Morgan State University Student Develops an app “4 the Culture”

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Ever felt the need to have a black how-to guide at your finger tips ? Well look no further, a mobile app that allows the masses to be informed on the black culture is free to download on Apple iOS and Android devices. Morgan State University student Ahadi Ture has developed an app that allows African Americans to have access to useful information.

“Growing up in an Afrocentric household I was always asked “What will be my legacy within the Black Community? So starting freshmen year, I started thinking about how can I educated my people on a platform that they would have easy access too. So I started thinking about crazy ideas like writing a book (which I did), starting a pro-black organization, joining the NAACP and many more. After talking to friends and doing extensive research for about 3 years, I decided that creating this app would be the best possible way to reach black communities all over the world” Ture says.

When asked about the impact of the app, Ture shares, “The first thing that I want people to know is that I created this platform not just for the now but for the future. I created this for future generations to have the tools to survive in America and around the world. I always hear the saying “Black people are like crabs in a barrel” but do you realize the barrel is not the crabs natural habitat? We have been taken away from our native land, forced to work for low wages and forced to lose sight on who we really are as people.”

The “4 the Culture” app was developed for every generation.

“The app is geared towards the black community as a whole. I didn’t think of a certain age but more so how each generation can use the simple features on the app. We have African decedents all over the world, not just one part so I wanted my app to be accessible for anyone” Ture stated.

Becominga socially conscious individual is one of the goals of the app.

“The 4 The Culture team is very excited to provide a platform where you can begin your very own road to becoming more consciously aware. Being able to access this much information in one place can be a lot in the beginning, but with great patience you will create that true self in no time.”

When asked about the development of future apps, Ture stated that he plans to see how far this app will go before producing more helpful applications. The “4 The Culture” app will be available on the Apple store and the Google Play store.

Subscribers will have a host of content available at their finger tips such as: mental health tips, knowledge of rights, economic history, historic documents/videos, recommended books and black fashion.

To stay up to date on the progression of “4 the culture” be sure to follow on Instagram: @4theculture_now and Twitter @4theculture now.

 

Clarence Armbrister Named Johnson C. Smith President

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The Board of Trustees of Johnson C. Smith University announced today the selection of Clarence D. “Clay” Armbrister, J.D., as the university’s 14th president, effective January 1, 2018.

President-elect Armbrister currently serves as president of Girard College, an independent college preparatory five-day boarding school for academically capable students from economically disadvantaged families from the Philadelphia region.

Armbrister succeeds Dr. Ronald L. Carter, who steps down officially on December 31, 2017, after leading the successful transformation of Johnson C. Smith University for nine years. Carter announced his resignation in August 2016 and committed to remain as President, allowing the Board of Trustees time to conduct a thorough national search for the right leader to continue the forward trajectory of the institution that is celebrating its 150th year.

Armbrister has extensive experience at all levels of education, including time in the School District of Philadelphia and senior administrative positions at Temple University and Johns Hopkins University. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Community College of Philadelphia. In addition to his background in education, Armbrister has held executive positions in law, government and finance.

Armbrister’s range of experience across several sectors helped him stand out among highly-qualified candidates, said Shirley J. Hughes, chair of the JCSU Board of Trustees and chair of the Presidential Search Committee.

“Mr. Armbrister’s diverse career experience provided the competitive edge in a nine-month search,” said Hughes. “We believe his varied background in education, finance, government and law brings an exceptionally broad lens to the increasingly complex demands of the changing landscape in higher education today.”

Armbrister looks forward to bringing his experience to Charlotte and working with the board, faculty, staff, students and alumni of Johnson C. Smith University while collaborating with community leaders to continue propelling JCSU to the forefront as an innovative institution that provides higher education access to diverse students. As a first generation college graduate, he has a powerful personal perspective on the importance of education.

“I am honored and humbled to have been selected as the 14th president of Johnson C. Smith University, which throughout its 150-year history has improved the lives of its students and contributed to the growth of Charlotte,” Armbrister said. “I am especially looking forward to working with the Board, the faculty, staff and administration to position JCSU as one of the finest institutions of higher education in the country that meets not only the needs of its students, but those of the communities it serves—locally, regionally and globally. This will build upon the unparalleled success of Dr. Carter’s work to establish JCSU as a premier independent 21st century new urban university.”

Armbrister’s leadership, passion for education and dedication to student development will be a great benefit to JCSU, said Bernard W. Smalley, vice chair of the Board of Directors of City Trusts and chair of the Girard College Committee.

