The Votes Are In! Check Out Your Picks for the Top HBCU Dance Teams!
Just as the marching band is an integral part of the HBCU experience, so are the majorette-style dance teams.
HBCU dance teams bring infectious energy and excitement to sports games, pep rallies, and parades through their high-energy synchronized style of dance. In the 1960s, majorette dance teams rose in popularity at HBCUs infusing jazz, West African, and hip-hop dance styles.
According to Essence, “the original majorettes, or “Dansmarietjes” in Dutch, were carnival dancers who used batons. It wasn’t until the idea reached the American South’s high schools and colleges that it came to include a mixture of jazz-ballet and hip-hop dance.”
The first known majorette performance dates back to 1968. Alcorn State University’s majorette team, the Golden Girls made their debut at the 1968 Orange Blossom Classic against Florida A&M. They donned long, golden boots and gold capes, a classic majorette look that has carried onto today. The original Black majorette teams were known for their intricate headdresses accented with feathers and rhinestones. Today, they are known for their extravagant glittery outfits, fringe, and statement gloves that emphasize their movements.
“The majorette dance style is a very unique mixture of stunting, marching, [and] energetic fast clean movements rooted from the Southern areas of the United States,” Dayjasia Wright, the captain of the Golden Girls told Essence.
Tuskegee will open up their tournament run against the two-seed West Alabama. They also finished with the best record in the SIAC in the regular season finishing with a 20-8 overall record and a 15-5 record against the SIAC.
Winston-Salem State will face off against Indiana (Pa.) as they enter the tournament coming off winning their second CIAA championship in the past three seasons.
Lastly, Miles College is against Nova Southeastern. The team finished with a 20-6 overall record and a 15-5 conference record in the regular season. They went on to claim their third SIAC title in the past four seasons following their win over Benedict.
Seven of the eight regional tournaments, consisting of eight teams each, will be conducted on March 11, 12, and 14 while one regional tournament also consisting of eight teams will be conducted on March 10, 11, and 13. The eight regional champions will advance to the quarterfinals in conjunction with the 2023 NCAA Division II Men’s Elite Eight. The quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship games will be conducted at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, on March 21, 23, and 25.
West Virginia State will face Shippensburg in the first round, Elizabeth City State will open up its tournament run against the reigning national champion Glenville State, and Tuskegee will face off against Tampa in the first round.
After a successful season in which the Yellow Jackets finished with a 22-5 overall record and a 17-5 record against the Mountain East Conference, this will be their first national tournament appearance since 2004.
BRACKET ALERT 🚨
The 2023 #D2WBB tournament is going to be a fun one. Who's your pick?! 👀
As for The Vikings, they finished the regular season with a 16-10 and are in the running to claim their first CIAA championship in school history.
Tuskegee had the best season finishing with a 23-3 record in the regular season and a perfect 21-0 record against the SIAC. They claimed their second SIAC tournament title in three years, winning by an average margin of 25.3 points.
The championship game will be contested on April 1 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
On Thursday, more than 700 students at Elizabeth City State University received an invitation to a private email group titled “Welcome to the Caucasian Student Group.”
The email, sent by Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Tiffany Hinton, stated the group’s purpose to be for Hinton to share important school-related and identity-based information with students – including student association, scholarship, and inclusion group meetings.
However, the school’s efforts did not go over well with students according to WAVY.
“I just think this was a poorly thought out idea and it was executed in a way that hit very deep with all of us,” ECSU junior Keegan Williams, who is Caucasian, told the news network.
Within the email, it noted that people who received the email were added to the identity group “based on your admission demographic information.” It said inclusion was an institutional value and that ECSU sought “to move diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts forward.”
“To see, you know, an important official of the school basically take the demographics off our application from when we were just freshman, and use that to group us together… it was a little degrading, to say the least,” Williams added.
“Honestly, it seems more exclusive than inclusive,” ECSU student Lauren Jackson told WAVY.
The school shut down the email group hours after it was created and sent out another email to students saying that while the groups were developed “to create space, build community and promote a sense of belonging within the ECSU student body,” it would suspend the use of identity-based affinity email groups in order to get more feedback.
“The Office Of Diversity and Inclusion created identity-based affinity email groups for students at their request,” said an email from Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Interim Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Dr. Gary Brown. “In response to our students, the University has suspended the use of identity-based affinity email groups so additional feedback can be collected to further support diverse communities.”
