Jerry L. Barrow: 5 Reasons Lil Wayne Should Retire

Posted by Tommy G. Meade Jr.
Posted on
Young Money founder Lil Wayne is calling it quits after “The Carter V” album drops, spending 20 or so years in the game. (He signed his first contract with Cash Money Records at age 9 and went platinum at age 14!)

For years now, Lil Wayne has proven that his brand and the word ‘respect’ goes hand in hand: he has more entries on Billboard’s Hot 100 than Elvis Presley, and respect define as, to admire (someone or something) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements.

So, what’s left to do?

Check out The Urban Daily‘s Jerry L. Barrow piece on why the rap mogul should retire.

[divider]

Lil Wayne signed to Cash Money Records before he could even pee straight and went on to sell millions of records.  After two decades of making girls wobbledy-wobble Weezy is ready to hang up the mic. In 2011 he told radio host Angie Martinez that he’d retire by age 35, and he has now reinforced that statement with MTV’s Sway Calloway, insisting that Tha Carter V would be his last album.

Given recent events we have five good reasons why retiring from music is a good idea or Lil Tunechi.

Health

Despite early reports by his handlers, Weezy’s work schedule is effecting his health. Wayne suffered seizure like symptoms aboard his private jet and is now taking prescription medication to keep it in check. Given that his homey Rick Ross  and  record exec Vince Herbert suffered from the same condition and we lost Heavy D to blood clots related to excessive flying, cutting out the need to rejoin the Mile High Club each week might be wise.

Fashion Sense

In July of 2012 Lil Wayne joined the long list of rappers to launch clothing lines. But have you seen these clothes? Zebra striped jeggings and neon T-shirts?  It looks like Bret Michaels’ tour bus was raped by an Army surplus store. He clearly needs to spend more time on his sewing skills and less time in the studio if he’s serious about this.

Read more at The Urban Daily.

Thurgood Marshall College Fund Helps Develop Innovative Classroom Instruction

Posted by Tommy G. Meade Jr.
Posted on
In an initiative to create schools exemplifying 21st century innovation, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), a leading HBCU advocacy and support organization, and its member universities are collaborating to establish college prep academies that combine classroom learning with online instruction.

TMCF officials have announced that the initiative aims to launch as many as 10 college prep academies over the next five years at or near HBCU member campuses. TMCF, which counts 47 public historically Black universities as member schools, has turned to Connections Education, a division of education services giant Pearson Education, to provide online instruction and the technical support for the new schools.

The “blended” secondary schools “will deliver students a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, while also addressing 21st century learning needs,” according to officials.

Designated TMCF member schools will join in the collaboration by hosting the new secondary schools, supporting them with professional development and student teacher placement, and delivering early college programming.

TMCF president and CEO Johnny C. Taylor Jr. says each fully blended instruction school will be designated as a ‘TMCF Collegiate Academy.’ The academies will be developed as tuition-free, public charter schools and enroll students between sixth and twelfth grades. High achieving students will gain eligibility to receive TMCF scholarships to attend member schools.

“We believe that blended [education] is where everyone is going and we better make sure that HBCUs and the students that are likely to matriculate on [HBCU] campuses know how to perform in that environment,” Taylor says.

Read more at Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

Album Release Dates For Fourth Quarter

Posted by Tommy G. Meade Jr.
Posted on

The Urban Daily‘s Ariel Cherie hooks us up with the hottest albums yet to come in the 4th quarter. Check this out:

[divider]

Here’s a look at when the hip-hop and R&B albums from your favorite artists will be available through the end of the year.

11.27.2012   Alicia Keys Girl On Fire
11.27.2012   Freeway Diamond in the Ruff
11.27.2012   Future Pluto 3
11.27.2012   Flo Rida Wild Ones (Holiday Edition)
12.04.2012  Wiz Khalifa O.N.I.F.C.
12.11.2012    Game Jesus Piece
12.11.2012    Big Boi Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors
12.18.2012   T.I. Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head
12.18.2012   Chief Keef Finally Rich

Tuskegee University Named Least Awesome College Town

Posted by Tommy G. Meade Jr.
Posted on

The fellas over at The Princeton Review recently named Tuskegee University as the ‘least awesome college town’ in the nation. Hmm…I wonder why?

