Spelman Grad Set To Become Youngest Black Cannabis Dispensary Owner

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
Hope Wiseman is a 25-year-old set to become the country’s youngest black female owner of a cannabis dispensary.

The dispensary, Mary and Main, is set to open in winter 2018 in Prince George’s County, Maryland. It will offer medical marijuana in the form of a variety of products. With a medical recommendation, customers will be able to buy cannabis sativa and indica at Wiseman’s shop, as well as cannabis tea, edibles, balms and tinctures.

In an interview with the Washington Informer, Wiseman credits the war on drugs for her interest in the cannabis industry.

“I saw how the war on drugs impacted my community and I knew I wanted to be involved in cannabis to correct that,” the Maryland native said. “I started doing research in my home state and I knew that at that time there would be a bill legalized soon. The next step is an application process and they don’t really announce it, but you’ve just got to know.”

Wiseman said that once a license is awarded, a buy-in cost of $200,000 within two years of being certified is required.

“With an investment banking background I knew what I had to do and began to raise money,” she said. “I also knew I needed to get investors to go in on this with me and I partnered with my mother, who’s a dentist and another investor. From there I left my job as a Equity Institutional Sales Analyst at SunTrust in Atlanta and came back home.”

In addition to Mary and Main, Wiseman also founded Compassionate Herbal Alternative to help create opportunities for minorities who have been disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

Read full via Blavity

Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, First Woman To Lead Prairie View A&M University

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
The Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System unanimously voted Monday to name Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, a nationally recognized leader in higher education, as the 8th president of Prairie View A&M University. She made history when she became the first Black woman to become the president of an Ivy League school, and now Simmons will assume the presidency of Texas’ second oldest public institution becoming the first woman to lead the university in its 140-year history.

Simmons, who has been serving as the interim president since July, was the only finalist being considered for the position. Faculty expect that her prominence and experience as a leader in higher education will bring the cultural capital necessary to raise the research profile of the historically Black institution.

“I knew Dr. Simmons was the right fit to lead Prairie View when we asked her to serve as interim president,” said Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp in a statement. “I am so excited by the prospect of President Simmons serving our campus for the long-term.”

Simmons’ first presidency was at Smith College, which began in 1995. From 2001-2012, she served as the President of Brown University for over a decade. She has served in an array of academic and administrative positions at universities across the country, such as Princeton University, Spelman College and the University of Southern California. She is currently on the Board of Trustees at Rice University and has served on the boards of Princeton University and Howard University.

“I think this is one of the best things that could ever happen to Prairie View,” said Dr. Fred Bonner, a professor who holds an endowed chair in Educational Leadership and Counseling at the university. Bonner believes Simmons’ reputation and the relationship that she is developing with the institution will inspire students at the university.

 

FAMU Alumna Dee Rees Movie Mudbound’ is the Best Movie Netflix Has Released Thus Far

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
Writer-director Dee Rees has been a shining star in the independent film world for years now, having given us movies like her striking debut feature “Pariah” in 2011, about a black Brooklyn teenager struggling with her gay identity, and the 2015 HBO biopic “Bessie,” about legendary blues artist Bessie Smith. But it’s her latest movie that will make her a known name in the mainstream.

“Mudbound,” which received high acclaim at this year’s Sundance Film Festival before being snatched up by Netflix for $12.5 million (it will play in theaters and be available on the site Friday), is a gripping work that looks at life on a rural Mississippi farm in post-World War II America. But it also contains themes of race and class that are sadly still very relevant in today’s world.

The movie is fueled by its perfect cast — which includes Carey Mulligan, Jason Mitchell, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, and Mary J. Blige — rich cinematography, and tender screenplay cowritten by Rees and Virgil Williams (adapted from the Hillary Jordan novel of the same name). It opens on a Mississippi farm with brothers Henry (Clarke) and Jamie (Hedlund) digging the grave for their recently departed father (Jonathan Banks) in the middle of a downpour. Jamie has cuts and bruises on his face, while Henry is conflicted about burying his father among the chains and bones of slaves they’ve uncovered while digging the deep grave.

We aren’t aware of the significance of any of these things, or why the black family in a carriage that Henry waves down to help with the burial looks so upset at him for asking. But in the next few hours it will all make sense.