“I have had the privilege – and it is a genuine privilege – to work closely with Clay Armbrister over the last five years,” Smalley said. “He has worked tirelessly in leading the development of a new curriculum that is preparing our students to be even more successful in college and build lives as productive citizens. Through that work, it became clear that Clay has a passion for shaping young lives through the power of higher education, and JCSU offers a challenge that he just couldn’t pass up. I know this much: JCSU is getting a great leader who is dedicated to the cause of helping young people use higher education to build successful and productive lives.”

Prior to his leadership of Girard College, Armbrister served as senior vice president and chief of staff at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He honed his experience in higher education during his five years at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he served as senior vice president for administration before being promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer.

During his tenure as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Temple University, Armbrister was responsible for $400 million in capital projects on several campuses and the rapid conversion from a commuter to a residential campus. He also led Temple’s management, planning and coordination of student affairs, facilities management services, campus safety services, intercollegiate athletics, computer and information services, affirmative action, enrollment management services, and management analysis.

Armbrister also has higher education teaching experience. He served as an adjunct faculty member at Temple, developing and teaching a municipal finance curriculum in the Beasley School of Law.

In addition to his experience in elementary and secondary education at Girard College, Armbrister served as managing director for the School District of Philadelphia (1996-1998), which at that time was the fourth largest school district in the United States with more than 215,000 students.

Armbrister has been successful at the highest levels of municipal government and has worked with some of the most well-known politicians in the recent history of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was city treasurer for the City of Philadelphia (1994-1996) during the tenure of former mayor Ed Rendell, who become governor of Pennsylvania. From 2008-2011, Armbrister served as chief of staff for former Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter. His work in the finance sector includes being an investment banker at UBS PaineWebber, Inc., where he served as head of the Municipal Securities Group education practice, overseeing nationwide efforts in underwriting transactions for issuers in the K-12 public education market. Armbrister began his professional career practicing law and was a partner in the public finance division of Saul, Ewing, Remick & Saul in Philadelphia.

A native of Miami, Armbrister received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He and his wife, Denise, who is senior vice president of Wells Fargo Corporation and executive director of the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation and the Wells Fargo Regional Community Development Corporation, currently reside in Philadelphia. They have five children, including a daughter who is a graduate of Spelman College and a son who is a senior at North Carolina Central University.

Armbrister and his wife will be introduced to the JCSU community on Thursday, October 19, 2017.

The Johnson C. Smith University Presidential Search Committee included: Trustees Thomas Barnhardt, Steven Boyd ’79, Sheila R. Brown, D.D.S. ’77, Christy Bryant ’75, Kevin A. Henry, Shirley J. Hughes, Michael Jones, Monroe Miller and Tami B. Simmons as well as Helen Caldwell, Ph.D., chair of the Council of Deans, and Phillip Otienoburu, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology. William Farthing of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, served as counsel to the group. Issacson, Miller, an executive search firm, assisted in the national search

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HBCU Alumna’s CollegeGurl Foundation Paves Path for Financial Guidance

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#SmallBizSpotlight – We find it increasingly imperative to support small business and black businesses; in the event a business happens to be both a small, black business, it is even better!

Howard University graduate Jessica Brown is CEO of College Gurl and President of College Gurl Foundation.

College Gurl educates students and families on how to pay and save for college.  College Gurl Foundation, a non-profit that raises money for scholarships and expose students to college, will take DC Public School students on its first college tour on October 26th and will partner them with a mentor guiding them every step of the way.

As author of How to Pay for College When You’re Broke and as a financial aid administrator at multiple post-secondary institutions, Jessica L. Brown has assisted students, parents, and guardians to successfully navigate the seas of financial aid. Her exhaustive knowledge and understanding of both college financing opportunities and financing pitfalls has benefited countless individuals around the world.

Her mission is to ensure that students have a secure financial future after graduation and that parents/guardians are well informed about the programs, policies, and strategies that result in making the best-informed decisions around their children’s college education.

Be on the look out for her book, The College Financial Planner that will be released this month. Visit collegegurl.com for more information or to donate to this month’s college tour, visit www.gofundme.com/fall-college-tour

New App: Solomon’s Shield Changes the Odds When Encountering Police Officers

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It’s 2017 and access to news, trends, and a wealth of knowledge is literally one click away. There has never been a justification for being ignorant, but there is surely not a reason now.

Excuses that once found even an iota of validation from “areas of uncertainty” are being thrown out the window because expedient technology and social media are coloring in those grey areas with the brightly-colored, red-hot truth.

Bold Facts.

The reason?

Knowledge.

Common phrase “knowledge is power” may be a cliché, but it is an undisputed one.

Possessing a skill and having familiarity, experience, or expertise is NEVER a disadvantage…. especially when your life is on the line.

