FAMU Alum Creates Documentary To Explore The Relationship Between Basketball & The Streets

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More Than Basketball, the brand, was founded in 2009, by then 21-year-old Arize Ifejika and it is set to release its next film “Wicked Jumpshot” on December 16.

Over the last 10 years Ijefika’s company has produced short films, docuseries, web series, documentaries, event recaps and more!

The company shares, “we have long believed that the games of basketball has always been about more than what happens on the court. It’s a culture, a lifestyle, a tool for life lessons, an art, a business and most importantly a means to unite people from all different walks of life. The platform that is created from our events has allowed us to leverage the other verticals of our business!”

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The Undefeated Players pictured with Arize Ijefika, center

The decade-old company is just getting started and has been featured in ESPN’s “Undefeated,” The Washington Post and Channel 8 News.

Wicked Jumpshot features basketball stars such as Quinn Cook, Isaiah Thomas, John Wall, Carmelo Anthony, Kyle Anderson, Jayson Tatum, Max Kellerman and Wayno. The film explores a dynamic relationship between basketball players, their love for the game and a conflicting resistance to the environment around them, often being drug and gun related. The official trailer says,

“The relationship between the rapstar, the trapstar and the hooper it’s nothing new; whether in the booth, on the court, or on the Ave… it all begins in the neighborhood.

Watch the official trailer:

The company More Than Basketball consists of 6 verticals:

  • Elite Youth Basketball Events
  • Film & Media
  • Technology
  • Merchandising & Apparel
  • Public Speaking
  • Community Outreach.

Learn more about Arize Ifejika, More Than Basketball and its latest press and projects at morethanbasketball.com.

Suspect In Hate Crime Murder Of Bowie State Student Plays The White Sympathy Card

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Newsone reporter Adrian Moore shares, The hate crime trial is underway for a University of Maryland student accused of the fatal stabbing of Bowie State University student Richard Collins III back in May 2017.

Sean Urbanski and Richard Collins III
Source: University of Maryland Police & Facebook / University of Maryland Police & Facebook

According to WJLA, Prince George’s County prosecutors are saying Sean Urbanski killed Collins, who was visiting UMD’s campus, because Urbanski was biased against Black people. Meanwhile, the defense seems to be playing the old white sympathy card, saying Urbanski was drunk and upset about his friends graduating a year ahead of him.

Prosecutors kicked off the trial Wednesday, telling jurors that Urbanski had “poisoned” his mind beginning in 2016 with offensive humor and racist imagery. They argued that when he saw newly commissioned Army 2nd Lt. Richard Collins with a white man and an Asian woman at a University of Maryland bus stop, he carried out a targeted, premeditated murder.

They directly said in court that Urbanski “killed Collins for no reason other than he was Black.” The evidence they cited included racist memes on his phone and his apparent Facebook membership to a racist White Supremacist group called “Alt-Reich: Nation.” Read more via Newsone.

Small Business Administration Works With HBCUs To Foster Entrepreneurship

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In a report shared by the Government Accountability Office: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) educated more than 226,000 African-American students pursuing a college degree in 2017.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) worked with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to foster entrepreneurship, primarily through its Small Business Development Center program (which provides counseling and training), strategic alliance memorandums, and co-sponsorship agreements.

Two HBCUs—Howard University and the University of the Virgin Islands—have hosted SBDC “lead centers” since the 1980s. SBA also signed at least 35 strategic alliance memorandums with HBCUs and at least 16 co-sponsorship agreements in 2013–2018.

Read more via the United States Government Accountability Office.

HBCU Alumna, Rep. Frederica Wilson Gives Sec. of Education Betsy DeVos A Piece Of Her Well-Educated Mind

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Rep. Frederica Wilson is an politician, but one may questions if she is also an educator, because she schooled Secretary of Education, DeVos.

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Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida is a proud graduate of Fisk University. Earlier this week, Wilson posed many questions for Secretary Betsy DeVos… many of which received no substantive answer.

Watch the entire video:

Howard University Grad Kamala Harris Teams Up With Maxine Waters On $13 Billion Plan To End Homelessness

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Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who is running for president, introduced a bill Thursday that would invest billions more dollars in affordable housing and other initiatives to prevent homelessness. 

The “Ending Homelessness Act,” which was co-sponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), would give an additional $13.27 billion over five years to create an estimated 400,000 affordable housing units. 

The funds would go to supportive housing, including homeless shelters and transitional housing, as well as housing vouchers for low-income families and local outreach services to homeless residents.  