Blacks represent 95 percent of the population in Tuskegee, Alabama, where TU was founded in 1881. Famed educator Booker T. Washington got the nod to become the university’s ‘first teacher’ and took the century old school from “no land, no buildings and no teachers” to a worldwide history bank.

Also telling, blacks reportedly have a median household net worth of $4,995.

Note: Tuskegee University, (whose students are 80 percent black) was founded in 1881, and the town within the school is populated mostly by blacks, who make 22 times less wealth than whites.

With all the statistics stacked up against TU, for the historically black university to still stand today is simply impressive. And though it may be ranked as the least awesome college town, I’m more than positive the campus community makes up for it tenfold.

[divider]

So, what’s your college town like? Join the discussion below.

Tennessee State names new President, Dr. Glenda Glover

Posted by Robert Hoggard
Posted on
Dr. Glenda Glover has been named the next President to replace Portia Shields, who was President for the past two years.

The boards Chancellor, John Morgan, said, “Her experience as a faculty member, campus administration and an engaged member of the civic and business communities will serve TSU and the entire region well.”

Glover, a TSU alumna, served at Jackson State University since 1994. She was selected from a pool of 86 applicants where nine candidates were interviewed and four finalists were selected.

In addition to her bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Tennessee State University, Dr. Glover holds degrees from Georgetown University, an MBA from Clark Atlanta University, and a Ph.D. in business economics and policy from George Washington University.

In an earlier interview with HBCU Buzz, Glover said she plans to ensure that TSU remains competitive, TSU forms business partnerships for fundraising and TSU increases in enrollment, and believes that the areas that she has studied and worked in make her great for the position. “I want to give back to the University that gave so much to me,” said Glover.

She released a brief statement to HBCU Buzz about her appointment, saying, “I am honored to receive the recommendation from Chancellor Morgan. I look forward to the meeting this coming Tuesday.”

Posted by Robert Hoggard Posted on 231 articles

Dillard University President holds Thanksgiving dinner

Posted by Robert Hoggard
Posted on
Dillard University President, Dr. Walter Kimbrough, e-mailed students Thanksgiving week, indicating if they needed a place to eat, he would have seats. Check out his reasoning in a interview with HBCU Buzz.

Q. How long has this tradition been at Dillard?

Kimbrough: This is my first Thanksgiving here, and I am not aware of it being done before. We started doing this in 2009 when I was president of Philander Smith College. We knew there were students who needed a place for Thanksgiving dinner and we decided we would host a group. My mom taught at Clark Atlanta University so we always saw CAU students at the house during Thanksgiving.

Q- How many students shared dinner with you?

Kimbrough: We had 14 Dillard students, plus one of my students from Philander Smith College drove down from Arkansas.

Q- Who prepared dinner?

Kimbrough: My wife did the bulk of the cooking. We purchased fried turkeys and a Honey Baked Ham, but she made the sides and desserts. One of the students brought a cobbler and an acquaintance of my wife gave us a cheesecake.

Dinner included fried turkey, honey baked ham, macaroni and cheese, greens, sweet potato casserole, green beans, corn bread and Hawaiian bread. And dessert consisted of: sweet potato pie, pound cake, Italian cream cake, peach cobbler and 7th Ward cheesecake

Q- Did you share any words of wisdom with the students?

Kimbrough: This was a real informal, laid back time. It wasn’t so much about being the president as it was opening the house to students who could not be with their families. So they could feel like they were having Thanksgiving by being in a home, especially one with a 6-year-old and 4-year-old running around.

 Q- What are some of the reasons students cannot make it home for holidays? (Sports, financial hardships and etc.)

