Melannie Denise Cunningham, who goes by Miss Melannie, is many things: a Greater Tacoma peace prize winner, an educator on the collegiate and professional level, a connector, a lover of culture and a Class of 1981 Coug.
She founded The Cunningham Network, Inc., which is a firm specializing in training on anti-racist community building. Miss Melannie also acted as director of multicultural outreach and engagement at Pacific Lutheran University for eighteen years.
A cornerstone of her work is “The People’s Gathering”, which is a conference that occurs about twice a year and facilitates open and honest conversations about race, power and privilege. Miss Melannie spoke on the current administration’s dismantling of equity and inclusion.
The most recent “People’s Gathering” was held this past summer and focused on grieving the pushback equity work has faced, while also inspiring professionals and the community by acknowledging that there are many people who still want to engage in these conversations.
Many universities have lost funding during this wave of anti-DEI legislation, and WSU is in no way immune. Although Miss Melannie was an ocean away during this interview, her lasting connection to WSU was evident.
Miss Melannie said WSU was where she grew up and found herself, even if she did not know it at the time.
“I was calling myself the campus party commissioner,” she said.
She recalls during her time at WSU, and as such, she learned how to entertain. She went on to use those skills in entertainment to host a radio show in her hometown of Tacoma, and currently utilizes those skills for her podcast.
Her zest for life in college meant that, after six years on campus, she graduated with a degree in general studies, strongly encouraged by her father to complete her degree. Although she originally felt some shame about her general studies degree, Miss Melannie has found that it embodies the breadth of her work and interests as a self-described multipotentialite.
Even though her first degree took her six years, she has since earned another bachelor’s, two master’s, a certificate of training and is a doctoral candidate. Miss Melannie considers herself to be a lifelong educator and student, and continues to forward justice and equity in all she does.
In 1980, she grew into a leadership position on campus as a founding member of the Xi Psi Chapter, WSU Pullman’s chapter, of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Delta Sigma Theta is a lifelong connection point that keeps WSU near and dear to her heart.
Delta Sigma Theta is one of the “Divine Nine,” a collection of historically Black sororities and fraternities, each with its own long and celebrated history. Miss Melannie reflected on the founding of the “Divine Nine” and how the organizations were born from rejection by Greek life of the time and banded together to create their own community.
Miss Melannie now works with the Tacoma alumni chapter, but has come back to speak with the WSU chapter over the years. As Miss Melannie’s work has expanded into Ghana and South Africa, she has connected with Deltas on the African continent as well, all of whom are focused on scholarship and service.
In the past few years, Miss Melannie has moved away from American academia and is working in partnership with women in Ghana and South Africa in an effort to uplift them, through mentorship and entrepreneurship and “be in” community with them.
When asked about how to foster community in divided times, Miss Melannie emphasized that “you’ve got to want to foster community” and to find “spaces where community can be created, and nurtured and sustained.” The desire for self-improvement and self-reflection, breaking down our fear and biases, so we can open our hearts to people from differing backgrounds to our own.
Miss Melannie said her work is about collaboration and connection.
“It’s collaboration, and you find people, and they work in their strengths, and you pull it together, and you make it happen,” she said.
Miss Melannie said she wants students to ask for what they want and to be authentic.
“You got to really develop the skill of asking for what you want and being clear about it,” she said.
When it comes to authenticity, Miss Melannie emphasized using one’s own unique voice and heart. She also highlighted positivity, especially in hard times, because joy is truly one of the most radical acts.
