The Tennessee State University Aristocrat of Bands doing their thing at the 2012 Honda Battle of the Bands. Shout out to TSU for celebrating 100 years.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3Ius5GzJt0&w=610&h=340]
The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers took home their fourth Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament title with a 63-50 win over Alcorn State on Saturday at the Special Events Center.
A national television audience on ESPNU watched as the Lady Panthers earned the SWAC automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The tournament bracket will be announced Sunday night on ESPN.
Tournament MVP Latia Williams led PVAM with 24 points and six rebounds. Williams was 7-for-21 from the field and 10-of-11 from the freethrow line. She also had three assists and a pair of steals in the game. Kiara Etienne added 15 points and five rebounds, while Larissa Scott had 10 rebounds to go with seven points and three blocks.
Carolinsia Crumbly paced Alcorn State (14-20) with 16 points and seven rebounds. Sharnika Breedlove added eight points and nine rebounds, while Au-Juvan Andrews, Kiara Ruffin an dAsia Reid all finished with seven points.
After a red-hot start, the Lady Braves appeared to wilt after playing four games in five days. Alcorn State led by as much as 10 points in the first half and 32-25 at halftime. The Lady Braves quickly extended their lead to 11 in the first few minutes of the second half. But, PVAM stormed back with a 28-9 run to take a 53-45 lead with 4:58 left in the game.
The PVAM rally took what was left out of Alcorn State as they wouldn’t seriously threaten the rest of the game. The Lady Panthers slowly pulled away en route to the tournament title.
All-Tournament team
Latia Williams – Prairie View (MVP)
Larissa Scott – Prairie View
Sharnika Breedlove – Alcorn State
Kiara Ruffin – Alcorn State
Wymeka Randle – Grambling State
Alia Frank – Mississippi Valley State
(SWAC)
MEAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year Kyle O’Quinn scored a team-high 18 points to lead Norfolk State to a 73-70 victory over Bethune-Cookman to capture the 2012 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament Title at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The No. 2 Spartans (25-9), who earned their first-ever MEAC title, receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and will await the announcement in tomorrow’s selection show of their post-season opponent.
The two teams battled back and forth through the early part of the first half until the Spartans used a 14-4 run over the last seven minutes to take a 35-22 advantage. Pendarvis Williams, a 6-6 sophomore guard and O’Quinn combined for 19 points and 10 rebounds between them.
The Wildcats (18-17) were limited to 31-percent shooting on an 8-for-26 effort. They were out-rebounded, 21-13.
“Rebounding was huge in the first half, especially on the offensive glass,” explained Bethune-Cookman interim head coach Gravelle Craig. “That was the reason that they were able to get the lead.”
Norfolk State maintained a 12 to 14-point lead over the first 14 minutes until the scrappy Wildcats began to chip away at the lead.
“We knew it would be a battle,” said Norfolk State Coach Anthony Evans. “They are relentless going to the basket and they never give up.”
Bethune-Cookman was able to get the lead down to eight on four different occasions, but each time, Norfolk State would answer with timely baskets from O’Quinn and Johnson.
“O’Quinn was a big factor; he got his hands on a lot of balls,” said Craig. “He made us change a lot of our shots.”
Added Evans. “We depend a lot on those guys (O’Quinn and Williams) and Rob’s (Johnson) play off the bench has been a big spark for us.”
Trailing 69-60 at the 1:28 mark, the Wildcats staged a furious rally, outscoring the Spartans, 10-4 in less than a minute. Kevin Dukes, who scored 12 of his team-high 18 in the second along with Garrius Holloman and Adrien Coleman led the rally.
With the score, 73-70 and just 17 seconds on the clock, the Wildcats had possession following a Norfolk State turnover. Holloman scored four of the points during that stretch and attempted a 3-point shot that just missed. Bethune Cookman got the offensive rebound and Dukes got off another three that missed as the buzzer sounded, setting off a big celebration.
“I was hoping to knock it down for my teammates,” said Holloman. “I saw at the end that it was off just a little bit. I didn’t get great rotation on it.”
It was the Spartans’ first tournament championship since joining the conference in 1997. For O’Quinn, a senior who finished with 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting and seven rebounds, the championship had special meaning.