“Mudbound” is a story about dreams that go unfulfilled, and how hatred that goes back generations can’t be mended by a single friendship. But mostly it’s about family: for one character it’s all he has, while for another it’s what he’s been trying to run from his whole life.

The two families the movie centers on are the McAllans and Jacksons. Henry McAllan, his new wife Laura (Mulligan), and his father Pappy (Banks) have all packed up and moved from the city to Mississippi to become farmers. Just down the road, Hap Jackson (Rob Morgan), his wife Florence (Blige), and their kids try to build a life of their own with their cotton crop, working on land McAllan owns.

(L-R) Rob Morgan and Jason Mitchell in “Mudbound.” Netflix

This part of the movie is heightened by the work of character actor Rob Morgan, known best for his roles on Netflix shows “Luke Cage” and “Stranger Things.” He plays Hap as a proud man struggling to make a better life for his family, though all he knows is back-breaking work on the farm. Preaching in a half-built church on Sundays, and then tending to his cotton the rest of the week, we feel his pain through his heartbreaking voiceovers. One touching voiceover on the worth of a deed — playing on the word’s dual meaning as a “good deed” or a “deed” to land — is delivered in a way by Morgan that will leave you with goosebumps.

Read full at Business Insider

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xucHiOAa8Rs

 

VSU Basketball Team Ranked 2nd in the Recent D2SIDA Atlantic Region Poll

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
ETTRICK, Va. (December 4, 2017) – The Virginia State University men’s basketball team has secured the 2nd spot in the D2SIDA Atlantic Men’s Basketball Poll released today.

The Trojans (6-0) are off to a great start winning their first six games over Pitts-Johnstown (79-75), Indiana University of Pennsylvania (69-64), Lees-McRae College (94-77), Newberry College (90-85), Newport News Apprentice School (94-55) and Bluefield State College (86-55) last week.

D2SIDA Men’s Basketball Atlantic Region Poll
Dec. 4, 2017

Rank School W-L Pts  Previous
1 Wheeling Jesuit (5) 7-0 50 1
2 Virginia State 6-0 43 2
3 West Liberty 7-0 40 3
4 West Chester 7-0 32 5
5 East Stroudsburg 6-0 27 6
6 Kutztown 6-1 22 9
7 Shippensburg 6-2 18 8
8 Fairmont State 5-2 16 10
9 Indiana (Pa.) 6-4 11 7
10 Johnson C. Smith 7-2 10 RV

The Trojans will host No.1 ranked Wheeling Jesuit University on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 at the VSU Multipurpose Center. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information on VSU men’s basketball, please visit www.govsutrojans.com and follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports.

NFL’s Attempt To Bribe Players With $100M Failed

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
The NFL’s attempt to bribe players with money, about $100 million, in exchange for the protests against the National Anthem to end was unsuccessful. A number of players rejected the offer and stood their ground.

TMZ reports:

The NFL recently proposed a deal in which they’d contribute $89 million over seven years to 2 organizations focused on African-American causes, as well as to the Players Coalition so they could use the money for whatever causes they wanted.

In exchange, the NFL wanted the National Anthem protests to end — but the deal seems to have failed. Many players continued to kneel and demonstrate during this week’s games.

Posted by HBCU Editors Posted on 5535 articles

Outgoing TMCF Leader, Johnny Taylor Says HBCUs Must Boost Enrollment, Finances

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
In the education space, he was perhaps one of President Obama’s fiercest critics.

And now, as Johnny Taylor prepares to step down as president of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund—a position he’s held for the past seven years—he says that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as well as FCC Chairman Ajit Pai have reached out since the Trump administration took office last November and have been supportive.

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.

“Even if it were a photo op, we couldn’t get one from the first Black president for eight years,” says Taylor of the highly criticized Oval Office photo of President Trump with HBCU presidents that went viral earlier this year. “Every year there’s a convening of HBCUs. [Obama] never came.”

Taylor is leaving his post to become the president of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), an association representing human resource professionals. Dr. Harry Williams, the president of Delaware State University, will replace him.

