Morgan State University alumna and DeltaApril D. Ryan has had an accomplished career. The no-nonsense journalist has made a name for herself for getting directly to the point, and in a new article from Essence she’s opening up about what her life has been like behind the scenes. “Give me a pen, a pad, a microphone or a camera and I’m there,” she shares in the opening. “I can work it out in a minute.” Learn more about this living legend in the article written by Ashlee Banks below.
Credit: Black Enterprise
It’s Women’s History Month and what better way to celebrate than to spotlight White House Correspondent April D. Ryan. Ryan is a veteran journalist who has worked at the White House for 24 years, while also serving as a major voice for the Black community.
ESSENCE spoke with Ryan about her early days in the news industry, how she overcame working in the White House under a racist, sexist president, and her new role with theGrio.
When did you realize you wanted to be a journalist?
RYAN: I realized when I was at Morgan [State University]. I started out doing radio, being a DJ between classes on Friday and overnights on Sunday. I was a DJ at WEAA FM and WEBB AM [previously owned by singer James Brown]. I always had a passion for knowing what was going on, and that stemmed from my home in Baltimore from my late parents. They always had the radio on first thing in the morning. You get up you hear the sounds of the news, traffic and temperature. In the evenings we would sit and watch Walter Cronkite. That’s the way it was. News was always in me, but I didn’t realize how much it was until I got tired of spinning the records and I wanted to do more. I was always the one who wanted to get the people talking, to have it on the record, to make it credible, so that you could believe this is something you need for your daily life. I think being a DJ is the best thing in the world. I couldn’t do it, but news, give me a pen, a pad, a microphone or a camera and I’m there. I can work it out in a minute.
As someone who attended Morgan State University, how do you respond to people who argue HBCUs are archaic and need to be eliminated?
RYAN: I would not be April Ryan if it weren’t for an HBCU. I attended predominately white catholic schools for the vast majority of my education and then I attended Morgan. This is my quote: ‘HBCUs love you to success.’ It’s like a family. There’s an intimacy there and we understand, we want you to survive and thrive. We are building you up because we’ve been down for so long. HBCUs are not archaic. When some institutions won’t accept us now, family accepts us. There is still a non-even playing field for admissions for us. The same reasons we needed them [HBCUs] now are the same reasons we needed them yesterday. A lot of these schools would not take us in.
The nation watched the fiery exchanges that took place between you and Trump during his presidency. You’re the epitome of a strong Black woman, but how did it feel to be challenged by a racist, sexist president who was never fit to lead this country?
RYAN: It wasn’t necessarily about me. When you’re a mother, you don’t necessarily think about yourself, you think about your children. I wanted to make sure my children were okay. My children know I’m a fighter and they know I stand up when something is said or something is wrong. But my concern was for them most of all. One, that they were safe. Two, that it didn’t hurt their mother as much as other people felt hurt for me. When many of those fiery exchanges were happening, my oldest daughter was in class in Baltimore in current news watching the ticker go by, Donald Trump says this to April Ryan. She would text me, ‘mom are you okay?’ I said, ‘I’m great.’ And that’s the hurtful piece, when you’re doing your job and your family and friends get it before you can say what happened.
Let’s discuss your new role with the Grio. What are you doing and why the Grio?
RYAN: I am a White House correspondent Washington bureau chief with the Grio. I’m learning things, like the Tik Toking and all that stuff. I said I need to go digital, but I wanted to stay at the White House and build something great for Black America. The Grio is offering me the opportunity to help lead that side of it. It’s amazing what the team has. I love the energy there, young people who aren’t new to this, but true to this. They believe in giving information to Black America.
What advice would you give to Black women and girls who are looking to enter the media industry, but may feel discouraged?
RYAN: Believe in yourself. There’s something called a dream deferred. It could be a dream that’s deferred or you can believe in yourself and still work towards your dream. Never walk away from your dream, even if it is part time or a hobby. I’ve been in this business since 1985. For me to still be here in 2021, you don’t see a lot of that. I’ve been at the White House for 24 years. You don’t see that. I’m saying all that to say, this business has changed so much. Be open. You need to be able to get on Zoom calls and hold conversations that bring people in. You need to be able to write your a** off. You need to be able to speak the queen’s English. You need to be able to handle the camera at a moment’s notice. Practice your craft.
April D. Ryan (left), Chris Cuomo (middle), Keisha Lance Bottoms (right); (Credit: Twitter)
For many, the respect and adoration for HBCUs has come from those in your circle: your parent, your teacher, your big brother or sister figure. For Johnson C. Smith University graduate James Ewars, the support he received from HBCU grads in his life growing up has made a world of difference. Learn about his story and how HBCUs differ in his eyes from his recent story in The Charlotte Post.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities have always been academic cathedrals of learning, hope and inspiration. Long ago and years gone by, they created educational opportunities for people who look like me.
Johnson C. Smith (Credit: Gary O’Brien/Charlotte Observer/MCT via Getty Images)
They continue to provide the knowledge needed to compete today.
The HBCU community is spread throughout the world. Alumni from these schools have achieved and excelled at a high level.
I grew up in a North Carolina city that was surrounded by HBCUs. Within a short drive there were at least five of them.
In a good way, I took them for granted. Growing up in Winston-Salem, I could walk to Winston-Salem Teachers College, now Winston-Salem State University. On my street lived Dr. Kenneth R. Williams, a former president of the school.
And around the corner was Clarence “Big House” Gaines, his wife Clara and their two children. I had a first-hand view of the legend of Coach Gaines before he was a legend.
I would see players like Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Richard Glover and Ted Blunt on a regular basis. I do not know at what point I began to realize these guys were star basketball players.
Mrs. Gaines, who passed away recently, was my Latin teacher at Atkins High School.
Bethune-Cookman University Students (Credit: UNCF)
The HBCU mindset was imbedded in me at an early age. Older guys on my street like Ray Joyner (Lincoln University of Pennsylvania), and James Arthur Price (North Carolina College, now North Carolina Central University) would come home during their breaks and talk about these schools.
They were recruiting and did not know it.
My teachers at Atkins High were HBCU graduates. They often talked about their college experiences and how they became teachers. We had HBCU ambassadors teaching us every day.
These early times of having HBCU students in my neighborhood and HBCU alumni as teachers were fundamental in my developing a love for HBCUs.
All of this was coupled with the fact that each year at the Memorial Coliseum, there was the CIAA basketball tournament. The CIAA, the oldest African American athletic conference in America, was founded in 1912.
As elementary and high school kids, we would go and have fun. If you have never attended a CIAA basketball tournament, you are missing out on a grand celebration of HBCU excellence.
There is so much to do and see. I cannot describe it. You just have to go.
The majority of HBCUs are in the South. The oldest HBCU is Cheney University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1852.
As I matured, I knew I would attend a Black college. There was never a question about it.
I am a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University. It was founded in 1867. I have countless memories of my JCSU days and I hold them close to my heart. I was blessed to have attended JCSU.
HBCUs continue to make history. Kamala Harris, a graduate of Howard University in Washington D.C., is vice president of the United States.
It is great that Chris Paul (basketball) and Deion Sanders (football) are using their platforms to talk about the importance of HBCUs. Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has given away millions of dollars to our schools so that they can continue their missions.
Our schools have endured the trials and the tough times. The light will never go out on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Part of being a trailblazer is filling a gap where you see lack. For chef and Alabama State University graduate Obi Oti, what was missing was good southern cooking on the west coast. Determined to bring back flavors from his own parents’ shuttered restaurant, Oti is now finding his own success in the kitchen.
Before he discovered cooking was something he was good at, it was the ambition of Obi’s parents that opened his eyes.
“It all started in 2007 when when my parents opened up a soul food restaurant in Huntsville, Alabama,” Obi reminisced. “It was doing good but unfortunately the business started to suffer and eventually we had to close our doors due to the recession of 2008 and my father falling ill…”
Determined to carry on his parents’ legacy, Obi fostered his talent. He went from just cooking general dishes for friends and his Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity brothers at Alabama State, to getting pretty good at grilling. He became a legend at the grill among his LA friends once he eventually moved to California.
“People wouldn’t know my name, and they would just call me ‘the BBQ man,’” he laughed. “Grilling turned into me creating, and recreating dishes in the kitchen. I started competing and I was winning. So I decided to take this skill to a higher level.”
Fast forward to 2021, and Obi has gathered all his favorite southern recipes, and rolled them up into a business plan. He thoughtfully named the now limited liability company “Krunches” as an ode to his parents’ old restaurant.
