HBCU History Is Black History

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ByErnie Suggs – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Forget the football duels between North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T. It doesn’t matter if Howard or Hampton is the real “HU.”

The biggest rivalry in the black college universe might be between Cheney University and Lincoln University — two very old schools separated by 24 miles of U.S. 1 in the rural outskirts of Philadelphia.

» GO DEEPER: Perilous times for black colleges 

» FULL COVERAGE: The entire “HBCUs: A Threatened Heritage” series

Both schools have educated the sons and daughters of former slaves for close to 200 years. Both have clear founding dates and strong histories.

But which came first?

“We always say we the oldest because of the date,” said Tony Butler, a Cheyney alum who now lives in Atlanta. “In all seriousness, we were out there doing what we do before others. And that is a fact.”

At issue is the definition of college.

Cheyney was founded in 1837 — one year before Pennsylvania banned blacks from voting — by Richard Humphreys, a Quaker philanthropist. Humphreys bequeathed $10,000, one tenth of his estate, to design and establish a school to educate the descendants of the African race. The original name for the school was the African Institute, before it changed to the Institute for Colored Youth.

In 1854, Ashmun Institute was founded in the rolling farmlands of southern Chester County, with one clear distinction — it immediately began awarding college-level degrees in liberal arts to blacks as it also quickly transitioned to Lincoln University in 1866 to honor a slain president.

“We were founded as a B.A. degree-granting institution, grounded in the liberal arts,” said Brenda Allen, a 1981 graduate of Lincoln and the school’s new chancellor. “When Lincoln was started, there was an early sensitivity about the inhumanity of slavery. That was the framework that the founders, who were abolitionists, brought.”

The Lincoln University campus is dripping with history. Old buildings and even older cemeteries dot the campus. No one knows where Langston Hughes (Class of ’29) and Thurgood Marshall (Class of ’30) lived on campus, but the two, along with actor Roscoe Lee Brown (’46), Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah (’39) and educator Horace Mann Bond (’23), the first black president of the school and father of Julian Bond, loom large at the school.

“Lincoln has never lost its spiritual legacy,” said the Rev. Frederick T. Faison, the school’s chaplain from his chapel office, which was built in 1890. “It has had an enduring legacy in the black community and I am so grateful to the imagination of black people who were willing to keep singing about freedom.”

It wasn’t until 1914 that the Institute for Colored Youth changed its name to the Cheyney Training School for Teachers and began awarding its first college degrees. During the 77 years from Cheyney’s founding to when it started awarding degrees, 97 historically black colleges and universities were founded. read more

Meet The Morehouse Sigma Taking The Internet By Storm

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You may have seen his dancing cover to Chris Brown’s “Gimme That” on Instagram, or maybe his dance tribute to Bruno Mars’ “Finesse” or possibly strolling alongside his Sigma brothers in the AUC, regardless of whether you like him or not, Jabari “6_Solo” Jones is everywhere. Jabari is a proud member of the Chi Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated and a 2017 Graduate of Morehouse College. Before Jabari was taking the internet by storm with his impressive dance moves, he was a strong student with a promising future hailing from Detroit, Michigan.

In Detroit, Jabari was always a performer as he was the lead singer in his elementary school choir. He said that he was inspired by Usher and his incredible performance skills. Jabari recalls that after seeing Usher’s “U Don’t Have To Call Video” that he wanted to not only sing in his school’s choir but also dance. Following his time in elementary school, he moved to a different school where he was, as he says, “The New Kid on the Block.” After becoming well known at his previous school for his amazing vocal abilities, he was placed in a new school where he had to prove himself in a new environment. Being the performer that he is, Jabari decided that he would try to captivate his peers with his dancing skills. After mere weeks at his new school, Jabari became known as the go-to guy for dancing. Little did he know the impact that his performing would have on HBCU culture in the years following.

In 2012 Jabari graduated from Renaissance High School and began wondering where he would attend college.

“At Renaissance, it wasn’t a question of if you were going to college, it was which college you were going to and the two options were always Michigan State or University of Michigan.”

Jabari’s mother was a graduate of Tennessee State University and knew the importance of an HBCU experience. It was his mother who encouraged him to look into attending a Historically Black College. With this goal in mind, Jabari went on an HBCU tour exploring many different HBCU campuses such as Clark Atlanta University, Howard, and Morehouse. He recalled that when he went to Morehouse it was reminiscent of the film, Stomp the Yard and that Morehouse was the place for him to be. He applied to Morehouse and was quickly admitted into the freshman class following his graduation from Renaissance High.

