Members From Cast of TV’s “A Different World” to Visit Norfolk State

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a-different-worldFor the first time ever, cast members from the 90’s hit television show, A Different World, will come together on a college campus for an intimate discussion exploring the importance of higher education and the value of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in both their historic and current roles. The event, sponsored by SunTrust Bank and titled, “It IS A Different World: College Changes EVERYTHING!” will benefit ACCESS College Foundation and Norfolk State University’s (NSU) Honors College. It is expected to be both entertaining and educational, as it will utilize open dialogue to connect themes from the television show to real-life experiences for college and high school students. Details are as follows:

Who: Actors Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne), Jasmine Guy (Whitley), Cree Summer (Freddie), Charnele Brown (Kim) and Darryl Bell (Ron) from A Different World

When: Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 3:00 p.m.

Where: NSU’s L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center

Cost: $15 for students; $20 for adults

Tickets Here

In conjunction with this event, NSU will allow prospective students to learn about the college application process, meet with NSU faculty and students, participate in a registration fair, and tour NSU’s 130-plus acre campus. The registration and campus tour is free and open to the public and will begin at 9a.m. A Different World helped demonstrate how HBCUs, like NSU, have provided a quality education to generations of individuals. NSU has done so for more than 30,000 alumni for 80 years.

Howard Student Seeks Justice via Twitter After Alleged Rape By Campus RA

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Sy0XJLRO-1UPDATED 3/23/2016 (3:23 PM)

A student at Howard University in the nation’s capital is ending her silence. She went to Twitter to voice her thoughts on a serious matter on what could be a lack of action by the university.

“J Millz” alludes to being raped by another Howard University student, Trevon Rodney, and nothing is being done about it, she said on Twitter. Since posting the tweet, several people including students in the Howard community have responded to her call and shared her tweets to others, expressing their concerns on the matter.

In fact, many people are saying that Mr. Rodney was reported in 2013 and was banned from UCLA’s campus.

According to WUSA, “More than 100 Howard University students gathered Tuesday to protest the university’s handling of an investigation of an alleged rape.”

Furthermore, Howard University released a statement on the alleged rape which can be found below:

There has been an allegation of sexual assault committed by a Howard University student against another Howard student.   The University administration is aware of the allegation and took immediate action as soon as we learned of this matter.  Several tweets were posted today about the incident.  While we are not able to discuss the specifics of any ongoing investigation, we are and have been actively investigating all reports that have been made to us.  These cases cannot be adjudicated through social media without compromising the integrity of the investigation.

Howard University takes matters of sexual assault very seriously.  As part of our commitment to a safe campus environment, we continue to refine and enhance our Title IX protocols and procedures consistent with best practices and federal regulations. This is further supported with ongoing prevention education, collaboration, training and campus engagement.

Students in need of confidential university resources or support are encouraged to contact: Howard University Interpersonal Violence Prevention Program at tbent-goodley@howard.edu or (202) 238-2382 or Howard University Counseling Services at (202) 806-6870.  To file a complaint, students can contact Ms. Candi Smiley, Deputy Title IX Coordinator at candi.smiley@howard.edu or (202) 806-2550 campussafetyfirst.howard.edu.

 

Camille Myrie, junior at Howard University, told The Buzz, “I think this is a message to not just Howard or HBCUs but to institutions all over the country. This is an issue that needs to be dealt with. Also, rape does not reflect on the institution but how they respond to rape allegations does.”

She also stated, “I was not proud to be a bison today and I think there needs to be more open discussions about rape and consent so that victims feel more comfortable coming forward.”

This story is still developing and The Buzz will be updating this story as we gain more information. The Buzz is also waiting to hear more from authorities and Howard University on this situation. With rape being an epidemic on college campuses across the country, The Buzz takes this incident extremely seriously. 

Ice Cube Visits Morehouse College to Promote New Movie

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On promotional tour for his new movie, Barbershop 3, Ice Cube visited Morehouse College on Friday to get students on edge about his upcoming film.

A wall to wall packed event, Ice Cube spoke to over 350 people attending the event ranging from students, faculty, and staff of the Atlanta University Center, in Morehouse’s Sale Hall Chapel.

A notable guest in attendance at the event was Morehouse President John Silvanus Wilson, of course. Wilson nostalgically reminded those in attendance of the famous scene in “Boyz in the Hood,” where the character Tre (played by Cuba Gooding Jr) goes to Morehouse College at the end of the film, “Ice Cube has been apart of my life and black culture since the year 1991 and we are so glad that Ice Cube is here today,” said Wilson.

The rapper answered questions from the students in regards to his life, career, and legacy.