Garlic lamb chops with eggs and mushrooms (Courtesy of Krunches)
“I will carry the legacy of Krunches and prove to them that they didn’t fail,” he said proudly. “Their legacy will live on forever, through me. I’m doing this for them.”
Obi’s business is gaining traction, but lifting it off the ground wasn’t easy. He struggled with discovering which exact permits and licenses he needed to conduct business in the state of California. There were numerous applications, sacrifices, and sleepless nights. He ultimately opened his business in the middle of the pandemic.
Nevertheless, Obi’s work is not in vain, as there is actually a high demand for comfort food in Los Angeles despite its culture of healthy eats. There aren’t many eateries that specialize in homemade bourbon glaze like Krunches. In fact, Obi’s bourbon glaze shrimp mac n’ cheese has won multiple awards over the last few years!
“The thing that sets me apart from the rest is my uniqueness in my food and the flavor,” he said. “I combine sweetness with the love of savory for a mouth full of undeniable flavors. My bourbon glaze is something you don’t see everyday and people love and want me to bottle it up.”
Our mouths are watering! If yours is too, choose Krunches the next time you or your small event guests are looking for mouth-watering southern cuisine.
Bourbon glazed stuffed salmon with shrimp (Credit: Krunches)
The Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University did not leave the 63rd Grammy Awards empty-handed! In fact, the group was shocked to have won their very first Grammy “Best Roots Gospel Album” for “Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album).” After 150 years of singing, the win was well deserved! Learn more about the group and the expansive history of the Fisk Jubilee Singers in the article from Dave Paulson at The Tennessean below!
Fisk Jubilee Singers (Credit: Bill Steber)
How’s this for an overdue honor?
150 years after the original group was founded — and subsequently brought African-American music to the world — Nashville’s Fisk Jubilee Singers have just won their first-ever Grammy Award.
At Sunday’s pre-telecast “Premiere Ceremony,” the vocal group’s “Celebrating Fisk! (The 150th Anniversary Album)” was named Best Roots Gospel Album, earning them their first Grammy since forming in 1871.
“Hallelujah,” said Dr. Paul Kwami, who has served as the group’s musical director since 1994.
“I just want to thank God. I thank Shannon Sanders and our wonderful team of engineers. I thank our wonderful guest artists. I thank Curb Records… I’m very grateful to Butch Spyridon and his staff. I thank the Fisk University family. I thank the Ryman Auditorium staff for their wonderful help, and all the fans around the world. Thank you so much, hallelujah.”
When Fisk University treasurer George Leonard White assembled the group in 1871 and booked a tour to raise money for the struggling school, it introduced the world to “slave songs” or “negro spirituals” — music Black Americans made for themselves.
Modern Fisk Jubilee Singers pose in front of a portrait depicting the very first singers of the group (Credit: Cornell Events)
The winning album was recorded live at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and featured guest artists Ruby Amanfu, Keb’ Mo’, Lee Ann Womack, The Fairfield Four, Rod McGaha, Derek Minor, Shannon Sanders, Rodney Atkins, Jimmy Hall and CeCe Winans.
Backstage, Kwami said he wanted to “honor those original” students who founded the group in 1871.
“In a way, it’s surprising, it’s the first time we have won a Grammy,” Kwami said in the virtual press room Sunday night. “Sometimes I think it’s because of the music we’re known for, which is the Negro spiritual. Whatever the case, I’m happy this happened in the year we are celebrating our 150th anniversary. It’s an addition to the celebration.”
The Fisk Jubilee Singers were nominated previously for a Grammy in 2009.
“Soul of a Nation,” a six-episode series premiering on ABC News, will break history as the first broadcast network newsmagazine that aims to put Black life in America front and center. Viewers will be presented with a unique window into authentic realities of Black life and unpack issues critical to Black Americans through intimate storytelling that bridges the past, present and future. You’ll find familiar faces in each episode- from performers, activists, and scholars to clergy members– who will all open up for entertaining and provocative conversations about current events. Each episode will focus on a specific theme such as the reckoning that erupted after George Floyd’s death, spirituality, Black boy joy, Black girl magic, activism in sports and more. Viewers will also get to enjoy special performances from captivating artists like John Legend.
As an educational, entertaining, thought provoking series, “Soul of a Nation” is long overdue. It is time for America to have this conversation. “We’re excited to expand enterprising Black storytelling and the celebration of Black culture beyond the month of February,” said co-executive producer Eric Johnson. “Viewers of all backgrounds, regardless of race, will be moved, educated and inspired by the broad range of stories and topics shared on this show.”
HBCU Student Roundtable Series (LIVE)
On the week of March 15th, 2021, we will be hosting three live roundtable discussions with ABC News journalists, HBCU students and graduates to discuss the importance of the Soul of A Nation series. The three-part series will go Live on HBCU Buzz Facebook and Youtube. Tune in on March 15th at 12pm EST and March 17th and March 19th at 1pm EST.
HBCU Virtual Watch Party & Kickback (LIVE)
On Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 we will be hosting an exclusive live watch party and kickback for the fourth episode of Soul of a Nation: Black Joy. Black joy will explore comedy within the Black community, and how it has come to define the art form as a whole. DJ and recording artist Jae Murphy will be spinning the tracks while North Carolina A&T State University student and #1 HBCU Host DJ CDK on The Mic will be giving away swag bags! Join us by RSVPing here!
Be sure to tune into the enthralling series “Soul of a Nation” every Tuesday in March at 10pm EST/9pm CST on ABC News! You can also catch the episodes on Hulu the day after.
Rapper, business owner, and philanthropist Master P is looking to use his influence for the good of the HBCU community. Known as a master strategizer, he has proved he knows how to successfully take the reigns. Read the story from FNR TIGG at Complex below about why Master P now is planning to own an HBCU and how that could be beneficial.
Credit: Image via Getty/2020HHA
The recent highlighting of Historically Black Colleges and Universities has led many to learn that most of these schools were founded on land grants provided by the government during the Reconstruction Era. Realizing this has motivated Master P to take matters into his own hands to change the future.
Master P took to Instagram where he revealed his life goal has now changed. “I used to want to own an NBA team but now I want to own a HBCU,” opens his video’s caption.
“This message is all about educating our people,” Master P said in the video. “Anybody that’s listening to this and has a business, I want y’all to join this movement with me. We need to make sure our kids get educated the way other the cultures are educated.”
The spotlight has been refocused on HBCUs in recent years. Michael B. Jordan created a basketball invitational to showcase talent at the institutions and the NBA has put an emphasis on supporting them. During the NBA All-Star Game, the league generated $3 million that will be used to promote these colleges and universities.
“It was part of the reason why we’re here in Atlanta,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said, per CNN. Atlanta is home to a host of HBCUs including the acclaimed Atlanta University Center (AUC) which consists of legendary schools Morehouse College, Spellman College, and Clark Atlanta University. “This was an opportunity to focus on the HBCUs,” Silver added.
Master P wanted to extend this goal on his own. He explained in his IG caption that HBCUs graduate more women than any other league of higher education. This includes the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, who graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
“More women graduate from HBCU’s than any other university and I love that,” Master P wrote in the caption. “If we’re going to change the narrative, it has to start with the truth, education, and economic empowerment. I was shocked when I Googled who owned and founded HBCU’s. We can’t change the past but we can change the future by investing in the next generation.”
“Don’t stop, don’t quit, don’t drop out!” This was the advice of determined student Dreama, who has knows from experience the value of perseverance. Through her own personal tragedies, she has stuck to education and found a home at Central State University. Read the release below from Business Wire to learn all about her inspiring story!
Dreams S. (Credit: Business Wire)
Graduating from high school and attending college was once only a dream to Dreama S., 19. After overcoming multiple obstacles including surviving cancer, the trauma of losing a sister and experiencing temporary homelessness, she graduated with honors from FLEX High School in the fall of 2020 during a national pandemic. She recently started her first semester at Central State University (CSU), a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Ohio. CSU is part of the 1890 Universities Foundation’s multi-state network of HBCUs established in 1890 through the Second Morrill Act.
The Foundation and Lifelong Learning, a nonprofit educational services organization that supports public charter networks FLEX High and Learn4Life, have partnered to bolster college readiness and increase college access and enrollment for at-risk students. The partnership is the first of its kind between networks of publicly funded K-12 schools and a
Dreama and other students benefit from increased access, resources and financial support to help them transition to and succeed in college. As part of the partnership, Lifelong Learning has funded a College Access Program $5,000 scholarship, and Dreama was its first recipient.