Check out the Bethune-Cookman University Marching Wildcats at the 2012 Honda Battle of the Bands
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4DEvnjR4LE&w=610&h=340]
NCCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble travel to Monterey, CA and record their performance for a CD & DVD project title, Live at The Next Generation Jazz Festival, as they compete in the Next Generation Jazz Festival, March 31-April 1, 2012.
The 16 voices and 4 instrumentalists have been chosen as one of six finalists to participate in this awesome opportunity. This will be the second recording of the group, and its first recording of a live performance in front of a live audience.
Their first CD, Arrival, was produced by and funded by saxophonist Branford Marsalis. This award winning group of young talented musicians and singers have a very diverse repertoire spanning the spectrum of jazz vocal music, from swing, blues, bebop, to spirituals, R&B.
Check out the Winston-Salem State Red Sea of Sound Marching band at the 2012 Honda Battle of the Bands.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX-ygvUyEKs&w=610&h=340]
The 2011-2012 Daktronics Men’s and Women’s Basketball All-South Region Teams were recently announced with three players from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) receiving honors. Benedict College center Marcus Goode made the men’s second team while Albany State University guard April Thomas and Clark Atlanta University guard Conisha Hicks both made the women’s second team.
Goode, the SIAC Player of the Year the last two seasons, led the SIAC in both scoring and rebounding this season with 18.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, making his second Daktronics All-Region team in as many years. The 6-foot-10, 260-pound junior from Chapin, SC also led the conference with 2.7 blocks per game and was seventh with a .513 field goal percentage while helping lead the Tigers to the 2012 SIAC Tournament title and a second consecutive post-season berth. Goode and the #8 seed Tigers will play in the first round of the NCAA South Regional this Saturday at 6 p.m. CST (7 p.m. EST) against #1 seed Alabama-Huntsville.
Hicks, a native of Lithonia, GA, garners all-region honors for the second consecutive season after averaging a team-high 16.3 points per game this season, which ranked fourth in the SIAC. The 5-foot-3 sophomore, who is a two-time All-SIAC selection, also averaged a team-high three assists and 2.6 steals per game, which ranked seventh and sixth in the conference respectively. Hicks helped lead the Lady Panthers to a 14-13 record (13-9 in the SIAC) this season.
Thomas, a native of Bainbridge, GA, was the SIAC’s second-leading scorer this season at 18.1 points per game. The 5-foot-1 freshman, who was named SIAC Freshman of the Year this season, was among the league leaders with a .750 free throw percentage and a .353 three-point field goal percentage while averaging three three-point field goals made per game, which ranked second in the SIAC. Thomas, an All-SIAC selection this season as well, was the only freshman to receive Daktronics All-South Region honors this season.
The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The online nomination and voting processes are powered by ATHLETICSITE.COM. Headquartered in Charleston, S.C., ATHLETICSITE.COM is the official provider for college athletic websites for over 30 sports organizations, including 26 colleges, universities and conferences primarily at the NCAA Division II level. To receive more information on how your institution can partner with ATHLETICSITE.COM for a customized website solution, visit www.athleticsite.com.
Daktronics Men’s Basketball All-South Region First Team
Scott Dennis, Christian Brothers, G, 6-6, 190, Senior, Cincinnati, Ohio
Josh Magette, UAH, G, 6-1, 160, Senior, Birmingham, Ala.
Jamar Moore, West Florida, F, 6-6, 215, Senior, Coolidge, Ga.
Da’Ron Sims, West Georgia, F, 6-6, 215, Senior, Oakland, Calif.
Jaime Smith, UAH, G, 6-3, 185, Junior, Birmingham, Ala.
South Region Player of the Year – Josh Magette, UAH
Daktronics Men’s Basketball All-South Region Second Team
Beaumont Beasley, North Alabama, G, 6-0, 180, Senior, Kansas City, Mo.
Simon Cummings, Florida Tech, G, 6-1, 205, Senior, Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Marcus Goode, Benedict, C, 6-10, 270, Junior, Chapin, S.C.
Marquis Mathis, West Florida, F, 6-7, 215, Senior, Columbus, Ohio
Zack Warner, Christian Brothers, F, 6-10, 215, Senior, St. Louis, Mo.