Many of the questions were commonly linked to Hollywood, filmmaking and even Ice Cube’s stance on the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

“Black people, kill black people and white people kill white people,” Ice Cube passionately said. “But it is different when a government official kills a black life.” The black college audience erupted in applause.

Along with Ice Cube came a massive team of hardworking individuals handing out FREE t-shirts, tank tops and even a mobile Barbershop all of which were used to promote the new film.

Ice Cube told the HBCU campus that he will continue to create captivating content that will provide opportunities for African Americans. After hearing Ice Cube’s passion and drive for his community, it is safe to say that Barbershop 3 will be a great success. Barbershop 3 hits theaters April 15, it’s good to see how Ice Cube came back to his community in hopes of snagging another successful film.

The HBCU President Who Refuses a Salary Talks With The Buzz

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This story is a part of the series “Presidents Corner”. These posts are about the unique experiences, vision and leadership styles of each president at our nation’s 107 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

It was a pleasure to chat with President Kevin Cosby. He is the president of Simmons College (Kentucky)–the 107th HBCU, one that has the newest designation but has been around for a long time. In 2005, Dr. Cosby was named the 13th President of Simmons College. He is also the Senior Pastor of St. Stephen Church in Louisville, Kentucky. The congregation has grown from 500 to approximately 14,000 members, and has been recognized by Outreach magazine as one of the 100 largest churches in America (2010) and Emerge magazine as one of six “super churches” of the South.

We talked about how he has saved nearly a million dollars by refusing a salary, his advice for aspiring college presidents, his vision for Simmons College, who he supports as the next president of the United States and how we can strengthen Black institutions.

Robert: In the eleven years of your tenure, you have refused more than $800,000 in salary from Simmons College. What is your reasoning for doing such?

President Cosby: One, it was a very practical reason. The school needed the money. Secondly, it was a matter of exercising leadership and modeling the type of sacrificial leadership that I wanted others on my team to practice. I knew that if people were willing to support this for the sake of the institution we could reconstitute Simmons. It also granted me the moral authority to call upon others to sacrifice.

Robert: Someday, I want to be a college president at an Historic Black College (HBCU). What can prepare me and others to take on such an honoring position?

President Cosby: Understand that being a college president is not about status. It is about servant leadership. If you are in it simply for the glory and the glamor, you will be greatly disappointed. Sometimes college presidents, particularly at HBCUs, don’t lead HBCUs, we carry them on our backs. So, strengthen your back! It is an awesome responsibility in and you will be called upon to make bricks without straw.

Robert: You sort of alluded to this already, however, what is your leadership style?

President Cosby: I try to lead by example. Secondly, I try to surround myself with people who have skill-sets that I don’t have. Finally, I think that leadership is about truly being passionate about the institution that you are leading and the cause that you are advocating for. This is something that you cannot fake. I am a president of an HBCU because I believe that the survival of the Black community is predicated upon us having institutions that we govern. There is no way that you can be an effective president of an HBCU if you don’t believe in the “three c’s” (Black culture, Black causes and Black control). 

Robert: Very few people are both pastor and president. How do you make both happen successfully?

President Cosby: The same skill-set that it takes to pastor a historic Black church, is the same skill set you need to be a president of an HBCU. You have to inspire people! In fact, they compliment each other because as a pastor of a church I am able to tap into the volunteer base that we have at the church in order to help with Simmons. St. Stephens, where I pastor, is a large congregation, without St. Stephens we would not have been able to restore Simmons to what it is right now.

The purpose of the church, which is the mother of all of our institutions, should be to help give birth or strengthen other Black institutions such as Black businesses, Black schools, Black families and Black media. If you add the Black church, there are only five Black institutions. The Black church should strengthen them all and our church has done so for years.

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Robert: What is your vision for Simmons College?

President Cosby: We must continue to grow, add more departments, not just be a self-perpetuating institution but a serving institution that serves the interests of the Black community.

We have to advance the African-American community. This is more than simply the grass-tops but the forgotten grassroots. HBCUs are very powerful because they teach the unteachable and reach the unreachable. While majority of White schools tend to reach out only to the grass-tops in the Black community, the grassroots are left to go to community colleges. This is not a knock on community colleges at all. HBCUs have a “whosoever will–let them come” policy–open enrollment. You may start at Simmons at the “academic bottom” but that is not where you have to stay. Through hard work and the wrap around services at HBCUs we are seeing students maximize and tap into capacities that remain dormant and they are being introduced to their undiscovered selves.

Robert: Wonderful! As we know, the next president of the United States will be crucial in an increase or decrease in HBCU funding. With that being said, who has your support and why?