“I kind of had the advantage of coming into this space with no legacy, predisposition or whatever,” says Taylor in a recent interview with higher education reporters. “The question was always, ‘Are HBCUs still relevant?’ I just thought it was a dumb question. Well, of course they are. That’s the beauty of the American system. There are options.”

A graduate of the University of Miami and Drake Law School, Taylor began his career in 1992 at Blockbuster, the now bankrupted video rental company. For Taylor, the rise and fall of his former employer is still relevant in the HBCU context.

“Look at what’s happened to these iconic institutions. That’s what I think higher ed has got to get itself ready for,” he says. “We ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Read full via Diverse Education 

Seeing is Believing, HBCU Grad Tarik Cohen’s 61-Yard Punt Return

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
HBCU, North Carolina A&T University graduate Tarik Cohen stunned the 49ers — and probably a lot of Bears fans — with this 61-yard punt return for a touchdown Sunday at Soldier Field. Cohen caught the punt at the 40-yard line, retreated to the Bears’ 24-yard line before turning up-field, finding a seam and heading to the end zone to give the Bears a 14-6 lead with 5:49 left in the second quarter.

 

New Center for Entrepreneurship at Wilberforce University

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on

WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY OPENS NEW CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SOCIAL GOOD AND TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERSHIP

 Early this month Wilberforce University—the historically black college in Ohio named for the renowned 18th-century English politician and abolitionist William Wilberforce—launched the Dr. Mark and Shelly Wilson Center for Entrepreneurship, Social Good and Transformative Leadership on its campus.

Mark and Shelly Wilson are Wilberforce alums and successful serial entrepreneurs in Atlanta.

Analyzing Social Good

Herman J. Felton, president of Wilberforce, told me the two main goals of the new center.

“First, we want to establish Wilberforce as a premier destination for entrepreneurship. Second, we want to help equip this generation with a skill set that will make them, their families, and their communities more independent.”

Felton says he sees the center’s three components as basically three facets of the same thing. The Wilberforce leadership took a year to analyze what it means by social good. The current political climate also contributed to determining the center’s three-pronged focus.

“Right now our country is in turmoil,” Felton says. “The HBCU student needs to play a vital role in helping solve the issues that are plaguing society.”

A Skill Set and a Mindset

The center will function on campus as a kind of think tank, Felton says, bringing in visiting scholars, speakers, researchers, and practitioners.

“It will allow students to benefit from relationships we’ve built.”

Four Wilberforce students who pitched business ideas will be spending a day at Kennesaw State University outside of Atlanta, which has a center for entrepreneurship, as part of the center’s launch. Dubbed the Wilberforce University Emerging Entrepreneur Road Trip, it will include program faculty members.

“They’re going to Atlanta to discuss the theoretical and the practical and will meet with the Wilsons,” at their place of business—as well as with four other successful alums who are entrepreneurs.

Felton told me that he and his team wanted to make sure the center made sense and was rooted in empirical data. So they looked at their data and found that more than 60% of their graduates earned degrees in business.

“We also looked at where these students come from—they’re from the Rust Belt.” Felton says he’s traveled the Rust Belt, from as far east as Buffalo, New York, to parts of Wisconsin. Students from these communities need to return home “with the skill set and the mindset of an entrepreneur” so they can improve their communities.

For more about the Center for Entrepreneurship, Social Good and Transformative Leadership, visit the Wilberforce website.

Meet Larry Robinson, FAMU President

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
Larry Robinson is a Distinguished Professor in the School of the Environment (SOE) at Florida A&M University (FAMU). Previously he served as the Interim President at FAMU from July 2012 to April 2014, Director of FAMU’s Environmental Sciences Institute from 1997 to 2003, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2003 to 2005, Interim President in 2007, and Vice President for Research in 2009. From 2001 to 2010, he served as Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Environmental Cooperative Science Center housed at FAMU. His research interests include environmental chemistry, environmental radiochemistry and environmental policy and management. In 2007-2009, Robinson served as Senior Scientific Advisor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.  In May 2010, Robinson took a leave of absence from FAMU to serve in a U.S. Senate confirmed position as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Conservation and Management at NOAA.  While there, he supported and managed NOAA’s coastal and marine programs, including marine sanctuaries for preserving areas of special national significance, fisheries management and preparation of nautical charts. He also supported NOAA’s participation in addressing the BP oil spill crisis and served on the Ocean Policy Task Force and Gulf Coast Restoration Task Force.  In addition to his US Senate Confirmation Hearing in March 2010,  Robinson testified at a US House of Representatives Hearing on “Combating the BP Oil Spill” in May 2010 and a US Senate Hearing on “The Use of Dispersants for the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill” in July 2010.

