Former TSU Player Participates in NBA All-Star Week

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Robert Covington, a former Tennessee State University star, participated in the Rising Stars challenge during this All-Star weekend.

Covington, in his second year in the league, has made quite an impact after being undrafted out of Tennessee State. Spending most of his rookie year in the D-League, racking up numerous honors including being named Rookie of the Year and All-Star game MVP, Covington was picked up by the Philadelphia 76ers and has made his presence felt.

Since earning his first start in December Covington has not been out of the lineup and has made himself into a consistent scoring threat, especially from range. The 6’9 forward currently leads his team in three point percentage and threes made per game.

All of this hard play has not gone unnoticed by the NBA. After Michael Carter Williams, also of the 76ers, pulled out of the Rising Stars challenge due to injury, Robert Covington was selected to take his place.

The Rising Stars challenge pits first and second year players against each other to show the future stars of the league as part of the All-Star experience. This year the NBA added a twist pitting U.S. players against other first and second year players from around the world.

The World Team won the game 121-112. Covington had two points, three rebounds, and four steals on the night.

SC State Student Government President on SCSU Closing

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South Carolina State University Student Government President Aaron Russell discusses the state of his university.

Earlier this week, a house subcommittee voted to close the university for two years beginning July. Before action is taken, a full house and senate vote has to happen and Governor Nikki Haley must approve the bill.

http://youtu.be/e-sLeOyNkeI

President Obama Said To Be Critical of HBCUs During CBC Meeting

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“These are difficult times for our institutions, our students and their families – even more difficult than when we first began this journey together in 2009.”  — Hampton University President William Harvey, Chair, President Obama’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs, Feb. 4. 2015

President Obama was critical of Historically Black Colleges and Universities during a meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus this week according to several in attendance.  The February 10 meeting was the first group gathering with the Black Caucus and the President since June 2013.

Several who attended the meeting indicated that President Obama felt that the focus of HBCU’s needs to be on the schools changing their ways of doing business rather on changes in federal policy. Those who attended said he was specifically critical of graduation rates and loan policies.  The President also spoke to CBC members on his free community college plan which some HBCU advocates believe will hurt HBCUs. read more…

Scandal Recap: Billion-Dollar Baby

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Thursday’s episode of Scandal was laced with excellent quotes, major changes in plans and plenty of unanswered questions, like, what was the plan when you proposed this auction, Olivia? And why is Andrew still alive?

Olivia’s friends suddenly decide that they should bid for Olivia in the auction. I’m not sure why it took them so long to think of that. Was this Olivia’s plan?

Another question: it’s Black History Month. Is this whole auction plot a timely reminder about America’s history of buying and selling black people? I don’t know. I do know that a portion of the money raised from this auction needs to be donated to an HBCU. read more…

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10th Annual Castalia Baptist Church HBCU College Tour

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MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) –For the tenth year in a row, Castalia Baptist Church is preparing to travel across state lines and allow students to explore higher education at historically black colleges and universities.

More than 40 high school students will have the opportunity to tour eight HBCU campuses throughout Alabama and Georgia March 16 – 18. The tour is open to all students in grades 9 – 12, regardless of school district or religious affiliation.

“We are excited to continue our annual college tour into our tenth year, and are honored to have kids from as far as Nashville and Chicago participate this year as well,” read more…

Norfolk Baseball Prepares for 2015 MEAC Run

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NORFOLK, Va. – There was a time not too long ago where Norfolk State baseball head coach Claudell Clark could only hope to have a pitching staff of a healthy and reliable seven or eight arms to endure the rigors of a 50-game collegiate season.

While NSU hasn’t lacked for quality pitching over the years, it has sometimes lacked in quantity. Untimely injuries and other player losses have often left the Spartans just shy of a full complement of effective pitchers to help the team attain its goal of a MEAC title.

This year, the Spartans’ roster is stocked with quality pitchers – 14 arms in all, to be exact, including 10 returners from a staff that flourished down the stretch of the 2014 campaign. That experience and depth on the mound will combine with a new-look lineup as the Spartans open the 2015 season this Friday.