Daktronics Women’s Basketball All-South Region First Team
Veronica Walker – Delta State University – F – 6-2 – Senior – Indianola, Miss. Michaela Hawley – Florida Southern College – F – 6-1 – Senior – Naples, Fla. Brittany Ferguson – Valdosta State University – F – 5-10 – Senior – Macon, Ga. Jasmine Hammon – University of Alabama-Huntsville – G – 5-9 – Sophomore – Muscle Shoals, Ala. Briauna Hagins – Florida Institute of Technology – F – 5-11 – Senior – Ocala, Fla.
Player of the Year: Veronica Walker, Delta State University
Daktronics Women’s Basketball All-South Region Second Team
Conisha Hicks – Clark Atlanta University – G – 5-3 – Sophomore – Lithonia, Ga. Sczeny Hartry – Valdosta State University – G – 5-7 – Senior – Lilburn, Ga. Brooke Rhodes – Delta State University – G – 5-8 – Sophomore – Pelahatchie, Miss. Meixandra Porter – Nova Southeastern University – G – 5-6 – Junior – Chantilly, Va. April Thomas – Albany State University – G – 5-1 – Freshman – Bainbridge, Ga.
After watching this performance at the 2012 Honda Battle of the Bands, it’s easy to see why Albany State has one of the best bands in the country. Check them out.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB5jnWrSQsY&w=610&h=340]
Kyria Buford, Aslea Williams and Brittany Ransom combined for 70 points to send Shaw past West Virginia Wesleyan, 92-78, in the first round of the NCAA Division II women’s tournament.
The Lady Bears (24-6) will face Gannon, which defeated Johnson C. Smith 61-50, in the second round, Saturday at 5 p.m. in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
Buford led all scorers with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Williams added 22 points and Ransom finished with 20 points.
Despite those performances, Shaw needed a strong second half defense to put away the Bobcats (24-7), who scored 49 points in the first half, but only 29 in the second half.
“It’s always good to advance,” said Shaw head coach Jacques Curtis. “Everyone here has a good team. What we saw on tape is pretty much the game we got.”
The first half featured tons of scoring and very little defense. For Shaw, it was the Buford-Williams-Ransom tandem.
For West Virginia Wesleyan, Lydia Bridenbaugh and Jamie Kaufman shouldered the load, combining for 55 points. Daria Abros’kina and Brittany Mayer each added 11 points, but the rest of the Bobcats contributed just a single point.
Continue reading on Examiner.com
The Beta Psi chapter of Phi Beta Sigma located at Albany State University wins the 2011 Atlanta Greek Picnic Stroll Off.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNhh7RRvB_c&w=610&h=340]
Video: Jay-Z Performing at Carnegie Hall
Posted on
Jay-Z performing “U Don’t Know” live at Carnegie Hall in late 2011.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO6ckXycd20&w=610&h=340]
DeWayne Wickham, a founder and past president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), will receive the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the organization’s highest honors. Wickham was selected by the NABJ Board of Directors at their winter meeting.
In addition to being a founding member of NABJ, the current USA Today columnist also founded the Association of Black Media Workers, the NABJ chapter in Baltimore. He assisted in the creation of professional chapters in both Greensboro, N.C., and Norfolk, Va. Wickham also founded NABJ student chapters at Delaware State University and North Carolina A&T State University, the latter at which he currently serves as distinguished professor of journalism and interim chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.
“DeWayne has had an impressive career in journalism and he has achieved distinction at the highest levels. He is a true giant in our profession,” said NABJ President Gregory Lee Jr. “Founder Wickham has touched our organization on so many levels, and we have all benefited from his commitment and dedication. He is most deserving of this honor.”
Read more here
Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of what is now Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, is one of the first three inductees into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established by the state legislature to honor Floridians who have made significant contributions in the fight for equality and social justice.
Mary McLeod Bethune was a native of South Carolina and the daughter of former slaves. She was educated at Barber-Scotia College and the Moody Bible Institute. In 1904, she made a down payment on land that served as the city dump in Daytona. On that site she founded the Daytona Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls, which has now become Bethune-Cookman University. Bethune later founded the National Council of Negro Women. She was a friend and adviser to Eleanor Roosevelt. Mary McLeod Bethune died in 1955.
The other two inductees are Claude Pepper, a U.S. Senator who was a strong advocate for the nation’s elderly, and Charles Kenzie Steele, a civil rights activist and minister who organized the Tallahassee bus boycott. Each inductee will be honored with a plaque on the first floor of the State Capitol.