Robinson was asked to return to the university as a special assistant to the FAMU president in November 2011 and was selected again as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in March 2012.  In 1984 – 1997, Robinson served as a Research Scientist and Group Leader of a neutron activation analysis (NAA) facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, (ORNL). His research responsibilities at ORNL included trace element analysis in environmental science, epidemiology, forensics, material science and paleontology; environmental radiochemistry; and nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation.

Robinson served as a member of the Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel (and Chair of the Ocean Observing Sub-panel); founding member of the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors; founding member of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)  Science Technology Education Advisory Committee (STEAC); member of  ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division’s External Advisory Board; member of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation Environmental Management Site Specific Advisory Board; and a member of the Florida Chapter of the Nature Conservancy Board of Trustees.  Robinson has served on the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Mine Placement of Coal Combustion Wastes, NRC Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and the NRC Committee to Review the Corps of Engineers Florida Aquifer Storage and Recovery Technical Data Report.

Robinson attended Lemoyne-Owen College, earned a B.S. in chemistry summa cum laude from Memphis State University and a Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Back-To-Back SWAC Championships, Grambling State Beats Alcorn State

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
HOUSTON, Texas. – Grambling State senior quarterback Devante Kincade completed 14-of-24 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for 75 yards with two more scores on the ground as the Tigers rode a gigantic second quarter to power post Alcorn State 40-32 Saturday to win back-to-back SWAC Football Championships at NRG Stadium.

For Grambling State, it marks their eighth football championship in the SWAC title game era that started in 1999.

The East Division winning Braves (7-5, 5-2 SWAC) and West Division winning Tigers (11-1, 7-0 SWAC) had split the prior two championship meetings with Grambling rallying back to take last year’s championship 27-20 and Alcorn proclaiming a 49-21 victory in the 2015 title game.

Final Judgement saw the teams play out relatively evenly in a tight first quarter with the scored tied at 10-10.

Kincade, the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, gave the Tigers the first lead on a 14-yard touchdown run with 12:06 remaining in the first quarter, but the Braves had an answer when conference leading rusher De’Lance Turner rumbled in from two yards out to help knot the score at 7-7 with 7:50 left.

After Grambling’s Marc Orozco and Alcorn’s Corey McCullough traded field goals, the Tigers broke open with a 28-point second quarter highlighted by a five-yard touchdown run by Martez Carter, two passing scores from Kincade (one to Jordan Jones and another to Quintin Guice) and another on a 27-yard rushing score to take a comfortable 38-10 lead into halftime.

Defense stiffened in the third quarter with neither team able to score.

Grambling halted Turner in the end zone for a safety to increase the lead to 40-10 early in the fourth and then Alcorn State began a furious attempted rally as Norlando Veals scored on a 34-yard touchdown toss from Lenorris Footman with 12:53 left. Footman added another score when he took it himself to score from five yards out. McCullough’s PAT made a 40-24 score with 6:11 remaining in the game.

And, the Braves were not finished as Footman found Marquis Warford on a deep 65-yard pass to set up a six-yard touchdown run by Turner. Footman followed up by finding Veals toward the corner of the end zone for a successful two-point conversion to cut the lead to 40-32.

Kincade was named the SWAC Championship Offensive Most Valuable’s Player while De’Andre Hogues was dubbed the game’s Defensive Most Valuable Player after making a team-high seven tackles to go along with a sack and a tackle for a loss.

Guided by head coach Broderick Fobbs, the Tigers have now won 10 straight games and last lost to a conference opponent in the 2015 SWAC Championship against Alcorn State.