What if simple bits of information could save your life or change the outcome of a situation where the odds are already not in your favor?

Would you take action to protect yourself?

Solomon’s Shield is a new app available in the Apple and Android app stores for managing emergency and non-emergency law enforcement engagements.

Hopefully you never find yourself in a situation where you feel compelled to save your own life at the hand of law enforcement, but the reality is that if you are a person of color, if that day hasn’t happened… it’s really that that day just hasn’t happened yet because statistics show that this dreadful, ridiculous encounter may just be right around the corner.

Did you know that black people are most likely to be killed by police? Not a total shock unfortunately, right? Did you know that they are 3 times more likely to be targeted than white people, though? In more detail, 13 of the largest United States city police departments kill black men at higher rates than the nation’s murder rate.

In 2015, 99% of cases resulted in officers involved in crimes NOT being convicted. Meaning, that that year, there was literally a 1% chance of proving an officer’s guilt in performing criminal activity!

The judiciary and legal system is designed to uphold that one is innocent until proven guilty, but too often, the reality is that an officer doesn’t operate with this in mind.

Precious lives are being taken because basic human rights are being evaded. And unfortunately, when these rights are evaded, it is 3 times more likely for it to be a black man lying in the middle of the street after lifting his hands in surrender, or a black man choked to death by law enforcement for selling loose cigarettes. The odds are astonishingly different when the melanin level in the citizen’s skin changes. Sounds basic, right? Last year, Dylan Roof, a self-asserted white supremacist and convicted mass murderer of 9 African Americans shot and killed innocent people in a church including a senior pastor and state senator and was the center of a statewide manhunt but when upon being detained by police, he was not met with physical force. He must have been hungry because he was taken to Burger King.

Solomon’s Shield is the brainchild of black men who understand the facts. Attorney James Jarman III says “the stakes are too high”. He explains that the app is designed to do something right now. If legislation is to be changed to more actively protect the lives of all citizens, the lawyer of nearly 20 years welcomes the notion but he has produced a tool that provides the ability to “take action to protect ourselves, right now.”

Jarman and many men like him understand that it is time to change the narrative. He shares, “we have steadily tried to appeal to the ethos of getting people to see how wrong things are to try to make things better but we can no longer simply appeal to a system that is proven to protect us the least. We must do what we can to protect our lives and change the probability of deadly police encounters. The lives of our young men literally depend on this.” Says Jarman.

Jarman graduated from historically black college and universities: North Carolina A&T State University with a B.S. in Management and from Howard University School of Law.

Solomon’s Shield is a black-owned business with its primary purpose being to shield the lives of those with odds against them before, during, and after police and law enforcement interactions.

The app is free and encourages people who are likely targeted by police officers to know the full extent of their rights and how to navigate these situations. Solomon’s Shield features:

  • scenarios and suggested responses to shield your life and yield the best possible outcome
  • a dictionary of words and phrases so you understand exactly what officers are communicating
  • the option to go live and video the encounter so no there’s no chance for the situation to be hear say or an officer’s version of the encounter

If you do not know something in 2017 it is because 1 – you do not want to know or 2 – you are not conditioned to crave knowledge and then – act on this comprehension.

Download the app. Empower yourself and understand your rights and even more than this, learn what to do to shield your life. www.solomonsshield.co

If you are reading this article and you know someone whose life was taken or devastatingly impacted  at the hand of law enforcement, share this information to help defy the odds.

Netflix Is Facing A Lawsuit Over ‘Burning Sands’ Film

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Netflix is facing a lawsuit behind the film Burning Sands, released earlier this year.

A man named Al Quarles Jr. is suing Netflix and Mandalay Entertainment Group for copyright infringement.  He says he wrote a book called Burning Sands and Netflix based the film on his work without giving him credit or compensation.

Quarles says the book was inspired by his experiences with the Lambda Tau chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. in the 80s. However, he says the book isn’t based on real people or events.

“The Book is a coming-of-age story about the experiences of 6 young men pledging a fraternity at a rural historically black college. In addition to the identical title and setting, the Book and the Film contain elements that are virtually identical, including characters with the same names and plot-points crafted to convey identical meanings and representations,” wrote Quarles’ attorney Bryan Lentz in the complaint.

Quarles also says that director Gerard McMurray, who attended Howard University and is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., has a setting in the movie that is “directly” at odds with the urban Howard, but shows similarities Millersville University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, his alma mater. He also points out plot lines such as one of them dying, and the reciting of a particular poem for the reasoning behind the suit.