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) introduced a similar bill in the House in March, which passed in committee and is expected to go to the House floor.

“Too many people don’t have a safe place to call home. We must act quickly to tackle our country’s homelessness crisis head on,” Harris said in a news release. “The women and men who woke up this morning on a bench or under an overpass cannot afford to wait.” 

The lack of affordable housing is a nationwide crisis, and California has one of the highest rates of homelessness. On any given day in January 2018, more than 500,000 people were homeless in the U.S., according to a federal report. 

Nearly a quarter of the nation’s homeless residents live in California. In the past two years, homelessness has spiked in Los Angeles, parts of which Waters represents, and the San Francisco Bay Area, where Harris is from and had served as district attorney. 

Read more here.

Round Up For Ronald McDonald House Charities, Support Mobile Healthcare

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WASHINGTON, DC — McDonald’s launched the Round Up for RMHC campaign to make it easier than ever for customers to donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Round Up is an exciting initiative that embraces the holiday spirit of giving all year long. When customers make a purchase at McDonald’s, they are presented with the option to “round up for charity,” and donate the change left to form a full dollar, to The Ronald McDonald House Charities. According to McDonald’s website there are also other ways you can give. “Every time you buy a Happy Meal®, we donate a penny to support RMHC programs and services, including Ronald McDonald House®, Ronald McDonald Family Room® and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile®.”

Attendees were able to order their lunch and try out the new kiosks to round up for charity. Team members from healthcare partner, MedStar, Division Chief of Community Pediatrics at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Dr. Janine Rethy and Program Administrator, Community Pediatric Joanne Odom also guided attendees on a personal tour inside the surprisingly spacious and doctors office-reminiscent mobile unit, showing how they administer services to patients:

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile is a mobile unit that brings medical, dental and health care resources to under-served communities. Many of these underserved neighborhood are home to the nation’s historically black colleges and universities. In the Greater Washington area, a partnership with MedStar was established in 1992, providing excellence and quality care. There are over 38 Ronald McDonald Care Mobile programs in the U.S.

The Hudson family shared their appreciation for the Ronald McDonald House. With tears in her eyes, Kristie shared testimony of how it impacted her family. Kristie and Kevin do not have access to specialized pediatric care where they live in Delaware so they had no choice but to travel. After driving 3 hours each day to Washington DC so their then one-year-old son Merrick could receive medical care he needed, it was not feasible to drive another 3 hours to return to their home. The Hudson’s were able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House which is about 5 minutes away from the hospital, free of charge! This is why programs like RMHC are so important!

The Hudson family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Northeast DC.

In the DC, Maryland and Virginia area alone, McDonald’s owners/operators and customers have donated more than $13.5million to the RMHC-DC over the last 20 years. This is a substantial amount, but last year McDonald’s saw a 15% drop in the amount of spare change collected in its RMCH Donation Boxes inside the restaurants. Now customers can create change without a single coin!

The House has reached several impressive milestones, last year funding care for the families of more than 10,000 children and covering care costs for more than 884 family members of sick children at RMHC-DC.

McDonalds’ team members including Angele Busch of McDonald’s Brand Reputation and Julia More of Lee St. PR Agency along with owners and operators Isaac Green, Carlos Mateos Jr. and Bryan Cleghorn showed their support by attending.

Green shares, “. . .we as McDonald’s, by using technology to our advantage, give the customer an opportunity to give back and help donate to the Ronald McDonald House. It may not be you today, but it could be you tomorrow that has a child that may need to utilize the Ronald McDonald House in the future.”

Ronald McDonald House Charities, Greater Washington executives were also in attendance, VP of Development and Marketing Sarah Quillen and Asst. Director of Marketing and Communications, Rachel Taninecz, smiling as big as the smiley faces on happy meals.

The weather may have been a bit rainy outside, but the with all of the cheer and excitement in the air, the forecast inside the restaurant was 100% sunny and very warm.

Learn more about Ronald McDonald House Charities and how you can support smiles and local healthcare in your community today.

Presidential Candidate Tom Steyer Reveals $125 Billion Plan For HBCUs

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Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer speaks at Allen University in Columbia on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019. Jamie Lovegrove/Staff

COLUMBIA — Jamie Lovegrove of The Post and Courier reports, Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer on Tuesday proposed investing $125 billion over 10 years in historically black colleges and universities as he works to gain ground in the early-voting primary state of South Carolina.

