Coppin State University is the latest in a long line of HBCUs like Wilberforce University and Fayetteville State University that has cleared student debts. However, the tab on this act of kindness is among the highest at $1 million. Learn more about the generous act in the Coppin State release below.
(Credit: Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
Coppin State University (CSU) is pleased to announce its Student Debt Relief Initiative (SDRI) which is federally funded by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act.
In total, Coppin State’s commitment will clear roughly $1,000,000 in student balances. This unprecedented relief fund, available to students who were enrolled during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, comes as a result of the COVID pandemic. To date, several HBCUs, and other institutions, have implemented similar initiatives.
In addition to the balance forgiveness, CSU will provide a $1200 credit to every student, current and incoming, enrolled during the Fall 2021 semester. The Fall credit provided is just above 50% of in-state tuition and will not only assist in keeping current students enrolled, and in pursuit of their higher education, but also incentivize newcomers.
The COVID pandemic caused a global crisis that disrupted educational systems across the globe. Included in the United States’ trillion-dollar American Rescue Plan, signed March 11, 2021, was $350 billion dollars toward state and local funds. Of these state and local funds $39.6 billion is budgeted for higher education institutions around the country. With this federal funding, Coppin State chose to support the community in the most direct and immediate way, to its most valuable stakeholders, the students.“The education of our community is vital, and this financial investment cannot be overstated,” president of the university and HBCU graduate Dr. Anthony L. Jenkins asserts. “Our university is proud to continuously open doors for our scholars and support their future success.”
Reputable for a proud history and deep community roots, Coppin State University remains the most affordable 4-year public institution within the State of Maryland and recognized nationally for its academic programs. While offering 53 majors that include graduate and doctoral programs, Coppin State’s impact reaches far beyond academics. With a proclaimed mission toward relevant and essential community impact, Coppin faculty and staff strive to guide its mission and resources toward results that make the greatest positive difference in society as a whole.
Savannah State University‘s own Ezinne Kalu is set to play basketball in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, which begin tomorrow. Learn more about the Nigerian athlete in the Savannah State Athletics article below.
Former Savannah State women’s basketball star Ezinne Kalu will lead the Nigerian women’s basketball team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics beginning next week.
For only the second time in the African nation’s history, Nigeria will be represented in women’s basketball on the world stage. Kalu, an American-born dual citizen, was a pivotal part of the D’Tigeress’ journey to Tokyo.
Nigeria qualified after winning the 2019 Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) Africa Championship. Nigeria beat Senegal 60-55 for the FIBA title. Kalu led her team with 13.0 points, 3 steals and 3.2 assists in the championship game and was named the MVP of the tournament.
Following two wins in the Africa pre-Olympic qualifier, Nigeria closed the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia with a 76-71 loss to team U.S.A. Nigeria will get another chance at the No. 1 team in the world. They open the Tokyo Olympics against the U.S.A. on Tuesday, July 27 at the Saitama Super Arena to open Group B play.
“If you told 21-year-old me that I’d be playing for a national team or in the Olympics I would look at you like you had three heads,” Kalu said. “That’s huge! I am just a young girl from New Jersey who went to an HBCU and now I am going to be playing in the Tokyo Olympics.”
The D’Tigeress’ are ranked No. 14 in FIBA’s World Ranking. They are one of the most successful teams the African country has ever produced. At the 2018 FIBA World Cup, according to USAB.com, they became the first African nation to advance to the medal round at a top FIBA women’s event. They are ranked No. 1 in FIBA Africa.
Kalu played for Savannah State for five years. She holds the NCAA Division I school record for most career points (2,119) and led several of the most successful women’s basketball teams in school history during her career.
During her time as a Lady Tiger, she was named to the 2015 All-MEAC Tournament Team; 2015 All-MEAC First Team; 2014 MEAC Preseason Player Of The Year; 2012 All-MEAC Preseason First Team; 2012 MEAC All-Conference Team.
In 2015, Kalu earned her bachelor’s degree in history from Savannah State. She was immediately recruited to play professionally in the European basketball league. Kalu has played for the Nigerian national team since being recruited in 2011 while a student-athlete at Savannah State. For the last six years, she’s had incredible success on both international stages.
She was named the 2016 Guard of the Year Portugal 1st Division; Captain of the Nigeran National Team 2016-17; 2017 Afro-Basketball Tournament Champion; 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Budapest 1stDivision; 2018 Co-Captain of Nigerian Team; 2019 MVP of Afro-Basket Tournament; 2019 Afro-Basketball Tournament Champion; 2020 Top 12 Best Player of Africa; 2020 1st Team All-French Player; 2020 1st Team All-Imports France League; 2020 Guard of the Year France 1st Division.
Currently, she plays for the French team Landerneau Bretagne Basket. She signed with the team in 2019 and averaged 15.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in the 2019-2020 season.
Florida A&M University is allocating $1 million in its campaign to get its students and employees vaccinated ahead of work this fall. Learn more about the prizes and more in the FAMU Forward article below by Andrew Skerritt.
Source: FAMU Forward
Florida A&M University (FAMU) has launched an aggressive campaign offering up to $1 million in prizes drawings to encourage students and employees to get vaccinated to safeguard the full return of in-person instruction and activities this fall.