Netflix, McMurray or Mandalay Entertainment Group had not responded to Variety‘s (who originally reported this story) request for a comment. You can read the full complaint at Variety.

Bowie State University Makes History Welcoming its First Female President

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In her historic role as Bowie State University’s first female president, Dr. Aminta Hawkins Breaux said that she’s ready to lead the top 25 HBCU into the school’s next phase of growth and development.

Following the celebrated legacy of Dr. Mickey L. Burnim, the former BSU president that served the institution for nearly 11 years, Breaux said that she is thrilled and honored to accept the leadership role.

“When I look at issues that African American women have faced in this country, it makes me realize how very proud I am to get to this point,” Breaux said about serving as BSU’s first female president. “I have received so much positive feedback from faculty, students and staff and recognize that this is a huge responsibility that is very exciting and I wholeheartedly serve in leadership role with great distinction.”

Though Breaux has only officially been in office since July 1, the former vice president for advancement at Millersville University in Pennsylvania has already started to outline new initiatives.

Heavily involved with community building, Breaux noted that she wanted to enrich the neighborhoods surrounding the university while preparing students for the ever-changing workforce.

“Partnerships are going to be extremely important. We want to reach out to our business leaders and the rest of our community and help them see the value that our students and faculty bring to this area,” Breaux said. “This campus is filled with rich opportunity and initiatives and strong academic programs, but we are also a part of a larger scheme. Initially, I want people to know that we are a part of this community…We want to begin looking at our business community, business leaders and partnering with businesses in the area to make sure that we are preparing our students for the workforce…not just for today, but for tomorrow.”

Though the university is fully-equipped with state of the art facilities including a Fine and Performing Arts Center that opened in 2012 and an elaborate Center for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Nursing that opened this year, Breaux said that this only just the beginning of a long-term focus on K-12 institutions and community colleges, as well.

“I envision our students mentoring and bringing different K-12 and community college students to our campus,” said Breaux. “With state of the art facilities, it is always good to let students see other role models at higher levels doing great things. You know, you have to give students that goal and let them see that they can get to that point.”

Breaux continued: “I am looking forward to partnering with Prince George’s Community College, in particular, and reaching back to K-12 institutions in order to ensure that these students are prepared to come into our university and succeed.” read more

Hype at Howard University: Javari Cousteau’s Fashion Exhibit

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Howard University is a school filled with outstanding talent and hardworking entrepreneurs. Javari Miller, affectionately known as Vari Cousteau, is a Fashion Design major from Northeast Washington, D.C. Cousteau is a newly acclaimed fashion designer whose work will be shown on the “Scraps” runway show at Textile Museum this upcoming October.

Cousteau began designing clothes in high school, but didn’t really take it serious until coming to Howard in August of 2015. “I’d describe my work as seeing both sides of the world and being able to articulate through clothing,” he says.

He is currently learning that having patience is the one and true talent, saying “Once you start to find the balance between that and your tenacious will to be great, that’s when you start making progress.” As far as the actual clothing goes, he has been learning a lot about pattern making and translating concepts into clothing.

Cousteau claims his absolute favorite part of what he does is that it’s actually what he is passionate about. He believes fashion design is what he was destined to do. Outside of clothing, he likes to explore places, go out of his element and simply find his way around. He occasionally plays basketball, reads and listens to music.

Javari exclaims that his dream collaboration would be with either Res Kawakubo, Virgil Abloh, or Raf Simons, saying “they all appeal to me for different reasons but they all have similarities as well.”

As his work is slowly beginning to get the recognition it deserves, Javari sees his future as bright as they come. When asked what would be the results of us Googling his name in 10 years, he says should everything go as planned, we’d see a picture of him “in a tank top with 50k hanging out of my pocket, with chicken in one hand and $4,000 french brandy in the other.”

Introducing the 2017 White House HBCU All Stars

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The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) announced its 2017 HBCU All-Stars at the Annual Summit hosted at the White House on Monday, September 18, 2017. The 62 All-Stars are undergraduate, graduate, and professional students recognized for their outstanding accomplishments.

The All-Stars are appointed for one year to serve as ambassadors of the White House Initiative on HBCUs. The All-Stars provide outreach opportunities and communications to their fellow students about the value of education and the Initiative as a networking resource. Selected from a wide-range of applicants, the All-Stars came highly recommended from HBCU administrators and proved impressive beyond their resumes, transcripts and thorough applications.

“As a proud HBCU graduate, I am personally thrilled to congratulate this year’s impressive class of HBCU All-Stars,” said Omarosa Manigault, Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison.

The 2017 All-Stars and HBCUs are listed below.