The Spartans’ top three pitchers from last year all return and should form the basis of a strong weekend rotation: junior lefthander Matt Outman, sophomore lefthander Devin Hemmerich and senior righty Stephen Butt. Outman tied for second in the MEAC in wins last year and ranked sixth in ERA, going 8-2 with a 2.96 ERA. read more…

An Open Letter to SC Govenor & House of Representatives: The Closure of South Carolina State University

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To Gov. Nimrata “Nikki” Haley and the South Carolina House of Representatives:

“We are loyal sons and daughters
Proud to own the name we bear
For the truth that thou has taught us
Ready all to do and dare

–South Carolina State University alma mater

In 1872, seven years after the Civil War, South Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical Institute was founded in Orangeburg, South Carolina. This institution would later become the Colored Normal Industrial Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina in 1896 after the 1890 second Morrill Land-Grant Act created separate land-grant colleges for African Americans in the Southern United States. The initial Morrill Act led to the founding of white agricultural institutions; however, potential African-American collegians were barred from entering those colleges and universities. read more…

New Athletic Director at Jackson State

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Jackson State announced on Friday that Athletic Director Vivian Fuller has accepted the post of associate vice provost for Student Affairs.

“We are delighted to announce that Dr. Fuller has accepted this post. We honor people who have achieved success in their tasks and believe that she can bring her talents to Student Affairs. This is a strategic redeployment of talent,” JSU President Carolyn Meyers said.

Meyers cited Fuller’s success in improving academic scores within the Athletic Department.

The university will conduct a national search for Fuller’s replacement, Meyers said.

Robert Walker, who has previously served as interim athletic director, will again serve as interim effective March 1, Meyers said. read more…

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Federal HBCU Program to Help Fund UVI School of Medicine

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In a resolution passed at a special meeting on Friday evening, the University of the Virgin Islands board of trustees authorized the university to enter into a loan not to exceed $21 million to help fund the construction of its planned medical school, slated to open in the fall of 2016. The loan will be provided by the U.S. Department of Education’s Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program, which primarily offers loans to fund renovation and repairs of the nation’s HBCUs, but also occasionally helps to fund the construction of new facilities.

The development phase of UVI’s Medical School, which proposes new buildings on both St. Thomas and St. Croix, was announced in April of last year around the time of a $30 million donation to the project by New Generation Power and its Chairman, Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria. The university has since named Dr. Benjamin Sachs, former dean of Tulane Medical School, as the school’s interim dean. In December, an accreditation application was submitted to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. read more…

A Black History Month Special: HBCU Experience – The Book

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The existence of intuitions of higher education for Black people can be traced back to the mid-1830s, about three decades before the end of slavery, when Quakers in Philadelphia established the Institute for Colored Youth, which was created to educate free Blacks in their quest to become teachers. Many Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were founded by the American Missionary Association, which included such historic institutions as Atlanta University (1865), Fisk University (1866), Howard University (1867), Hampton Institute (1868), Tugaloo College (1869), and more. In 1871, Alcorn State College, now Alcorn State University, was founded. It was the first Black “land grant” college in America.

Today, there are 108 HBCUs. The state of Alabama has the most with 15. For several decades, there have been questions by some people – Black and White – whether there is still a need for Black colleges and universities in America. After all, segregation of the nation’s colleges and universities has been abolished – to a certain extent – for decades where African Americans can attend predominately White institutions of higher learning where they were once barred. read more…

Love is Love: Comedian W. Kamau Bell and Melissa Hudson Bell

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If there’s one thing we can all agree on, politics aside, it’s that love transcends all. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, msnbc.com’s “Love is Love” series will profile a variety of couples and their stories in the week leading up to February 14 to show that “love is love,” no matter your race, nationality, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity.

W. Kamau Bell is a comedian who has become famous for his no-holds-barred approach to tackling race, politics, and social issues in his comedy. He also hosted the late night comedy show “Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell,” which aired on FX. Kamau has frequently spoken out about the role race and racism play in American society, entertainment, media, and politics. Here, he and his wife, Melissa Hudson Bell, talk to msnbc about race, love, interracial relationships, marriage, and raising a family. read more…

FBI Struggles to Hire Black Agents

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FBI Director James Comey’s pointed critique of law enforcement’s rocky dealings with African American communities indirectly called attention to an uncomfortable fact: the percentage of black FBI agents has actually fallen over the past two decades.