During his time at Morehouse, Jabari looked to join a Greek Fraternity. He was impressed with what Greek life meant to the black community and knew that he wanted to get involved. Jabari stated that it was his RA, Colin Bent, who was a Sigma at Morehouse who inspired him to join the Phi Beta Sigma Chapter.
He says,

“As a young freshman it was the Sigmas at Morehouse that seemed to really represent what a fraternity should be, that’s what made me join.”

In the Fall of 2014, Jabari alongside eight other gentlemen became members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated. Jabari was the sixth member of his line inspiring him to start calling himself, “@6_solo”.

“People think that my name is 6_solo because I crossed alone but I didn’t. “6” actually represents the number in my line and “solo” represents a mindset of self-love and self-reliance.”

For the first ten years of his life, Jabari was an only child and knew that if he wanted to do great things in his life that sometimes it would mean that he would stand alone. As a dancer and performer, Jabari hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams and live life unapologetically. His efforts to inspire others through his dances and social media platforms have paid off in big ways. Today, Jabari is a paid performer and travels to different HBCU’s performing, judging contests and inspiring students. He says that he enjoys getting love and deeply appreciates his social media following.

“The love that I receive is amazing, being recognized from social media is a great feeling.”

Jabari’s social media following is impressive as he currently has over 26,000 followers on Instagram and his videos have been viewed over an impressive 200,000 times. Jabari has big plans to move to Los Angeles and continue his career as a professional dancer. To learn more about Jabari and his adventures following him at @6_solo on Instagram.

Legacy

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Legacy: By Dennis Richmond, Jr.

In 1909 a young black couple got married in New York.  The groom was a handsome young laborer who cleaned chimneys named John Sherman Merritt. The bride, was a beautiful young waitress named Lelia Bell Robinson. The two were deeply in love and later that year, had a baby boy. John told Lelia that she no longer had to work and Lelia began staying home to take care of their son. As time went on, the couple had another child. John picked up a second job as a house cleaner. When the couple had a third child, John began working a third job. By the time of their fourth child, it was the same deal.

By 1918, the couple had four beautiful children and John was working four jobs. He worked as a chimney sweep, a painter, a housekeeper, and a janitor. He became a land owner in his early twenties, knew how to ride a horse, and he and his wife were members of an A.M.E church in Connecticut. Unfortunately, by October 1920, John was diagnosed with sarcoma. His wife told him to slow down, but he didn’t want to. He had four children and a wife. After nine months of suffering with sarcoma, John died of exhaustion. He was 31 years old.

John Sherman Merritt is just one of many of ancestors who worked extremely hard. My great grandmother Rosalee Bowens Dingle worked hard in a tobacco factory and picking cotton in the fields in South Carolina. My 3rd great grandmother Mary Robinson Coles washed and ironed clothes in Virginia. To me, this is what it means to be apart of a legacy. To know who you are and to know who made you is as legacy as it gets. My family, just like millions of other black families, is filled with strong, intelligent, hard-working individuals.

My job, is to keep the legacy going.

Denzel Washington Renews $1 Million Gift To Wiley College To Fund Debate Program

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Star announces gift while being honored for his advocacy and philanthropy.

(Marshall, Texas) Two-time Academy award winner Denzel Washington was recognized at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, for his contributions toward raising awareness around the world about the value of debate education. Washington was honored during the awards ceremony in late January for the nation’s first Historically Black Colleges and Universities Speech and Debate Championship Tournament, which was held over three days on Wiley’s campus.

In accepting the award, Mr. Washington pledged to renew a $1 million gift to the College to continue his funding of its debate program. Washington first donated $1 million to the school in 2007 to support the re-establishment of its debate program, which had been inactive since the early 1900s, when it was led by English professor and poet, Melvin B. Tolson.   Washington starred in and directed the film, “The Great Debaters,” which chronicled the history of the team under Tolson’s mentoring and coaching.

Washington regularly checks in with Wiley’s debate team to encourage its continued success.  He last visited Wiley in 2015 and had lunch with the team.  He was surprised on that visit when he was presented an honorary doctorate degree for his philanthropy in the field of education.

“We are thankful to Mr. Washington for his generous gift to sustain our debate program and ensure its longevity,” said Dr. Haywood L. Strickland, President and CEO of Wiley College.  “Through his support of Wiley College, he has preserved the legacy of the original Great Debaters, while also ensuring that current generations of students can carry forward Tolson’s legacy of excellence. We are forever indebted to him.”