President Cosby: Right now, I’m leaning more towards Bernie Sanders. I like what he is saying in terms of economic justice. I would like to hear more about his position on HBCUs. From the best of my knowledge, Hillary has not said much on HBCUs–similar to Bernie. However, for the Black community I am in favor of a president who will help to strengthen Black institutions. Black institutions are underfunded because Black people historically have been deprived and robbed of wealth. Wealth has transferred from Black pockets due to 240 years of slavery and more than 100 years of semi-slavery–forced to work menial jobs in which we were not recipients of the wealth that we created.

We are not immigrants. We did not come over to the United States looking for a better life. Blacks were stolen and brought into the United States in order to give other people a better right. You cannot compare what immigrants experience with what kidnapped people who were forced to work in labor camps in the South experience.

Wealth is passed down through generations and my generation was the first one that has been able to build any wealth. This is the reason that our institutions are underfunded, not because we are inferior to others, it is because of White supremacy and racism. You don’t correct this by merely saying “I’m sorry!” and passing a few laws. You have to address the years of deprivation that African-Americans have faced which results in our institutions being underfunded.

Robert: How do you all teach students “to become productive citizens and agents of change in society”?

President Cosby: It’s by knowing yourself and knowing your history. This is not taught in majority schools. Blacks are given fraudulent history. In fact, this is true about all Americans. By teaching your history, your culture, and reprogramming Blacks of internalized self-hate and having them fall in love with themselves. This will help them continue to advance institutions that are advancing their interests–this is what all HBCUs must do. Blacks must have a conciousness of advancing Black insitutions like Mormons have a consciousness of advancing their institutions. Almost like Catholics who go to Catholic schools. If a child goes to Catholic schools for six years, they will be Catholic for the rest of their life.

The reasons why sheep dogs protect sheep and not advance the interests of dogs because when the sheep dog was a puppy, it was raised by sheep. It was read sheep books, went to a sheep school, celebrated sheep heroes and went to a sheep church. So, although it was a dog, it really was a sheep in terms of it’s consciousness.

This is what has happened to African-Americans. This is why all of the blue-chip African-American athletes are playing for White colleges. They’re making wealth for Whites. What if all of these athletes had a Black consciousness and played for HBCUs? This means that wealth would come to HBCUs. Wealth would come to our community. However, we are sheep dogs.

Robert: Wow! Any other comments?

President Cosby: I commend you for what you’re doing. If we don’t build our institutions, the Black community is in serious trouble. This is what Simmons has done. There is no school in America that has done more with less in such a short period of time. We are the fastest growing college, Black or White, in the state of Kentucky. The only college that lost it’s campus in 1930 and decades later secured the same campus. This is unheard of and the buildings are in mint condition. What is going on at Simmons is incredible. HBCUs are in decline, however, Simmons is ascending. We face the same challenges as other HBCUs as far as resources and etc.

Jackson State Kappa Alpha Psi Plot Vandalized With Racist Graffiti

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The Kappa Alpha Psi Plot at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi was vandalized with racist graffiti last week. Pictures of the incident circulated the internet over the weekend displaying the horrific content.

Jackson State University officials called an act of vandalism in which racial epithets were spray-painted on an on-campus fraternity plot  “an isolated incident” not believed to be “racially motivated.” According to the Clarion Ledger Images of the defacement to the Kappa Alpha Psi marble marker and bench, including the n-word, another racial slur, and a crude drawing, circulated widely on social media Tuesday.

“The graffiti was quickly cleaned up but remnants of the vandalism are still visibly apparent on the obelisk and bench” says Watch the Yard. Greeks and students have started to investigate who the perpetrators are on social media, opening up a large discussion of why someone would deface this monument to Kappa Alpha Psi.

See pictures below:

Filmmaker Nate Parker Will Launch New School Dedicated to Film and Drama at Historically Black Wiley College

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Wiley College officially announced early Sunday that one of the stars of The Great Debaters, actor, director, producer, writer and musical performer Nate Parker, is starting a film and drama school there to help empower young people in East Texas and across the country.

(The film The Great Debaters depicts the black college debate team beating Harvard College in the 1930s, though, the team actually didn’t face off against Harvard. At the time, historically black Wiley College was David and University of Southern California was Goliath, and indeed David defeated Goliath in this matchup.)

KLTV reported on Friday that Nate Parker has been keeping tabs on the black college and “even using their a capella choir for the soundtrack of his film The Birth of a Nation,” as well as announcing his election to the college board of trustees, in which Parker said he’s “honored” to serve at the position.

Now when exactly does classes begin? Here’s what we know:

  • The first classes for the Nate Parker School of Film and Drama will be held in the fall.
  • Before that though, about 30 high school and college students, after being picked, will have the opportunity to join a nine day summer institute as a pilot program for the school.
  • In addition, ten current seniors at the black college have already been picked to serve at the institute this summer as staff.