The most recent statistics posted on the website of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency show African Americans accounted for 4.7% of the bureau’s special agents in 2012, down from 5.6% in 1997.

Law enforcement critics have cited racial disparities on police forces as one of the reasons for strained relationships with black communities nationwide.

The FBI’s numbers dipped despite a flurry of high-profile discrimination lawsuits filed against the agency in the 1980s and 1990s. Those cases led to an admission of disparities in the treatment of minorities at the bureau, as well as to a slew of reforms intended to remedy those recurring problems.

Comey did not mention the specific personnel figures during his widely-publicized address Thursday at Georgetown University, but in a question-and-answer period he said the bureau’s recruitment of minority agents is inadequate. read more…

Blackstone Charitable Foundation Announces Third Annual Innovation Grant Recipients

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NEW YORK, Feb 13, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The Blackstone Charitable Foundation today announced that it has awarded grants totaling $3 million to twenty non-profit organizations that strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems and support high growth entrepreneurs. Now in its third year, the Blackstone Innovation Grants program targets organizations that focus on fostering entrepreneurship and innovation.

Through these grants, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation is helping innovative organizations pilot, expand or replicate programs that will catalyze the growth of successful businesses, industries, and communities in their regions. As part of this program, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation is working to create a global network of entrepreneurship-focused programs in which participants can share best practices, methodologies and intellectual capital. read more…

AARP Georgia debuts HBCU ‘Fix the Debt’ Event

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Among the greatest obstacles to the establishment of collective success in the black community are sound financial planning/debt prevention and creating inter-generational wealth.

The AARP Georgia invited celebrities, dignitaries, educators and legislators to the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel to discuss this most important matter during the HBCU “Fix the Debt” event that included the luminaries Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Dr. Dennis Kimbro, Operation HOPE founder John Hope Bryant and radio-TV personality Rashan Ali. read more…

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Coach Says a Murderer is Not One of His Players

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Not too long ago, a Texas man was jailed on a first-degree murder complaint related to the shooting death of a transgender woman.

Texas College student Carlton Champion was arrested Jan. 29. The Tyler Police department arrested him 3 days after 24-year-old Ty Underwood was killed. At that time, it was reported that the young man was a member of the Texas College football team. According to a coach at the institution, Champion is not one of the teams players.

Originally, the Tyler Police Department reported Champion was a member of the team, citing a friend of Underwood’s as its reference. According to an article published in Tyler Morning Telegraph, “It was at that point that investigators connected the dots and confirmed that Champion, in fact, played football for the school.”

According to HBCU Sports, Leonard Smith, football coach at Texas College, debunked the report that mentioned Champion had been a member of the team.

“We provide(d) a roster to the police and showed them that he was not on our team this past fall,” Smith told HBCU Sports. “He (Champion) was trying out this semester just like other kids but he has not played in a game for us.”

Smith provided the roster with hopes of dispelling any faulty information and to avoid the “bad reputation in Tyler” the school seems unable to escape.

Smith said he wanted to correct any misinformation to preserve the schools image that has historically had “a bad reputation in Tyler.”

 

Howard Students Want to Fix Wikipedia With “Edit-a-Thon”

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On Thursday Feb. 19 students and faculty members from Howard University plan to teach Wikipedia a lesson on black history. All of Wikipedia’s pages, topics and entries related to African-American history will be fixed in the “edit-a-thon” as a part of Black History Month, according to reports.

According to The Root, Howard Dodson, the director of Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, a research center and also one of the country’s oldest produced within the African Diaspora, says, “Howard University is the ideal place to hold an edit-a-thon on this broad and undeserved subject area. Eligible content rangers from entries about influential people in African American history to legislation fought for by black Americans, as well as the mass protests and pop-culture moments that have affected African Americans.”

The “edit-a-thon” will be held at the school’s MSRC. Community members are free to attend and watch.