To kick off the campaign, FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., appeared in a video using the phrase “We can’t be FAM without U being vaccinated.”
“We are committed to our fight to keep this community safe,” Robinson said. “We urge our students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated to protect themselves and the people they love as well as this University. Let’s keep the excitement and joy of returning to campus alive.”
As part of its campaign to combat vaccine hesitancy, FAMU is also offering students and employees incentives to get vaccinated. Any employee or student who gets one of the three available vaccines, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer, beginning July 19 becomes eligible to be entered into a drawing to win one of several prizes: $100 (Johnson & Johnson); $100 first dose of Pfizer or Moderna series; $100 second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series; $50 gift card; laptop; and iPad. The University plans to give out $1 million in prizes through the end of December, said Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer Rica Calhoun.
“We are committed to doing our part to encourage our students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated. We are showing it by offering up to $1 million in prizes,” said Calhoun, chair of the Operational Continuity Taskforce. During July, August and September, drawings will be held weekly, she said. “Their best chance to win is now.”
To participate online, students and employees can enter their information through the drawing portal. At the Al Lawson Jr. Gymnasium & Multipurpose Center vaccination site, they can register using the QR code in the FAMU Mobile App or swipe their Rattler card. The Student Health Services will conduct the drawings. The first drawing will be held next week. For more information, email rica.calhoun@famu.edu
In anticipation of a full return to campus this fall, residence halls are expected to be at full capacity. Two-bed rooms were limited to one-person last year to curb the spread of the coronavirus. To make this a safe experience, the Office of University Housing is asking all students to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines as they move in. Proof of vaccination or a negative test result is required within three days of their scheduled move-in appointment. All residents will move in August 16 – 22 from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.
FAMU hosts free COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites on campus. Both are open to the public Monday through Saturday.
We posed questions to Central State University alumnus Cameron Cooper regarding his new single Love Scars just in time for the summer. He talks about what inspired it, the mystery woman behind the track, the Black college experience, and more. Read that below.
What inspired the new single?
I was in the studio driving myself crazy, listening to beats all day. And when I finally came across this one. I instantly fell in love with it. I just vibed with it for a couple of days and especially the intro of the song. It brought back memories of being on both ends of the spectrum, breaking hearts and being the one broken.
I also knew I wasn’t the only one to feel like this before. I wanted to make a relatable song before we get to the point of dogging other women. And women having hot girl summers, it’s the past relationships that make us emotionally de attached. And like I said, I been at the end of both so I could talk about it.
Who inspired you/who influenced you to make a song like Love Scars?
Well, all my exes inspired the song. Like I said, being the one hurt and being the one doing the hurting, I just went back to specific moments and reflected. My fiancé influenced the song. We chat about all my past relations we talk about my moments when I was just reckless and getting everything out of my system while I was in college and after college.
There are island vibes to the song — what made you want to take this route instead of something popular?
I’m a fan of music, period, so I like experimenting. And any artist will tell you that’s how you develop your sound as an artist. You grow every day. And with this single, I wanted to challenge myself to be as venerable as possible. And I wanted to do something different. And this was the right moment and song to do it on.
When is the last time you recorded a song, and how have you grown with this track compared to the last one?
I record every day. I finally got an in-house producer and engineer to send my songs and get them mixed and mastered at any given time. I’m growing every day my range, my topics. I’m going against the grain. With every song I write.
Is there a mystery girl behind the track? Care to tell us a bit more about her?
She’s not a mystery, and she would kill me if I kept her as one. She’s my fiancé, a rider, and holds me down. She supports everything I do. Sometimes I have my Kanye rants at home, and she sits there and listens. She is my best friend. We both are so ready to go to war for one another it’s crazy.
Talk to us about the Black college experience.
Man, I don’t know where to begin. From the friends to the faculty to the different cultures, it was refreshing to be on a campus-like mine.
Shout out to “The Central State University.”
The relationships you build with people go a long way. Mentors came at any age while you were on campus. Lit is the best way to describe the Black college experience. I had rough days, and randomly somebody could sense it and extend an olive branch to help me get my mind right.
I was a part of a modeling team named Evolution T., and I kid you not. Nobody made you feel less than it was all love. I advocate anybody who says they are going to college to look into HBCUs because the experience you get from them is just unique. I could write a book about my experience, and I would have to make volumes because it’s so much to talk about regarding the matter.
Anything else that you would like to add?
Just stay locked. I want everybody to see my movement and rock with me on my journey. Because I’m not just doing it for me, I want to leave messages like y’all, not the only one going through but let me show you I’m going to talk about it. It might not hit with everybody, but somebody is listening, and vice versa, somebody understands.
The Doctor of Pharmacy degree is very popular, but not one many HBCUs offer. Thankfully, now Howard University will be able to after a new award of accreditation! Learn more about it in the release from Howard below.
Source: Rattler Nation
Howard University’s College of Pharmacy has received national reaccreditation from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) for the Doctor of Pharmacy program, which awards the highly sought-after PharmD degree.
This latest round of accreditation marks the first time the College of Pharmacy was granted ACPE’s full eight years of reaccreditation, which will last until June 30, 2029. Previously, the College of Pharmacy had been awarded a six-year reaccreditation period.