NAACP leaders will go to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in Geneva next week in hopes of winning support in its fight against voter suppression in the United States, NAACP President Benjamin T. Jealous said on Thursday.
The delegation’s goal is to ask the U.N. to investigate multiple incursions into minority voting rights by certain states, Jealous told reporters during a conference call on Thursday afternoon.
The civil rights group also hopes that members of the U.N. will come to the U.S. “to look at the impact of the laws, look at the intent, render an opinion and make some recommendations about what actions we should take,” Jealous said.
It is unknown how binding a U.N. recommendation would be, Jealous acknowledged. But a negative ruling would help shame state officials into doing the right thing, he said. Such a ruling could hurt states in the pocketbook because many leaders seek investments overseas, he said. “It’s not good business to be seen as an active abuser of human rights,” he said.
The NAACP is scheduled to make an oral presentation on March 14 and afterward will present its report titled “Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America” (pdf), which was released in December. The report found that 11 percent of Americans do not have government-issued identification. Among African Americans, 25 percent do not have the documents required to vote.
The report also noted that 14 states, mostly Republican-led, have enacted 25 restrictive voting measures. Legislators in states that have passed the measures say the laws are important because they help prevent identity fraud at the ballot box.
“This will be the first time in decades that we as an organization are before the council with a specific complaint about actions being taken here in the U.S.,” Jealous said. “The first time was in 1947, when W.E.B. Du Bois delivered his speech and appealed to the world.
“Now, like then, the principal concern is voting rights,” Jealous continued. “In the past year, more states have passed more laws, pushing more voters out of the ballot box, than at any point since the rise of Jim Crow. We have seen at least 5 million voters have their votes blocked by specific states like South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Wisconsin and so forth during the past 12 months. These include strict voter-ID bills, so-called registration-ID bills, bans on formerly incarcerated people voting and a range of other mechanisms that diminish access to the polls among minority populations.”
In addition to Jealous, other members of the delegation will include NAACP Chairwoman Roslyn M. Brock; Hilary O. Shelton, director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau and senior vice president for advocacy and policy; Kemba Smith, an activist and advocate for the rights of formerly incarcerated people, who will be unable to vote in the November election because of a law in Virginia that bans ex-felons from voting; and Trevor Brandon, a student at Texas Southern University and membership chairman of the school’s NAACP chapter. Brandon recently lost his voting rights because of new photo-ID requirements in Texas, Jealous said.
“The U.N. is the world’s forum for both promoting and defending democracy,” Jealous said. “In these hyper-partisan times in the U.S., we believe it is important for them to weigh in on what is happening here in our democracy. Our democracy is precious, not just to the citizens of this country but to the world.”
(The Root)
A North Carolina Central University basketball player was arrested Thursday after Durham County deputies found marijuana and thousands of dollars of cash in his apartment.
Deputies searched 5308 Penrith Drive, Apt. F, and found 84 grams of marijuana, $12,008 in cash and drug paraphernalia, authorities said.
Landon Christopher Clement, 23, and Kalifa Fletcher, 20, were each charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, maintaining a dwelling for drug distribution and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Clement, a senior guard from Raleigh, hasn’t played for the Eagles since Dec. 6 because of an injury, N.C. Central Associate Athletics Director Kyle Serba said.
Basketball coach LeVelle Moton said he was disappointed that the welfare one of his players was compromised.
“As coaches, we try to nurture and provide the necessary resources for these young men to be successful. We constantly talk about the impact of making positive decisions; then we hope and pray they make positive decisions when faced with daily temptations,” Moton said in a statement.
Clement and Fletcher were being held in the Durham County jail under $10,000 bonds.
(WRAL)
Distinguished list includes employers engaged in developing, recruiting and hiring talented students pursuing technical careers at the nation’s minority-serving institutions
For the second consecutive year, the Chrysler Group has been selected to the list
The deans of 14 accredited Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), in conjunction with the Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering (AMIE) alliance, have again selected the Chrysler Group as a Top Supporter of engineering programs at the nation’s HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions.
Our relationships with the nation’s minority-serving institutions are an invaluable asset in our ability to secure the diverse talent we need to sustain our success and compete in the global marketplace.”
The deans invited to participate in the survey represented institutions such as: Alabama A&M University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University A&M, Tennessee State University, Tuskegee University and Virginia State University.