Kimbrough: Most who don’t go home do so because of distance. The bulk of the students tonight were from California, with Illinois and Virginia represented, along with Alabama and Texas. West Coast students just wait until the end of the semester since it would be expensive and time consuming

Q- What is your goal in hosting this every year?

Kimbrough: No real goal for this event except to provide a home away from home during a holiday that makes people think about family. In a few years there will be students who come who really know us, and will sit around and talk until after midnight (that happened last year in Little Rock).

Political Science student, Nicole A. Tinson, says, “Aside from the dinner (the ham and greens were amazing), I was very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to dine on Thanksgiving with Dr. Kimbrough, Mrs. Kimbrough, Lydia and Ben (children), along with fellow colleagues from Dillard University including my good friend Marques Reed, and a new acquaintance from Philander.”

Last year I stayed in my apartment, cooked, and invited those that were left to come and eat; I missed the ‘family environment.’ This year, being able to sit down at a long table, eat, converse, and laugh made me feel like I was back at home in Los Angeles, California; the atmosphere reassured me that I was part of a family here at Dillard University. It will definitely serve as an unforgettable experience.

Only in his first year on the yard, the ‘laid back,’ Hip Hop President made this past Thanksgiving memorable for many Dillard students, and we wish him and the campus happy holidays.

Posted by Robert Hoggard Posted on 231 articles

Howard University launches new mobile app, and why others should join

Posted by Robert Hoggard
Posted on
With the increased popularity of mobile devices on campus, having particular apps is an important asset for increasing student and community engagement. Thus why Howard University recently launched its own Howard Mobile app, which lets members of the Howard University community stay connected to university life information and services with the touch of a button.

Some features of the Howard Mobile app includes mobile access to campus maps and real-time bus schedules, the entire course catalog, the latest university news, sports schedules and more.

Blackboard and Howard University built Howard Mobile to support native device interfaces, meaning the app is built for performance while keeping the user experience in mind.

Based in San Francisco, the Blackboard Mobile Central team has partnered with hundreds of institutions to provide innovative mobile solutions that enrich teaching and learning and enhance campus life and community.

The Howard Mobile app is available for free on iOS, Android and all other web-enabled devices through the mobile web. A BlackBerry version is scheduled for release in December 2012. You can download Howard Mobile from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, directly from your device.

In his book, Viral: How Social Networking Is Poised to Ignite Revival, Leonard Sweet says the current generation can be identified as the (TGIF) generation, which means: Twitter, Google, iPhone and Facebook. With this in mind, benefits can only beckon efficient change to HBCU’s by immersing their selves in the technology savvy world.

Posted by Robert Hoggard Posted on 231 articles

Tougaloo College student killed, 2 other students injured

Posted by Robert Hoggard
Posted on
Tougaloo College students were involved in a one car accident early Thursday morning off the I-55 South interstate in Jackson, Mississippi.

Senior Joshua Robinson, 21 of Jackson, was killed and driver Xavier Robinson, 23 of Monroe, Louisiana experienced life-threatening injuries and was listed in critical condition at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Backseat passenger Brennan Bell, 22, of Bay St. Louis was also injured and should be released from the hospital Friday.

The Jackson police Department received the call at 2:34 a.m. The vehicle struck a bridge pillar. The accident is still under investigation.

A vigil for the students was planned at 5:30 p.m. at the Woodworth Chapel at Tougaloo.

President’s Corner: Dr. Kent Smith of Langston University

Posted by Brittney Quarles
Posted on
The HBCU Buzz Show is honored to have the President of Langston University in our President’s Corner today November 20, 2012.  Make sure to tune in LIVE 6pm EST!

Kent Smith, Jr. was named sixteenth president of Langston University by the OSU and A&M Board of Regents on January 19, 2012, and assumed office on June 4, 2012. He also serves as professor of education.

Heralded by his contemporaries as a student-focused, deeply committed, dynamic leader, Smith brings with him the experience and potential to take Oklahoma’s only historically black institution of higher education to the next level of academic excellence and national preeminence.