“This reaccreditation sets our course until 2029,” said College of Pharmacy Dean Toyin Tofade, PharmD. “Howard University College of Pharmacy strives to be a premier setting for teaching, learning, research, leadership and service locally and globally. So much has been achieved over the past four years, and there is still much more to accomplish.”
For their work on reaccreditation, Tofade expressed gratitude to the co-chairs of the self-study, Oluwaranti Akiyode, assistant dean of student affairs, and La’Marcus Wingate, director of assessment and associate professor in the Department of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy Sciences, both of whom worked under the leadership of Muhammad J. Habib, associate dean of academic affairs for the College of Pharmacy.
Howard University College of Pharmacy has been in existence for more than 150 years and will welcome about 50 students entering the PharmD program this academic year. Approximately 68 percent of the students in the newest cohort are female; the average age is 25. Overall, there are 289 students in the College of Pharmacy, a total that includes PharmD students, as well as students in the Nontraditional Doctor of Pharmacy (NTDP) and the Ph.D. programs. For information on applying, visit here
“Congratulations to Dean Tofade, the faculty, staff and students. I am doubly proud as a faculty member in the College of Pharmacy and as an administrator,” said Provost and Chief Academic Officer Anthony Wutoh. “This is an outstanding accomplishment, and I applaud the dedication and teamwork of our great faculty, staff, students and alumni who worked together to contribute to this outcome.”
The PharmD program is a four-year professional degree program and is required before taking the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination. The degree provides students with the necessary foundational, pharmaceutical sciences, social, administrative, public health and clinical skills to be practice ready. This training represents the broad responsibility pharmacists have in the health care system. Fourth-year students in the Howard program have access to international rotations with 18 different partners in 16 countries across six continents.
Howard University’s College of Pharmacy Dean Toyin Tofade, Pharma (Credit: Howard University)
The Howard program prepares students to become leaders in the profession. About 30 percent of Howard pharmacy students pursue a regulatory affairs career; 30 percent pursue community positions; and more than 20 percent pursue graduate school, own a business, or work in a hospital or with managed care companies.
The mission of the Howard University College of Pharmacy is to provide pharmacy education of excellent quality to students possessing high academic, scholarship and leadership potential, with particular emphasis upon the recruitment, retention and graduation of promising African-American and other ethnically diverse minority students.
ACPE reviewed Howard University’s self-study and conducted an on-site evaluation on April 13-15, 2021.
Virginia Union University‘s football team can’t wait to get back on the field. It’s been nearly two years, and a game in August will revive the players’ spirits. Learn about VUU’s comeback in the Richmond Times-Dispatch article below.
Credit: Virginia Union University
Virginia Union hasn’t played a football game since Nov. 9, 2019, which makes Aug. 5, 2021, a noteworthy date. That’s when the Panthers report to their Lombardy Street campus for preseason camp that will lead into their Sept. 4 opener at Hampton.
Division II VUU was among the numerous college football programs below the FBS level that postponed their 2020 fall seasons because of the pandemic. For the same reason, VUU also did not play spring-semester games, though many Division II and Division III teams, and most FCS teams, did.
The Panthers held 15 spring practices, as the NCAA allowed. The rhythm of those was interrupted by a COVID pause.
Alvin Parker, entering his third season at VUU with a 15-5 record, on Friday expressed optimism about a more typical year of football about to start, though the path to its doorstep was atypical.
“The biggest thing for us has been roster management, so we can keep the team together that we had,” said Parker, whose 2019 Panthers began the season with a win at FCS member Hampton and finished 7-3. “Big-time decisions had to made by kids because we had a lot of guys who chose to come back for fifth years.”
Those determinations by upperclassmen, often reached in response to NCAA legislation that allowed fall-sports athletes in 2020 an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic, reduced the size of VUU’s incoming class of recruits. The roster size needed to remain comparable to past years.
A second-wave effect of the pandemic may be seen again in four years, Parker noted, when programs throughout the country have few seniors because this year’s group of freshmen was relatively small.
The partnership between football coaches and financial aid officers is particularly important in Division II. Football works with a limit of 36 scholarships often shared by a large group of players also attending school on other kinds of financial aid. Forming any football roster is the annual equivalent of completing a complicated puzzle. In Division II, it’s a three-dimensional puzzle.
Virginia Union football coach Alvin Parker (Credit: Joe Mahoney/Times-Dispatch)
The layoff has increased the appetite for competition and appreciation of the sport for the Panthers, in Parker’s estimation.
“They’ve seen it can be taken away from them in any second,” he said.
The VUU staff will use the first few days of preseason camp to gauge the strength-and-conditioning level of the players, and then proceed cautiously. Parker said the initial plan is to generally approach preseason practices in a way that’s comparable to past seasons.
That is subject to change, as is everything. The last year taught all football coaches the need to embrace flexibility.
“Like anything else, there will probably be a few bumps in the road, but I think everybody will accept that, knowing that you’ll at least get a chance to play this year,” Parker said.
VUU’s preseason rank in DII is No. 25, according to Lindy’s Sports Magazine. The only other CIAA team appearing in that poll is No. 15 Bowie State.