By spending millions of his own personal fortune on the campaign, the billionaire former hedge fund manager and longtime liberal activist has risen from a little-known outsider to become a credible contender in the polls and a fixture on the Democratic debate stages.

His HBCU proposal would also promote studies in innovation, foster community partnerships and establish a Board of Regents to oversee all 101 institutions nationwide — eight of which can be found in the Palmetto State.

Steyer sat down with The Post and Courier to talk more about his proposal and campaign. The following transcript has been edited and condensed.

Why do you believe it is important to spend this much money on HBCUs?

These are institutions that were designed specifically to combat historic racism and prejudice, that do fulfill those roles and that have been starved for capital. If you take a look, they have seen 42 percent of their federal funding disappear from 2003 to 2015. These are schools that have relied traditionally disproportionately on tuition. So we have the poorest people with institutions that don’t have great state support or equivalent state support, don’t have great federal support and don’t have huge endowments. So they’ve really been struggling economically at the same time that they’re at least as critical as they’ve ever been in terms of offering that opportunity to low-income African Americans. So it’s really important that these institutions for a variety of reasons be supported and strengthened. Read more via The Post and Courier.

80-Year-Old Receives Degree At Alabama A&M University

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When the more than 400 Alabama A&M University undergraduate and graduate students walk across the stage to receive their degrees on Friday, December 6, positioned proudly among them will be an 80-year-old social work major from Birmingham, Ala.

Donzella Washington was born in Memphis, Tenn., but was raised in Los Angeles.  While in California, she met her husband, a tall, handsome man from Bakersfield, at a church.  They had both been praying for a special person to enter their lives, and she truly believes the Spirit led them to each other.

The couple lived on a farm in Pixley, Calif., located in Tulare County, between Bakersfield and Fresno until his death.  During their decades on the farm, however, some 30 foster children, intertwined with their own, called the farm home and left to make their marks on the world.   That lot now includes an attorney, radiation technologist, master electrician, professor and other professionals.

Washington recalls that as a child she stuttered badly, and it had a major impact on her self-esteem.  She eventually overcame it, but she was well into her thirties and had to take four speech classes at the College of the Sequoias to defeat the problem.  In the end, she slowly gained her confidence and was able to manage her thoughts and to be patient with herself.

In her early adult years, her loving husband was always there for her, she said, encouraging her to take bigger steps and to broaden her horizons.  Although she ventured into real estate at a local bank for 18 years, she never really found the time to complete a college degree. 

After her husband died, Washington eventually moved to live with her daughter in Fultondale, Ala., a northern Birmingham suburb.  She later read about a satellite program that AAMU operated on the Lawson State Community College campus down in Birmingham.  Soon, she started taking courses in 2013, testing the waters with just a course or two. 

On Friday, December 6, at the Von Braun Center at 1 p.m., Washington will achieve a dream she dedicates to her late husband.  She will receive her degree in social work, graduating magna cum laude with a 3.64 GPA.  She achieved a 4.0 during her final semester.

In an interview conducted with Washington by AAMU President Andrew Hugine, Jr., the 80-year-old said she wants to inspire the old and young to believe in themselves and their ability to achieve.

When asked about her next step, she told Dr. Hugine that she can envision herself going into nursing homes on a quest to inspire others.  She added that she has even considered returning for her master’s.

Donate To HBCUs

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Year-round, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUS) tend to be overlooked and underfunded. That can impact the ability for schools to hire adequate faculty, offer more classes, compete in sports, keep housing updated and more. To help, we have compiled a list of HBCUs that could use your help. These colleges make it easy by allowing donors to give online with a credit card. Many make it even easier by accepting donations through PayPal, by phone, mail, and even recurring gifts.

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Please email us if your school needs to be added to the list.

Bernie Sanders Unveils Substantive Plan To Support HBCUs

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On the heels of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (D-Vt) HBCU tour last week, the 2020 presidential candidate has released the most substantive plan to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities of the Democratic field, according to a release.

Sanders proposes a multi-billion dollar plan to make private and public HBCUs tuition-free, an Executive Order to eradicate systemic racism impairing HBCUs, the cancelation of burdening public loan debt held by HBCUs, and targeted funding to address disparities in health care, education, and agriculture affecting Black people and other marginalized communities. 

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks to a crowd of HBCU students on the campus of Morehouse College.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BERNIE SANDERS SPEAKS TO A CROWD OF HBCU STUDENTS ON THE CAMPUS OF MOREHOUSE COLLEGE.