Prior to coming to Langston, he served as the vice president for student affairs, chief student affairs officer and assistant professor of education at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He is a former dean of students at Auburn University in Alabama, director of multicultural affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, and assistant director of black student services and adjunct professor of education at Colorado State University. He was also an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University.

A Louisiana native, Smith earned a bachelor’s in secondary education and a master’s in educational administration and supervision from Southern University in Baton Rouge, and a doctorate in education and human resources studies, with a concentration in educational administration and student affairs, from Colorado State in Fort Collins.

He and his wife Tiffany are the parents of three sons – Trey, Tyler and Trent – and daughter Morgan, who is currently enrolled at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Courtesy of LU

VSU Receives $300,000 to Reduce Domestic Violence

Posted by Brittney Quarles
Posted on
The U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence against Women has awarded Virginia State University a three year, $298,437 grant to fund programs designed to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus. VSU is one of only 22 projects selected for funding in FY 2012.

This award provides resources to develop and strengthen effective responses to violence against women. The funds will be used to implement comprehensive efforts to enhance victim services along with prevention and education programs, and develop and strengthen security and investigation strategies to prevent, prosecute and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking crimes.

The grant was written and developed by Dr. Evelyn V. Whitehead, VSU’s Coordinator of Substance Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention. Dr. Whitehead will serve as the Project Director and work closely with campus and community law enforcement, local hospitals and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and a broad cross-section of on-campus departments.

Courtesy of VSU

NCCU Honors Veterans with Ceremony and New Service Center

Posted by Brittney Quarles
Posted on
North Carolina Central University observed Veterans Day on Monday, Nov. 12, in two ways.

In the morning, nearly 50 NCCU military veterans — students, faculty and staff — were honored with speeches and a flag ceremony in front of the statue of university founder James E. Shepard at the heart of the campus. The gathered crowd saluted the veterans with a hearty round of applause.

The afternoon brought a less formal but more substantive indication of gratitude: the grand opening of NCCU’s new Veterans Center, a meeting place and source of services for the university’s growing contingent of veterans.

Speaking at the flag ceremony, Lt. Col. James Hunt, battalion commander of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command in Raleigh, said, “What impresses me the most about our military men and women is that even after they wear the uniform, they come back and continue to make a commitment to their families and communities.” Not since the Vietnam War, Hunt noted, have there been as many veterans between the ages of 22 and 30. “And this number is only going to increase.”

It is partly in response to this growth that NCCU developed its Veterans Center, which occupies a suite in the Miller–Morgan Building. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund contributed $18,600 to support the establishment of the center, which includes a student lounge, a computer center and office space for NCCU veterans coordinator Tomeka Davis.

Read More

“Say It Loud: I’m Pregnant, Ratchet & Proud”

Posted by Tommy G. Meade Jr.
Posted on

Recently, I discovered a blog called ThyBlackMan.com, and according to the site, it’s dedicated to uniting black men, and reminding  them of brotherhood and their value as men in this society. ThyBlackMan‘s Nojma Muhammad’s in-your-face “Say It Loud: I’m Pregnant, Ratchet & Proud” piece about rapper Wiz Khalifa and his beautiful, pregnant wife, Amber Rose, is quite interesting. Check out his response to a tweet Amber Rose sent from her Twitter account:

[divider]

So recently on Twitter, Amber Rose said that she “loves it when Wiz calls her his baby mama because it makes her feel ratchet and she likes it.”

One of the definitions of the word ratchet according to the Urban Dictionary is:

(adjective) a term for someone that is either;

1. A whore
2. Dirty/Nasty
3. Ghetto as HELL
4. Annoying
5. Busted

So….. this is how building his legacy makes her feel. This is what she is thinking while she is pregnant with his child. Brothers, I keep telling you to look beyond big asses, thick thighs, and a pretty face because NONE of that is relevant if her mind isn’t right. You mess around and have your future trapped in an undeveloped mind, your child being held hostage in a mind that is not even close to thinking like God, therefore lacking the capability to give birth to one!