But those are short-term goals for the school. Nate Parker also wants to “bring Hollywood back to East Texas” and to “create a pipeline toward filmmaking physically through developing the college, having filmmakers be nurtured and cultivated here, and then having somewhere for them to go with respect for them actually being able to engage in filmmaking here in East Texas, then it kind of serves multiple purposes,” he said.

“You control the moving picture, you control the masses. So really getting them rallied around the idea of re-claiming the narrative of America, specifically through the eyes of people of color,” Parker said.

Former Texas Southern Star Tray Walker Dies Following Motorcycle Accident

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Tray Walker, former football star at Texas Southern University and Baltimore Ravens cornerback, has died at age 23.

The fourth-round pick in last year’s draft out of the black college died 5 p.m. (Eastern) Friday, according to his agent Ron Butler. On Thursday night, Walker was involved in a motorcycle crash that left him with severe head injuries, his agent said.

Following the crash, Walker was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, “where he remained in critical care overnight and died Friday after having surgery,” reports Sports Illustrated.

“The life of Tray Walker has been cut tragically short,” reports HBCU Gameday.

News of the passing of Walker led some Texas Southern fans and supporters to voice their thoughts on their loss on social media.

ECSU Naturals Are Conceited and Not Afraid to Show It

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“Unpredictable, free-spirited, rebellious, gorgeous, and dominant” This is how Elizabeth City State University students Nadieya Barco and Desiree Everette describe natural hair.

Left to right: President Nadieya Barco, Vice President Desiree Everette
Left to right: President Nadieya Barco, Vice President Desiree Everette

Two Years ago Barco and Everette saw a need to implement a space or setting where students with natural hair could congregate, socialize, and learn from each other about their strands. Putting their curly heads together, they brainstormed  and collectively created Narcissistic Naturals.

Looking up narcissistic, one will find the word to be synonymous with vain, self-admiring, and egotistical. Barco, a Junior majoring in Sociology states, “We didn’t want to just be ECSU Naturals. We were looking at words that could describe being natural, and Desiree came up with Narcissistic because she felt like that’s how we should feel about our hair, just be conceited about it, and just glorify our hair.”

Everette, a Senior majoring is Mass Communications says, “We were very observant of how many others were natural on campus as well. We thought “it’s a mini movement and it doesn’t get that much recognition!”” Now a group with 32 members strong, the Narcissistic Naturals parade the campus of ECSU, wearing their crowns of glory, and celebrating their choice to be natural. *Cues Formation by Beyoncé. *

Educating their members on the importance of caring for their kinks and curls, Nadieya and Desiree say to expect nothing from your natural hair. “When people go natural, we always tell them not to expect anything. If you expect your hair to be curly, you never know what you’re going to get. It’s really about accepting yourself and what God gave you,” Nadieya states.

Nadieya and Desiree, natural hair enthusiasts if you will, make sure their members understand a multitude of things; but overall that there’s no such thing as “good hair.” So often society tries to compare and contrast textures and grades of natural hair.  Everette believes that it’s of vital importance to understand that no curl pattern is better than the other. “It’s an acceptance thing, I don’t think anyone should compare or contrast. There’s no such thing as good hair. We try to instill that in our girls. Healthy hair is good hair. It should not be by a grade or how somebody’s hair is, whether it’s thick, coarse, fine or silky.”image2

Admitting that outside of their club, a lot of people on campus know them for their apparel, but  don’t know what it is exactly the club has to offer. Barco the president of Narcissistic Naturals wants people to know that the group brings so much more to the table than cool shirts. “Narcissistic Naturals brings empowerment and unity. Those that are in the club are not only club members but also a family! As far as the student body, they do not understand who we are. They always ask “what do y’all do?” They are in hopes to change this as time progresses.

Both women believe that the group offers its members a place where they can learn to fully understand their hair. Ranging from maintenance, to choice of products, and even styling tips; Narcissistic Naturals aims to provide all who join with top notch information. Barco and Everette also believe that the group gives them all a sense of sisterhood, outside of Greek organizations, which are extremely popular and prevalent amongst campus.

With an influx of people letting go of relaxers, and embracing their natural hair, there’s still people who choose not to with the famously annoying excuse that “natural hair isn’t for everybody.” Nadieya, affirms what men and women alike, in the natural hair community have been saying for quite some time. “Natural hair cannot be for some and not for others. This hair grows on one’s head, how is it “not for them?” It is more so the fact [that] not everyone can style their natural hair. That does not mean it isn’t for them though.

Narcissistic Naturals hopes to remain a group that creates a platform for naturals on  ECSU campus, and continue to reaffirm that natural hair is no trendy fad. Everette exclaims “I don’t think this is a phase, I think it’s here to stay.”