The Panthers this season will break in Willie Lanier Field at Hovey Stadium, VUU’s rejuvenated football facility. Since the 2019 season, VUU replaced the grass with a $1.2 million FieldTurf surface and named it for Willie Lanier, the Pro Football Hall of Famer who graduated from Maggie Walker High (Class of 1963) and went on to star as a linebacker for Morgan State and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jackson State University coach Deion Sanders has always been clear about his ambition, his athleticism, and his title. Recently, a reporter had to learn the hard way that how you address Coach Prime is not to be played with. Learn more about the recent snafu in the Sports Illustrated article by Joseph Salvador below.
Jackson State University Coach Deion Sanders shouts instruction to his team during their game against Edward Waters at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021.
Jsu Edward Waters
Sanders, who finished 4–3 in his first season as a head coach, asked that reporters not refer to him by his first name after he was called Deion by the Clarion Ledger’s Nick Suss.
“You don’t call Nick Saban, ‘Nick.’ Don’t call me Deion,” Sanders told Suss, per the Clarion Ledger’sLangston Newsome. “If you call Nick (Saban), Nick, you’ll get cussed out on the spot, so don’t do that to me. Treat me like Nick.”
The Clarion Ledger reported thatSanders walked out of a SWAC Media Day event after he was referred to by his first name a second time. But Sanders addressed the situation later that day via Twitter.
Never walked out of media day. I prolonged my time to answer another question & the person thought it was cute to address me the way he did so I dropped the call & went to the next outlet. Please don’t allow a fool to fool u because then nobody would truly know who the fool is. https://t.co/csbTRNgJvd
“Never walked out of media day,” Sanders said in a Tweet. “I prolonged my time to answer another question and the person thought it was cute to address me the way he did so I dropped the call and went to the next outlet.”
Following the Tweet, Sanders posted a video of the interaction on Instagram that features Sanders taking off his headset while on a video call and walking off. He also added the song Walk It Out at the end of the video.
Suss mainly covers Ole Miss but crosses over several beats from time to time. This was his second time covering Sanders at SWAC Media Day, per the Clarion Ledger.
“When I interview people, I call them by their first name,” Suss said. “Whether it’s someone I’ve been working with for years or someone I’m talking to for the first time. This is true of the coaches and players on the Ole Miss beat, the coaches and players at Mississippi State and Southern Miss when I help out covering their teams and, as recently as January, even Sanders, too.”
The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) has announced the creation of a new position: Dean of Innovation and Student Success. Pamela Moolenaar-Wirsiy, Ph.D., will serve as the inaugural dean beginning in the upcoming fall semester.
This position will further UVI’s strategic plan, for “Greatness Through Innovation” goals, and it will help to position the university as an innovative institution and as a place that fosters innovation.
“As we launch our new Research and Business Innovation Center and improve our innovative efforts in improving the academic success of our students, Moolenaar-Wirsiy’s expertise and background is a natural fit,” said UVI President David Hall. “We believe that she can help move both of these critical mandates to the next level at UVI. Georgia State University has been a model for us in innovative student success, and we wanted someone from that institution who can bring those same insights and expertise to UVI.”
With a thorough understanding of the academic programs and policies of higher education institutions, Moolenaar-Wirsiy brings experience and expertise to the position of dean of Innovation and Student Success.
Pamela Moolenaar-Wirsiy, Ph.D.
At Georgia State University-Perimeter College, she previously served as campus dean (interim) and managed the college’s Performance Enhancement for Student Success retention initiative. She also served as director for their Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
Moolenaar-Wirsiy is often described as a creative and innovative professional and recently served as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow in residence at her alma mater Hampton University. As an ACE Fellow, she chaired the working committee that subsequently submitted a grant that resulted in the establishment of the Virginia Workforce Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center in 2020.
In this new position, she will lead with the development and implementation of innovative curricula and pedagogical approaches. She will oversee the implementation of holistic student support and intentional student professional development in order to cultivate an ethos that enhances student success in a measurable manner throughout the institution.
She will also lead the launching of the new Business and Research Innovation Center that will serve as a catalytic resource for the integration of creative and innovative academic approaches across both campuses.
Moolenaar-Wirsiy holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology/immunology, and a master’s degree in public administration. She currently serves as associate dean of faculty affairs and is a tenured professor of Biology at Georgia State University-Perimeter College. She is a native of St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. and a graduate of Charlotte Amalie High School.
Thousands of Atlanta-area HBCU students will be able to listen Kanye West’s highly-anticipated album “Donda” thanks to the artist. Learn more about why the rapper is setting aside tickets for HBCU students at Morris Brown College, Clark Atlanta University and more in the PageSix article by Francesca Bacardi below.
Credit: Christopher Polk for iHeartMedia/Getty Images
Kanye West is setting aside thousands of free tickets to his “Donda” listening party to several Atlanta-area HBCUs, Page Six can exclusively reveal.
The “Jesus Walks” rapper, 44, is hosting the listening event on Thursday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta at 8 p.m. and has donated 5,000 tickets to faculty, staff and students of Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Spelman College, Morris Brown College and ITC.
Fans will also get to hear music from “Donda” during a Beats commercial airing Tuesday night during Game Six of the NBA Finals. We’re told the ad is an “emotional tribute” to runner Sha’Carri Richardson.
The highly anticipated album was first revealed to be completed — and ready for release — over the weekend when West hosted a secret listening party in Las Vegas.