It’s already been revealed that she is having a boy. Let’s refer back to number one of the ratchet definition, which is “a whore” and  if she likes the way that makes her feel what is she teaching her son, regarding his view  of women  while he is in the womb? What will be his treatment of women?  A whore is defined as:

A woman who engages in promiscuous sexual intercourse, usually for money; prostitute; harlot; strumpet.

If his MOTHER likes the way being a whore makes her “feel” then what type of woman will her son seek? Is he more likely to treat a woman like a whore, or already see her as such, and assume that she likes the way being a whore makes her feel, since this is something he learned from his mother? Right now because of her warped views and mindset, she is instilling warped views in the mind of her son.

Read Nojma Muhammad’s entire piece at ThyBlackMan.com.

College Republicans at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Posted by Tommy G. Meade Jr.
Posted on

When the TV networks announced that President Barack Obama had clinched Ohio and won a second term on election night, many college students around the country celebrated. In Washington, D.C., a number of these young people — who were a key constituency in giving Obama a boost over GOP nominee Mitt Romney — rushed downtown to Pennsylvania Avenue and celebrated outside the White House.

The atmosphere was just as celebratory — if not more so — at the nation’s historically black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs. After all, the country chose to reelect the nation’s first African-American president, despite rough economic times, so countless watch parties were hosted on election night at these campuses.

But Harold Booker, a senior at Morehouse College, wasn’t joining in the festivities. Instead, he watched the election results from his dorm room, alone.

Booker is a rarity at an HBCU: a Republican.

“I tell people all the time, if you look at the African-American community — especially in the South — we’re very much so socially and fiscally conservative,” Booker said. “When you look at the policies of the Democratic Party, they don’t represent our families and communities, and what they need to grow and develop.”

Read more at the Huffington Post.

Idris Elba to play James Bond next?

Posted by Tommy G. Meade Jr.
Posted on
In a day and age when many people question whether blacks are represented well and regularly enough in the film and television industry, a black man playing a famed leading role could open the floodgates for the next generation of black actors.

The Urban Daily’s Candice Frederick explores the idea of a good-looking, savvy black James Bond in “5 Black Actors Who Could Be The Next James Bond.” And “word on the street,” Frederick writes, actor Idris Elba is most wanted.

[divider]

Daniel Craig may be getting ready to take on the box office this Friday as James Bond in Skyfall, but word on the street is Idris Elba is the people’s choice to play 007 next.

And as folks continue to drop Elba’s name around, it got us thinking about what other martini-swigging, suit-donning brothers could continue the franchise. Goodness knows Will Smith and Denzel Washington can’t hold it down for all of the brothers. So here are five others who come to mind:

Idris Elba: We might as well get this one out the way because it sounds like he’s just one step away from signing on the dotted line. And it seems like he would be a sure bet—tall, dark, handsome, and has a British accent that drives the ladies crazy. He’s pretty much the definition of a Bond. Oh, and he can act too. He’s already picked up a thing or two about living a double life as the lead character on his hit TV show, Luther. We’re pretty sure he could break some necks if fools got in his way, too, just like any good Bond.

Read Candice Frederick entire piece at The Urban Daily.

Eon Productions’ Skyfall was released in the United States on November 8, 2012.

Not Guilty Verdict in Bowie State Murder Stabbing Trial Alexis Simpson

Posted by HBCU Editors
Posted on

A jury found former Bowie State student Alexis Simpson not guilty on all seven counts in the fatal stabbing of her roommate Dominique Frazier in September 2011.

The jury got the case Thursday afternoon and had a verdict by 7:30 p.m.

Simpson, 20, took the stand in her own defense Thursday morning. On Sept. 15, students were preparing for a homecoming comedy show when Simpson and Frazier got into an altercation over loud music playing from the vicitm’s iPod.

It would be the last in a series of disagreements the two had had that semester.

