How often have you heard people say young people don’t pay attention to politics?
At Bennett College, hundreds of women marched from campus to the polls to celebrate Election Day.
“Four years ago, I was in high school. I was the main one rallying people to vote. But, I was 17-years-old and was unable to vote,” student Delrisha White said.
Junior LaRika Jones said, “I feel it’s very important to be heard and get your vote in.” read more…
The Alabama State Hornets held on to beat Southern 31-30 in a Southwestern Athletic Conference game at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
Alabama State (7-3 overall, 7-2 SWAC) remains in a virtual tie for the Eastern Division lead with Jackson State, a 35-21 winner over Alabama A&M. Jackson State (6-4, 6-2) plays at Alcorn State next Saturday. A loss by JSU clinches the East for the Hornets, while a Tigers win would clinch the division for Jackson State.
Despite allowing a touchdown with 20 seconds to play, Alabama State forced an incompletion on the two-point conversion pass to preserve the win.
“We’re happy with it,” coach Reggie Barlow said. “Whenever you can come on the road and play a really good team, you’ll take the victory. Southern is a good team. They fought like all get out, but our guys withstood the test, and we’ll take the victory.” read more…
College students from across the country gathered at Tennessee State University for the first Collegiate Black United Summit International conference October 31 to November 2.
Because of the difficulties caused by Superstorm Sandy, student leaders from parts of the East Coast were unable to make the trip, however, many others did, and enjoyed the three-day summit featuring the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. read more…
FAMU has offered to pay $300,000 to the family of drum major Robert Champion, who died after a hazing aboard a charter bus in Orlando last November.
But Pamela and Robert Champion Sr. were “insulted” by the offer and have rejected it, said the family’s attorney, Christopher Chestnut, who did not say what amount might be acceptable. read more…
Barack Obama, the first black U.S. president, won re-election rather convincingly November 6, 2012. Obama easily captured 323 of electoral votes Tuesday (only 270 are needed to win) vs. Gov. Mitt Romney’s 206 in a showdown expected to be a lot closer than the actual end result.
In his win, Obama held another first: the first black American to win a second term, and assured the people in his election speech of the hard work his administration will continue to apply the following four years.
“Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual,” Obama said, after winning the race election day. “You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together.”
From slavery through Jim Crow, blacks suffered unforgivable acts during their stay in America. And now there is something blacks identify with in the White House—a man in the Oval Office who share their skin color—which give those very people hope.
But is this new found hope what blacks really need?
Tara Wall’s “Black America Has a Choice on Nov. 6” for The Root is a reality check. She writes, “The unemployment rate among black Americans rose in October to 14.3 percent. For the 18- to 29-year-old demographic, the unemployment rate is even higher: 21.4 percent. That’s astonishing,” said Wall.
Sometimes we forget that behind each of these numbers and each of these statistics are real people with real struggles. The effect of chronic unemployment can be seen in every black American neighborhood.
How many of our friends and neighbors struggled for decades to pull themselves into the middle class — overcoming discrimination and historical disadvantages in the process — only to slip back into poverty under this president? How much crime and violence is driven by a massive proportion of our kids who see no opportunities in their future and no way out of their struggles? It simply is impossible to measure the effect of the economic inequality that we currently face in the black community.
Wall goes on to suggest blacks should seriously consider voting Mitt Romney as president, who is for economic freedom, opposed to economic dependency.
While blacks have monolithically voted Democrat the last 40 years, high unemployment, low median house net worth rates—a staggering $110,729 for whites vs. $4,995 for blacks, according to a recent Census Bureau report—and poor education is what blacks show today for their unquestioned loyalty to the Democrat Party.
Our president may be black, but blacks are still suffering under his party’s leadership.
Though Republicans seem to be insensitive and even racist at times, the conservative philosophy could bring more self-reliance back to black communities—a standard many people desperately need.
But the opportunity to vote Romney has gone astray, and we must now move forward, being critical and realistic of what needs to be done to keep the American Dream alive.
HBCU Buzz interviewed Danny Tejada, author of Different Families, Still Brothers, a book that will release on kindle on November 1st. Tejada tells how it is possible to assist people in poverty on a seemingly small level, and how people who experienced being poor can be a great ally to those who are currently poor.
“Poverty is going to bed hungry. It is cereal for dinner. If lucky, it is white rice and eggs for dinner,” Tejada said.
“It is deciding between paying the light bill or buying food for the family. It is living in a hotel room with your whole family because you lost your home. It is having to work sick because you could lose your job if you don’t. It is isolating yourself because you don’t have the money to do anything.”
He went on to say that he wrote his book because those who do help end up doing more harm than good because they don’t know what it’s like to be poor. He wants the book to change people’s mind about helping the poor in an effective way and bring hope to youth in poverty.
According to the Census Bureau, in 2011, one in six Americans had an income below $22,811, and one in-15 American households earned less than $11,406. In Dr. Robert Franklin’s book, Crisis in the Village, he says, “There is time for diagnosis and there is time for prescription.”
But what good is prescription that doesn’t get filled? And what good is a filled prescription that we won’t faithfully take?
It’s time to fill the prescription; that is, to apply good advice we give ourselves and to those closest to us. That’s the ethical imperative for all of us today: “fill the prescription, take the medicine.”
The tragedy in American society is that pertinent issues have not become a part of prompt agenda’s because of pompous stake-holders. We have many diagnoses and prescriptions, but America will not swallow the pills that social justice experts have manufactured.