Grambling State advances to represent the SWAC in the Celebration Bowl and will play undefeated North Carolina A&T on December 16 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Allstate Gift Funds Abroad Adventure + Opportunity for Norfolk State University Student

Posted by Brittany Ireland
Posted on
Paying for college is difficult, especially with tuition prices on the rise. Getting grants and financial aid is very helpful but even then, sometimes it is just not enough. We sat down to chat with Norfolk State University honors college graduate Maiya Taylor to understand more about her financial journey through college. While studying at NSU, Maiya was granted a scholarship from Allstate, and she shared how it literally took her far, changing her life.

Buzz: “So, what did you do with the money Allstate gifted you?”

Maiya: “I used the scholarship to study abroad in Akita, Japan in Spring 2015.”

Buzz: “I have always wanted to study abroad, its one of my regrets. How was it? Can you share a little about your international experience?”

Maiya: “Their gift funded my very first opportunity to ever travel abroad!”

Buzz: “Niiiiice! Yes for opportunity”

Maiya: “It was my first time on a plane too! The opportunity exposed me to a new culture. I was already a beginner Japanese learner, but being immersed in Japanese culture at a Japanese university helped me become much closer to native fluency.”

Buzz: Nice, soo essentially Allstate helped fund an opportunity you wouldn’t have otherwise, be afforded. Literally. That is so awesome man. Japan in college, that’s a once in a lifetime experience!”

Maiya: “Yeah. When I returned to the U.S., I did cutting edge research on the treatment of biracial Japanese people in Japan. With the guidance of my professor and honors dean, I presented this topic at the Southern Regional Honors Conference and the Virginia’s Collegiate Honors Council, where I won first prize in oral presentations! I later got published in an academic textbook – “Ideas and Influences” through Kendall Hunt – on the same topic.

Buzz: “Wow so the scholarship which led to your international travels did have a long-lasting effect! What else can you share about this opportunity?”

Maiya:

“I feel extremely grateful to know that students of all backgrounds – especially minoritized individuals – are being supported to achieve their goals which would otherwise be impossible without the $1.6 million raised by Allstate.”

 

Buzz: “If you could say anything to the team over at Allstate, what would it be?”

Maiya: “I would say that the responsibility of ushering in a compassionate, diverse, and driven generation rests in the palms of our hands – and I would humbly thank Allstate for committing themselves to this through their fundraising initiatives and efforts.

Maiya currently lives in Virginia, not too far from campus and she is working on getting herself into graduate school. Her life motto is from Harry Potter, her favorite book series: “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – Albus Dumbledore. We are thrilled to stand with Allstate as they impact the lives of HBCU students like Maiya, around the globe. To support Allstate’s efforts to fund education and support historically black colleges and universities, get your quote today. When you get a quote, Allstate donates $10 to HBCUs! It is that simple. Get your quote today: allstate.com/HBCU 

 

Get your “quote for Education” today. The campaign ends tomorrow. allstate.com/HBCU 

This post was sponsored by Allstate.

 

WSSU Receives Over $300k In Grant Funds to Develop Weight Management Program

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) researchers have received a $325,000 grant to implement and explore the effectiveness of a weight management program for African American adults on campus and in neighboring communities in Winston-Salem.

The two-year grant – from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Health Services Research Grant Program – will fund the development of Weight Matters, an 18-week program that will provide complimentary health screenings, exercise classes, incentives for participation, and a small stipend for the completion of all required program activities.

Researchers are recruiting now for the program, which will begin in January.

“Given that African Americans suffer disproportionately from chronic diseases, addressing chronic disease risk factors is a critical component in the elimination of health disparities,” said Dr. Cynthia Williams Brown, chair of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Sport Studies (HPSS) at WSSU and principal investigator (PI) for the grant. “We are honored and grateful that CMS recognizes the value of WSSU researchers and the importance of the qualitative and quantitative research conducted addressing health disparities on our campus and in our neighboring communities.”

The projected outcomes include: increased awareness and knowledge of weight management and a reduction in chronic disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, Williams Brown said.

Weight Matters also will focus on the use of technology, which has shown promise in helping people manage their weight, she said.

WSSU HPSS will partner with Novant Health’s Forsyth Medical Center, WSSU University Recreation, the Winston Lake Family YMCA, Fulton Family YMCA, the Gateway YWCA and additional faith-based and community partners.