The personalized instruction, social-emotional support and flexible school day Dreama received at FLEX High made it possible for her to tackle high school while earning college credits through dual enrollment at Columbus State Community College. The pandemic forced her to delay her start at CSU until the spring semester and stay closer to home while attending Columbus State.
“HBCUs create a welcoming environment for all learners regardless of their race, ethnicity or income level,” said Michelle Harvey, vice president of innovation at Lifelong Learning. “Their focus on developing resilient learners is a natural extension of the one-on-one, personalized support FLEX and Learn4Life students receive.”
Central State University (Credit: Dayton Daily News)
Learn4Life and FLEX recently held a Virtual College Week for 11 HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions to present their schools, college life and admissions requirements to students. Dreama spoke as part of the presentation, offering advice and words of encouragement to high school students.
“Don’t stop, don’t quit, don’t drop out,” she said. “Keep doing what you need to do, and you will finish. I promise you, Class of 2021!”
As a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, actor and philanthropist Terrence J has never left his alma mater behind. He often reps N.C. A&T in various on various work projects and appearances, but the truth is he’s rooting for all HBCUs. In his new project, which you can read about below from Derek Major at Black Enterprise, the options at HBCU dining halls will be a lot healthier.
Actor Terrence J (Credit: Twitter/@Forbes)
Actor and producer Terrence Jenkins, better known as Terrence J, announced a commitment to raising awareness of healthy eating within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Jenkins, who also serves as a national ambassador of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), has partnered with Aladdin Campus Dining, a student-inspired program in colleges and universities across the country. Jenkins and Aladdin will support healthy eating programs and initiatives throughout HBCUs all year.
“Developing healthy eating habits has been one of the biggest struggles I’ve faced as an adult. With some better advice and also access to healthier food in college, I don’t think I would have had to work so hard to maintain my health,” Terrence J said. “I’m thrilled that my work as an ambassador for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund has led me next to Aladdin Campus Dining and presented this fantastic opportunity to reach the HBCU community about vital health issues.”
Black Americans, especially those in the South, have higher rates of high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes than other races.
As part of the collaboration, Aladdin chefs and dieticians will create dining programs for students that are culturally relevant and comforting without sacrificing the best possible nutrition, balance, and flavor. These customized programs will be available at Aladdin’s partnering schools including Albany State University, Savannah State University, Bowie State University, Clinton College, Morris College, Jarvis Christian College, Voorhees College, Paul Quinn College, and Saint Augustine’s University.
(Credit: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)
There are more than 100 HBCUs today with more than 228,000 students across the country. Notable HBCU Alumni Include Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, and current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Jenkins has appeared in Think Like A Man and the sequel starring Kevin Hart. He’s also had roles in Baggage Claim, Entourage, and The Perfect Match. He’s also hosted dating shows Are You The Oneand Coupled and the Miss US pageants in 2016 and 2017.
Ohio representative and former Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated National President Marcia L. Fudge is making-history! She has just been chosen to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development serving the Biden-Harris Administration! Read the full story below written today by Tracy Jan at the Washington Post.
The Senate voted 66-34 on Wednesday to confirm President Biden’s nomination of Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio) as secretary of housing and urban development, making her the first Black woman to lead the agency in more than four decades.
Fudge,who entered Congress in 2008, won bipartisan approval to lead the embattled agency, where the morale among civil servants had plummeted under the leadership of Ben Carson, who eviscerated fair housing enforcement and other civil rights protections during the Trump administration.
“The past year has reminded us just how important it is to have a safe and stable place to call home. But, right now — for millions of Americans — that sense of security and peace of mind is out of reach,” Fudge said in a video statement released after she was sworn in Wednesday evening.
Credit: Paul Morigi/WireImage
She added that she looks forward to providing relief for families struggling to pay their rent and mortgages, helping more Americans achieve homeownership, and breaking down the “barriers of injustice.”
As HUD secretary, Fudge is expected to reinstate a 2013 rule aimed at barring the housing industry from enacting policies that, although seemingly race-neutral, have an adverse effect on Black and Latino Americans. The agency also is expected to reinstate another Obama-era regulation requiring communities to identify and address barriers to racial integration and disparities in access to transportation, jobs and good schools — or risk losing federal funding.
One year into the coronavirus pandemic, which has left a disproportionate number of Black and Latino Americans jobless, Fudge said her immediate focus will be on providing rental assistance to households at risk of eviction.
More than 11 million households are behind on rent, census data shows. Almost 3 million homeowners are in forbearance, Fudge said; an additional 800,000 borrowers are delinquent. Families struggling to pay rent continue to be served with eviction notices despite the government’s extension of the eviction moratorium.
Several Republicans had criticized Fudge during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs for previous comments she had made about race and the GOP that they characterized as “intemperate.”
Credit: Marcia L. Fudge/Twitter
Other Republicans voiced concern about Fudge’s intent to undo HUD regulations put in place by the Trump administration to address what conservatives view as costly and time-consuming Obama-era fair housing requirements that they said discouraged the construction of much-needed affordable housing. Seven of the committee’s 24 members had voted against advancing her nomination.
On Wednesday, Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) said before voting against Fudge’s confirmation that her “past rhetoric makes clear that she lacks the temperament to collaborate with Congress, particularly across the aisle, and casts doubt as to whether she wants to.”
But Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who had previously worked with Fudge to address the affordable housing crisis in their home state, has vouched for her ability to work across the aisle.“I don’t always agree with Marcia on policy. She doesn’t always agree with me. But I can speak to her integrity, her commitment to justice and [the] strength of her character,” Portman said during Fudge’s confirmation hearing.
Portman was among 16 Republicans who voted in favor of Fudge, including Mitch McConnell (Ky.), the minority leader, and Tim Scott (S.C.), the lone Black Republican in the Senate. Democrats unanimously approved her confirmation.
Moments after Fudge was confirmed, House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) stood across the Capitol with aides carefully reviewing the Senate vote. Clyburn, the most senior Black member of Congress and a close Biden ally, served as Fudge’s top patron in promoting her for the Cabinet. He took careful note of which Republicans voted yes as aides showed him the tally.
Housing advocates, eager for the new administration’s focus on racial justice after four years of battling Carson over fair housing enforcement, including filing lawsuits, applauded Fudge’s confirmation.
“This is a refreshing turn and, quite frankly, a relief,” said Lisa Rice, president and chief executive of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “Instead of trying to convince the HUD secretary to uphold our nation’s fair housing laws, we now have someone who believes in the full breadth of the law and is committed to completely enforcing it.”
Before her time on Capitol Hill, Fudge, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, had served as the first African American and first female mayor of Warrensville Heights.
Fudge on Wednesdayvoted to pass Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, which includes more than $20 billion in emergency rental assistance. She then resigned her congressional seat and was sworn in as HUD secretary in a virtual ceremony from her Warrensville Heights home, with her 89-year-old mother by her side.
Patricia Harris was the first Black woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet after President Jimmy Carter appointed her HUD secretary in 1977.
Anthony Brown and Group TherAPy are up for best gospel album at this year’s Grammy Awards. (Credit: Drew Xeron)
Morgan State University‘s Anthony Brown is creating his own sound in gospel. Read all about how music has changed his life in his new profile in the New York Post by Stephanie Williams today!
When Anthony Brown got the news of his Grammy nomination for best gospel album for “2econd Wind: Ready,” he was floored. It was a moment that symbolized how far he’d come from his early days as a fledgling artist, when he felt so stifled by his speech impediment that he didn’t want to sing his own songs.
“I was trying to shop my songs, but nobody would sing my songs because you couldn’t hear them,” says Brown, whose recent nod marks his second Grammy nomination with his band, Group TherAPy. “I had to sing them to get them out there, and little did I know that me having to demo my own songs would turn into a career in recorded music for me.”
The Baltimore-born singer, who is the assistant minister of music at First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Upper Marlboro, Md., broke ground on his Grammy-celebrated record by breaking through another personal barrier.
“It was me taking up a little jogging, a little running and bike riding, just trying to keep my tempo together, and I kept hitting this plateau, this wall,” he says. “But then, I was talking to avid runners and bike riders and they’re like, ‘Yeah, you’ve got to press through that feeling, and when you press through it you experience something we call a second wind, which is almost like you’re just starting all over again.’ ”
It’s not just personal barriers Brown and his band, Group TherAPy, break with “2econd Wind.” Sonic walls are torn down through the process. The signature, syncopated go-go beats on track “Blessings on Blessings” might ring familiar to D.C. natives. He also injects hip-hop with the affirming anthem “He Always Wins,” where Georgia rapper 1k Phew’s hypnotic flow doubles down on the Lord’s praise: “Yeah, I’m leanin’ on Jesus and you can lean wit’ me / So now you got you somebody that you can lean on / If you think you can stop Him, you better dream on / When I’m callin’ on God, I bet this His ringtone.” With fellow contemporary gospel star Jonathan McReynolds, Brown and his band segue into smooth R&B with “Real,” with their soaring harmonies glimmering amid the buoyant beat.