University officials said it is committed “to ensuring our environment is and remains an inclusive and welcoming campus for all students, faculty, staff and visitors.”
Williams hopes that the university will focus on more pressing issues in the future.
“I would like to see the University focus on things more pertinent to running a University,” Williams said, “and let the student body kind of handle themselves.”
Student journalists at several different HBCUs recently got the chance to interview the cast of “Creed III” through the HBCU Creed III Campus Collective.
Student journalists at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) recently got the chance to interview the cast of “Creed III” through the HBCU Creed III Campus Collective.
The HBCU Creed III Campus Collective is an initiative aimed to increase HBCUs students’ exposure to media. They utilized students on campus for campus activations at 16 different schools and conducted the first-ever hybrid HBCU Press Conference with an emphasis on journalism.
The initiative was inspired by director and star of the film, Michael B. Jordan’s deep commitment to HBCUs and cultivating black excellence.
For the campus activations, the Creed Collective got student ambassadors at 16 HBCU campuses to set up branded promotional tables with snacks and “Creed III” branded giveaways. Students lined up for a chance to obtain additional giveaways and each student who participated entered into a raffle to receive a premium item.
Participating HBCUs include: Bowie State University, Clark Atlanta University, Coppin State University, Dillard University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, Meharry Mechanical College, Morehouse College, North Carolina A&T, Prairie View A&M University, Spelman College, Tennessee State University, Texas Southern University, Tuskegee University, and Xavier University of Louisiana.
HBCU students also had the opportunity to participate in a “Creed III” media junket with cast members, Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors, andMila Davis-Kent.
Jordansaid it was important for him to give HBCU student journalists an opportunity to gain real-world experience. “I love the confidence they have, the questions that they’re asking, they’re tentatively listening, they care. So, it’s good for us to show up and give them the opportunity to do what they love doing,” he said.
The press conference took place in Atlanta on Thursday, February 23, 2023, and was available to student participants virtually as well.
During the press conference, students from different HBCUs were able to ask the stars of the film questions, to which they answered candidly as well as gave advice to the aspiring journalists and filmmakers.
When asked if he’d ever thought he would direct and star in a movie of such caliber as “Creed,” Jordan humbly said that he never thought about it but always knew he wanted to be great at something.
“I feel like, you know, no matter what field you’re in, no matter what you care about, if you obsess over and you’re passionate about it, and you’re relentless, I feel like you’ll have some success,” the movie star said.
As a director, Jordan said it was important to assemble aspiring writers and producers from HBCUs to participate in a press conference because “we got to close the gap from somewhere.”
He declared that there is not enough diversity and Black representation on film sets. To remedy this, he feels that it is imperative for him to use his platform to lay the foundation for creative talent from HBCUs to get their foot in the door.
When talking about his commitment to HBCUs, Jordan said that he’s “in it for the long haul.”
“This is chess, this is the long game,” Jordan remarked. “We want people who look like us to have those same opportunities to be successful as well. So you got to look at all the pieces on the board, we got to stop looking at ourselves as victims and start taking what we deserve, and to instead start acting like we belong here. That’s something that I really firmly believe in.”
The highly anticipated “Creed III” film appears in theaters on March 3.
Everything Legendary, founded by Morgan State University alum, Duane “Myko” Cheers and Bowie State University and Howard University alumna Danita Claytor, is bringing the flavor to plant-based foods.
The two were influenced to enter the plant-based market to create healthy foods for their mothers, who were both facing illnesses.
“My mom had been battling with lupus for 35 years, and she had been a strict vegan for over 30 years. Danita’s mother was battling cancer at the time and we were trying to get her on a healthy regimen, but she didn’t like the taste of any of the plant-based food. So as we entered into the plant-based market, we wanted to create a product that was flavorful, yet healthy,” said Myko.
Based in Hyattsville, Maryland, Myko and Claytor have been building their business since 2019. It has grown from its pop-up sampling and guerilla-marketing introduction to a well-received national product rollout.
They found major success after landing an investment deal with Mark Cuban as a contestant on season 12 of Shark Tank, which helped them launch their product in grocery stores nationwide.