Research finds that more than 75 percent of African-Americans are overweight or obese, and African-Americans are 1.5 times more likely to be obese as non-Hispanic whites. African-American women have the highest obesity rate in the United States.

Co-investigators on the grant are Dr. Greg Henderson and Dr. Kiboum Kim, faculty members in the WSSU Department of Human Service Studies (HSS).

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) assists HBCU researchers by supporting extramural research in health care capacity development activities for the African-American communities and assist in fostering inter-university communication and collaboration regarding African-American health disparity issues.

Information/Registration Sessions

Several information and registration sessions will be held beginning Monday, Dec. 4. Interested persons must attend one session to be eligible for the program. For more information, please contact Marian Anderson-Booker, project coordinator, at 336-750-8915. Criteria for participation: Men and women ages 18 and older.

Posted by HBCU Editors Posted on 5535 articles

Coors Light Teams With T.I. For Florida Classic Tailgate

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
Sean Sanders // The Florida Classic is the biggest Florida HBCU Rivalry football game between the Bethune Cookman Wildcats and the Florida A&M Rattlers. The game held at the Orlando Citrus bowl brings thousands every year to witness the two HBCU teams square off on the field.

While the game itself provided a suspense filled turnaround with the rattlers leading by 14 points into the 4th quarter and falling just short of the win with the wildcats earning 19 points in the final quarter giving a final score of 29-24, the real fun occurred when fans of both institutions took to the streets surrounding the stadium to take part in the postgame festivities.

Coors Light, a proud sponsor of HBCUs provided the ultimate V.I.P post game experience with a concert showcasing rising artist and a headlining act featuring rapper T.I. Outside of the entertainment, the tailgate experience provided an inviting space where Alumni and students of both universities could network and reconnect.

“HBCUs allow us to bring minds and bodies back into our communities, which allows us to push further and become more self sustained,” said T.I in regards to his personal support of the HBCU collegiate experience.

For over 25 years, outside of showing support for HBCU athletics, Coors Light has deemed it a great opportunity to honor HBCU academic success as well. On their 2017 Classic Tour, with stops already at the Southern Heritage and Magic City classic, Coors Light has donated $10,000 to a each participating institution in mission to support scholarships for juniors and seniors over the age of 21.

“HBCUs showcase the epitome of the Coors Light mantra of ‘Climb on.’ The students are resilient, resourceful and dedicated,” said Daniel Ware, associate marketing manager for Coors Light and alumnus of Florida A&M University.

The four part tour garners a donation total of $80,000 dollars and ends Nov. 25th at the Bayou Classic.

Bethune Student J. Gino Cyrus Brings His Sold-Out Rap Musical On Campus

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on
A junior Bethune-Cookman University mass communications student, J. Gino Cyrus had his hip-hop musical “Mary’s Children” showcased three times this past year and doesn’t plan to stop any time soon. With his great work ethic and strong values, Cyrus hopes to someday showcase his theatrical pieces on Broadway.

When he’s not working on a script for a new play, he creates graphic designs for the Center for Information Technology at B-CU or creates media content as a multimedia production specialist for B-CU Web Services. In between managing his academic and work commitments, he finds the time to produce beats for his original musical compositions and read.

A recipient of the Advertisement Design of the Year Award for the 2017 Massy Awards and coming in 2nd place for his Academic Showcase, Cyrus achieved great success for his hip-hop musical “Mary’s Children.”

Elizabeth Lucy Ivanecky: When did you first become interested in media?

J. Gino Cyrus: My interest in media began in high school. I was in the TV magnet program at Dr. Philips High School and then transferred to Edgewater High School. I was a magnet student in TV production, and graphic design there also. That’s where the interest initiated.

ELI: So, now you’re a junior in mass communications at Bethune-Cookman University. Why did you choose this university?

JGC: What the school was founded upon was in correlation with what I believe in as a student who wants to succeed.

ELI: What are some of these values and beliefs? 

JGC: Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune founded the university upon a $1.50 with five little girls—Lena, Lucille, Ruth Warren, Anna Geiger and Celest Jackson. So, with those little resources she had then, she was able to not only believe in herself, but also convince others that opening the school was a great idea.