 

 

Morgan State Showcases Breakthrough Research at Sixth Annual ‘Innovation Day’

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morgan_t580As part of a sustained commitment to pioneering breakthrough advancements offering an economic benefit to the State of Maryland, Morgan State University (MSU) recently celebrated its 6th Annual ‘Innovation Day’ in Annapolis, Md. at the Miller Senate Office Building. Morgan Innovation Day (MID), which serves in part as an annual progress report on the State’s premier public urban research institution, brought together Maryland legislators, students, faculty, staff and alumni for an engaging first-hand look at new research, innovation and partnership initiatives incubated in the classrooms, laboratories, and offices of MSU.

This year’s MID event was themed “Partners in Innovation” and featured 22 impactful research and outreach projects geared toward improving the quality of life for Marylanders. MID 2016 also included a special ‘Morgan and Baltimore exhibit’ that demonstrated how the University provides services to the community with the expectation of accelerating the revitalization of surrounding neighborhoods and beyond.

“Taking the lead in innovation and providing a pipeline to new technologies is consistent with Morgan’s strategic goals and our historical mission of preparing a diverse student body to help the world meet tomorrow’s challenges,” said Morgan President David Wilson. “Hosting this annual showcase provides an exclusive opportunity for our elected officials and Maryland citizens to experience research and development in an engaging forum and witness for themselves what an investment in Morgan can mean for the good of our state and nation.”

Innovations at this year’s MID-focused on medical research, energy production, environmental protection, transportation and the study of the human condition among others. Some of the standout innovations on display included:

Dr. Mahmudur Rahman of Morgan’s Department of Computer Science and his work on the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, the second leading cause of death among women. Dr. Rahman’s research will assist medical professionals in making an early and correct breast cancer diagnosis, reducing the number of mammograms women need to undergo. Ultimately, the proposed decision support tool could potentially offer much-improved services for clinical diagnosis, research and education that will significantly enhance the well-being of women and minority populations not just in Maryland but around the world. Read more via Baltimore Online

Hampton Pirates take on Virginia Cavaliers

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image_handlerRALEIGH, N.C. – The Hampton University men’s basketball team, making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, will take on top-seeded Virginia in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament on Thursday at approximately 3:10 p.m.

TV: TruTV.
Radio: WHOV 88.1 FM.

Last Time Out: The Pirates (21-10) won their second straight MEAC Tournament title this past Saturday with an 81-69 win over South Carolina State. Brian Darden led four Pirates in double figures with 22 points, hitting four 3-pointers and going 8-for-8 from the free throw line, while Reginald Johnson, Jr. – the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player – added 21 points and eight assists. Jervon Pressley added 14 points and nine boards off the bench, and Quinton Chievous had 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Series: Since moving to Div. I in 1995, the Pirates are 0-7 against Virginia. The last meeting was in November 2013, when the Cavaliers defeated Hampton 69-40 in Charlottesville, Va. Six of the previous seven meetings between the two teams have been in Charlottesville. These two teams have yet to face each other on a neutral court.

Pirates Against the ACC: The Pirates are 1-14 all-time against schools currently competing in the ACC, with that win coming against North Carolina on the road, 77-69, in the 2001-02 season. Hampton is 0-1 against Clemson; 0-1 against Duke; 1-2 against North Carolina; 0-1 against N.C. State; 0-1 against Syracuse; 0-7 against Virginia; and 0-1 against Wake Forest. The Pirates have never faced Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt, or Virginia Tech.

Pirates on Neutral Courts: The Pirates were 6-2 on neutral courts last season, including four wins in the MEAC Tournament and a win over Manhattan in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four. Hampton is 26-14 on neutral courts under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., including an 8-1 mark in 2010-11 – when the Pirates won 24 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Scouting the Cavaliers: Virginia (26-7), in its seventh season under head coach Tony Bennett, is coming off a 61-57 loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament final on Saturday. Before that, the No. 4/4 Cavaliers had won five straight. Redshirt senior guard Malcolm Brogdon, the ACC’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging a team-high 18.7 points per game for Virginia, while redshirt senior forward Anthony Gill is averaging 13.3 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per contest. Junior guard London Parrantes is averaging 11.0 points a contest.

The Midwest Region: The Cavaliers are the top seed in the Midwest Region, with Big Ten champion Michigan State (29-5) taking the No. 2 seed. Utah (26-8) is the No. 3 seed, and Iowa State (21-11) claimed the No. 4 seed. Purdue (26-8) came in as the No. 5 seed. In the same pod in Raleigh, N.C. as Virginia and Hampton will be No. 8 seed Texas Tech (19-12) and No. 9 seed Butler (21-10); the winner of that game will face either Virginia or Hampton in the Round of 32 on Saturday.

