Pharaoh’s Conclave (PCX) has announced, in partnership with the Thomas Family Fund, that they have made a $160,000.00 contribution to Morris Brown College in honor and memory of the family patriarch, Ronald Floyd Thomas (MBC 2002).
Pharaoh’s Conclave (PCX), which is Georgia’s leading organization for diversity and inclusion in competitive video gaming had donated this gift to establish the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and Innovation. The Morris Brown College Board of Trustees unanimously approved the decision to establish the center in October 2020.
“I am so grateful for the gift from the Ronald Floyd Thomas family and Pharaoh’s Conclave. This designated gift will help take our new eSports program to the next level. I am so excited that Morris Brown College can lead as Georgia’s first State approved eSports Performance degree program. The institution has two tracks including a certificate and a degree. Additionally, high school students will be able to dual enroll and complete high school with 24 college credit hours in eSports. Morris Brown will lead to eSports education and competitive gaming. This gift just catapulted us forward. We will immediately begin plans to remodel an area on campus into the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and Innovation, which will include top-notch eSports equipment. Moreover, we will begin recruiting the best gaming students to attend Morris Brown and compete competitively on our eSports team,” said Dr. Kevin James, President of Morris Brown College in a written statement.
Jakita O. Thomas, Ph.D., and Erich Thomas founded Pharaoh’s Conclave (PCX) back in 2017 as the company uses education and exposure to video gaming to address diversity and inclusion in the technology industry by leveraging eSports. The Thomases have exposed over 10,000 children across the country to eSports. Over $30,000.00 in college scholarships has been awarded to youth and young adults interested in becoming eSports professionals.
“When my husband, Ronald Floyd Thomas, entered Morris Brown College to complete the work on his degree, he fully embraced becoming a true “Brownite.” Funding the establishment of the Ronald Floyd Thomas Center for eSports and Innovation at Morris Brown College is a fitting tribute to a man who valued education and the contributions of historically Black colleges and universities to our culture and family. Morris Brown College, in the words of her Alma Mater, was ‘a welcome true to everyone until thy work was done.’ It is in keeping with his commitment to educational opportunity that a program exists to equip this generation of scholars with the skills to excel in STEM and be on the cutting edge of this new technology at—Dear Old Morris Brown,” said Geri Thomas, grant advisor of the Thomas Family Fund.
“Google has provided us with a very unique opportunity to be the people on the ground doing the real work. My wife and I both grew up in Atlanta; we are both graduates of HBCUs, and are now watching the fourth generation of our family attend HBCUs. As a product of the Atlanta Public Schools System, I was inspired to teach and work with youth by graduates of HBCUs all throughout my life, many of whom were alumni of Morris Brown College. So it is imperative that we continue the work of creating opportunities that will allow our children to thrive in the generations to come,” said Erich Thomas.
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