“A lot of people who haven’t grown up like I did are turned off by the idea of religion, turned off by even the sound,” Brown says. “Many of them are warmed by the message but turned off by the sound. I try to create a balance between opening up your musical palate, giving you what gospel needed to move, but also making it familiar in a way that you already recognize and hear music anyway.”
Brown, 39, hails from a long family line of pastors, and his formative music years were heavily rooted in the church. He cultivated his musical skills in the secular world at Baltimore School for the Arts before moving on to Morgan State University, where he would eventually form Group TherAPy in 2000.
“The group was the answer to my prayers — I was looking for some kind of vehicle to get the songs out of my head,” he says.
Anthony Brown and Group TherAPy perform onstage during the 2016 Dove Awards in Nashville. (Credit: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
In the beginning, the band was dubbed Answered Prayers, before tragedy struck. After one of its members died of cancer, the band found healing through one another, and that’s when the name Group TherAPy materialized (the “AP” pays homage to their former name).
“When you have siblings that sing together, there’s something different about their sound because the connection is just different,” Brown says. “That’s what I kind of feel with Group TherAPy. None of them are my siblings, but I treat them like my siblings.”
That bond was put to the test while making their most recent album, “Stuck in the House: The Pandemic Project.” The coronavirus had completely upended the core staples of Brown’s life — church and community — and he wrote the album at home, then brought each member of Group TherAPy into a recording booth one at a time to lay down the finished product.
“They never even heard the final version until we all heard it together when it was out,” Brown says with a laugh. “That is totally different from how we normally record. We hear it together and work through it together. The pandemic challenged our concept of not being alone.”
On “Stuck in the House,” Brown grapples with the feeling of isolation and even gets political. For one of the tracks, “Call to Action,” Brown addresses the senseless killing of Black Americans. His booming voice marches like a protester to a steady drumbeat, reciting the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black lives lost.
“The murder of George Floyd was extremely emotional for me,” Brown says. “I think for most people, no matter what your color is, there should be some feeling of anger. This is what our country has come down to. When I sat at the piano that day, again, I wanted to create something that helped me get out the emotion that I felt.”
Like the boundless sound he creates with his music, the emotions he wears on his sleeve in “Stuck in the House” transcend religion. For Brown, it’s more than just spreading the Lord’s word. It’s also about spreading the teachings of what it means to be human.
“Music is really the universal language,” he says. “So something that’s not as easy to talk about you can sing about, and people can find a level of commonality, find the connection.”
The 63rd Grammy Awards air March 14at 8 p.m. on CBS. Anthony Brown and Group TherAPy will perform at the Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, birchmere.com) on April 3 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35.
In honor of a lifetime of contributions to the success of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the UNC System and the people of North Carolina, A&T’s new engineering complex-in-development will be named upon its opening in honor of Chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr., university officials announced today.
The Harold L. Martin, Sr., Engineering Research and Innovation Complex was approved at the Feb. 26 meeting of the North Carolina A&T Board of Trustees after Trustee and former Board Chair Timothy King submitted the nomination earlier last month.
Martin, who assumed his current position with N.C. A&T in 2009, is the longest currently serving chancellor in the UNC System and a leader nationally among both historically black colleges and universities and land-grant research institutions.
In addition to his prior service as senior vice president of the UNC System and chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, he previously served as vice chancellor for Academic Affairs of A&T, as well as dean of the College of Engineering, chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and a faculty member in that department. All told, his academic and administrative career at A&T has spanned nearly four decades.
“Chancellor Martin’s relentless commitment to the success of North Carolina A&T has led our university to unprecedented heights over the past 12 years, in which A&T has not only become America’s largest HBCU, but by some rankings and evaluations, its very best,” said Board of Trustees Chairwoman Venessa Harrison. “He has modeled and required excellence in everything that the university does, and in doing so, he has led a transformation of A&T that will serve it well, many years after we are gone.
“It is fitting and appropriate that the new complex to be occupied by the college where he began his work in service of A&T be named in his honor.”
In its final stages of construction now, the Harold L. Martin, Sr. Engineering Research and Innovation Complex is a $90-million facility that will dramatically enhance the research and instructional capacities of a college that leads the nation in graduation of African American engineers. Funded by a statewide NC Connect bond passed by voters in 2016, the complex will be home to state-of-the-art laboratories and technology critical to advancing the college’s scientific work in heavily competitive STEM research, to fostering innovation that fuels start-up and spinoff companies and to educating engineers who play key roles in the N.C. economy.
The building will assume its new name as part of its grand opening later this year. While it is slated for completion and occupation in August, the date has not yet been set for that occasion, but is expected to take place this fall.
Martin is the first A&T graduate to lead the university. He earned his B.S. (’73) and M.S. (’75), both in Electrical Engineering, before leaving for Virginia Tech to complete his Ph.D. (’80). Upon graduation, he returned to A&T as a member of the Department of Electrical Engineering faculty, rapidly rising through the ranks to leadership, first serving as department chair and in 1989 being named dean of the college.
He was promoted to vice chancellor for Academic Affairs in 1994, and five years later, joined Winston-Salem State, leading the university through a reorganization, reaffirmation of its accreditation and launch of seven new masters programs.
In 2006, UNC General Administration President Erskine Bowles tapped him to serve as senior vice president for Academic Affairs, making him the top academic officer of the 17-campus system. Three years later, he was elected the 12th chancellor of A&T.
As A&T’s chief executive, he has overseen the creation of two successive strategic plans that radically changed the university’s direction. A&T was struggling in enrollment when he arrived, facing an uncertain future. The first plan, “A&T Preeminence 2020: Embracing Our Past, Creating Our Future,” was created in 2011, with implementation immediately following. By 2014, the university had grown to become the nation’s largest HBCU, a position it has not only held in every successive year, but expanded upon.
In each of the past five consecutive years, A&T has set institutional enrollment records, expanding to its current 12,753 headcount last fall. The successor to the first strategic plan, “A&T Preeminence: Taking the Momentum to 2023,” calls for the university to expand to an enrollment of 14,000 over the next three fall terms – a goal it is widely expected to surpass.
It has also moved into the nation’s leading universities in a growing list of key academic rankings. U.S. News & World Report lists it among the nation’s top national universities and its top 70 in Social Mobility, Innovation and Best Undergraduate Teaching. It also is the magazine’s top ranked public HBCU for the third consecutive year, a position it shares this year with Florida A&M.
In Money magazine, the university ranks as the best HBCU in America, one of the nation’s top five most affordable universities and an institution whose alumni earn more in early career salaries than those of all but one peer campus in the UNC System.
“There is no doubt that Chancellor Martin’s vision and passion for this university have played critical roles in the incredible ascent of A&T,” said Trustee Timothy King, who nominated the naming of ERIC in his honor. “In no place do we see that more than in Engineering, which has been the foundation upon which the university’s national reputation has been built since his service as dean 30 years ago. The Martin Center will serve as a lasting testament to the difference his leadership made.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the basketball seasons of every college team in the U.S. But to North Carolina Central University men’s basketball coach LeVelle Moton, some schools have gotten hit harder than others. In a recent feature published in The News & Observer, Moton shares how the pandemic is highlighting financial inequities among colleges, and how HBCU students are powering through regardless. Find the full piece written by Andrew Carter below.
North Carolina Central University coach LeVelle Moton directs his team on offense against Florida A&M on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at McDougald-Mclendon Arena in Durham, N.C. (Credit: Robert Willett)
LeVelle Moton coaches basketball with an urgency and energy that suggests he doesn’t have much use for his chair on the N.C. Central bench. He does not pace beside the court so much as he sprints along it in short, frenetic bursts. When the action is on the other side of the floor, the sideline seems but a suggestion, what with Moton stepping over it to yell or to encourage.
Sometimes, he strains to contain himself from running out and calling for next, as he might have during a pickup game in his younger years at a playground off of Lane Street in Southeast Raleigh. It has never been easy for Moton, 45 and a bit heavier but still as animated and competitive as during playing days at N.C. Central, to be a bystander.
It wasn’t so long ago, then, that someone who has grown close to Moton during this season, the longest and most difficult of his coaching career, offered him praise for the most basic of acts. For a moment during a recent game, Moton took a seat. He stopped moving. He allowed himself to be and offered a brief impersonation of a man who for once felt like he could finally rest.