Pirates Picked to Finish Second: The Pirates, coming off of last season’s MEAC Tournament championship, were picked to finish second in the MEAC this season, picking up nine first-place votes in the preseason poll voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors. Defending MEAC champion North Carolina Central was picked to repeat as conference champions, but the Pirates have clinched the regular-season title, their first since 2002, with a 79-65 win over Delaware State on Feb. 29.

Joyner Reached 100: Entering his seventh season at the helm, Joyner was one win shy of 100 for his career. But when the Pirates defeated American on Nov. 17, he picked up the 100th win of his career as a head coach. The Pirates won 17 games under Joyner last season, and in his six-plus seasons in charge, Hampton has made three postseason appearances – including two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2011 and 2015. At 120-106, Joyner is already Hampton’s all-time winningest Div. I coach, having surpasses Steve Merfield last season.

A Triple Threat: Prior to the game at North Carolina Central on Jan. 18, Hampton was one of just four Div. I programs in which three players are averaging at least 15 points per contest, joining St. Bonaventure, Eastern Washington, and Arkansas. Darden is now below that threshold, averaging 13.2 points per contest, while Johnson is averaging 18.3 points per game and Chievous is pouring in 17.0 points per contest. Altogether, the trio accounts for 45.8 points per contest.

Chievous Making His Presence Felt: Chievous, the Tennessee transfer, made his presence felt for the Pirates last season, especially once the MEAC Tournament started. Chievous had three double-doubles in the last four games of the year, including both NCAA Tournament games. Before that, though, he turned in a bull-in-a-china-shop-esque 23-point, 12-rebound effort in the MEAC Tournament semifinals against Norfolk State. Chievous, who was second in rebounding and third in scoring on the team in 2014-15, was named Preseason First Team All-MEAC heading into the 2015-16 campaign. He opened the 2015-16 season in style on Nov. 14, dropping a career-high 29 points and grabbing a career-best 23 rebounds at Winthrop. Dating back to last season, Chievous has 15 double-doubles in his last 30 games (including 12 this season), and he had a career high-tying 29 points and 14 rebounds against Delaware State. Chievous was named First Team All-MEAC, and he leads the team in rebounding (a MEAC-best 11.0 per game) and is second on the team in scoring at 17.3 points a contest (which ranks fourth in the MEAC). He was also named to the MEAC’s All-Tournament Team.

Johnson Lighting it Up: Johnson Jr., a transfer from Miami (Ohio), was second on the team in scoring last season – despite not playing his first game until Dec. 17 at Illinois. He averaged almost 12 points a game last season, scoring in double figures 14 times in 26 games. His career high of 27 points came at NJIT last season, and Johnson added 21 points in the next game against UMES. Johnson dropped 20 points in the MEAC Tournament championship game against Delaware State, earning MEAC All-Tournament Team honors, and also had 15 points in Hampton’s win over Manhattan in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four. He poured in 19 points in Hampton’s 61-48 win at American, and he dropped a career-high 35 points in a double-overtime win at Northern Arizona. Johnson leads the team and ranks second in the MEAC in scoring (18.3 ppg). Johnson, who was named First Team All-MEAC, has scored in double figures in 27 of his last 30 games. He had 19 points and 13 assists – which tied a MEAC Tournament single-game record – in the Pirates’ quarterfinal win over Morgan State. Johnson, who averaged 19.3 points and 8.3 assists per game for the tournament, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Darden Looking For More: Darden was fifth on the team in scoring last season, just shy of averaging 10 points a contest (9.8). On top of being second in the MEAC in free throw percentage (.845), Darden was ninth in the conference in 3-pointers per game. The MEAC Tournament’s top 3-point shooter had a career-high 23 points at Morgan State back on Feb. 16, going 6-for-7 from behind the arc, and he had 20 points in the championship game of the MEAC Tournament against Delaware State. Darden comes into 2015-16 as a Preseason Second Team All-MEAC selection, and he had 13 points at Winthrop, and he scored 22 at Northern Arizona. Darden is third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game, and against Howard on Feb. 27, he became the 28th Pirate to reach the 1,000-point mark. Darden has hit four 3-pointers in each of his last two games – the MEAC Tournament semifinal win over Savannah State and the championship game against South Carolina State.

For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

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C.T. Vivian Doesn’t Want Obama to Go

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The Rev. C.T. Vivian began to get emotional when speaking to President Barack Obama three weeks ago during a meeting at the White House with several other civil rights leaders, according to The New York Times.

At one point he just wept.

“If there was a way I could keep him there I would keep him there for another term,” Vivian said. Like several other black people in the country, Vivian is also counting down the 10 months left of Obama’s last term.

“It is difficult for people who are not African-American to understand what it has been to have someone in the White House that you know understands you,” he said.

