HBCU Digest » Entertainment

MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street – Top Five Band Performances of the Week

HBCUDigest.com — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:08:17 +0000

The MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street has posted its top five HBCU marching band performances of the last week. Do you agree with their rankings?

Diary of a Dynasty: Inside Howard Homecoming – Entry #3

HBCUDigest.com — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:49:20 +0000

‘Diary of a Dynasty’ is an all-access look at the steering committee of Howard University’s 2010 Homecoming. Through a series of first-person narratives, you’ll discover the personal insights and professional efforts of the people responsible for the world’s most famous homecoming.

Being a member of the HUHSC has been an interesting learning experience thus far. The system set in place for students to actively learn is truly ideal in a business and administrative developmental stand point. As coordinator of the Poetry Show, I have had the opportunity to interact with every department within the structure of Howard’s Homecoming. I think this experience allows students to explore the strength of their own talents and capabilities. It also challenges students to understand the importance of sacrifice, professionalism, and hard work.

Coming into the experience of Homecoming, I was very timid in the sense of wanting to be as effective and proactive as possible, without stepping on any toes. Protocol is a very important system to me that I try not to stray from. However, sometimes your back is against the wall and decisions have to be made and protocol is null and void. Through those crunch time experiences, HUHSC unconsciously equips you with the tools to make sound and well thought out decisions, even under the pressure of time.

Being on staff has also allowed me to explore a new taste of Howard Life that I had mild exposure to. Considering myself a forward thinking and success driven person, I often may neglect the social world of Howard that goes beyond my major or area of career interest. This experience thus far has allowed there to be a melting pot of cultures, majors, and interests–much like that of the mega structure of the student body here at Howard.

Homecoming has its flaws, but in-spite of that, it is a place where students are in the forefront of opportunity. I think to me this is one of the most ideal classrooms that Howard could offer any student. I look forward to the next two months as we wind down to the experience of DYNASTY and Howard Homecoming 2010.

Peace & Blessings

Nijeul Porter

Poetry Cipher Coordinator

Theatre Arts-Acting Major, BFA 2011

Bethune-Cookman Marching Wildcats to Be Featured in ESPNU Series

HBCUDigest.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:00:46 +0000

The Bethune-Cookman Marching Wildcats Marching Band will be among the featured HBCU musical ensembles in an upcoming series for ESPNU. According to band officials at BCU, the program will track the Marching Wildcats and the Florida A&M University Marching 100 in their preparation and performances leading up to the season-ending Florida Classic.

But interest in the bands, particularly at Bethune-Cookman, begins with the individual stories of connection and admiration from new and tenured members. From the Daytona Beach News-Journal:

Freshman Adam Simpson, 18, of Miami, who plays tenor saxophone, said he “fell in love” with the band after seeing them perform when he was in the ninth grade and started practicing an hour or two every day in hopes of making it into the band.

James Barreca, 18, of Fort Lauderdale, who transferred into the university this year as a sophomore and plays tenor saxophone, said “the energy everybody has — it’s nothing like any high school marching band ever could be.”

Sprite 2010 Battle of the Bands: North Carolina A&T and South Carolina State

HBCUDigest.com — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:24:28 +0000

Videos are steadily surfacing from the 2010 Sprite Battle of the Bands held last weekend in Charlotte, NC. Check out the performances of North Carolina A&T’s Blue and Gold Marching Machine, and the South Carolina State Marching 101.

State of the Art: Florida A&M Alum Darell Threeths

HBCUDigest.com — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:22:40 +0000

State of the Art is profile feature of HBCU-bred artists from around the world. From the areas of visual, musical, performing and language, State of the Art give an in-depth an exclusive look at the artists bringing beauty to our institutions and our culture.

Darell Threeths is an alumnus of Florida A&M University and native of Tallahassee, FL. The visual artist has displayed his work at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, and is a former winner of the FAMU Annual Student Art Competition. Below are selected images from his collage collection, available for viewing at his website. Threeths is also available for custom work and purchase inquiries via email at darellismyname@yahoo.com.

The power to uplift when there seems to be no hope, is the question I search to answer with every collage I assemble. First cutting images of individuals who seem to be helpless out of their normal environment, then taking the task of juxtaposing other images around them to create a new positive synergistic collage.