Everything Legendary is sold in 5,000 grocery stores and has multiple partnerships with lucrative brands such as Live Nation, General Mills, and more.
Myko and Claytor pride themselves on offering soy-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free products with chef-inspired ingredients. With ingredients so clean, their goal is for a 7-year-old child to be able to pronounce them all listed on the Nutrition Facts label.
According to Myko, what sets Everything Legendary apart from its competitors is that the products are “actually healthy.” “Read the ingredients,” he said. “We are also the largest African-American manufacturer of plant-based meats in the country. We offer soy-free products and our Nutrition Facts label is the cleanest compared to our competitors.”
Serving the HBCU community is an immense priority for Myko and Claytor as they have recently brought Everything Legendary to Bowie State’s food halls—and they don’t plan on stopping there. Their goal is to expand the food company to be available at every single HBCU across the country, then roll it out to all colleges and universities nationwide.
The co-founders are also launching a few new plant-based products that are geared specifically to Black culture soon.
As for advice for others wanting to follow in their footsteps, the duo said, “You have to truly love what you do. You have to build an amazing team. Start now and perfect later. Things won’t always be perfect, but you have to keep trying.”
Clark Atlanta University has identified the victim as Jatonne Sterling, a sophomore college baseball player for the school from Chicago.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers found Sterling suffering a gunshot wound, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to Channel 2 Action News, authorities say that they believe Sterling knew his killer and was shot during an escalated dispute.
“We believe this was an incident, possibly an escalated dispute, between he and an acquaintance. So, it’s not going to be random, it seems to be targeted,” Lt. Germain Dearlove told FOX 5.
Atlanta Police told WSB-TV that students at the AUC are not in any danger despite their search for the shooter.
The university’s athletics department paid tribute to Sterling on social media, writing: “Clark Atlanta Athletics send its condolences to Jatonne Sterling’s family and friends. Gone too soon. Please keep Jatonne’s family in your prayers.”
According to 11 Alive News, police are continuing to search for the shooter. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Atlanta Police or 911.
A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lyke House Catholic Newman Center.
The program is run by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.
Additional schools that will receive funding are Norfolk State University ($3,898,789), Virginia Union University ($2,987,765), Virginia State University ($2,799,180), Shaw University ($5,000,000), Maryland Eastern Shore and Morgan State University, and more.
During her speech at Benedict College, Harris said that affordable, high-speed Internet is “an essential part of everyday, modern life.”
“I have heard so many stories about what it means when folks don’t have Internet. Students who have to sit in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant just to be able to submit their homework on public Wi-Fi,” Harris said, before announcing the administration’s $65 billion plan through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to put high-speed Internet in every home.
White House senior advisor Mitch Landrieu told ABC11 that the funds are currently on their way.
“The idea is really simple is to make sure that everybody has access to high-speed internet so they can have access to knowledge, level the playing field, and have the greatest opportunity to succeed in their life,” Landrieu said.
In recent years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have seen a significant increase in exposure and media coverage. Since 2020, these institutions have had an impressive rise in enrollment. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “the percentage of Black students enrolled at HBCUs fell from 18 percent in 1976 to 8 percent in 2014 and then increased to 9 percent in 2020.”
Schools like Morehouse College, Morgan State University, and Howard University have even seen increases as high as 60 percent in undergraduate applications. This increase may be credited to the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. As students witnessed civil unrest and the killings of innocent Black people, they felt drawn to schools where they are the majority and that give them a safe space to be themselves.
“We saw the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, and then we saw students say, ‘Hey, I want to go to a Black school. I want to be safe. I want to enjoy my time,” Paulina Webber, a senior at Dillard University, told NPR.
HBCUs’ time in the spotlight can also be attributed to the election of Howard alum, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration to support them. Moreover, Black colleges have continued to gain visibility by drawing high-profile student-athletes and coaches like Deion Sanders and Eddie George. Although HBCUs seem to finally be getting the recognition they deserve, they are still in dire need of support.
Despite the spike in exposure and enrollment, HBCUs continue to be chronically underfunded. According to Forbes, compared to their predominantly white counterparts, the nation’s Black land-grant universities have been underfunded by at least $12.8 billion over the last three decades.
HBCUs are a vital part of American history and the higher education system and must be protected. Not only do they provide a safe space for Black students, but they are the producers of Black excellence, innovators, and leaders. There is a part we can all play in the preservation and the continued success of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Find out a few ways below how to be an HBCU ally!