On how Obama has been a success model, if not a role model, to young black students in Atlanta, and to students across the country, Vivian, a minister, author, and a close friend of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and also an alumni of American Baptist College in Nashville, commented, “That was the first time that any class had been able to think about that, that they could be president of the United States.”

In 2013, President Obama honored Vivian with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, stating, “We salute pioneers who pushed our nation towards greater justice and equality. Baptist minister, CT Vivian, was one of Dr. Martin Luther King’s closest advisers….Vivian was one of the first to be in the action.”

Read more here.

Alfred Street Baptist Church Awards $2.1 Million Worth of Scholarships to HBCU Bound Students

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T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, hosted thousands of students on Saturday, February 20, 2016, where students were awarded scholarships to the tune of $2.1 million, the biggest ever by Alfred Street Baptist Church. The scholarships are channeled to the students through Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The beneficiaries of the event, 14th Annual HBCU College Festival, are high school students joining college.

The doors opened at 10 a.m., although students and their family members started showing up as early as 7 a.m. A big number of those who graced the event came from Washington D.C., while others came from as far as Alabama, New York, Illinois, Florida, among several other places.

A lot of things went down at the festival, with $41,000 given in waiver for applications and up to 1,000 students getting admitted to different colleges on-site. More than 160 students received scholarships based on merit.

The scholarships saw some students get full rides to different HBCUs. This is just one of the ways through which Alfred Street Baptist Church employs to positively impact the lives of young people, and it’s such a timely event as it comes during the Black History Month.

“Black youth are often stereotyped as uneducated, with no ambition or drive, but events like these dispute the perpetual stereotype of black youth time and time again, as nearly 5,000 youth registered online to attend our college festival,” said Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church. “Many black youth and their families woke up this past Saturday morning dreaming of a college education and wondering how it would be possible. By noon, of that day, many saw the dreams come to fruition and had answers. God is good and He showed up, and showed out on Saturday.”

The event registered the largest turnout in its history, bringing together more than 3,000 students and members of their family as well as 320 volunteers.

Ryan Atkins, director of Alfred Street’s HBCU Committee, who was also one of the organizers, said: “If you total up all the scholarships, the funds awarded exceeded over two million dollars and Saturday wrapped up with over 60 HBCUs from across the country coming on site and 42 of those granted students acceptance and money to pay for their higher education on the spot.”

President of Alfred Street’s HBCU Committee on his part said: “Many students can breathe a little easier now, we here at Alfred Street Baptist Church know that the cost of education rises every year, and that’s not even factoring in room and board, transportation, extracurricular activities — college costs can be huge. Therefore we are so blessed to host this event year after year which provides huge relief to these families.”

Buzz Spotlight: Entertainment Journalist Kamaron Leach Is Building His Platform

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Kamaron Leach consists of Howard University soul, journalistic know how, and a grind geared towards building his own brand. Originally wanting to attend Duke University for mathematics, Leach yet and still has a passion for journalism, having dreams of one day becoming a news anchor. Eventually Kamaron nixed numbers and decided to pursue his dreams in the field of journalism.

“My mom went to Spelman for about two years and she pledged AKA, and she just started educating me more about HBCUs and I kind of just did my own research,” Leach told me in an interview. He said his research on the country’s 107 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) led him to Howard, the only school he applied to.

“In hindsight it was kind of scary,” he said.

At Howard Leach was a Broadcast Journalism, and also had a minor in economics, and he had his eyes on excelling during his time at Howard from the very beginning, too.

He even had an opportunity to work with Bloomberg Business. Leach also became a member of clubs and or organizations on the campus. Student Government, Kappa Alpha Psi, and a few others but it wasn’t until his time on the Homecoming Steering Committee that he switched gears and got into the entertainment realm of journalism.

“That’s when I started learning the ins and outs of the business and I began hosting events as well,” he said.

Since then, Leach has taken the necessary tools to carve out his own lane in the field.

Now a man on a mission in the entertainment industry, Leach has interviewed the likes of Kevin Hart, Mary J. Blige, and Queen Latifah amongst many more household names, having experience interviewing top celebrities for new movies already in his young career. Though Leach doesn’t believe that the journey is a quick one, “It doesn’t happen overnight; you really have to put in your 10,00 hours,” he said.

“You can look at Ryan Seacrest and Terrence J, but everybody’s path is different,” Leach said. “You don’t want to have that crab in a barrel mentality so you just have to do your own thing.” The secret to his success is, that there is no secret.

There are no calculated formulas that got leach to his position. In his trek to become a successful entertainment journalist, Leach says there’s no set path to getting there.

In a world where there are so few African-American journalists, Leach admits that he’s saddened by it. “It’s kind of disappointing sometimes,” he said. “I mean I’m happy for myself but you can’t celebrate with your people sometimes.”