In this way, turning what use to be an image portrayed as helplessness into hope and inspiration. These collages also make the viewer have to take into consideration the struggle of many humans around the globe, which may otherwise be forgotten. The use of gold and silver paint accompanies the background, painted in an arabesque manor to bring elegance to the piece and further beautify the collage. A symbolic resemblance can be seen with humanitarians who build their efforts around those in need and in the same way how these collages build abstract beauty around these helpless images. With each collage I hope to bring awareness to the viewer and give a sense of encouragement to help others.

Alabama State Dean to Be Featured on TNT’s ‘Memphis Beat’

HBCUDigest.com — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:47:36 +0000

Dr. Tommie “Tonea” Stewart, a renowned actress and Dean of the Alabama State University College of Visual and Performing Arts, will be a guest star on tonight’s episode of TNT’s cop drama, ‘Memphis Beat.’ Dr. Stewart will play a psychic in the episode. From her faculty profile:

Under Dr. Stewart’s leadership and mentorship, students in the program have gone on to attend prestigious institutions like Brown and Yale University, and have been cast in a host of film, television and stage productions.

Dr. Stewart holds three widely popular annual summer performance and enrichment camps to introduce the next generation of actors, directors and set design artists to the performing arts.

The Jackson State University alumnus is credited with building the ASU theater arts program into national renown, and is the first African-American woman to earn a PhD from the School of Theater Arts at Florida State University.

Poetry: From Where We Get Our Pride

HBCUDigest.com — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:02:30 +0000

Vicente Hernandez is a University of Maryland Eastern Shore student and Editor-in-Chief of its campus student publication, Spotlight Magazine

On September 13, 1886
Great wings grew on the backs of our founders
As they nested in this new found establishment we call home,
We are their dreams!

1941 we were branded as the Hawks
And they took flight unto the heavens
Leaving their feathers as foot prints for us to follow
We are their legacy!

Breaking down barriers of past oppression
They are the revolutionaries we should look up to
With heads full of dreams to educate all people
The Fighting Hawks took no mercy on its prey called education
We are their product!

Broken backs, bones, and necks
And blood, sweat, and tears
Went into establishing this community
Spiritually burned, whipped, and hung
But we still grew as a people
Showing that ignorance can’t stop us
And through unity we can prosper,

Hand in hand
Together they stand
Fighting the enemies against them,

Remembering their past
With their heads in the future,
Spirits stronger than ever,

Thus in 1970 we got our own name
And University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Shall live free forever,

With a taste of our past
We can be unstoppable,

HAWK PRIDE
CATCH IT!!!

North Carolina A&T Blue and Gold Marching Machine: Bed Intruder

HBCUDigest.com — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:56:37 +0000

Kicking off the 2010 black college marching band season is the North Carolina A&T State University Blue and Gold Marching Machine with a rendition of “Bed Intruder.”

Hopefully, this rendition gets Antoine Dodson and his family one step further away from the projects.

Howard Alum Taraji P. Henson to Play Former Tennessee State Golf Coach

HBCUDigest.com — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:23:01 +0000

Acclaimed actress and Howard University alumnus Taraji P. Henson will play former Tennessee State University men’s golf coach Dr. Catana Starks in “From the Rough.” Dr. Starks, who is now the director of the Tennessee State Human Performance and Sports Sciences Department, was the first African-American female to coach a Division I men’s golf team. From BVOnMovies.com:

Henson will play a fictionalized version of Starks named Cassandra Turner, who parlays a successful stint as coach of the women’s swim team at a historically black college into a shot at building the men’s golf team. With available black players scarce, Turner scours Europe, Australia and Asia for hidden talents and constructs a uniquely multi-racial team.

Filming begins in New Orleans in early October.

Sources:

Taraji P. Henson To Headline Sports Film, ‘From The Rough’ – Black Voices

J. Cole Addresses Fayetteville State “Who Dat” Controversy

HBCUDigest.com — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:27:20 +0000

Fayetteville native and fast-rising rap star J. Cole recently discussed his side of the controversy involving Fayetteville State University cheerleaders appearing in his video, “Who Dat.”

J. Cole – Sucker Free – MTV Shows

Many thanks to Miss Info for the nod.