Adams, Briona: Lincoln University of Missouri, Jefferson City, Missouri

Alexander, Nicholas: Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee

Anderson, Tiaara: Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Arkansas

Banks, Rogi: Howard University, Washington, D.C.

Barnes, Randall: Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia

Batiste, Aaron: Harris-Stowe State University, St. Louis, Missouri

Baugh, Erin: Albany State University, Albany, Georgia

Baynard, LeShawn: Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia

Bazemore, Fransheria: Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia

Bell, Dontae: Howard University, Washington, D.C.

Bryant, Ervin: Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas

Butts, Alton: Morris College, Sumter, South Carolina

Cooper, Imani: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida

Dorsey, Monica: Texas College, Tyler, Texas

Downs, Charlein: Delaware State University, Dover, Delaware

Dudley, Coleton: Langston College, Langston, Oklahoma

Eliis, Ekaya: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida

Estiverne, Tasja: Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, North Carolina

Evans, Kaliah: Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania

Fairley, Jeffery: Hinds Community College, Utica Campus, Utica, Mississippi

Gibson, William: Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Goodlin, Denzel: North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina

Hall-Debnam, Taylor: Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia

Hemphill, Lea: Southern University Agricultural & Mechanical College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Hill, Ta’Mara: Wiley College, Marshall, Texas

Jackson, Adriiana: Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana

Johnson, Zoe: University of Maryland–Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Maryland

Kanu, Samuel: Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas

King Jr., David: Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama

Knight, Nikolai: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Lain, Yo’Sha: Southern University Agricultural & Mechanical College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Lofton, Geremiah: Huston-Tillotson University, Austin, Texas

Long, Brandon: North Carolina A&T University, Greensboro, North Carolina

Mackell, Aaron: Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia

McCullough, Terrianna: Voorhees College, Denmark, South Carolina

McMichael, Shani: Bennett College, Greensboro, North Carolina

Mixon, Lakeisha: Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland

Mokaya, Hillary: Claflin University, Orangeburg, South Carolina

Ntiwunka-Ifeanyi, Chidera: Virginia State University, Petersburg, Virginia

Parker, Derrick: Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia

Powell, Shanell: Bowie State University, Bowie, Maryland

Powell-Childress, Karmeen: Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi

Price, Arianne: Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama

Redmond, Bryan: Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana

Relf, Jacarri: Lane College, Jackson, Tennessee

Richards, Omari: South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, South Carolina

Richardson, Terrell: Livingston College, Salisbury, North Carolina

Rodgers, Keonia: North Carolina A&T University, Greensboro, North Carolina

Rolax, Ryan: Miles College, Fairfield, Alabama

Rosario, Rachel: Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee

Sanders, Jajuan: Oakwood University, Huntsville, Alabama

Stevens, Elijah: Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach, Florida

Tyson, Khiala: Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tennessee

Vineyard, Brianna: Bluefield State College, Bluefield, West Virginia

Washington, Alexandria: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Florida

Watson, Ato: Florida Memorial University, Miami, Florida

White, Dajanay: Edward Waters College, Jacksonville, Florida

Williams, Ba’Sheerah: Rust College, Hollysprings, Mississippi

Williams, Deonna: Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia

Williams, Jaime: Grambling State University, Grambling, Louisiana

Williams-Toomer, Passion: St. Phillip’s College, San Antonio, Texas

Willie-Bonglo, Mamei: University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.

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5 Reasons HBCU Students Should Support Allstate’s Quotes for Education

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1 – Allstate makes it easy for us to do our part. So, do your part.

You can’t pretend to love and support your HBCU when you won’t even take 3 minutes to get a free quote so Allstate can donate $10! Visit allstate.com/HBCU

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

REJECTED: Howard University Students Protest During Former FBI-Director James Comey’s Speech

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WASHINGTON — James Comey (at right) was met with protests when he spoke at Howard University’s convocation Friday, a sign, perhaps, of the former Federal Bureau of Investigation director’s long road ahead at the historically black university.

Comey, who was appointed to the King Endowed Chair in Public Policy at Howard last month, was met with protests and chants of “No justice, no peace” and “I love being black,” as well as “We shall not be moved,” when he took the stage. After waiting about 15 minutes, he decided to speak over the chants — which did not subside throughout his speech — from a group of students attending the ceremony.

Interviews with students on campus the next day painted a picture of a student population where many are skeptical of or neutral about Comey at best. Amid a larger debate over campus speakers, many students at historically black colleges have objected to inviting speakers they view as not having been supportive of black people or black institutions. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos faced protesting students throughout a commencement address in May at Bethune Cookman University, another historically black university.

In interviews on Howard’s campus, students offered a range of views on what happened.