With a vision for how the children of the future would benefit from her actions, Dr. Bethune believed in her cause. As an African-American woman, she decided she would not let the many injustices, systematically put up against her, interfere with her dream. I am a part of that dream because I attend her school now. I wrote “Mary’s Children” about her which is a modern-day version of what she stood for.

ELI: Now that you mentioned the play, tell me more about “Mary’s Children” for which you were the playwright. What is the play about?

JGC: “Mary’s Children” is a hip-hop musical depicting the reincarnation of Dr. Bethune in the 21st century. I’m honored to say that I not only wrote this musical, but I wrote and produced each track in the production.

Read full via Study Breaks. 

Nicki Minaj Says She Wants To Visit Howard University To Talk About Her Paper Magazine Cover

Posted by Tommy G. Meade Jr.
Posted on
It seems Nicki Minaj is having another good year, but we don’t get blimps for that.

The 34-year-old rapper basically won in her attempt to “break the Internet” with her NSFW cover for Paper magazine.

“When ya college talking about Nicki Minaj,” shared Jamara Robinson in her Instastory about Minaj’s risque image on the cover. “…sis you really did break the Internet.”

Minaj recently posted a photo showing students at historically black Howard University discussing the cover during class, saying, “I’d love to be a fly on the wall in this classroom.”

Minaj continued, “Idk who this is, but tell ya professor I wanna come on campus to holla at y’all.”

Obviously Howard University loves The Queen Nicki Minaj.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Honors Bernice Irene Sumlin At Wilberforce University And Continues Investment Into HBCUs

Posted by Wilberforce University
Posted on
On Sunday November 12,2017 a historical marker issued by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated honoring Bernice Irene Sumlin, 19th International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated., (1974-1978) was dedicated on the grounds of Wilberforce University. With an overwhelming attendance of 250 members of the  Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and guests including Dr. Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson, 24th International President, Dr. Eva L. Evans, 24th International President, Ms. Toni S. Kendrick, Great Lakes Great Lakes Director,Ms. Danette Reed, International Treasurer, Ms. Emma Lilly Henderson, 21st Great Lakes Regional Director,Ms. Phyllis E. Robinson, 22nd Great Lakes Regional Director, Ms. Rachel Ashburn Mallory, 24th Great Lakes Regional Director,Mrs. Charlene Truitt Nelson, 27th Great Lakes Regional Director, Mrs. Evelyn Sample-Oates, 31st North Atlantic Regional Director and the Mayor of Xenia, The Honorable Marsha Bayless.

Sumlin was initiated into the Zeta Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., at Wilberforce University  in 1946. After graduating with her B.S. degree in 1948, Sumlin transferred her Sorority membership to the Beta Eta Omega Chapter in Dayton, Ohio. During her career she served as a high school teacher, guidance counselor, community counselor and secondary principal before retiring.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated presented a check for $12,000 to Wilberforce University. As a priority of the sorority to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)  through HBCU Initiatives,  Think HBCU℠  is  an educational target highlighting  HBCUs and their contribution to the sorority and society. Through education, engagement and advocacy, HBCUs will be showcased as critical venue for moving students to and through college.

About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated

Alpha Kappa Alpha’s mission is to cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards, to promote unity and friendship among college women, to study and help alleviate problems concerning girls and women in order to improve their social stature, to maintain a progressive interest in college life, and to be of “Service to All Mankind”.

About Wilberforce University

Wilberforce University is America’s First private institution owned by African-Americans. Wilberforce’s mission is to help students identify and prepare for their respective purposes in life as global citizens by imparting knowledge, instilling discipline and inspiring lifelong learning through critical inquiry, personal and spiritual development, and practical application.

Wilberforce University is a four-year, fully accredited liberal arts institution offering 20 academic concentrations in business, communications, computing and engineering sciences, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Wilberforce University also offers dual degree programs in architecture, aerospace, and nuclear engineering. Through the University’s Adult and Continuing Education Program, we offer Credentials for Leadership in Management and Business (CLIMB), for individuals interested in completing their bachelor of science degrees in organizational management, health care administration and information technology.