Since the rebirth of the program, which is officially known as the Melvin B. Tolson/Denzel Washington Forensics Society, the team has earned more than 3,000 awards and has twice won the Overall Sweepstakes Championship and the Individual Events Sweepstakes Championship of the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament, a prestigious debate competition that Tolson’s teams were not allowed to take part in.

After a standing ovation for Mr. Washington during the awards ceremony, he was joined on stage by Bob Eisele storywriter and scriptwriter for “The Great Debaters” and Jeff Poro, storywriter for the “The Great Debaters,” who were also recognized for their work.

Washington was also one of the three inductees into the newly formed HBCU Forensics Hall of Fame during the awards ceremony. Other inductees were  Tolson, posthumously, and  Dr. Thomas F. Freeman, the legendary and longest-serving speech and debate coach, who worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., trained Barbara Jordan, and also trained Denzel Washington for his role in “The Great Debaters.”

Last fall, Wiley College formed the HBCU Speech and Debate League, which hosted the tournament, thanks to a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation.

Oprah’s February Book Club Pick: Written By A Spelman Alumna

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On Tuesday Oprah announced that her latest book club pick was: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.  During the CBS This Morning announcement Oprah expressed,

“It’s a love story that also has a huge layer of suspense,” she went on to say, “and it’s also so current and so really now that I could not put it down and have already passed it on to lots of my friends.”

In An American Marriage, newlyweds Celestial and Roy, professional African-Americans who live in Atlanta, find their lives destroyed when Roy is accused of a crime he didn’t commit and is sent to prison.

Tayari  Jones is an accomplished Novelist, professor and graduate of Spelman College. In her early days at Spelman, she began writing where she studied under Pearl Cleage, (Spelman ’71) , who published her first story, “Eugenics” in Catalyst magazine.  Tayari later graduated from Spelman, went on to the University of Iowa where she earned a masters’s degree. In 2002, she published her first book  Leaving Atlanta. On February 6th, 2018, her newest book An American Marriage hit book stores everywhere.

An American Marriage is Tayari’s fourth novel. All of her novels are based in the South, where she grew up. When learning the news that her book would be selected for Oprah’s book club she said, “Every author fantasizes about being chosen for Oprah’s Book Club, I know I did,”

It is common knowledge that whenever Oprah selects a book for her book club, the book experiences mass success. In 2016, Oprah selected The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead which gave the novel national recognition. The book went on to win the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.  In a news release, the Oprah Winfrey Network also announced that Oprah’s production company Harpo Films,  will produce a film adaptation of “An American Marriage.” It is no surprise to see a Spelman alumna like Tayari Jones experience such great success. We here at HBCU Buzz are proud of our Spelman sister for making terrific waves in literature and are very exciting to see what Oprah and her team create with the upcoming film.

To buy Tayari’s book click HERE.

To learn more about Tayari and her journey you can follow her website at http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/

HBCU Buzz President Brittany N. Ireland Joins Howard University Communications Team

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Historically-black Howard University located in the nation’s capital advertises itself as providing “Veritas et Utilitas, Truth and Service,” and it seems the institution is staying true to its motto.

Recently, the black university snagged a great addition to its communications team, hiring long-time HBCU Buzz  President Brittany N. Ireland. HBCU Buzz began in 2011 and is the only media outlet reporting news, sports, event, and entertainment information solely for the country’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

The private, research university hired the young maven to bring her expertise to the Office of University Communications, providing social media strategy. Ireland graduated from Howard University’s School of Communications just 5 years ago in 2013.

Another exciting addition to the Howard University Office of University Communications team is newly-hired PR Director, Alonda Thomas, a fellow-HBCU alumna, of Florida A&M University and one of Huffington Post’s “Top 25 African American PR Millennials to Watch.”

“Greatness is grown at Howard University, and it’s a pleasure to return to the place both my mother and I earned our degrees. This place that has taught me so much,” Ireland says in a statement to HBCU Buzz. She continues, “I can’t wait to check boxes on my professional bucket list and given the trajectory of my career, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I am home.”

While still a Howard University student herself, Brittany and a small team of 3 including HBCU Buzz’s Founder Luke Lawal and Editor-in-Chief Tommy G. Meade Jr., grew HBCU Buzz from a mere idea and a  Twitter account with just a couple hundred followers to its current, national HBCU voice. We anticipate Brittany making monumental millennial moves at Howard University.

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, nine Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 60 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States.  For more information on Howard University, please visit www.howard.edu.