“My therapist the other day said, ‘I’m so proud of you,’ ” Moton said during a recent interview, recounting the back-and-forth from one of the sessions that has helped keep him going. “ ‘Like, you just sat on the bench and just weren’t running up and down the sidelines like you normally do.’ ”
Moton’s response: “Why would I?”
“When you’ve practiced 11 times, like what am I demanding?” he asked. “We haven’t formulated any habits. My mom called me and said, ‘That don’t look like a team that you’ve ever coached, going back to middle school.’ And I said, ‘Ma,’ I said, ‘You don’t know a lot of the back stories to a lot of these guys. They’ve been through so much.’”
His players’ pain has had Moton trying to cast aside his own.
***
Perhaps nowhere in the country better illustrates the divide between the haves and have-nots of college athletics than Durham. On the west side of town, where acres of manicured grounds and stone buildings have replaced part of a forest of old pines, is the campus of Duke University.
Its basketball arena, Cameron Indoor Stadium, is one of the sport’s cathedrals; next to it is a high-security, multi-story fortress that encompasses the basketball offices. Duke men’s basketball team, long among the nation’s premier programs, generated $35.5 million in revenue in 2018, the most recent year for which U.S. Department of Education college athletics financial data is available.
Few college basketball programs anywhere exceed the resources of Duke, which can afford to provide its athletes luxuries other schools cannot. Though the pandemic has disrupted college athletics everywhere, to varying degrees, Duke’s basketball team this season has existed in a makeshift bubble at the Washington Duke Inn, a luxury hotel within walking distance of campus. The cheapest room there Saturday night was $288.
About 4.5 miles away, just south of downtown Durham, is the campus of N.C. Central. Duke and Central are both Division I basketball programs, yet the similarities between the two largely end there. In 2018, Central’s men’s basketball program generated roughly 5% of Duke’s revenue — or about $1.7 million, according to the most recently available Department of Education data.
Unlike Duke, Central has not been able to relocate athletes to a hotel. Central’s coach, LeVelle Moton, attributes some of his team’s woes with the coronavirus to its living arrangements, with four players sharing a suite in a dormitory. While Duke, North Carolina and most ACC schools have played at least 20 games this season, N.C. Central, a charter member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, has played just 13, winning only five.
And though he empathized with what athletes everywhere have endured this season, Moton wondered about the arrangements just across town.
“Can you imagine the meals they eat in there?” he asked of Duke’s pandemic hotel. “What guy wouldn’t like to stay at the Washington Duke Inn? So those are adjustments that those programs can make that we just can’t make. We don’t have the funding to be able to continuously pump that into just a hotel stay.
“But that’s what separates the big dogs from the little dog.”
Banners from North Carolina Central University’s appearances in the NCAA Tournament from 2018 and 2019 hang at McDougald-Mclendon Arena in Durham. This season the team is 5-8, and has played only 13 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Credit: Robert Willett)
The college basketball season has reached its holy month, and it has been an extended odyssey for all schools, at all levels. Teams in the so-called Power Five conferences have not been immune to the realities of the pandemic, and the challenges of attempting to forge on through four months of unpredictability.
Throughout the sport, games have been scheduled and called off and rescheduled. Players have been forced into quarantines following positive tests. Teams have endured long stretches without competition, with some marquee programs — North Carolina included — soliciting opponents through social media, as if arranging an after-school run at the neighborhood Y.
And yet perhaps no league has faced a longer road to March than the MEAC, which in men’s basketball includes N.C. Central and 10 other Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The MEAC tournament will begin later this week in Norfolk, Va., and it will be unlike any in recent memory.
For one thing, the Eagles of N.C. Central, who for years have set the standard in their league, are not among the favorites to win. For another, the tournament will include only eight of the league’s 11 teams. Bethune-Cookman and Maryland Eastern Shore opted out of the season before it began. Another MEAC school, Howard, decided to stop playing in February, after its virus-plagued attempt to play ended after only five games.
North Carolina A&T enters the MEAC tournament as perhaps the team to beat, yet it’s not been easy for the Aggies, either. An emphasis on playing as many games as early as possible, A&T coach Will Jones said, led to nagging injuries that have plagued his team. He’s thankful, at least, to have played 21 games.
“I’m pretty sure some HBCUs, like in the MEAC, they decided not to play maybe for having to pay for testing – the testing cost. Is it worth it? Is it better for us just to wait til next year?” Jones said. “Wasn’t able to play those guarantee games to get that extra budget so that you could travel from school to school. So all of those things may have been a piece of it in terms of the HBCU side.”
The opt-outs are one part of a story that has underscored the inequities that define college athletics, and reinforced the dividing line between those schools with the resources — or financial pressure, depending on perspective — to play through a pandemic, and those that thought better of trying. N.C. Central’s start-and-stop-and-start season represents another part of that story.
“Out of 350 Division I teams in the nation, I don’t think anyone’s been hit by this COVID the way we have, and still continued,” Moton said. “I think the teams that got hit remotely close to what we had, or a fraction of what we were going through, they canceled their season.”
But then he asked himself: Is a bad, strange, disrupted season better than none at all?
“We have guys that’s going to graduate,” Moton said. “So if you take basketball away from them, are they incentivized to get through school?”
***
Late last week, Ingrid Wicker McCree, the N.C. Central athletic director since 2008, spent part of an afternoon writing thank you letters to the school’s men’s and women’s basketball players. She said she wanted them to know that it had taken “a lot of courage” to continue playing this season, despite the circumstances.
The men’s team had been forced to quarantine more than any other at Central, where the cost of the pandemic has been especially high. The university recently announced that it would discontinue its baseball program after this season, due to COVID-mandated budget cuts. Central’s football team opted out of a spring season, which the MEAC then canceled.
The teams that have gone on, like men’s and women’s basketball, have made sacrifices, perhaps none greater than the prospect of isolation. At Central, athletes in need of quarantining move into a separate dorm where, as McCree described it, “they’re not even allowed to go outside for fresh air, for those 10 to 14 days.”
“So if you could only imagine just the mental aspect of what they’ve gone through,” she said. “So I really take my hat off to them and to the coaches, to our athletic training staff that’s tried their best to keep them as healthy as possible, because it has been difficult to come off of a 14-day quarantine and then go right back into playing.”
In November, Moton sought advice from an old friend about how the quarantine might affect his players. The friend was serving a prison sentence, and had been incarcerated then for 14 years. The men shared a phone conversation, Moton listening while his friend described the torment of confinement:
“If you want to break this guy down, put him in isolation.”
Months later Moton could still recite parts of the conversation, how his friend said he’d “seen grown men cry and break to their knees when their mama couldn’t come visit them on their birthday.” And now, throughout this long season, it was Moton’s team, a group of barely-adult college basketball players, isolating themselves to play.
“I hate to use the penitentiary reference to Black men — like I hate that part of it,” Moton said. “But it was real. Like, our guys broke. They broke.”
In December, his team had played one game in about two weeks time when North Carolina offered a chance to play at the Smith Center. At the time, Moton said, he had players coming off of quarantines who’d barely practiced.
“I’m like, ‘Dude what do you know?’ ” he said, recounting his speech before the UNC game. “What plays do you know? Because you ain’t been here. What do you know? We’re drawing up plays in the dirt.”
The Eagles lost by only six. They didn’t play again for 49 days.
North Carolina Central University coach LeVelle Moton watches his team on defense against Florida A&M on March 3 at McDougald-Mclendon Arena in Durham. A large banner bearing his likeness and his retired jersey number (15) hangs in honor of his playing days at NCCU from 1992-96. (Credit: Robert Willett)
***
From his seat on the Central bench, if he ever used it, Moton could look to his right, at the wall on one side of McDougald-McLendon Arena, and see himself on a large banner. He remains one of the best players in school history, and his No. 15 has been retired. In the rafters, other banners commemorate the conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances.
This is Moton’s 12th season as Central’s head coach, and when he began in 2009 he inherited a program that had won eight games the previous two seasons, ones part of the transition from Division II dominance in the CIAA to Division I. By Moton’s third season, and Central’s first back in the MEAC since 1979, the Eagles finished with a winning record.
By his fifth, they made the NCAA tournament as a No. 14 seed. Three other NCAA tournament appearances have followed, all of them in consecutive seasons from 2017 through 2019.
The success has made the travails of the past several months especially more painful.