“I honestly give [Comey] props for that,” Alexis Barge, a marketing major who was seated near the protesters, said of Comey trying to wait for the protests to subside. “He was very calm; he wasn’t looking angry or anything like that.”

Though she took some issues with the way the protest was carried out, she said she agreed with the protesters’ cause. The 50 or so students who protested, who organized on social media under the name HUResist, gathered in opposition to Comey because of his tenure at the FBI.

“Convocation is an event designed to officially welcome freshmen and transfer students into the historically black university,” the group said in a statement posted to social media. “Comey, ironically, boasted many affronts to black communities and communities of color during his tenure with the FBI, including the dismissal of racist state-sanctioned violence, and efforts to dismantle the growing Black Lives Matter movement, similar to the FBI’s efforts to dismantling of [sic] the civil rights and Black Power movements just a few decades prior.”

One specific charge that the group brought up in its statement was the “Ferguson effect.” In 2015, following the protests in Ferguson, Mo., after a white police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, Comey said that the scrutiny officers were receiving in the following months was hampering their ability to do their jobs effectively.

“Where we are stepping back a little bit is at the margins, where we might otherwise have gotten out of our cars and talked to a group,” Comey said police officers had told him. “We’re not doing that so much anymore because we don’t feel like being that guy in the video.”

Comey’s comments were controversial at the time and earned rebuke from the Obama White House.

“[The protesters] started off right, but then it got really rowdy. They were cursing, and there were children there. I’m not a fan of James Comey myself, for certain reasons,” Barge said. “I do believe they should have let him speak, a little bit.”

“If I would have known about the protest, I honestly would have been a part of it.”

Samara Archibald, who studies nursing, also said she has a skeptical outlook of Comey. And her criticism of the protest, as was Barge’s, was about the way it was organized rather than its message.

“There were rowdier people who started getting in the front, and they were a lot more angry. The way they were saying it wasn’t as well-spoken as the people who were starting at the beginning,” said Archibald, who watched the convocation ceremony via a video feed.

“It started getting a lot more disorganized,” she said, adding she would have preferred letting Comey speak. “I do stand with the protesters, I do stand with their message.” read more

Alabama State University’s Honey Beez on TV

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HBCUs have several campus programs, initiatives, and extracurricular activities. On campus, it is very easy to find outlets for even the most uncommon interests.

Alabama State University has a unique dance squad, featuring all-curvy ladies who are known as the “ASU Honey Beez”. The plus-sized dancers perform and travel with the Alabama State University band, the Mighty Marching Hornets, and are known to sport ornate, flashy outfits.

The Honey Beez were founded in 2004 by Alabama State’s Band Director, Dr. James Oliver and is run by Queen Bee, AnnaMarshae. To join the team, you must bee a full-time student, audition, have a minimum 2.5 grade point average, and weight at least 250 pounds.

Have you seen the ladies on television yet? They were featured in ASPIRE TV series, Bama State Style. They’re also appeared on a few other shows:

Years ago, the ladies were on the Steve Harvey Show.

Recently, the Beez auditioned on America’s Got Talent.

One of the Beez, Victoria Brown, shares her excitement, “The experience we gained from going to Hollywood has definitely been a surge in confidence,” Brown said. “By being on the show, doing our thing and getting the message out to other plus-sized women, we’re doing bigger things for everyone, not just ourselves.”

You can catch the Honey Beez Regularly, on their Youtube Channel: BamaStateHoneyBeez. Check out the first episode of this season:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPpDawDF7lI

Grambling State University and Community Lend Helping Hand To Those Affected By Hurricane Maria

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Grambling State students and community gather to pray and raise funds for those affected by the category 5 hurricane, Hurricane Maria, the second storm to hit the Caribbean this month.

The storm hit the island of Dominica the night of September 18, 2017 coming in at nearly 160 miles per hour, which blew off rooves of buildings and several homes.

Grambling State alum, Tamai Larocque shares, “I finally got a hold of my family and they said most of the roof is gone off of our home, leaves and water are all over, but they are alive and in my daughter’s room, which is the only room that still has a roof, although it’s leaking. They are hanging in there, thank you Jesus for your protection.”

The Grambling State community is also extremely grateful that several families were able to evacuate to safe areas. The university held a prayer Tuesday afternoon by statue of school mascot, Eddie the Tiger, for the students and families who are far from home.

“Whether we’re collecting necessities for the victims or raising funds to help those families who have been harmed by Maria, it’s important that the Grambling community rally around our students and their families who need us most,” said SGA president, Adarian Williams.

