Before sunrise on Monday, October 12, a bus filled with Memphis high school students will leave Castalia Baptist Church headed toward something bigger than a three-day road trip.

The students will visit seven historically Black colleges and universities across Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. They will walk the yards, see the campuses, meet the people, imagine the possibilities and, for some, begin to see college not as a distant idea but as a real next step.

That is the power behind Castalia Baptist Church’s annual HBCU college tour—a South Memphis tradition that has connected young people with higher-education opportunities for nearly two decades.

This year, the tour has a new name and a deeper meaning. Pastor Rev. Dr. James Johnson has designated the 2026 trip the Deacon Jessie R. Broom, Jr. Memorial HBCU College Tour, honoring a longtime church deacon and faithful chaperone who helped make the experience possible for generations of students.

A Legacy on the Road

Deacon Jessie R. Broom Jr. joined Castalia Baptist Church in 1985 and was ordained as a deacon in 2019. He spent his professional career in the hotel industry, but his impact at Castalia went well beyond his work life.

For years, Broom was one of the dependable adults who got on the bus, helped guide students and made sure young people had the support they needed as they traveled from Memphis to HBCU campuses across the South.

He passed away on August 28, 2025. Naming the 2026 tour in his honor is more than a ceremony. It is a recognition that programs like this are sustained by people who show up, do the work and believe in young people before they fully believe in themselves.

“Jessie Broom got on that bus at five in the morning, year after year, and never once asked for anything. Putting his name on this tour isn’t a tribute we decided to pay—it’s just the truth about who helped make it work.”

Seven Campuses, One Big Question

The 2026 tour will take Memphis students to seven HBCUs:

• Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi
• Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi
• Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans
• Dillard University in New Orleans
• Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Wiley University in Marshall, Texas
• Grambling State University in Grambling, Louisiana

For a student, a college campus visit can change the entire conversation. A brochure, website or social-media post can show a school’s programs, dorms and rankings. But standing on campus is different. Students get to see the energy, hear the sounds, watch the students moving between classes and picture themselves being part of that environment.

Meka Egwuekwe, who has led the tour since 2006, said the experience can change how students think about their future.

“When a young person from South Memphis stands on the yard at Grambling and sees students who look like them running the place, the question stops being whether college is for them—it becomes which one.”