Award-winning Texas Journalist Regina L. Burns Graduates with a Master’s in History from UNT

​Burns Fulfilled the Order to ‘Go Back to Graduate School’ from her Late ACU Professor and Kept her Pledge to Texas Historian Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney

​“A good thing about being an award-winning multimedia journalist is that you have reason to be confident.” --With apologies to Walter Mosley’s The Long Fall (Leonid McGill)

​Editorial note: Check  back for updates to this post.

Video courtesy of Michele Thatcher; thank you, Michele!

When I entered the UNT Coliseum on December 15, 2024, with the other graduating master’s and doctoral students, my hands flew up in a wave of victory and praise! My face rearranged into a massive smile, reaching from sea to shining sea under my cap.

Video courtesy of Calvin Wilson; thank you, Calvin!​

---

​After I heard “Regina Lynn Burns,” my feet flew across the stage.

Video courtesy of Melinda Knott; thank you, Melinda!​

Video courtesy of DeeJay Whiting; thank you, DeeJay!

​By the time I reunited with my friends and family, they showered me with yellow roses, captured precious memories on their cellphones, and drowned me with their love, so much love. I felt overjoyed because I overcame challenges and distractions to accomplish this achievement. Sharing my commencement with my family and friends made it even more important.

​I knew this one thing: I had accomplished something that no one else in my immediate family had done. I had earned two master’s degrees, the first in journalism administration from the University of Memphis under the leadership of professors emeriti Dr. Dan Lattimore and Dr. David Arant, and now this Master of Arts in History from the University of North Texas. Dr. Marler told me "there aren't enough African American historians" and "you can make a difference in your community." These degrees will help me do that.

Paying Tribute to Tyler Barber College Chain Graduates

​Further, this summer, I wrote a master’s thesis, “Texas African American Millionaire Henry Miller Morgan’s Social Justice Crusade: Tyler Barber College Chain, 1933-1974” about the nation’s first African American barber college chain. The UNT Toulouse Graduate School is processing it for publication in 2025.

Next Steps

​Moreover, from the top of my cap to the bottom of my academic regalia, I promised myself another achievement: One day, by the grace of God, I will write a book about Tyler Barber College Chain, whose history and achievement of training 80 percent of the nation's African American barbers during Jim Crow segregation, has been largely ignored.

Moreover​As I left UNT, I felt excited and gave thanks to all of my friends, supporters, academic mentors, professors at both the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT, and family for their support during this life-changing academic experience.
​Honoring Academic Mentors (Added 12.24.24)
I have been thinking about the role and importance of academic mentorship as I  research this topic for future publication. In this space, I will share a few names of some of the academic giants who coached me to the finish line. That finish line includes both completing my master’s thesis in July 2024 and graduating in December 2024. 
The first history professor I spoke with in January 2021 about Dr. Marler’s “order to go back to graduate school” was  Dr. Kimberly Hill, Associate Professor of U.S. and African American History at The University of Texas at Dallas. We had never met before my outreach and she suggested I contact Dr. J. Todd Moye, Fenton W. Robnett Professor of U.S. History, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Director, UNT Oral History Program at UNT. Dr. Moye urged me to contact Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney. Dr. Dulaney offered me scholarships to start my graduate studies at UTA.  UTA Interim Chair and Associate Professor, Dr. Stephanie Cole, was immensely helpful in my onboarding. 
Two University of Memphis Mentors
​I must also reference two previous professors who played significant roles during my master’s in journalism administration at The University of Memphis. Dr. Dan Lattimore was chair of the then-journalism program. With his guidance, I found scholarship funding. After he accepted a new role at the University of Memphis, the new department chair, Dr. David Arant, was a powerful participant in my completion of the Master of Arts in Journalism Administration. Moreover, I stayed connected with Lattimore and Arant over the years. When Lattimore returned to his native Texas after his retirement, he wrote a recommendation for my graduate applications. Subsequently, as I shared my Tyler Barber College Chain research with him, he helped me discover the importance of the 1929 Texas barber license law. Thank you, Dr. Lattimore, for not only reading my prospectus but also for coaching me on my research.
UNT's Three-Minute Thesis Challenge
​Moreover, I am thankful I experienced the UNT Three-Minute Thesis compeition  because it helped me discover new strategies to share my research and to enhance my presentation skills (one slide is a serious challenge but worth it).
Academic Mentors Generate Results
Each academic mentor (and there is an ocean of others too numerous to mention in this post) expanded my ability to cross the finish line. Without these academic mentors, starting at The University of Memphis, I would not have completed this second master’s degree nor the thesis. Again, thank you!
Learn More:
Texas Highways' Profile of Edmund Morrow
​Journeying Through Grief: The Death of My Mentor, Dr. Charlie Marler
EXCLUSIVE: United States’ First African American Barber College Chain's Building Faces Demolition in Tyler, Texas