Join an Alumni Association
Joining the alumni association of your HBCU is a great step to becoming an HBCU ally. It allows you to network with other alumni who share the same goal of bettering your alma mater and puts you in the perfect position to give back. You can help organize scholarship and school supply drives, assist with recruitment, and provide motivation for current students. Check out our HBCU alumni association list to find and join the national alumni association for your school today.
Donate Directly to an HBCU
Investing in HBCUs makes a huge difference, and even a little goes a long way. As so many HBCUs remain underfunded, donations are crucial for many institutions. Lack of funding has prevented HBCUs from performing at their highest ability and has made it harder to offer students affordable financial aid. Donations can help with student aid, educational programs, campus improvements, and more. You can donate directly to an HBCU by going to their website and giving whatever you can.
Spread Awareness
Advocate for HBCUs by spreading awareness about their impact and importance. Support and spread the word about notable, inspiring HBCU alumni, and tell your own story of how attending an HBCU impacted your life for the better. Change the negative narrative about HBCUs and instead talk about the benefits, rich history, and uplifting atmosphere that can only be found at an HBCU. You can also spread awareness about the underfunding and lack of resources at HBCUs by writing a letter or email to your legislator or calling your politicians, urging them to take action.
Offer Your Time & Talents
You don’t always have to donate money to make a difference, donating your time to help an HBCU student matriculate through college also helps. Offer your time and talents to an HBCU by mentoring, volunteering, tutoring, leading a workshop, or speaking at an event. These are all meaningful ways to give back and can make a difference in a student’s life and academic career.
Hire HBCU Graduates
If you are in a position of power and have a say in who is hired at a company strive to hire HBCU graduates. With more HBCU alums in high and impressive positions, it would show the world the value of an HBCU education and spread more awareness.
Howard University‘s Swim and Dive Team has made history with its first championship in 34 years.
The only all-black college swim team took home the 2023 title of the Northeast Conference Men’s Swimming and Diving champions on Saturday in Geneva, Ohio, after finishing in second last year.
“It’s the first conference title for our men’s program in 34 years, and it feels amazing,” saidNicholas Askew, coach of Howard’s swimming and diving team. “It just feels phenomenal to know that there’s this group of young men and young women who believed that it was possible, even when we were first getting started and all kinds of things were not going our way.”
It was a successful weekend for Howard’s Swimming and Diving team as they racked up an impressive amount of awards.
Olympic Trials qualifier Miles Simon broke the meet record in the 200-meter individual medley and was named the NEC Outstanding Swimmer, while Jordan Walker was named Outstanding Diver for the 47-member squad.
The swimming staff was also recognized as the NEC Swimming Staff of the Year for the second season in a row. In addition, diving coach Courtenay Miller received the conference’s Outstanding Dive Staff honor.
Although the historic moment for the team was important to Askew, he noted that overall support for HBCU athletic programs is “crucial” for their survival.
“We talk about being the only HBCU [with a swim team], but that comes with a warning tag. We don’t want to be a program that’s cut because, even as a competitive program, NCAA swimming is the number one to cut sports and in all of athletics,” Askew said. “We have to be very careful as to the support financially being in the stands, being able to send words of encouragement to the young men and women who are part of the program, as well as to administration.”
The Howard University School of Law is facing a $2 million lawsuit for racial discrimination from a white student alleging the school created a “hostile education environment.”
The Howard University School of Law is facing a $2 million lawsuit for racial discrimination from a white student alleging the school created a “hostile education environment.”
The plaintiff, Michael Newman began attending Howard during the fall semester of 2020 and remained there for just two years until he was expelled in September 2022. He is now seeking $2 million in monetary damages for “pain, suffering, emotional anguish, and damage to his reputation.”
“Faculty and administrators fomented racial animosity toward Newman by endorsing some classmates’ views that his comments on matters of public concern or advocacy for political and social changes were insensitive, offensive, or racist, and by endorsing the view that classmates’ derogatory comments regarding Caucasians and derogatory epithets were acceptable,” the lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, stated.