Although the National Hurricane Center reported that on Tuesday morning, Hurricane Maria is set to move away from Dominica, the home of nearly 72,000 residents, it was a huge scare and a reminder of the effects of Storm Erika that devastated students attending GSU from Dominica just a few years ago.

Tropical Storm Erika  left 20 people dead, nearly 50 missing, and countless more with destroyed homes and livelihoods.

So far, CNN has only reported one death in Guadeloupe due to Hurricane Maria after a man was struck by a falling tree.

“I’m not sure exactly how to feel since I have yet to confirm what has happened on my part of the island, being that there is no communication, ” said senior GSU student, Alickson Alexander. “I have a feeling of helplessness and worry.”

As the phone and internet signals in Dominica appeared to be down on Tuesday morning, the island stood virtually incommunicado.

The team behind GSU student-run radio show, ‘Mionne in the Morning’, Mionne, Ya’Lisha Gatewood, and Donald Carral Jr. JusDeeJay prayed for those affected. Mionne shared the life-changing effects the storm had on several students in her dormitory, where many international students reside on campus. Co-host JustDeeJay expressed his wish for money to be raised to assist affected students and their families.

Fortunately, The Student Government Association was able to jump right on that! The students leaders have initiated efforts to create a relief fund.

While the damage to many individual homes and businesses has been devastating, we can help those impacted by this unforeseen tragedy. If you are interested in helping the victims or you’d like to offer your support, click here:  DONATE HERE!

Roosevelt Skerrit, Dominica’s prime minister, says, “So far we have lost all what money can buy and replace,” he said. “My greatest fear for the morning is that we will wake to news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains.”

According to The New York Times after briefly dropping to Category 4, the storm has regained it’s Category 5 strength. The “potentially catastrophic” storm is expected to approach the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on today.

With a long recovery ahead for Dominica, GSU students remind everyone that any donation, no matter how large or small, is greatly appreciated. The Student Government Association at GSU is supporting the storm relief efforts and asks that you please do the same!

Hoop For Hope’s 6th Annual Basketball Tournament at Howard University

Posted by Andrea Wooten
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Next weekend, get ready to turn up for a great cause!

The 6th Annual Hoop For Hope Basketball Tournament is back to raise awareness for Childhood Cancer. The tournament will include 3-on-3 games, food trucks, dope giveaways, a halftime show, a Hip Hop cypher and so much more.

The Foundation

The Hoop For All Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded to promote the awareness of health issues in different communities, in addition to supporting charities in their fundraising efforts and increasing activity involvement in various communities.

In 2012, Howard University Alumni Ayokunle Amoo and Kiera “KB” Thomas, founded the Hoop For Hope basketball tournament. The event has educated many people on the various types of cancer and has also been able to raise money to support research and individual patients affected by cancer.

“Our goal is to change the community by impacting lives. Cancer affects everyone in one form or the other. But together we believe that we can win the fight against cancer through education, awareness, and fundraising.” -Ayokunle Amoo (Co-Founder of hoop for all)

The Tournament

This year, Hoop For Hope’s partners and sponsors include businesses such as: Under Armour, Gatorade, the American Cancer Society, Red Bull, and Howard University Hospital, just to name a few.

The Details

The tournament will take place on September 23rd, 2017 at Banneker Park (2500 Georgia Ave. NW)  in Washington, DC.

For more details on what to look forward to check out the Hoop For All website: http://www.hoopforall.com.

Email: inquiries@hoopforall.com

Shaw University HBCU 80s Music Video

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiLnoR3XRa0

Shaw University students know how to get down!

Various clubs and organizations on campus including the cheerleaders “Chi-Chis”, the Platinum Sound Marching Band, Zeta Phi Beta, and Omega Psi Phi teamed up with alumnus Steven Starks, of Starks Films to shoot a video showing that Shaw U Pride reigns supreme when it comes to HBCU school pride.

The students at Shaw definitely have a lot to be proud of, the private liberal arts institution and Historically Black University located in Raleigh, North Carolina, is the oldest HBCU in the American South.

 

Donny Picks Unqualified Johnathan Holifield as HBCU Chief, Not Surprised

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We all saw this coming, nothing new.  According to The Root; white America’s president furthered his anti-black agenda Monday when Donald Trump selected an untrained, ill-equipped executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and then skipped town before HBCU presidents could ask him what the hell he was doing.

Continuing the Trumpster Fire regime’s policy of selecting appointees to positions for which they have no experience or education, Safety-Vest Stalin selected Johnathan Holifield to lead the HBCU initiative, even though Holifield has never attended an HBCU. He has no formal training in higher education; nor has he ever been employed by an HBCU … or any college or university, for that matter.