“I just want to get them the best possible experience that they can possibly have,” Moton said of his players, and especially of his seniors. “And the downfall is the embarrassment. The downfall is the disappointment. The downfall is that we’re not very good, nor should we be very good.”
More than once, Moton has dismissed his team early from practice because of a lack of energy, engagement or both. More than once, he has overheard his players expressing apathy about their circumstances — which is the one thing, perhaps above all, that Moton is trying to combat.
In the locker room one day, after the Eagles had already endured a couple of quarantines, Moton casually listened to his players discussing the possibility of a canceled season. He said his senior point guard, Jordan Perkins, reacted with a shrug: “It don’t even matter to me,” Moton heard him say.
“He’s won three consecutive (MEAC) championships as a point guard, and he’s uttering, like, I don’t care if they cancel,” Moton said. “That’s wild. He’s known as a fierce competitor. But he’s saying that because he’s breaking, or broken.”
It has been difficult enough for Moton to keep it together, himself. As much as the pandemic has exacerbated inequities in college athletics, he has observed the same dynamic in his own life. He’s watched how the virus has decimated members of his home community, predominately Black, outside of downtown Raleigh.
In Wake County, 31% of those who’ve died from the virus have been Black. In the past year, Moton said he’s lost five friends to the virus — some of whom he’d known since childhood. They’d grown up together, most of them, and they’d once been kids “who would walk in my home without knocking,” Moton said. One of the friends he lost taught Moton and his older brother how to play basketball.
Another was his childhood best friend, Pat Pulley. He was 47. Moton served as a pallbearer.
“I’ve never been a pallbearer,” he said. “And releasing your friend into the ground — I don’t even have words. It killed me and it crushed me. It still crushes me.”
It bothers Moton that he can’t be as hands-on as he normally would be with his team. That he can’t be as close without fear of catching something and bringing it back to his 73-year-old mother, whom he cares for. For months, he’s walked through her door, set her groceries on a table and walked out without so much as a hug.
“These are the backstories,” Moton said, “that people don’t get an opportunity to see, hear or care about because in basketball our pain has become their entertainment. All they care about is just getting away from their reality and watching us for two hours and having bragging rights.
“That’s all people care about.”
He was talking on the phone, driving, unleashing thoughts he’d been thinking for a while. They weigh on him. A couple days later, he led his team out onto the court before the first of two home games against Florida A&M. As usual, Moton did not take his seat for a good while.
He moved up and down the sideline as his team built a lead. He yanked at his mask to yell at his players. He tried to lead, to give his guys something good in this awful year. Moton only took a seat during timeouts, and after about 10 minutes of game time, but then he was back up again.
He couldn’t help it. Halftime came and went, and so did Central’s lead, and another game ended in defeat. The longest season continued on.
North Carolina Central University coach LeVelle Moton leaves the court following their loss to Florida A&M on March 3 at McDougald-Mclendon Arena in Durham. This season, the team has only played 13 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Credit: Robert Willett)
Over the weekend Erika Johnson, the 114th Miss FAMU, made her family proud as she experienced her coronation celebration. Yet the story of the Florida A&M University student and her ambitious family is one not you hear every day or even every decade. Learn about just how many Johnson family members have held a FAMU crown before Erika in this surprising HBCU legacy story originally written by Skylar Boone in Texas Metro News.
Courtesy of the Johnson Family
Some would say that a profile of the Johnson family would have been ideal for Black History Month, but when you have a family like theirs that is so full of accomplishments, any day and any month is a good one for a celebration. And celebrate is what this family and many, still observing social distancing measures, will do when they witness yet another milestone this weekend, with all eyes on the youngest Johnson, Erika Nicole, at her Miss Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) coronation. Although she has reigned the entire year, this weekend is her big weekend and she is more than deserving of all the pomp and circumstance that comes with this honor.
“Miss FAMU 2020-21, Erika Johnson, has served Florida A&M University with dignity and grace while lifting her voice in service and praise of the University,” said FAMU President Dr. Larry Robinson. “She has successfully fulfilled the legacy of Miss FAMU and within her own family, succeeding her mother and sister, both outstanding alumnae. She was one of the student recipients of the FAMU MLK Leadership Award for her commitment, dedication, and leadership. She has reigned supreme as Miss FAMU.”
And reigning supreme comes naturally for Erika’s family.
Courtesy of the Johnson Family
MEET THE JOHNSONS: Dr. Vivian Bradley Johnson is the Senior Vice President of Clinical Services at Parkland Hospital Systems and a proud graduate of Florida A&M University (FAMU), where the names Bradley and Johnson are legendary; almost as much as they are in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Frederick Johnson, Sr., a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, was a leader on campus, graduating from FAMU’s renowned School of Business and Industry (SBI). He brought those skills to Dallas and is a successful entrepreneur. Vivian served as Miss FAMU her senior year, in 1981, and she said she had no idea that she was beginning what many have dubbed “the royal dynasty” and a true Black History footnote. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Links, Inc. and is also a former vice president of the D-FW FAMU National Alumni Association. She and another FAMU Rattler were the inspiration behind the formation of the Dallas Metroplex Council of Black Alumni Associations.
In 1980, Frederick graduated from FAMU and a job offer helped him decide to move to Dallas. Vivian graduated with a degree in pharmacy and then obtained her doctorate degree and completed a residency in New Orleans. Then the two Lake City, FL. natives tied the knot and settled in the Metroplex where a thriving economy was just the place for an enterprising and successful accountant and a brilliant pharmacist. They immediately became involved in their community; finding a church home at First Baptist Church of Hamilton Park in Richardson, locating other FAMU alumni and friends from their home state and eventually following their plans to start a family. Little did they know it would be one of royalty, FAMU Royalty! Everyone knew that Vivian was a songbird and their three children were also gifted in the arts; whether it’s singing, acting or playing an instrument, so it was only natural that they would find their way to The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL) where some of the most talented artists were either trained, like Erykah Badu; or commanded sold out audiences, like Miss Ruby Dee.
TBAAL founder Curtis King describes Erika as “absolutely, totally amazing.” “Fifty years from now we’ll be talking about her, like we do other greats, like Leontyne Price,” said King. “She’s got that ‘it,’ thing. I recognize it in her. She is an amazing artist and singer and she’s going to be huge.”
MORE OF THE DYNASTY Frederick II (you may recall seeing him on the “Bachelorette” as he tried to capture the heart of the first African American bachelorette Rachel Lindsay), graduated with degrees from both FAMU and FSU the same semester; all while serving as Mister FAMU. Then here comes Michelle Marva, who followed in her mom’s footsteps and was crowned Miss FAMU in 2017.
Both are products of Newman Smith High School and, like their parents, Frederick II is a Kappa and Michelle (her friends call her “Marva”) is an AKA. And if that wasn’t enough Black History, here comes Erika Nicole, the baby of the bunch; who will be crowned Miss FAMU on March 7, 2021 (a little late because of COVID-19). The graduate of the prestigious Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts knew she was going to be asked one question once people knew that she was from that family of not one, but two, Miss FAMUs and a Mister FAMU!
Each Johnson heir to the throne took a different approach on their journey to the crown. Frederick II, was ready to make a change on FAMU’s campus, he was ready to make it “A Different World” as the 12th Mister FAMU. Marva was providing a dream with a “MARVAlous Beginning,” as the 111th Miss FAMU and Erika has recently just brought the university into a “New Era” on the Royal Court for the 2020-2021 academic year. Vivian said that the people, businesses, and loved ones in the Dallas area provided support during each of their campaigns. Getting support in Dallas was a team effort with the Johnson children and their parents.
Courtesy of the Johnson Family
“The Dallas community has been very supportive of our family,” she said. It wasn’t hard to embrace the Johnsons because of their involvement and efforts at home, work, church, schools, and throughout the community. And that school in Tallahassee, FL where such local notables as former Dallas Cowboys Bob Hayes and Nate Newton, businessman and philanthropist Oscar Joyner, 94.5’s Indy B, and former Dallas City Councilwoman Tiffinni Young was always present in their lives. “Even though we were in Dallas, growing up we knew about FAMU and the significance the university had in our family’s hearts,” Erika said. Marva said her mother was very spirited growing up and that even in the church you could see the connection between her mom and other HBCU alums. She also shared she was nervous about running since her mom held the position but had to pray and reflect on her reason for running.
“My mom is the person to remind you of the bigger picture when you are down,” said Marva. “She gives you hope by providing a new perspective on a situation.” The girls said their mom reminds them to look for the positive in everything. During their campaign weeks, each one shared how their mom supported them with encouragement and how their dad also was supporting them through much-appreciated prayer.