 

For more information on Brittany Ireland visit brittanyireland.com

Bowie State Continues EPA Partnership To Boost Student Careers In The Federal Government

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Bowie State University President Aminta H. Breaux joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio today to sign a five-year agreement to extend and expand a partnership between Bowie State and the EPA, providing educational and practical experiences to BSU students looking to enter careers in the federal government.

Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles and Maryland Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Julianne Oberg were among state officials who attended the agreement signing.

The goal of the partnership is to diversify the federal government workforce by preparing more Bowie State students for those careers. The EPA will work with Bowie State faculty and administrators to provide students with access to EPA experts, joint research projects, and access to competitive student internships and employment.

n 2009 when Bowie State and the EPA first entered into a partnership, only students in the College of Business could participate. With this latest five-year extension, even more BSU students from all academic areas, including education, criminal justice and nursing, will be exposed to the knowledge and resources of the EPA. Since the first agreement, students have experienced job shadow days with EPA scientists, connected with EPA mentors, and heard from EPA policy experts in campus-based forums and classes.


“Bowie State University’s partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency provides invaluable experiential learning opportunities that bridge learning from the classroom to the workplace, deepens the learning for our students, and prepares them for success after graduation,” said President Breaux. “With enhanced access to the EPA’s research facilities and instrumentation, Bowie State can continue to strengthen its academic programs through curriculum development in areas such as public and business administration, education, and environmental policy, to name a few.”

“This agreement highlights many of Administrator Scott Pruitt’s top priorities including active engagement and building strong partnerships,” said EPA Regional Administrator Servidio. “Collaborations with academic institutions like Bowie State help bring environmental stewardship to a new generation.

Central State University Is Helping Students Finance Their Dreams, Report Says

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Central State University, the only public historically black college or university, or HBCU, in the state of Ohio, is helping students in a huge way. According to a recent report by Campus Logic, the black university is helping students finance their dreams, making a difference and helping people in the community.

“My favorite day of the year is graduation day. I don’t work the event, but I always attend. I sit, I cry, I laugh, I smile…It’s such a hard feeling to explain,” stated Sonia Slomba, the school’s Director of Financial Aid. “It’s a very rewarding day.”

She added, “No one grows up dreaming they’ll be a Financial Aid Officer. But it is such a gratifying career where I feel like I’m really making a difference and helping people.”

People were basically like I put on for CSU!

“I try to wear my CSU gear more at work because the only time they hear about my alma mater is when it’s in the media about something negative,” wrote one Twitter user.

https://twitter.com/beingtiffanyb/status/959426137326792705

WATCH: FAMU Grad Andrew Gillum On The Breakfast Club

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Andrew Gillum appeared on The Breakfast Club the other day where he discussed everything under the sun like the power of organizing, and more.

“This week, we covered it all on Breakfast Club — the power of organizing, how we heal this country and our broken justice system, and why Florida A&M University and HBCU Pride matter so much! Tune in and share with your network,” stated Gillum.

So if you haven’t had the chance, watch it today and check out the video below.

https://youtu.be/uKFVyeQm57M

Tougaloo Alumnus And NAACP Prez Derrick Johnson Offers His Own Take On SOTU

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Derrick Johnson offered his own take of President Donald Trump and the State of the Union last night.

The Tougaloo College graduate and NAACP CEO and President gave his opinion in an email sent to those subscribed to the latest news regarding the NAACP.

Here’s the entire text below.

“As the Washington Post reported, we offered our own take on the State of the Union last night:

“Even before President Trump took to the lecturn to deliver his first State of the Union speech, the rebuttal was well underway at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington.”

Our event – The Real State of Our Union – gathered academics and activists for a frank assessment of President Trump’s impact on African-American and immigrant communities. Watch a live recording of the event here.

Leaders of different generations, political parties, and faiths called upon us to build a coalition that stands for unity and justice. They reminded us that no matter the half-truths that the administration tells, we must be steadfast in our resistance.

While Trump rallied for a wall on the Mexican border and took credit for a low Black unemployment rate, our panelists called attention to critical civil rights concerns in 2018: rampant voter suppression, a corrupt criminal justice system, and attacks on immigrant communities.

Our best weapon against Trump’s divisive words and deeds? The vote. In a democracy, our vote is our currency. We must protect it with everything we have and use it at every turn.

Join the thousands who are fighting every day to make democracy work for everyone.”

Report: Google Now Expanding Its #HowardWest Program To All HBCUs

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The Howard West program which is an intense summer residency program that trains and mentors Howard University STEM students at the Googleplex campus in Silicon Valley is now opening the program to all HBCUs across the nation, recently reported the Shade Room. “Google has committed themselves to diversifying their company and the IT industry. After a successful pilot of their Howard West program, they are now opening the program to all HBCUs,” wrote HBCU Grad on Instagram.