Additionally, Sanders will dedicate $5 billion to expand HBCU and MSI teaching programs and an additional $5 billion to recruit, train, and retain Black K-12 teachers. His plan also ensures teachers will receive a minimum $60,000 per year salary. 

Sanders also set aside billions of dollars in Green New Deal research funds for HBCUs and MSIs to make sure occupied and targeted Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities “who are most predisposed to the effects of climate change, are guaranteed a role in an expansive plan to transform our country’s energy system and create 20 million new jobs,” according to his campaign’s press release.

 “All over this country, too many HBCUs have struggled financially from a lack of federal resources, they’ve suffered from a drop in enrollment and from crushing institutional debt. And yet today, the need for HBCUs and the education they provide has never been greater,” Sanders said during an event at Morehouse College, which drew 2,000 people.

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As the Sanders’ campaign notes, “Had student debt been canceled in 2016, the wealth gap between Black families under the age of 40 and their white counterparts would have shrunk from 12 to 1 where it is today, to 5 to 1.”

Sanders’ 2020 National Co-Chair Nina Turner, National Press Secretary Briahna Joy Gray, HBCU Outreach Coordinator, and surrogates Phillip Agnew and Ja’Mal Green met with students at Tennessee State University, Alabama State University and Tuskegee University, before the tour culminated at Morehouse.

Lizzo’s New “Good As Hell” Video Features Southern University’s Marching Band

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Lizzo has released another video for her hit single “Good As Hell,” released in 2016.

In the new video, you’ll notice the superstar on the campus of an HBCU, Southern University and A&M College, to be exact. Glimpses of campus —the classroom, field, locker room and school bus— are all throughout the 3min and 45 sec video… and Lizzo even sports the uniform of the marching band, Human Jukebox.

Watch the official video here:

At the end of the video, Lizzo sends a special thanks to the Human Jukebox and The Fabulous Dancing Dolls.

Military Veterans Give Leadership Advice To Cadets During ROTC Leadership Week

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Seasoned military personnel visited Alcorn State University to engage with cadets from the Department of Military Science about being quality leaders.

The Department recently hosted its inaugural ROTC Week. Several alumni veterans participated in various panels in the J. D. Boyd Library Medgar Evers Auditorium. The veterans talked to the cadets about the tools for a successful career in the military and other professions.

One of the speakers was Maj. Gen. Donna Martin, a commanding general of the United States Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. She spoke to the students about exiting their comfort zones and being open and honest about the issues they face. She encouraged them to let their voices be the instruments that enforce positive changes in the future.

“I want you all to take advantage of the opportunity to talk when in the presence of a senior leader,” said Martin. “Open up and talk about the issues that are important to you because the next generation of the Army is not mine, it’s yours. My responsibility is to teach and provide guidance to you and the rest of the next generation of leaders.”

Martin also shared with the cadets about building a reputation that fits a good leader.

“As you grow up in the Army, people will describe you. It is up to you how those people will describe you, so you must display good leadership qualities such as being approachable, charismatic, courageous, and being a good person.”

Other panelists gave cadets advice about carrying the torch into the future. Cyrus Russ, assistant vice president for Athletic Compliance and Academic Services and U.S. Army veteran, advised the students to gain trust by being there for their peers, colleagues, and fellow soldier.

“My priority always has been to build trust,” said Russ. “My soldiers had to have confidence that I would be there to deliver every time. I had to show them that I was always willing to sacrifice for them. Once you gain trust, your troops will follow you anywhere. If you apply this principle to the military and your personal and professional lives, you will be successful at building a good foundation.”

Another Alcornite, Sector Commander/Capt. Kevin Reed, for the United States Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, spoke on the importance of displaying excellent customer service.

“While at Alcorn, I learned to under-promise and over-deliver,” said Reed. “There may be times where you won’t have the answer, but you may have some insight or interpersonal connections that you have developed through others. These qualities connect with your reputation because you then become the person who is willing to go the extra mile to help someone with what they need. Your assistance goes a long way in building your reputation and getting jobs in the future.”

The students gave positive feedback about the Department’s first ROTC event, and they look forward to future engagement programs.

Central State University Aquaponics Day

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Join Central State University (CSU) Extension and Ohio State University (OSU) Extension for a tour of the aquaponics facilities at CSU. Participants will be able to view a working system growing tilapia and lettuce. A second larger system is being built inside a greenhouse on the CSU Research Farm for demonstration and participants will be able to see the progress.