The lawsuit also accuses Howard’s faculty and staff of retaliation, disparate treatment, defamation, and “intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
Newman claims that he faced “depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts” as a result of “public ostracism, vilification and humiliation,” according to the lawsuit. Furthermore, the suit accuses Global Head of Diversity Recruiting, Reggie McGahee, of telling Newman he had become the most hated student he’d seen during his tenure at the university.
The plaintiff also claimed that he raised concerns about his alleged mistreatment to school administrators, but the law school’s dean allegedly denied that Caucasian students at Howard Law, and Newman in particular, faced racial discrimination to any degree.
Frank Tramble, vice president and chief communications officer for Howard told Fox News that while he could not comment “substantively” due to pending litigation, the university “is prepared to vigorously defend itself in this lawsuit as the claims provide a one-sided and self-serving narrative of the events leading to the end of the student’s enrollment at the university.”
Newman was expelled from Howard on September 19, 2022, after a series of incidents where he was accused of “racially harassing” his classmates.
In one instance, the lawsuit states Howard students reportedly discovered a tweet from Newman’s personal Twitter account that showed a former Black slave whose back was severely scarred from whippings. Newman’s caption to the picture read: “But we don’t know what he did before the picture was taken.”
According to the lawsuit, Newman claimed the tweet wasn’t intended to be offensive but instead was geared toward commentators who “attempt to explain away videos of police brutality by claiming the victim must have committed wrongdoing before the video started.”
Additional problems arose when the university shifted to remote learning at the start of the pandemic, when students began communicating on online forums and GroupMe chats, Newman claimed in court papers. The lawsuit said the plaintiff found himself the target of classmates’ animosity after he posted a comment on GroupMe in Oct. 2020.
After a symposium featuring an African-American speaker in the run-up to the 2020 election, Newman posted the following on a professor’s forum page:
“Where I part with the Black community is where they believe government solves problems, I only see it causing problems,” Newman wrote on the chat, according to the lawsuit. He asked for further dialogue on “whether: (1) Black voters didn’t question turning to government for solutions, and (2) reliably voting for the same party every election disincentivized both parties from responding to the needs of the Black communities.”
The former Howard student later said that he felt “utterly disenfranchised” at the school, also comparing himself to a Black student at a primarily White university.
Newman alleged that he faced backlash although he repeatedly explained that he was seeking to learn about the views and experiences of Black Americans. He also claimed that many students started to refer to him as “mayo king” (a perceived reference to his race) and “white panther.”
According to the lawsuit, Newman tried to remedy the situation by sending out a four-part letter to explain his views, but was seen as a “manifesto,” to his classmates, with one student accusing him of “manipulating [classmates’] emotions … as a social experiment.”
Newman said he sent an email on January 26, 2021, to Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, and cc’d law school dean, Danielle R. Holley, “requesting assistance from Howard administration to address racial discrimination,” as well as “reassurances” that White and Black students are treated equally.
Controversies led to a digital town hall meeting with 300 students to discuss Newman’s allegedly racially harassing classmates. During the town hall, Holley allegedly characterized Newman’s letters as “disturbing in every sense of the word,” according to the suit.
Holley and Newman wound up filing simultaneous complaints, with Holley accusing Newman of “continual harassment of member [sic] of the Howard Law community, and disturbance of the learning environment at the School of Law.” At the same time, Newman claimed Holley had perpetuated “threats,” “discrimination” and a “hostile academic environment.”
In a statement sent to BET.com, Tramble said, “Mr. Newman came to Howard having had a career outside of law and was granted a University scholarship. Mr. Newman then displayed a pattern of antagonizing actions against other students in the law school. “This includes Mr. Newman using the untimely death of a fellow law student to further his views on COVID-19 and the vaccines,” Tramble continued. “After following the University’s disciplinary policies, Mr. Newman was expelled for disruptive and harassing conduct.”
Black hair is a fundamental part of Black History. From braids to afros to locs, our hair tells a story about the Black experience and our heritage. How we wear our hair can be a sense of self-expression and identity and is an integral part of Black culture that has transcended generations.
In ancient African societies, hairstyles like braids, twists, and other styles were worn to signify marital status, age, religion, wealth, and societal rank. During slavery, braids were used as a tool for freedom, as slaves would cornrow their hair to map escape routes. They braided the plaits into patterns that resembled roads to travel or avoid. Small bits of gold and seeds were hidden in the braids to sustain them after their escape.