“The production is light-years ahead of its time, and the bars sound like he’s broke & hungry trying to get signed again. Any artist who plan on dropping soon should just push it back.”
Credit: FilmMagic
LaBoy also heavily praised the artist’s upcoming album, “Kanye West album is really done. When it drops this week, we probably not going to listen to anything else for a while…” wrote Laboy.
“Donda,” which is named after his late mother Donda West, comes nearly two years after the Yeezy designer’s last album, “Jesus Is King.” It was originally meant to be released in 2020 but never came to fruition.
A source close to West previously told Page Six that at least one song on the record is extremely “emotional,” and he played it for estranged wife Kim Kardashian in private before his Las Vegas event.
“Kanye actually played the song for Kim personally before the listening party,” our source shared. “It’s emotional and personal. Not negative at all.”
Having worked hard to receive new accreditation, Morris Brown College has been working hard to come back with a boom. Part of that revival has included in selecting new leadership, such as a new Provost And Senior VP of Academic Affairs. The other part is the commitment to bolstering up its academic offerings. Now, a new partnership with Edible is allowing Morris Brown College to return in full force with a new hospitality program! Get the full story from the recent release by Morris Brown College below.
Edible® has teamed up with Morris Brown College, a private and coeducational liberal arts college engaged in teaching and public service with special focus in leadership, management, entrepreneurship and technology, as the company commits to providing direct training and job opportunities for its hospitality and global business management students.
Dr. Kevin James, President of Morris Brown College said, “We are thrilled to continue to grow our hospitality program partners by working with companies that will provide direct experiential learning opportunities to our students. I look forward to Morris Brown being a direct pipeline of diverse leadership within the career fields of hospitality and organizational leadership for Edible Arrangements and other prominent hospitality organizations in Atlanta. Edible’s headquarters is located in Atlanta, so this partnership strengthens my goal for Morris Brown to become one of the top institutions in the country for Black and Brown people to learn how to own, operate, lead, and manage franchises, restaurants, and hotels.”
Cheikh Mboup, Edible Arrangements President and COO said, “Edible is excited to work with Morris Brown College in the continued mentorship of the school’s hospitality and organizational management students. Through internship opportunities, hands-on training, and Edible leadership seminars, we look forward to playing a part in setting these individuals up for success as the next generation of business leaders in the local Atlanta community and beyond. Moreover, we hope to foster their entrepreneurial spirits by helping students learn more about franchise ownership opportunities post-graduation.”
A new Texas Senate bill is removing negative language about the Ku Klux Klan, in addition to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, language about the Women’s Suffrage and Chicano movements, and more! Get the full difficult story from Biba Adams at The Grio below.
Joe Cook Gines holds an anti-Ku Klux Klan placard at Huntington Beach pier during an April protest against white supremacy in Huntington Beach, California. (Credit: Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
The Texas Senate has voted to axe requirements that public schools teach certain materials about the KKK, the civil rights movement and women’s suffrage, among others.
A current requirement, that students learn: “the history of white supremacy, including but not limited to the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which it is morally wrong” would be dropped if the bill is passed.
The bill is widely considered to be part of a Republican campaign against Critical Race Theory, which looks at the impact of race and racism in US institutions. While the theory was not mentioned specifically in the legislation, it is currently a flashpoint in US cultural and political debates.
Last month, Texas Gov Greg Abbott signed legislation that outlined how state schools can educate students about race and racism and forbade schools from teaching that individuals bear responsibility for actions committed by people in the past because of their race, according to The Hill.
That bill included a section requiring that students are taught “historical documents related to the civic accomplishments of marginalized populations”.
The section included “the Chicano movement”, “women’s suffrage and equal rights”, “the history of white supremacy, including but not limited to the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which it is morally wrong”, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream” speech among other writings.
Those requirements are not included in the new bill passed by the Texas Senate last Friday, but language limiting how race can be discussed in classrooms is retained.
A Klansman raises arm during a “white power” chant at a KKK rally in 2000 (Credit: Getty Images)
The bill says teachers should cover those topics “from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective” to the best of their ability.
“What we’re doing with this bill, we’re saying that specific reading list doesn’t belong in statute,” state Sen Bryan Hughes, the bill’s author, said in a statement to Bloomberg.
Democrats, including state Sen Judith Zaffirini, have condemned the measure, saying teachers’ hands will be tied.
She said, “How could a teacher possibly discuss slavery, the Holocaust, or the mass shootings at the Walmart in El Paso or at the Sutherland Springs church in my district without giving deference to any one perspective?”, reports Bloomberg.
The legislation now awaits consideration in the House.
An Alabama State University alumna now owns the television station she used to intern at. April Ross’ station, WJCN TV-33, spans across Alabama and Georgia! Get the full inspirational story from the ASU release below.
Credit: April Ross/Contributed
An Alabama State University alumna (Class of 2001), who majored in communications, started in the television industry as a low-level, behind-the-scenes production assistant. Today, that assistant is the new owner of a television station, which is a step few dare to take in this highly competitive industry.
April Ross is the proud owner of WJCN TV-33, a LaGrange, Georgia, television station she purchased in May 2021. WJCN is available on-the-air through Spectrum, 24 hours a day, throughout 600,000 households and seen in 11 counties in both West Georgia and East Alabama.