REIGNING SUPREME The Johnson family is excited to celebrate the reign of Erika, the 114th Miss Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University for the 2020-2021 academic year. Erika successfully navigated the first-ever completely virtual campaign season in FAMU’s history, executing a well-put-together campaign during a pandemic. After yet another year of serving the college of love and charity with innovation, the Johnson family has worked together to host a virtual crowning celebration before the coronation. Unlike most coronations that include a weeklong of activities with tens of thousands of alumni and friends participating, this new norm is the first of its kind, and family and friends want Erika’s crowning moment to be just as special as in previous years.
Spelman College alumna Stacey Abrams is a woman of influence who has been credited with turning Georgia democratic and assisting in the Biden presidential win. A new profile in Marie Claire is not only highlighting Abrams for the visionary she is, but for the trailblazing fashions she stuns in. Read the story from writer Ashley C. Ford below to see and get to know Abrams like never before!
(Credit: AB + DM Studio)
In the months leading up to the November 2020 presidential election, the name Stacey Abrams was on everybody’s lips. Whenever a pundit or reporter attempted to predict what Georgians would ultimately have to say at the polls—and where that could leave the United States for the next four years (and beyond)—Abrams, often seen in the split-screen video framing we’re all so used to now, would address the concerns of the interviewer reasonably and thoroughly. Yes, she believed Georgia could vote for a Democratic candidate in 2020. No, she wasn’t running for anything at the moment. And finally, always: Register to vote now.
Some criticized Abrams for what they viewed as naivete about her state’s chances to flip from red to blue in the midst of political and social unrest. Who sees progress during a pandemic? Others called her a visionary or a hero based on what they’d read in headlines and Twitter threads. Abrams doesn’t refer to herself as anything other than determined. Visionary and heroare complimentary identifiers but encourage the kind of magical thinking that leads to an abdication of individual civil responsibilities, an outsourcing of collective will into the hands or minds of one or a few people. Passive civic engagement isn’t what Abrams has set out to inspire. “This isn’t magic,” she tells me during a video chat in early January. “This is math. It is maneuvering, but it is also a mental reset of who we are and what we’re capable of.”
Capable could be a dreary description of a person, but for Abrams—a self-described introvert—capability lit a path for potential futures. On the opposite side of that coin, highly competent Black women are always at risk of having their brilliance overused and undervalued. I wonder how Abrams has kept this from happening to her. “I’m aware of my limits,” she says. She admits that she may be guilty of pushing herself beyond those limits at times but doesn’t allow herself to break down: “I give myself permission to step back.”
Sansovino 6 poncho and dress (Credit: AB + DM Studio)
At least some of the time, stepping back looks like writing. Abrams has written eight romance novels under the pen name Selena Montgomery. Her first thriller, While Justice Sleeps, about a young SCOTUS clerk who finds herself in the middle of a controversial case, will be published under Abrams’s own name on May 11. “Writing is cathartic, but it’s also demonstrative,” she explains. “It is how I can tell about other parts of me and get to explore things and ideas that I’m interested in without having to create another life and find another 30 hours in a day.” She adds, “It’s also how I can continue to connect.” Abrams is part of a robust network of writers in the romance community, including three who joined together to support her in her day job, soliciting approximately $400,000 for Georgia Democrats through their Romancing the Runoff fundraiser. Though Abrams has used a pseudonym for many of her books, she’s hugely proud of her work in the oft-belittled romance genre. “I am honored to be in the company of women—and some good men—who are discounted because of who they are, because of what they do, and because of their audacity of imagination.”
It would have been easy for Abrams to simply retreat into her writing in the aftermath of her 2018 gubernatorial loss. Instead, she went right back to serving the communities she’d wanted to serve as Georgia’s governor. “When you’re trying to build for a future, if you’re only building for your future, you are destined to fail.” She pauses and adds, “Unless you happen to be a billionaire or you come from a certain political class I have never actually occupied.”
Being the daughter of working-class, sometimes working-poor, pastors prepared Abrams for a life of service, ingrained in her a sense of duty, and made her understand this fundamental thing about humans: We have to work together because we need one another. Nothing magic about that. Just math. “My success is tied at the most base level with the success of my people, and my people are the South,” she says. “My people are Americans. My people are people of color. My success can only ever be real if I’m doing it for the success of others.”
Success arrived on November 12. On that Thursday, the Associated Press finally called Georgia, declaring that the people had elected Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, to the highest offices in the country. My Twitter timeline flooded with exaltations and questions. Tweet after tweet mentioned Stacey Abrams, thanking her, rooting for her. Some simply wrote out the letters of her name. Anyone who had ever met her posted a photo of the two together. There were memes and reminders that she wasn’t the only one to have a hand in the achievement: shout-outs for the work of activists like LaTosha Brown, cofounder of Black Voters Matter, or members of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, among others. One user asked Abrams what she wanted for her birthday (she would turn 47 on December 9), and within minutes, numerous others offered to pitch in on whatever her heart desired. What does she want?
I want to be defending voting rights,” Abrams tells me. (If it’s at all surprising that the luminary doesn’t name an expensive car or a vacation, well, you haven’t been listening.) “I want us to effectively leverage the census and redistricting, and I want us to serve the disproportionately harmed communities. I want us to rebuild the public infrastructure of the South, using COVID not as an excuse for what was broken but as a template for what we need to do right.”
While the Twitterverse celebrated, Abrams encouraged those reading, watching, and listening to feel the surge of bliss that follows victory, but then to remember when it is time to get back to work and push further forward. For Abrams, that meant continuing to do what she’d been doing for months: making sure Georgians could and would exercise their right to choose their representatives, this time in the runoff election on January 5. She popped up as a panelist on The View and NBA on TNT. As I settled in for the digital quarantine party Verzuz—this episode a showdown between Jeezy and Gucci Mane—Abrams appeared again, encouraging voters to register and wishing both rappers good luck even if, no, she couldn’t wipe anyone’s record clean. She knew where the voters were, and she met them there. She stayed on message. It was never rocket science. Somebody just had to do it. Abrams showed up.
Ten years ago, Lauren Groh-Wargo was living and working in Columbus, Ohio, helping leaders build political structures in their states. A wealthy donor mentioned Abrams as an impressive voice, and Groh-Wargo made “the only cold-call consulting pitch of my life.” Since then, she’s been by Abrams’s side in her most ambitious forays into the wilds of political policy and representation, acting first as a consultant and then cofounding the voting-rights organization Fair Fight in 2018. When you see Abrams building something new, Groh-Wargo is behind the scenes pulling strings, taking notes, and affirming her faith in not only Abrams but also the progress being made. “She just doesn’t do politics from a position of fear, and way too many Democratic consultants, candidates, operatives function from a position of fear,” Groh-Wargo says, offering perhaps part of the secret to Abrams’s success. “It’s been so fulfilling,” she says wistfully, then adds, “It’s also been incredibly hard, with a ton of personal sacrifice.”
Sergio Hudson coat dress; Tiffany & Co. earrings and necklace (Credit: AB + DM Studio)
When Rev. Raphael Warnock was announced as the projected winner of his seat for the Senate, Abrams went to Groh-Wargo’s house. “When we won the runoff and Stacey came over to say ‘hey,’ my wife [said], ‘I’m not going to say it’s been easy, but at this moment it feels worth it,’” says Groh-Wargo. “And I’m like, ‘That’s the quote.’ Put it on my grave. It has not been easy, but it certainly does seem worth it now.”
Abrams doesn’t expect anything worthwhile to be easy. She doesn’t expect perfection. All she asks, and what she gives unceremoniously, is focus. And when those who would follow her lead focus, the things they assumed could never happen seem to keep…happening. On the morning of January 6, it became clear that formerly deep-red Georgia would be sending not only its first Black senator to Washington but also its first Jewish senator in Jon Ossoff. Two Democratic victories meant that Vice President Kamala Harris would hold the power of the tiebreaking vote.
But that same day, a white rage boiled just down the road from the Capitol. By afternoon, a mob breached the Senate chamber. When I ask Abrams how it made her feel to watch this happen, she is both clear-eyed and resolute in her response: “I’m certainly always dismayed by the level of treachery that we saw on [January 6], but I wouldn’t say that that is new.” Abrams isn’t alone in her feeling that in times like these, disgust and disappointment are on the menu, but it’s hard for Black folks especially to swallow surprise. “When I see the surprise, the aghast reaction, I think what people are reacting to is the immediacy of their interaction with this, but they forget about the years of conditioned exposure that so many more of us have lived with.