HBCU Grad added, “S/o to google for valuing HBCUs as the incomparable resources of diverse talent they are!”

In a blog post, Google engineer Howard Sueing wrote, “The pilot exceeded our expectations in many ways. Students and faculty noted both the rigor and immersion in life at Google as the program’s most compelling aspects, and the Googlers involved felt there was a true exchange of knowledge, culture and understanding.”

People were like “Howard paving the way”.

“Howard paving the way for others #HU,” one Instagram user commented.

Say It Ain’t So: 345,000 White Students Could Be Heading To HBCUs

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Despite serious effort to make progress, historically black colleges or universities, or HBCUs, won’t be able to survive today’s education financial culture without racial balance in these colleges recruitment process. Those harsh facts were highlighted in a new report, including why exactly HBCUs are focused on recruiting non-black students.

https://youtu.be/K-vGcqowMyg

Stillman Alumnus And Comedian Steve Brown Viciously Attacked On Stage

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Here’s Steve Brown, just being him. Father. Husband. Philanthropist and future billionaire. He’s also a proud alumnus of Stillman College. “Oh yeah, and I’m a humorist as well,” wrote Brown on Instagram.

And here’s the black college alum “doing a set at the Comedy House in Columbia, South Carolina when a guy in the audience jumped onstage and just went insane, first trying to viciously strike Steve with the mic stand and then a stool,” reported TMZ.com.

According to TMZ.com, “Steve ducked out of the way and, a good 30 seconds into the attack, a few people at the club had the presence of mind to subdue the guy, who was taken outside but then came back.”

Yikes. The disgruntled “fan” seemed to be gunning to kill him, according to TMZ.com. But it definitely didn’t make Steve angry. If anything, it seems astonishing to him. How this fan can deny himself a good time especially at Steve’s set at the Comedy House is just crazy talk.

The good thing is Steve escaped unharmed, but he’s been saying everywhere the club needs to be held accountable for the lack of security that night.

People were like “WHO’S MAN’S IS THIS?!??!”

“Where’s the security? Why did he stay on stage? Why is no one helping? What was the joke that set him off? Was there a refund? Did the show go on? WHO’S MAN’S IS THIS?!??!” wrote one Instagram user.

Denzel Washington Honored At HBCU Debate Awards On Wiley College Campus

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Several Wiley College students and faculty members took part in the first ever HBCU Debate Awards on campus at Wiley College to honor and recognize Denzel Washington for his efforts to raise awareness about the value of debate education.

“Denzel Washington was recognized at HBCU Debate Awards for raising awareness around the world about the value of debate education,” wrote Wiley College on Twitter over the weekend.

Some people gave their “Congrats” to the black college and Washington across social media.

“Congrats to Wiley College and Wiley College President Dr. Haywood L. Strickland for raising awareness on a topic central to the institution’s legacy,” wrote one Twitter user.

https://twitter.com/wileycollege/status/957639630396055552

Why Black College Students Should Boycott Sallie Mae

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Where is the lie? Because this is a serious matter.

Why should all black college students and in particular HBCU students join together to boycott Sallie Mae, a student loan company investing in the future of the nation’s students, developing programs to help families and students save, plan, and pay for college? Allegedly. There are definitely too many to list here. But here are a couple reasons why we should all join the fight in solidarity against Sallie Mae.

  • You might look back on your time (and money) spent on college like, “man, why exactly did I give this attention?” “I ask now that you stand with me and boycott Sallie Mallie,” Instagram comedian Lala shared on a video, “for debt collection and messing up my credit.” Agreed.
  • The time to act is always now. Period. So boycott Sallie Mae and share this story with your friends and family today. “I was offered a loan of $80,000 to which I completed my degree,” explained Lala. “My friends were offered $80,000 in loans but they were able to pay them off because they actually have a career in their field.” She continued, “I don’t.” Enough said.
  • Don’t waste time early on. Pick a side and take a stand now. “I asked Sallie Mae if there was any way that I can return back my degree,” stated Lala. However, they told her “no” and proclaimed that they don’t operate like that, according to Lala. This is a crime. What happens to one of us happens to all of us and therefore, black college students and HBCU students must fight the power and take back what’s rightfully ours: put some respect on our names. Flat! Watch the entire video below.

What do you think? Should HBCU students boycott Sallie Mae or is this reaching? Let us know and talk about it in the comments section! Just scroll down!

https://instagram.com/p/Bebhv0uhwWm/