“What is ironic is when I was a student at Alabama State University, I actually interned at WJCN and now, I own it,” Ross said with a giggle.
She explained that her goal is to transition her new television station to become akin to a major network affiliate in the area.
“I want to create something in this television market that has never occurred before and that includes creating and producing great local programming for our community that’s full of home-area content; to use this platform to provide our residents with what best suits their community needs, tastes, standards and interests, and do it while hiring and honing local talent into our TV on-air personalities,” Ross added.
IT’S ALL LOCAL FOR BEE-TV
Ross calls her parent company the “Bee-TV Network” and said when she was in the LaGrange area transitioning from being a reporter with Columbus, Georgia’s venerable CBS affiliate WRBL News-3 to pursuing private business ventures in 2017, a deputy sheriff was shot in the area. Ross and others realized that there was no reporter to cover the breaking story. So, she covered it, via live social media.
“My news reporter instincts took over and in the absence of any TV news outlets here to report on it, I covered it on Facebook Live, which helped my social media presence to grow in excess of 15,000 followers. This was the catalyst for Bee-TV and ultimately contributed to my purchase of WJCN TV-33,” Ross stated.
She explained that once her new television station is firmly entrenched and viewed in the local market, she will back off delivering breaking news on her Facebook page so her followers will instead obtain their news from her television station.
Ross is a devout Christian who acknowledges that all she has obtained in her life, including the purchase of TV-33, comes from God.
She also credits Alabama State University and the long-serving anchor of Columbus’ WRBL TV-3 with contributing to God’s plan.
“I give God the ultimate credit for any and everything in my life. Period. And aiding his plan for me has been Alabama State University and CBS-3’s Teresa Whitaker,” said Ross.
Whitaker, who has been with the Columbus television station for 37 years and is its main anchor, acknowledged she noticed Ross early on when Ross was working behind the cameras in the control room.
“I saw her star quality early. She shined. So, in my spare time, I began schooling her on how to write news stories, edit them, dress the part and present news in such a manner as to both state the facts and present it in a way that would be of interest to our viewers. She was a quick student, and the rest is history,” Whitaker stated.
Ross explained that she also owes a large part of her lifelong success to O’ Mother Dear (ASU).
“I learned so much from the University’s Communications Department and owe it and Professor ‘O’ a lot for who I am and where I am today,” said Ross. “ASU was where I first filmed news stories on camera, learned to splice film on a tape, to have a good voice on-air, which I know occurred after being a weekend anchor at ASU’s WVAS 90.7 Radio.”
“At ASU, I learned discipline, improved my on-air presence due to what I was taught in the University’s communication and speech classes; was taught both the basics and advanced principles in communications by an array of gifted faculty; and was taught to set goals and obtain them. My advice to present students is that you must first work hard, learn well and work through the hard times, if you wish to obtain your dreams,” Ross stated.
To support and/or send her well wishes, you may email April Ross at april@beetvnetwork.com.
South Carolina State University is yet another HBCU to use CARES Act funds to wipe the debts of its HBCU students. Get the full story from Ayelet Sheffey at Business Insider below.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
South Carolina State University just became the latest school to act on the $1.7 trillion student-debt crisis in the country.
Last week, South Carolina’s only public Historically Black College or University (HBCU) announced it was wiping out $9.8 million in student debt, clearing the account balances of more than 2,500 students who were previously unable to afford returning to college. According to the press release, the vast majority of students who received notification of debt cancellation were either not yet registered for the next semester because of past-due account balances, or who have stopped attending college entirely because they couldn’t afford to pay.
“Our university was founded on the tenet of providing students with access to a quality affordable education,” Acting President Alexander Conyers said in a statement. “That’s exactly what we intend to do. No student should have to sit home because they can’t afford to pay their past due debt after having experienced the financial devastation caused by a global pandemic.”
This debt cancellation was made possible through $4 million from President Donald Trump’s CARES Act and $5.8 million from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
Even though Biden has not yet enacted broad student-debt cancellation, a growing number of schools have been using his money to get the job done themselves. Insider reported in May that Delaware State University canceled over $700,000 of its students’ debt using Biden’s stimulus, and at least 11 HBCUs so far have done the same thing.
Leslie Young, a freshman at South Carolina State, said in the press release that without this debt cancellation, she would have had to sit out on the next semester.
“Honestly, hearing this news brings tears to my eyes,” Young said. “My family is very low income. I was in a deep depression because school means everything to me. Without it, I felt like I was giving up on my dreams.”
In terms of broad debt cancellation, the pandemic pause on student-loan payments is set to lift in October, and many Democrats are calling on the president to both extend the pause on payments and cancel $50,000 in student debt for every borrower.
“About 40% of people with student loan debt weren’t able to finish their degrees—so now they’re stuck trying to pay college-graduate-sized bills on high-school-diploma-sized salaries,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter. “We’re fighting to #CancelStudentDebt because people need relief.”
With fundraising often being a major hurdle for HBCUs, any money that can be saved is valuable. Lane College in Tennessee has now taken initiative with its energy in a move that will now save the college an estimated $11 million. Get the full story from Gallatin News below.