“Sometimes when I go into these interviews, if I’m not the only black journalist there, I’m definitely the youngest. It’s still a feeling that I’m working out so I don’t really have an answer for it but it’s something that I want to use my platform to continue growing just to show other people that they can do it.”

While he agrees that there should be more African-American representation, he also believes that blacks shouldn’t pigeonhole themselves either. A piece of advice from comedian Kevin Hart has stuck with him for quite some time, “While I was interviewing Kevin Hart, he said something along the lines of you know take the black category off of yourself,” Leach said. “Don’t pigeon hole yourself like that…you’re good at your craft, then be good at your craft, they’re going to see your color regardless.”

“I never want my color to be a burden, because I see it as a beautiful thing, so it’s it something that’s going to propel me no matter what I do.”

Morgan State Researchers Receive $300K in Grants for Health-Related Pilot Projects

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Morgan State University’s ASCEND Center for Biomedical Research has awarded six university faculty members with a total of $300,000 in grant awards ($50,000 each) for pilot research. The grants, which are awarded annually pending a review process, are made available to tenured or tenure-track faculty members at Morgan conducting a health-related research pilot project. This year’s grantees and research projects include:

  • Dr. Gerald Rameau (Biology), Activity-Dependent Glucose Transporter 3 Trafficking in Neurons
  • Dr. Pumtiwitt McCarthy (Chemistry), Optimizing a Fluorescent Assay for a Neisseria Meningitidis Capsule Polymerase
  • Dr. Terra Bowen-Reid (Psychology), Advancing Cancer Education (A.C.E.) among Young African American Women
  • Dr. Kimberly Warren (Psychology), Stress and Obesity in an African American Female College Population
  • Dr. Kesha Baptiste-Roberts (Public Health), Minority Stress and Health Behaviors among Sexual Minority Women
  • Dr. Anne Marie O’Keefe (Public Health), Using Social Marketing Research to Help Low-SES Minority Smokers Quit

Over the next three years, ASCEND is offering up to three more rounds of pilot project grant awards of up to $50,000 each for faculty to jump-start or revitalize their health-related research. Proposals submitted to ASCEND are reviewed according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-defined criteria by researchers from outside of the University. In April 2015, ASCEND received 25 applications for pilot research grants. Of these, six were submitted to NIH for further review and approval.

The ASCEND Center for Biomedical Research was created through a $23.3 million five-year (2014-2019) award from the National Institutes of Health. ASCEND (A Student-Centered, Entrepreneurship Development training model) aims to strengthen Morgan’s biomedical and research infrastructure by training undergraduate students to become outstanding biomedical researchers and providing faculty with support to develop or revitalize their own health research programs.

To learn more about the ASCEND Pilot Research Grants forthcoming second round please visit: http://www.morgan.edu/research_and_economic_development/ascend/faculty_development_opportunities/research_pilot_projects.html

Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified Doctoral Research Institution offering more than 70 academic programs leading to bachelor’s degrees as well as programs at the master’s and doctoral levels. As Maryland’s Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. More information about the university is available at www.morgan.edu.

Bowie State University Breaks New Ground in Queer Studies Course

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Students at Bowie State University now have the opportunity to explore “how vital queer individuals have been to the progress of the nation” in a new course on queer studies.

The university broke grounds as the first historically black college or university (HBCU) to offer a course in queer studies, says Matthew Lynch at Education Week.

According to Wikipedia, Queer studies, sexual diversity studies, or LGBT studies is defined as “the study of issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity usually focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex people and cultures.”

Last year, the university offered a pilot course that saw several students signing up to explore and study the new branch, “The course was offered as a trial last spring and saw 26 students sign up,” writes Lynch. “Because of its success, the course will now have a full offering for the upcoming Fall and Spring Semesters.”

The class is designed to give students a better understanding of queer history, which intersects on issues of race, religion, media, film, and more.

Perhaps what’s most important is that the class will teach, through a historic and academic lens, how vital queer individuals have been to the progress of the nation.

In addition, Bowie State was also recently recognized by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for its efforts of inclusion. The HRC provides an “outreach program that gives HBCU students an opportunity to make changes on their campuses so that students who identify as LGBTQ will have better experiences.”

“We need to ensure that LGBTQ people’s lives are studied, understood and represented across all educational levels,” writes Kevin Nadal, the Executive Director of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies –the oldest university-based LGBTQ research center in the U.S. “When we don’t learn about queer or trans people in our Social Studies, History, or English classes, we inadvertently learn that they don’t exist and that they have not shaped the world to be what it is.”

“If Queer and Trans Studies can help LGBTQ people to live ordinary and extraordinary lives, why wouldn’t we integrate them into every educational institution across the world?”

Read more here.