The tour will take place on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 from 4 p.m.— 5:30 p.m. at the Central State University Greenhouse located in front of the Center for Education & Natural Sciences Building located on 1523 State Route 42 Wilberforce, Ohio.  Enter through the main campus entrance off State Route 42 (watch for signs).

This free event also includes presentations by Matt Smith, Aquaculture Specialist, OSU Extension; Dr. Krishna Kumar Nedunuri, CSU Water Quality Specialist; and Dr. Cindy Folck, CSU Extension.

To register emailDr. Cindy Folck afolck@centralstate.edu and use subject line: Aquaponics.

About Central State University:

Central State University, located in Wilberforce, Ohio, is a regionally accredited 1890 Land-Grant University with a 132-year tradition of preparing students from diverse backgrounds and experiences for leadership, research and service. The University, which has been named 2017 HBCU of the Year byHBCU Digest, fosters academic excellence within a nurturing environment and provides a strong liberal arts foundation and STEM-Ag curriculum leading to professional careers and advanced studies globally.

SCLC Founding Member And 3-Time HBCU Grad, Dr. D.O. Simpkins Dies At 94

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SHREVEPORT TIMES – C.O. Simpkins was a founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1960 and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. until King’s death in 1968.ADVERTISING

Simpkins was born in 1925 in Mansfield. He left the state to attend college — at Wiley College in Texas and Tennessee State University, where he received his undergraduate degree.

He pursued dentistry,earning a Doctorate of Dental Surgery from Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry in Nashville, Tennessee.

Simpkins served in the Air Force until 1951 and he returned to Shreveport to practice dentistry. Read more via Shrevepoint Times.

Morehouse School of Medicine Professor Discusses Unique Mental Health Risks

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WebMD shares: Gail Mattox, MD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, has been working for more than 30 years as a psychiatrist.

She has gotten grant funding to take a deeper look into behavioral health in a university setting, particularly at historical black universities like Morehouse.

Kisha Holden, PhD, is a psychologist who worked with Mattox to address health disparities and health issues that may be problems in various communities.

“We both believe that the mental health of the African American community is important,” Holden says. “We try to look at our students from a holistic and comprehensive perspective.”

Because primary care doctors may not recognize or know how to diagnose mental health issues, Holden says it’s important to get beyond the initial clinical setting.

They look to find out what is happening to the whole self, “and not exclusively at what their presenting problem may be at a medical facility.”

“We want to look deeper into the issues that contribute to or prompt some of the health problems they see. We’re pulling the Band-Aid back and looking at what may be some of the underlying problems,” she says.

Getting out of the clinical setting is key, Holden says. It’s difficult enough to get people to voluntarily come in for an appointment.

“Try and meet the patient or potential patient where they are,” she says. “Go into the community and have trust. Have stakeholders important in that community, and respecting them is certainly a part of how we build the trust and subsequently connect them to care.”

“We would go out to the community church and school and be part of the community to be aware of the signs and symptoms of psychological illness and the importance of overall health.” Read more via WebMD.

On His 100th Birthday, Tuskegee Airman Takes To The Skies To Celebrate

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FREDERICK, Md. (WUSA) — Most birthdays don’t involve a $3 million private jet, but Charles McGee wanted to celebrate his 100th birthday in the air.

“It took me a half-second to decide,” Boni Calderia of Cirrus Aircraft, who was asked to take McGee flying, said. 

The former Tuskegee Airman from Bethesda turns 100 on Saturday, and said as he climbed into the pilot’s seat of a Cirrus Vision Jet, that his birthday was not about him.

“Aviation is an important technology and something we hope all youngsters get an interest in,” McGee said, surrounded by local and national media covering the celebration at Frederick Municipal Airport.

During World War II, white pilots went home after 50 missions, but McGee flew 136 flights over Nazi Europe. McGee then served in Korea and Vietnam and earned the Congressional Gold Medal.

Calderia said the centenarian was young again at the controls, even though the jet was hardly the P-51 fighter McGee flew in World War II.

“He’s mentally ahead of me,” Calderia said, noting that McGee “hand flew” without the aid of autopilot for almost all of the flight. “He’s still looking forward—to me that’s what keeps him going. It’s truly inspiring. No matter what your age, you have a contribution to make.”

The pair flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware before returning to cheers in Frederick.

Before going into a hangar birthday party, McGee said he hopes to inspire everybody– especially young people– to take flight.

“It’s so important that everything we do is an inspiration for them and moving them in the right direction,” McGee said.