Despite the pride that many Black people take in their hair, Black hair is still often discriminated against, especially in corporate America. In 2010, a Black woman in Alabama was rescinded a job offer after refusing to cut her dreadlocks; in 2018, New Jersey high school wrestler was forced to cut his locks so he could compete in a match; and in 2021 a six-year-old boy was denied entry into his first-grade classroom because of his dreadlocks in Orlando, Florida.
Thankfully, recent progress made in the fight to end hair discrimination. In July 2019, California became the first state to pass a bill banning natural hair discrimination with the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act). This act protects hair texture and protective hairstyles including cornrows, afros, braids, twists, and dreadlocks against discrimination in the workplace and educational institutions. Sen. Holly J. Mitchell, who spearheaded this act says “The goal of the CROWN Act is to guarantee that black women and men can choose how to wear their hair without fear of bias or discrimination.” The CROWN Act is yet to be passed in all fifty states, but it does mean progress.
To celebrate Black History Month, we are honoring the crown we never take off by shining a light on the evolution of Black hair!
1900s: The Annie Malone and Madame C.J. Walker Era and the Invention of the Relaxer
Portrait of American businesswoman, philanthropist, and activist Madam CJ Walker (born Sarah Breedlove, 1867 – 1919), 1913. She is widely considered the first female, self-made millionaire in the United States. (Photo by Addison N. Scurlock/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
The 1900s was a revolutionary time for Black hair. Before Madame C.J. Walker grew her hair products empire and became known as the first Black woman millionaire in America, Annie Turnbo Malone paved the way. Malone debuted her Wonderful Hair Grower products in 1902, a product that was designed to improve scalp health and promote hair growth. Walker was one of her sales girls and started her own iconic haircare brand in 1905. In 1909, Garrett Morgan accidentally developed the first chemical relaxer after discovering a formula while working on sewing machines. Popular hairstyles at that time were The Gibson Girl, sleek tresses, pompadours, and smooth waves achieved through pressing combs and relaxers.
1920s – 1930s: Finger Waves, Wavy Bobs, Pin Curls
During the Roaring Twenties, Black hair trends included short flapper-esque haircuts, wavy bobs, and finger waves. During the 1930s, straightened, short hair with curls, waves, or finger waves lived on.
1940s – 1950s: The Invention of the Hair Weave
Black women in the 1940s continued to wear their hair short and straight with added curls. Other popular styles were Victory Rolls, the chignon, the croquignole curl, pageboys, and wavy hair. The 1950s introduced the first sew-in hair weaving process, developed by Christina Jenkins, and patented in 1951. Jenkins developed the idea of attaching hair to a net which was then sewn onto the client’s cornrow base and thus evolved what she referred to as ‘Hairweeve’. The pompadour bang, the beehive, and wigs also rose in popularity, however as Black nationalism started to rise, Eurocentric-influenced hairstyles became a topic of debate
1960s -1970s The Rise of The Afro During the Black Power Movement
natural hair and turn away from Eurocentric beauty standards and damaging products. Natural hair and afros gave a sense of pride and confidence, and also became a form of activism and rebellion. Afros carried into the 70s, becoming more of a fashion choice, with Black celebrities like Diana Ross and Pam Grier rocking their afros in style. Braids started to make an appearance as well, notably when Black model and Actress Cicely Tyson appeared on the cover of Jet magazine in 1973 with cornrows, marking one of the first times natural hair and traditional African hairstyles were celebrated in mainstream media. However, straight hairstyles were still trending as people wore bombshell waves and the Jheri curl.
1980s: The Jheri Curl & The Hi-Top Fade
With the help of perm rod sets, the 1980s welcomed looser textured curls and the Jheri curl. Although the Jheri curl was invented by a white man named Jheri Redding, it took off in the black community thanks toComer Cottrelland his partners who formed the Pro-Line Corporation in 1970. Asymmetrical cuts and big curly hair were also defining trends for this decade. Another popular hairstyle during this time was the hi-top fade, largely popularized by hip-hop culture as well as style icon Grace Jones.