“She (Dominique) slammed the door and hit me in my face with the door pretty hard … It caused my head to jerk,” Simpson testified. “She opened her door and stepped out … She said ‘What’s up?’ and started to swing. She uppercut me while holding my hair.”

Other witnesses testified that Simpson was the one to throw the first punch. After that initial fight, Simpson went to her room looking for her inhaler, she said.

Her attorney asked: “Did you take anything else out of your room?”

Simpson replied: “Yes, a knife … It was a pocket knife.”

Simpson described the moments leading up to the the actual stabbing.

“Kiaira (Johnson, the victim’s friend) began to attack, pulling me by my hair, and I was scared,” she testified, sometimes crying. “I did not know what they were going to do next. They continued to hit me, so I swung the knife … Then Dominique stopped swinging and grabbed her neck and blood was coming out, and I just wanted to help her.”

Simpson said she tried to call 911 and when the call didn’t go through, she followed Dominique as she stumbled to the hallway

“I laid down next to her and put my hand on her neck so blood wouldn’t come out,” Simpson said. “I started to panic… There was foam coming out of her mouth… I didn’t know what to do.”

During cross examination Wednesday — Day 2 of Simpson’s trial — the state’s first witness, Frazier’s friend Kiaira Johnson, described what she saw when the stabbing happened.

“I didn’t even see the knife, but when Dominique hit her, the girl had the knife in her hand,” Johnson said. “I don’t think she meant to cut Dominique, but it just happened.”

Simpson and Frazier stopped getting along soon after the beginning of the school year.

In opening statements Tuesday, the attorney for the defense said Simpson told dorm management, “They are threatening me, and I’m afraid they are going to jump me … I just want to change rooms.” That request was denied. referenced

Black Girls Should Be Told They’re Beautiful

Posted by Tommy G. Meade Jr.
Posted on
In his victory speech, President Barack Obama told his two daughters they are strong, smart and beautiful; adjectives blogger Alice Robb considers “inappropriate” and “sets up beauty as something young girls should aspire to.” Do young black woman need to be told they’re beautiful? The Root‘s contributing editor Demetria L. Lucas believes so. Check out her rebuttal for Essence.

[divider]

There were plenty of complaints about Election Night (and its results), and one that’s gaining traction was from blogger Alice Robb for the Oxonian Globalist. In an opinion piece posted last Thursday, Robb complained that President Obama “conformed to the ideology that sets up beauty as something young girls should aspire to” when he referred to his daughters as “beautiful” during his victory speech.

(I’ll insert the “huh?” here for you.)

I stayed up until past 1 a.m. EST to hear that speech. I heard POTUS lovingly recognize his girls, Malia and Sasha: “Before our very eyes, you’re growing up to become two strong, smart, beautiful young women, just like your mom,” President Obama said, and I thought it was so sweet, not problematic in the least.

But Robb found it ever so. She wrote, “Obama’s comments beg the question of why a girl’s beauty should be source of pride for her father — and why beauty should be a value lauded alongside strength and intelligence.”

My first thought was “Really? No… really?” But I rolled her argument around for a bit in my head to see if I could get where she is coming from, generally. Overall, there is too much importance placed on women’s looks. Anytime a women gets promoted to a position of prominence, there’s an inevitable critique of her appearance. For Surgeon General Dr. Regina M. Benjamin it was weight; for Hillary Clinton is was her clothes (pantsuits); and for First Lady Michelle Obama, it’s been the size of her backside and, of all things, the tone of her arms. Young women who are navigating changing bodies hear this and it can make them even more sensitive about their appearance, making it a bigger deal to them than it should be. And that is indeed a problem.

But it doesn’t apply here. In an effort to be politically correct (and likely feminist), Robb is going too far in the opposite direction. There is nothing wrong with any father calling his daughters beautiful — more fathers should do so, especially Black fathers, so that young women won’t go into the world seeking affirmation from strange men because they didn’t get it at home.

Read more at Essence.