Credit: WBBJ
Lane College, a historically black college in Jackson, Tennessee, is set to save roughly $11 million through a new Energy Savings Performance Contract with Entegrity. The liberal arts institution, which has been providing accessible and affordable education for nearly 150 years, will benefit from campus-wide upgrades addressing energy needs as well as student and faculty comfort.
President of Lane College, Dr. Hampton, in conjunction with the Board of Trustees, spearheaded the effort to improve facilities and enhance the overall student experience by making a sustainable financial investment without increasing the cost of tuition. “We want every building to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for students, reflecting the quality of education that students are receiving on campus,” said Dr. Hampton.
The college partnered with Entegrity, an energy services company headquartered in Arkansas with an office in Memphis, to address deferred maintenance needs and invest in the areas where students spend the most time. Lane College’s tailored scope of work includes an LED lighting retrofit, water conservation measures, and HVAC upgrades to maximize energy savings. Entegrity will also install new aluminum windows that will improve envelope efficiency and update the aesthetics of the campus’s buildings without compromising their historical appeal.
Credit: Lane College
“HBCUs have historically received less funding than their counterparts, causing deferred maintenance to take valuable time and money from educational endeavors. Removing facility issues from the college’s plate will allow them to place more of their focus on education and look toward the future of their institution,” said Chris Ladner, Founding Partner of Entegrity.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, indoor air quality has emerged as a significant factor in safely reopening educational facilities. Lane College has taken this energy savings contract as an opportunity to implement infection control and improve the indoor air quality of campus buildings to help ensure student safety. “We wanted to address these changes creatively while also building a better environment for the students,” said Dr. Hampton, “This project allows us to focus on our current students while preparing our facilities for the future graduates of Lane College for years to come.”
Dr. Henry Givens Jr., who led Harris-Stowe State University for over 3 decades, has sadly passed away. He was a history-maker, and a dedicated leader. Learn more about Ross’ legacy in the St. Louis Public Radio article by Gloria S. Ross.
Dr. Henry Givens (Credit: Harris-Stowe State University)
Henry Givens Jr., the university president whose name became synonymous with Harris-Stowe, the college he rescued, transformed, nurtured and led for more than three decades, has died.
In a 1993 profile, Givens said that it was “a pleasure to work in my own town, among the friends that I grew up with.”
He grew up in St. Louis’ storied Ville neighborhood, 10 minutes from the small teaching college that he would lead for 32 years. When he arrived in 1979, many thought the school was on the brink of extinction. Givens had other ideas.
During his tenure, Harris-Stowe’s student enrollment tripled, one building morphed into seven, and the single elementary education degree grew to 14 baccalaureate programs.
Givens, who once said he never dreamed he could be a university president, died today at his home in St. Louis of unknown causes.
He was always keenly aware of why and for whom he worked.
“If this place closed down, 98 percent of our students wouldn’t be able to go to college,” he said in his profile in “Lift Every Voice and Sing: St. Louis African Americans in the Twentieth Century.”
Givens wasn’t about to let that happen on his watch.
Services are pending.
Beyond integration
Givens grew up at 4349 North Market St. in the Ville, once the city’s black cultural center. Acclaimed black historian Julia Davis, for whom a library is named, lived on his street.
She taught Givens at Simmons Elementary School, which he described as “the best elementary school in the city of St. Louis.” He felt the same about Sumner High School, from which he graduated in 1950.
In 1954, Givens graduated from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, the Supreme Court struck down school segregation–and Stowe Teachers College for blacks was folded into white Harris Teachers College. The Stowe name disappeared and did not claim its rightful place alongside Harris until 1976.
Right out of Lincoln, Givens began teaching fifth and sixth grade and physical education at the old Douglass School in Webster Groves. He was the school’s only male teacher.
“I loved it,” he said, but he was about to become a full-time administrator.
To integrate Douglass, administrators wanted a program “unlike anything in the nation” to attract white students.
Givens designed such a program. He had walls torn down and floors carpeted. He introduced team teaching and multiage grouping of students. Then he sold the new concept to the community.
White teachers and students flocked to the school, which became the model for today’s magnet schools. Within two years, Douglass was fully integrated with a two-year waiting list and top national achievement levels.
He became principal of Douglass in 1967 and subsequently assistant to the superintendent of schools. He earned a master’s degree in education at the University of Illinois-Urbana and a doctorate in urban education and school administration at St. Louis University. He later did postdoctoral work in higher education administration at Harvard University.
A changing mission
In 1973, Givens became the first African American assistant commissioner of Missouri’s Department of Education, where he orchestrated the merger of the Berkeley and Kinloch school districts with the Ferguson-Florissant School District.
He left the commission to accept the job of president of Harris-Stowe State College in 1979, just as control of the financially ailing school was being transferred from the St. Louis Public Schools to the state. State Sen. J.B. “Jet” Banks, once Missouri’s highest-ranking black official, led the legislative effort.
Most observers thought Givens would be overseeing Harris-Stowe’s demise. Instead, he built the college into a midtown landmark and community meeting place.
There was only one building, which formerly housed Sumner High School, and the school offered only an elementary education degree.
When he retired in 2011, the original building bore his name because he had changed the landscape of the school’s midtown location and created a full-fledged campus.
His vision and shrewd negotiating added six buildings, including two residence halls and a student center to accommodate approximately 2,000 students.