1990s: Braids, Pixie Cuts, Swooped Bangs
The 1990s ushered in even more versatility for Black hair and more representation in pop culture and mainstream media. From Janet Jackson’s box braids in the 1993 film “Poetic Justice” and Brandy’s microbraids in the hit late-90s sitcom “Moesha,” braids were brought back into the forefront. Straight styles were also back in fashion, with women sporting pixie cuts, silk presses, swooped bangs, and flipped bobs. Natural styles like bantu knots and dreadlocks were also in style.
2000s to 2010s: The New Natural Hair Movement
During the 2000s, the natural hair movement was revitalized with the emergence of natural hair bloggers and YouTubers. In the last decade, relaxer sales started to decline as more women embraced wigs, extensions, and braids as protective styles. Cornrows, weaves, crochet braids, buzzcuts, and wash-and-go’s were also popular styles during this time.
Now
The natural hair movement still continues today with more and more women rocking their natural hair and starting their loc journey or participating in ‘the big chop.‘ Women are also expressing themselves through wigs of all different styles and colors with ‘baby hairs’ galore.
Vice President Kamala Harris along with Senior Advisor for Public Engagement Keisha Lance Bottoms, hosted a briefing with HBCU student journalists and representatives.
On Thursday, several HBCU student journalists and representatives came to Washington D.C to participate in a White House Briefing with Vice President Kamala Harris and Senior Advisor for Public Engagement Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Harris, an alumna of Howard University, hosted the briefing to discuss funding for HBCUs, mental health, and how big of an impact small businesses have on the economy with the students.
Bottoms, who is a Florida A&M University alumna, also spoke on the topics at hand and complimented the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to support HBCUs.
White House
“President Biden and Vice President Harris have been very intentional in funding for HBCUs very intentional and making sure that the voices of HBCUs are heard on this campus as with a group of HBCU presidents just last week on campus,” Bottoms said.
Biden-Harris Administration has made a historic investment in HBCUs including delivering $5.8 billion cumulative investment in and support for HBCUs.
When asked how the administration plans to continue to support HBCUs by Rust College student representative, Edward Foster, Harris explained the next steps are centered around erasing student loan debt.
“As we all know, so many of our schools are very old and need upgrade to the classrooms, the libraries, things like that, but also the work that we have been doing that has been focused on issues like student loan debt, because we know the disproportionate burden that our HBCU students carry on that issue,” Harris said.
Harris also offered words of encouragement to the young student-journalists saying, “I would encourage you as journalists to always remind all of us to see people in their full selves, to see people in all the facets and nuances in which everyone lives. None of us is one dimensional.”
On the topic of mental health, Bottoms spoke on the importance of having conversations about it with the Black community.
“When you put trauma on top of trauma it spills out in ways that lets us know that unless we begin to articulate that there is a mental health crisis that’s hitting communities of color, especially hard. Unless we are specific with our funding towards that we’re going to keep having the same issues,” Bottoms said.
Harris ended the briefing with words of encouragement for the HBCU students.
“You all have such a unique skill, gift, and ability to really be a voice of and for so much that is important in our country,” Harris said.
Watch The New Season Of “Bel-Air” Only on Peacock!
Peacock’s hit show “Bel-Air” is returning to the streaming service with its second season this Thursday, February 23.
“Bel-Air,” the dramatic reimagining of the beloved 90s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” captured the hearts of fans when it first aired last year. It was a major success as it quickly became the most-streamed original series on Peacock.
The hour-long drama follows 16-year-old Will Smith’s journey as he adjusts from the streets of West Philadelphia to his new upper-class life in Bel-Air.
All characters from the original series are featured in the Peacock retelling and are returning for season 2. This includes Will Smith (Jabari Banks), Carlton Banks (Olly Sholotan), Hilary Banks (Coco Jones), Ashley Banks (Akira Akbar), Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes), Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman), Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola), Jazz (Jordan L. Jones), and Lisa Wilkes (Simone Joy).
Some new faces are set to appear in season 2 as well. On January 12, Variety confirmed three new recurring cast members and an exciting guest star to be featured in the upcoming season.
Beloved rapper, Saweetie is coming to “Bel-Air” in a guest spot, which the show teased in a behind-the-scenes video posted to social media of her on set with the rest of the cast. The rapper shared her excitement in the clip saying, “it’s an honor to be here.”
Other new actors set to be featured in the new season are, Brooklyn McLinn (previous roles in “Cloak & Dagger” and “Black-ish”), Jazlyn Martin (“This Is Us” and “All American: Homecoming”), and Riele Downs (“Darby and the Dead” and “Henry Danger”).
