Shaw University is supposed to look like when all of this is finished.
Homecoming is about honoring where we came from. This year, it also needs to be about protecting what will be here when we come home again.

10/01/2026

09/30/2026

We did not want it to come to this. But after years of asking questions about Shaw’s finances, property sales, governance and the future of our campus, we still do not have the transparency we have repeatedly asked for. We still have no publicly presented comprehensive master plan. And Shaw’s own audits have raised serious questions that deserve answers.
So the Save Our Shaw coalition filed a formal complaint with the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office. Tomorrow at 11 AM, Eugene Myrick, founder of Save Our Shaw is going to explain why. We also have fellow alum and community members scheduled to speak as well.

And to our Saint Augustine’s family: please come stand with us. When our press conference is over, several of us plan to head to bankruptcy court to stand with YOU. These are different situations, but neither Shaw nor St. Aug should have to fight alone.

If you’ve been asking what you can do, this is it. Just show up. And if you're unable to make it, watch the live stream on FACEBOOK LIVE right here.

09/18/2026

Before there were million-dollar condos in downtown Raleigh, formerly enslaved Black people walked onto this ground to learn to read. Before there were $100,000 dog parks, there was Ella Baker. There was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There was SNCC. There was a generation of young Black people gathered on Shaw’s campus trying to change America.

And now we are being told that Shaw University’s footprint will SHRINK.

Last night, Shaw University’s president, Dr. Paulette Dillard conducted an online presentation with pictures, concepts, hope and dreams. She showed us pictures. She even mentioned a Starbucks. A. STAR.BUCKS. But she still did not provide us with a master plan.

If that doesn’t disturb you, it should. Because we refuse to pretend that Shaw students and people purchasing million-dollar condominiums will somehow occupy the same space with equal economic power. Eventually somebody’s needs will dictate that environment. Somebody will become the priority.

And history has taught Black people enough about land to know that we had better ask WHO before somebody decides the answer for us.

This is sacred land that is the inheritance sitting beneath our feet. So forgive us if we cannot get excited about a Starbucks.

This image below is a commercial real estate list was provided to a potential buyer, who then shared it with Friends of Shaw University.

It identifies Shaw downtown properties as “READY FOR SALE.”Yet the Dillard administration says downtown property is not for sale. So who do you believe? Dr Dillard or your lying eyes?

The document tells a different story.

The only thing that may stop this potential disaster now is a court of law.

09/09/2026

The more we understand that the mess is coming from INSIDE the house, the better prepared we are to change what’s happening to Shaw. And that means accountability at every level.

The Board of Trustees.
University leadership.
The people making decisions about Shaw’s property and future.
And yes, the local elected officials whose decisions directly affect the university and the community surrounding it.

Tonight at Raleigh City Council, Eugene Myrick (Class of 1994) connected some of those dots: St. Aug. Shaw University. New Bern Avenue. Development. Historic preservation. And even a few branches. 🌳👀

Watch this one all the way through. Then understand this:

Homecoming cannot just be about coming home this year. It has to be about showing up.

Come to Raleigh.
Ask questions.
Demand answers.
Stand together.

Because once we know where the problems are coming from, we can start changing the people and decisions that allow them to continue.

SHOW UP THIS HOMECOMING.

08/22/2026

"If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.”

-Carter G Woodson

Where will YOU be on Friday, October 30, 2026 @ 1PM?