“I grew up in the state of Mississippi, where the Confederate battle flag was the state flag,” she continues. “I moved to Georgia, where the Confederate battle flag was incorporated into the state flag, where you could not enter a bank or the state capitol without this waving notion of what you should expect inside. I don’t have the capacity for surprise at this.”
I ask her what it feels like when she wins, and she’s silent. I ask if she ever feels like she’s won. She answers quickly: “No.”
Sergio Hudson coat dress; Tiffany & Co. earrings and necklace; Kahmune shoes (Credits: AB + DM Studio)
That’s hard to believe, considering the progress she’s seen in just the last few months. Truthfully, she does think of those moments—Georgia turning blue, the Senate turning to the Democrats—as victories. It’s just that the idea of an ultimate and everlasting win doesn’t fit into the context of her work or her faith. “Because there’s nothing permanent about the change that we’re making until people believe it’s a change they should defend and maintain. And so every election, every fight, you’ve got to remind people that they have the capacity to win, and you have to do it anew.”
Abrams isn’t in it to remind you of the power she wields as much as to activate your understanding for how much power you wield. And how that power can be used toward a collective good. Most people, she believes, don’t realize how much they can do because they don’t already know how to do everything they want. In addition to that, sometimes they’re actively being misled about their options. “One of the most successful gaslighting operations in American history has been the disinformation [campaign] about our power, and because so many pieces of our society have been weaponized against us, we’ve also been conditioned to believe that weaponization is innate, that what they are doing is the right thing, and everything we’re asking for is a departure.”
Extinguishing the gaslight is what organizations like Fair Fight, Fair Count, and the Southern Economic Advancement Project are working to do. There’s a long line of leaders from coast to coast who believe they can do the same in their own reliably red states. Groh-Wargo shakes her head a bit and smiles. “Everybody’s like, ‘We want Stacey to fix our state. Lauren, can you come fix our state?’ And I’m like, ‘Guys, it’s just been 10 years of really hard work.’ There’s not a magic bullet. You’ve got to see the full playing field. You got to fix the party. And it’s just hard. It’s just hard.”
Hard but not impossible, says Abrams. Despite my digging, she can’t or won’t tell me about any plans to run for office again (though Republican strategists in the Peach State are so fearful of her, they’ve already set up an opposition research group called Stop Stacey), but she will continue to make sure more people have the option to do so, elevating the policies that lead toward equality for all. When pressed for specifics, she asserts that COVID-19 relief should be the top priority for now, and then she wants to see democracy reform at the federal level, “because an eligible voter’s geography shouldn’t determine the quality of their policy.” She wants voters’ rights expanded, statehood for the District of Columbia, and self-determination for Puerto Rico. The census, she says, was perverted by the Trump administration and will determine what happens to $1.5 trillion in funding. There’s so much to do, it’s hard to imagine it can all get done, but Abrams, ever clear, sees a way forward.
She has more to add about why she will continue to do this work right where she is instead of in D.C. or anywhere else. “If you can do it [in Georgia], you can prove that it is possible in enclaves that have given up. If you can do this stuff in the Deep South”—she looks directly into the camera—“if you can elect a Black Southern preacher and a Jewish son of an immigrant to the U.S. Senate while Donald Trump sits in the White House, then, by God, everything else is possible.”
Thom Browne cape; Tory Burch top; LaPointe for 11 Honoré pants; White Space earrings; Bernard James bracelet; Sarah Flint shoes (Credit: AB + DM Studio)
The talents of executive Gary B. Crosby, Ph. D. at Alabama A&M University has caught the talent of a university that’s never quite had his representation in leadership. Crosby has not only held a leadership position at an HBCU, but he also received his master’s degree from Jackson State University. Read the full release from Saint Elizabeth University below to discover what his new role is and why it’s so significant!
Gary B. Crosby (Credit: Speaking’ Out News)
Gary B. Crosby, Ph.D., vice president for student affairs at Alabama A&M University (AAMU), has been unanimously selected by the Saint Elizabeth University (SEU) Board of Trustees to serve as the institution’s eighth president. Crosby is the first African American and first male president in the University’s 121-year history.
“Saint Elizabeth University is excited to welcome Dr. Crosby to our community. His mission-driven strategic approach is an excellent fit with SEU’s legacy and the major transformation our institution has undergone over the past eight years,” said Elizabeth M. Renyi, chair of the SEU Board of Trustees. “We look forward to working with him as we continue to grow, expand and diversify through the ongoing evolution of SEU.”
Recognized for his student-centered, mission-oriented and transformational leadership, Crosby brings nearly 20 years of innovative and progressive administrative experience in higher education.
Since joining AAMU in 2015, Crosby has been directly involved in university-wide strategic planning, management and advancement through the leadership of key operations such as enrollment management (admissions and recruitment, financial aid and registrar); student support services; diversity and inclusion; and, student activities and leadership development.
While at AAMU, Crosby also played a significant role in strengthening student outcomes in humanities, STEM and business disciplines through external partnerships; chaired AAMU’s COVID-19 task force; led initiatives to significantly diversify revenue; and, redesigned the overall student experience.
“I am deeply honored to join Saint Elizabeth University as its eighth president. I thank the SEU Board of Trustees for their vote of confidence in me,” said Crosby. “I was drawn to SEU’s history of service in leadership to others, as well as its longstanding proactive commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Its focus on social justice, dating back to the institution’s founding by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, is more critical today than ever. I look forward to advancing the University’s mission while supporting the opportunities and programs that make SEU a place I want to call home.”
Prior to joining AAMU, Crosby served in various capacities at Jackson State University (JSU). While at JSU, he secured a multi-million dollar grant from the United States Department of Education in support of faculty and student research, leadership development, and scholarships. He also played a major role in the University’s successful reaffirmation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
(Credit: Rutgers University)
Crosby succeeds Helen J. Steubert, Ed.D., who will continue to lead the University until her retirement on June 30, 2021. Streubert was appointed the first lay president of then-College of Saint Elizabeth in 2013.
During her eight-year tenure, Streubert guided SEU through a period of dramatic transformation focused on continuing to provide a high-quality education to those who may not have had access to one. This included transitioning to fully coeducational in 2016 with a platform that furthered the commitment to the development of women’s leadership, the addition of health care programs and becoming a university in July 2020.
A native of Hattiesburg, Miss., Crosby holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from The University of Southern Mississippi. He also holds a master’s degree in political science and a doctorate in urban and regional planning from Jackson State University. In addition, he is a 2019-2020 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow at Rutgers University-Newark, holds a certificate in Educational Management from Harvard University and is a 2016 Protégé of the Millennium Initiative of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
Crosby and his wife, Larissia, are the parents of one daughter, Julia.
This weekend’s NBA All-Star game was the most unprecedented yet. The COVID-19 pandemic discouraged fans from coming, but yet it also left a benefactor: HBCUs! Learn how they came out on top in this story originally posted on CNN from Amir Vera and Kevin Dotson.
While Team LeBron defeated Team Durant 170-150to win the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, the real winners of the night were historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
The league generated $3 million in donations for HBCUs and made sure every element of the event was geared toward promoting the schools, according to the NBA. Thanks to their win, Team LeBron raised $1.25 million for the Thurgood Marshall Fund. Team Durant also raised $500,000 for The United Negro College Fund.
The game and festivities around the All-Star game were different this year — many of the events that usually take place over a series of days took place in one night. Fans still got to see the amazing dunks, smooth passing and effortless three-pointers. They also got a look into the what HBCUs have to offer.
Atlanta, where the game took place, is home to the largest consortium of private HBCUs in the world — Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University (CAU) and the Morehouse School of Medicine — collectively known as the Atlanta University Center (AUC), according to the consortium’s website.
“It was part of the reason why we’re here in Atlanta,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told the league. “This was an opportunity to focus on the HBCUs.”
As part of that effort to promote and honor these schools, the court was designed by HBCU artists.
Marching bands from Florida A&M University and Grambling State University performed the intros for Team LeBron and Durant, and CAU’s Philharmonic Society Choir performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — also known as a Black National Anthem.
Gladys Knight, an alumna of Shaw University, sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The refereeing crew consisted of HBCU graduates from Norfolk State University, Southern University and CAU. “I’m so happy the NBA is celebrating our HBCUs,” Vice President Kamala Harris, an alumna from Howard University, told actor Michael B. Jordan on Sunday.
There are more than 100 HBCUs across the US, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. Most of them were formed after the Civil War to provide educational opportunities for enslaved people who were now free.While they represent about 3% of the higher education institutions, at least 17% of bachelor’s degrees by African Americans come from HBCUs, according to the United Negro College Fund.