He paid the city $10 for the land under the decaying Laclede Town federal housing and $10 for the old Vashon Community Center and its three surrounding acres. Later, he persuaded the state to give the school a great deal on a building to house a satellite business school in south city.
It took 12 years to persuade the legislature to permit Harris-Stowe to offer more degree programs. He succeeded in 1993, with the help of U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, then a state senator, who wrote the legislation.
“We stuck with it and never gave up,” Givens once told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
With the restriction lifted, he quickly began raising funds from local business and community leaders. The school added 13 degrees, including criminal justice, business administration and urban studies.
In 2005, with its expanded curriculum, the school replaced “College” with “University.”
Two campuses at once
In 1987, Givens succeeded in getting Harris-Stowe the federal designation as a historically black institution. It’s one of two in the state, the other being Lincoln University, Givens’ alma mater.
The move was not made to erase half of the school’s heritage; it was another effort to keep the school afloat. The status made Harris-Stowe eligible for as much as $2 million annually.
That same year, Gov. John Ashcroft (whose nomination for U.S. attorney general he would later oppose) asked Givens to take over his financially strapped alma mater. For months, he split his time between the two campuses, working six days a week.
“I didn’t even know where I was,” Givens said in “Lift Every Voice.” But he reduced Lincoln’s projected deficit from $1 million to $50,000.
By carefully cultivating business relationships, he became a prolific fundraiser. The year prior to his retirement, Givens led a $45 million fundraising campaign, the most successful in the school’s history.
But sometimes, business relationships were fraught.
For 30 years, prominent black leaders and members of Civic Progress, executives from the region’s largest companies, met monthly to discuss racial issues. The meetings ended in 1998, when Givens and other group members said they were not treated as equal partners in the dialogue.
(Credit: Wiley Price)
St. Louis’ racial divide was his only disappointment, he said in his profile.
“We’re doing a lot of good,” he said, “but St. Louis is not going to be a great city until racism is wiped out.”
No matter the obstacle, Givens persevered and willingly shared his optimism and expertise.
From its inception in 1986 and for the next 25 years, Givens chaired the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Statewide Celebration Commission. It became the second-largest celebration in the nation paying tribute to King.
He served as a consultant for the State Department’s American School in Lima, Peru, and was recognized by more than 100 national, state and local organizations for his service.
Proud to be
Henry Givens Jr. was born inSt. Louis, the third of Henry Givens Sr. and Catherine Lucille Johnson Givens’ four children.
His mother was a homemaker whose activities included volunteering with the Pine Street YMCA. The “Y” ran Camp Rivercliff near Bourbon, the first camp in Missouri operated by and for African Americans. It’s where Givens spent his childhood summers.
His father worked multiple jobs to support the family: driving for a printing company, repairing radios and TVs, even deejaying local dances, sometimes assisted by his sons.
The dapper Givens had a singular work path. He said choosing education was his “proudest achievement,” second only to marrying Belma Evans in 1955, and raising their children.
Givens was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Robert T. Givens Sr., Leon Arthur Givens and Armetta Givens Whitmore.
Survivors include his wife and their two children; a son, Keith Givens of Phoenix; a daughter, Stacy Givens of St. Louis; and three grandchildren.
Memorials would be appreciated to Harris-Stowe State University:http://go.hssu.edu, send to 3026 Laclede Ave., St. Louis, MO 63103, or call 314-340-3366.
A Mississippi Valley State University graduate just made history at a wildlife agency that has been around since 1932. Colonel Jerry Carter is the first Black Chief of Law Enforcement at Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks! Get the full story at the in the MDWFP release below.
Credit: MDWFP/Facebook
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks is pleased to announce the promotion of Lt. Col. Jerry Carter to Colonel, and Chief of the Law Enforcement Bureau with the Agency. In this capacity, Colonel Carter will oversee the daily operations of one of the State’s premier law enforcement organizations with more than 160 sworn officers deployed statewide.
Colonel Carter is a native of Morgan City in Leflore County, Mississippi and is the third sibling of five children born to the late Joe and Elnora Carter. He is a 1982 graduate of Leflore County High School in Itta Bena, and a 2018 graduate of Mississippi Valley State University where he received a bachelor degree in criminal justice, and will complete all requirements for a master’s degree in 2021.
A proud U.S. Army veteran, Colonel Carter began his career with the department in 1988 as a Conservation Officer assigned to Leflore County, and moved successfully through the ranks having served in various county enforcement, and leadership capacities. His previous assignments include Boater/Hunter Education Administrator, Coordinator of Communications, Commander of the Honor Guard, Emergency Management Coordinator, and Commander of the North Mississippi Law Enforcement Region to name a few.
Colonel Carter is now making history in the State of Mississippi by becoming the first African American to become Chief of the Law Enforcement Bureau since the creation of the agency in 1932. He credits this achievement first to God, family, friends, colleagues past and present, and the sporting public of Mississippi.
“I am truly grateful for this opportunity afforded me by the Executive Director Dr. Sam Polles, and my predecessor Colonel Steve Adcock, and the trust placed in me to move the Law Enforcement Bureau forward. I am totally committed to the agency’s mission, and to providing quality law enforcement services to the citizenry of our Great State” said Carter.