NBC reports that Holifield, a former NFL and tech entrepreneur, will start the job Oct. 2 and will be introduced to HBCU presidents at a White House event that Trump will not attend, because some HBCU presidents have announced they will boycott the summit, while others plan to air their grievances with the president. And also because he’s Donald Trump.

Holifield’s only qualification seems to be that he’s black, which is akin to appointing Betsy DeVos as secretary of education even though she has no experience in education (except destroying public schools in Michigan), choosing Rick Perry to head the Department of Energy (even though he said he wanted to eliminate the department), and having Ben Carson lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. To be fair, Carson has actually lived in a house. Plus, he’s black, which apparently fills the “urban” requirement.

(In a separate, untelevised event, the following Trump-administration officials also received awards for their incompetence: former Exxon CEO Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Treasury Secretary and IndyMac Bank bankrupter Steve Mnuchin, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions—who wouldn’t know justice if it showed up at his door wearing a name tag that said, “Hello, my name is Justice.”)

Instead of harping on Holifield’s lack of qualifications, experience, ability or expertise, I offer a quick list of the ways Trump has undermined education for minorities: Head over to the Root to see the full list

 

Howard Alumna Drops Career Gems As She Celebrates 10 Years with MTV

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Ezinne Kwubiri, the Director of Change Management, Global Business Services at Viacom, shares why she’s been dedicated to the same company for the last decade

Black Enterprise: TEN YEARS! Ten years with the same company. Ten years on the same team. Ten years in Times Square. Ten years of unparalleled experiences. Ten years of growth. Not many people in my generation—’80s babies stand up—can say that they have had a career with the same organization for 10 years. The average length of time that my varying peer groups have been with a company is about three to four years.

Whenever I share with my friends that I’ve been at Viacom Media Networks (VMN) for 10 years, the response I usually get is “Wow! What made you stay?” When I think of the best way to articulate the answer to this, an acronym unveiled itself to explain what TEN means to me.

My tenure at VMN can be summarized in three main buckets – Team, Exposure, Networking.

T – TEAM

I’ve been working with the same core group throughout my entire tenure at VMN. My team has been very supportive in all of my endeavors inside and outside of work. We are a small team that is often pulled in many directions but we collaborate, strategize, and prioritize with each other to get the task completed. There have been plenty of times when I’ve knocked on my boss’ door to discuss my interests in new opportunities, the direction of the department, and how I was performing as a team member. It’s critical in your career that you consistently get feedback; even if your company doesn’t encourage it or provide the platform to receive feedback formally. It’s OK to tactfully and respectfully be the point of change in an organization’s culture.

E – EXPOSURE

A recurring theme you’ll hear from successful professionals is reinventing and marketing yourself. I learned that early on in my career from my mentors and peers. When you have the opportunity to work on various projects, and in different departments, and offices, it is your responsibility to learn and capitalize on that opportunity. From NY to Singapore, from MTV to BET Networks, and everything in between, I’ve had the distinct opportunity to work across brands, departments, offices, and continents. The exposure, especially internationally, has been a vital point in my career. The wealth of knowledge obtained from working on projects that have a direct global impact is incomparable! This exposure, helps to start building your reputation within your department/company. People will recall your experiences and interaction with them, which can lead to new projects. These opportunities should be reflected on your résumé and LinkedIn profile. Your job title is only the header of the experiences that you have.

N – NETWORKING

Whether you are inside or outside of the office, at a social event or the hair salon— network, network, network! I have encountered countless opportunities just by positioning myself to be in a mode of networking. Be prepared to articulate what you do and what it is you want to do in a 60-second elevator pitch. When people know what you do and what you are passionate about, they will call you as opportunities arise. You will become their local resource and expert. I remember pitching an international project to my boss a few years ago. The pitch was great, but the timing wasn’t ideal. However, a few months later, another international project came up and my boss told me she wanted me to support the project. Thus my pitch was met with an opportunity, specially curated just for me, and I got to combine my love for travel with my desire to learn more about our international operations. These networking strategies have led to speaking engagements, partnerships, and even a nonprofit board appointment. What a bonus!

Whether you decide to be at your workplace for two, five, 10, or 15 years, it’s important to reflect, regularly. Reflect on where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you are headed. Do these aforementioned reflections directly correlate with the goals you are trying to accomplish? If the road isn’t leading to where you want to go, don’t be afraid to pivot. Do not fear changing course and adjusting whenever it is needed. Keep learning, growing, and knowing your worth!

The above-named content is the personal opinions of the author. Ezinne Kwubiri owns all copyrights & distribution of the content. Viacom & its affiliates have not endorsed this content.