Per Variety, Brooklyn McLinn plays Doc Hightower, “a busy and driven basketball recruiter and AAU Coach who is impressed by Will’s game at Bel-Air Academy.” Jazlyn Martin will play a character named Jackie, whose “South L.A. street smarts put Will’s Philly swagger to the test when they are introduced to each other at a Venice basketball tournament.” And Riele Downs will play Yazmin, who is described as “the president of the Black Student Union at Bel-Air Academy. While their paths have not previously crossed at school, Yazmin finds herself impressed by Carlton’s contributions to the club.”
On January 19, Peacock released the full-length official trailer for “Bel-Air” season 2. In the 2-minute trailer, we see Will discovering more of L.A. and forging his own path outside of the Banks mansion. It also hinted at new challenges for the main cast as we see a possible continued rift in Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv’s marriage and Carlton trying to start anew. The trailer also revealed a special cameo from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s OG Ashley, Tatyana Ali, speaking to Bel-Air’s Ashley.
According to Deadline, the official plot of the second season of Bel-Air reads:
“Season two of Bel-Air picks up with Will at a crossroads in his life as a new figure comes into his life who challenges what he’s learned in Bel-Air and competes for control of his influence. He juggles this while navigating his home life with the Banks family and trying to rebuild the trust that was broken at the end of last season. We’ll see Will and Carlton’s brotherhood start to evolve as they grow closer, but still challenge each other about their differences. We’ll also see Hilary evolve as she becomes more of a boss in her influencer world and how that spills over into her relationship with Jazz, and also highlight the relatable struggles around Viv and Phil balancing marriage and family while trying to forge their own career paths and reconnect to the things that are important to them.”
Carla Banks Waddles, Bel-Air’s new showrunner said the second season will go deeper into the themes of the first season and will touch on “what it truly means to be a family even when it’s challenging.”
“In season two, the show will continue to find ways to push the envelope and feel refreshing and unique while also honoring the heart of the legacy series,” Waddles said.
“Bel-Air” season 2 premieres Feb. 23 exclusively on Peacock.
The vice president was joined by Maryland Governor Wes Moore and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge for an announcement of the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to expand access to housing.
Harris announced federal action that the White House says will save homebuyers and homeowners who have new mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration an average of $800 per year, lowering housing costs for an estimated 850,000 homebuyers and homeowners in 2023.
According to the White House, the action takes effect on March 20 and it will reduce the annual mortgage insurance premium by 30 percentage points, from 0.85% to 0.55%.
The White House said the average homebuyer in Maryland’s Prince George’s County will save about $900 a year, based on the average home price in the county of around $300,000.
“Home ownership is an essential part of the American dream. For so many people, a home is more than a house. It is community, the community that comes from block parties and cookouts and lending a cup of sugar to your neighbor, financial security, the chance to build wealth and equity that can help put your child through college,” Harris said.
For more information, click here to read the official White House fact sheet.
Prairie View A&M University has been selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation to lead a national-tier University Transportation Center (UTC), making the school the first HBCU to lead a national UTC.
The UTC Program advances the state-of-the-art in transportation research and technology and develops the next generation of transportation professionals.
PVAMU will lead the National Center for Infrastructure Transformation, which aims to focus on improving the durability and extending the life of the U.S.’s transportation infrastructure
“Prairie View is the first HBCU to lead a national UTC, and we are proud to bring this to Texas, particularly when the national centers have historically been on the East and West coasts,” said PVAMU Chancellor John Sharp. “This is what can be accomplished when we combine the research expertise of one of our universities with the resources of the A&M System, and this team will achieve a great result for the state of Texas and the nation.”
The National Center for Infrastructure Transformation will receive $4 million per year for five years and is one of only five awarded national-tier centers. The center is designed to address the infrastructure issues of both urban and rural areas across all transportation modes and is expected to improve durability and resilience across the country for years to come.
“I am delighted that this award has put Prairie View A&M University’s long-held transportation research expertise on the national stage,” said Dr. Judy Perkins, P.E., who will serve as center director. “Prairie View A&M University’s leadership, expertise, and spirit of innovation will, as the Center’s name suggests, work to transform our nation’s infrastructure over the next five years and beyond.”