This weekend while Talladega College celebrated 145 years of academic excellence during their Annual Founders’ Week activities, another celebration took place in Atlanta, Georgia for Alabama’s first private liberal arts historically black college.
Sophomore, Alexis Tardy, from Indianapolis, Indiana won the Ford Black College Quiz Bowl Competition. Alexis is a 2011 graduate of North Central High School in Indianapolis. Twelve HBCUs participated in the black history competition sponsored by the Ford Corporation. Stillman College, Southern University of New Orleans, Hampton University, Spelman College, Coppin State University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Central State University, Paine College, Claflin University, Bethune-Cookman University, Rust College and Talladega College battled for the coveted first place spot in each contest.
Miss Tardy participated in a competition round with Central State University and Paine College. The competition was no easy task as Alexis and others were pitted against Honda All-Star challenge captains from various campuses. Alexis won first place and was awarded a $5,000 scholarship. Each school was represented by a student and coach from their campus. Miss Tardy’s coach was Dr. Sim C. Pettway, Talladega College’s Director of Continuing Education and Honda All-Star Challenge advisor. Dr. Pettway remarks, “I am so proud of Miss Tardy for winning the Ford Black College Quiz Bowl. Miss Tardy’s willingness to practice, even temperament, high self-esteem, and competitive spirit brought home the victory for Talladega College.”
Alexis is excited about her victory. She says, “I am very honored and blessed to have represented Talladega College in the Ford Black College Quiz Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia. The quiz bowl was not only fun and exciting, it was also a learning experience that I feel has opened doors for the school and myself. I hope this will be a starting point to other experiences that will help further my education, as well as preparation for my career.”
The Ford Black College Quiz Bowl is set to air between January and March of next year. The series will consist of four (4) half-hour quiz shows with three schools competing in each segment. The airing schedule will be announced by Central City Productions. For more information on the show, go to www.ccptv.com.
Ottawa High School students head home after class last year. Under a proposal from Grand Rapids Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal, GRPS will work on partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to create a recruitment pipeline with the school, located at 2055 Rosewood Ave. SE. Her proposal also has the school sharing its building with a new International Baccalaureate arts program in 2014-15. MLive File PhotoThe effort to build relationships with the schools was announced as part of Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal’s proposal to restructure the district. The “transformation plan” closes, reopens, consolidates, and changes schools as well as invests in new ideas and programs. read more…
Brooks Harrington had lived in his home on Broadell Drive for nearly a year before he discovered the briefcase, boxes and large trunk tucked away in the attic.
What he found inside was a treasure trove of Fayetteville State University history from the early 1950s, including personal items of two longtime educators who built the home. Since going through the boxes, he has learned more about the home’s significance in the rise of middle-class black families in Fayetteville. read more…
Coaching basketball is Flint native Deonta McChester’s passion in life.
McChester, 28, is now one step closer to fulfilling his lifelong dream of leading his own program in the college basketball ranks.
The former head coach of the Flint Monarchs semi-pro team will now work as an assistant for the women’s basketball program at Claflin University this season.
McChester will assist Tiffany Tucker with the Lady Panthers. Claflin University is a NCAA Division II school located in Orangeburg, S.C. read more…
Central State University’s new president Cynthia Jackson-Hammond has set “compelling priorities” for the historically black institution, but says she realizes the changes will come gradually.
“Central State University is just like a mega yacht, and you don’t turn yachts on the point of a dime. But you put into process those steps that help make sure the yacht turns evenly,” said Jackson-Hammond, who was previously lead education consultant for H & H Educational Consultants and has prior experience as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Coppin State University in Baltimore. read more….
Dillard University Theatre’s production of August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running” opens Friday at 8 p.m. in the Samuel DuBois Cook Fine Arts Center.
The show, which runs five times through Nov. 18, is directed by Ray Vrazel.
Ticket information is available by calling the Dillard University box office at 504- 816-4857 or by email at theatre(at)dillard.edu. read more…
After relentless efforts towards increasing retention rates, expanding technological innovation and building a new online business degree program, President Reginald S. Avery announced his decision to step down from his role as President of Coppin State University. On Wednesday, Avery remarked in his resignation speech, “It has been my privilege and honor to have served as President of Coppin and to have worked with a talented and dedicated team of individuals who care deeply about the university and our students. I am proud of what we have achieved together.”
Clark Atlanta University tapped an alumnus who served as the president of two colleges to be the interim provost, university officials announced Monday.
James Hefner retired in 2005 after serving as president of Tennessee State and Jackson State universities. He was also a provost at Tuskegee University.
Clark Atlanta’s previous provost, Joseph Silver, left to become president of Alabama State University. read more…
Voorhees College will induct four distinguished alumni — David Miller, Dorothy Perry Patterson, Sarah Simpson and Irene Reed Singletary — into its Hall of Fame during the 10th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet.
The banquet will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, in the Leonard E. Dawson Health and Human Resources Center.
David Miller, a 1984 graduate, is currently the co-owner of the OurWeekly group of publications in Los Angeles, Calif. Since the business’ inception in 2004, Miller has developed successful sales strategies and marketing plans for the popular weekly periodicals. read more…
Voorhees College’s Homecoming Week 2012 is set for Nov. 4-10. This year’s theme is “Celebrating a New Beginning of Commitment and Creativity.”
The week-long celebration will kick off with a gospel extravaganza at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4, in Massachusetts Hall. The event will feature Voorhees College Gospel Choir along with choirs from Claflin University, Charleston Southern University and South Carolina State University. Saxophonist Allen Holmes Jr. will also perform during the event, which is free and open to the public.
Additional activities include: read more…
