HBCU Digest

Grambling State Brings Appeal to Inaugural Port City Classic

HBCUDigest.com — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:23:42 +0000

Interest in the inaugural Port City Football Classic is building as Grambling State University and Louisiana Tech prepare to meet for the first time tomorrow at Independence Stadium in Shreveport beginning at 6:00 p.m. Ticket sales have already exceeded 26,000 for the game, and are expected to increase by 8,000 prior to kickoff. From the Shreveport Times:

GSU reported 15,000 tickets sold and Louisiana Tech reported 11,000 tickets sold with another estimated 8,000 tickets expected to be sold by game day, the news release states.

Tickets also will be available Saturday at Independence Stadium. The ticket office opens at 10 a.m.

FAMU Health Leads Record-Breaking HIV/AIDS Screening Initiative

HBCUDigest.com — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:30:58 +0000

The Florida A&M University Student Health Services and Students Against the Spread of HIV/AIDS are leading an initiative to screen at least 2,500 Tallahassee residents in September a number that FAMU officials say will be record-breaking and potentially life-saving for the community.

The ‘Sexpectations’ campaign is a collaborative effort between student organizations at FAMU, Tallahassee Community College and Florida State University to raise awareness about the disease that continues to affect minority communities at disparate and alarming rates. From the release:

As the AIDS epidemic continues to grow worldwide particularly for Black Americans who make up 12 percent of the U.S. population and 49 percent of new HIV/AIDS cases, the campaign is also attempting to break the Guinness World Record for largest HIV medical screenings.

“Championships and titles are important to any university, any entity but to say we were a part of getting students to know their status, that’s phenomenal and we’re excited about making the attempt,” said Dr. Yolanda Bogan, director of counseling services at FAMU.

Testing is the end-goal but education is the key. During the month of September, there will be weekly seminars that will focus on developing healthy relationships, talking with partners about testing, self-esteem, sexuality and religion. The committee will also meet with members of the clergy to create a citywide HIV/AIDS ministry that focuses on prevention, educations and treatment for those living with the disease.

Livingstone, Johnson C. Smith Prepare For Commemorative Classic and Black Male Symposium

HBCUDigest.com — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:31:01 +0000

The following article was written and submitted by Laurie D. Willis, on behalf of the Livingstone College News Service.

On paper at least, things probably should have turned out quite differently for Livingstone College Head Football Coach Elvin James.

He was born to a 15-year-old unwed mother, an alcoholic who died during a violent confrontation before age 40. His father was also an alcoholic and absent from his life. James was reared by his maternal grandmother, Jennie E. James, in an eastern North Carolina county where, according to the 2000 Census, fewer than 20 percent of all citizens 25 and older had college degrees.

James makes no bones about the fact that his life could have taken a different path. He’s glad it did not.

Black and other minority men in America are in a crisis, with staggering numbers in prison, strung out on drugs or selling them. James knows they’re noticeably absent from most college campuses, and, sadly, he also knows far too many black men are in the same boat as Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who recently had trouble naming all eight of his children – by six different women, no less.

“Minority men in America are in trouble,” James said recently while sitting in his office at Livingstone College. “If we don’t begin to immediately attack the many problems they face, we’re going to lose an entire generation of them.”

To that end, James is excited about the two-day symposium being held in Charlotte Nov. 4-5 to address the plight of black and other minority males. The symposium is part of The 2010 Commemorative Classic, the second annual named contest between Livingstone College and Johnson C. Smith University – schools that played in the first ever black college football game on Dec. 27, 1892, when JCSU was called Biddle Memorial Institute.

The symposium’s theme is “Black and Minority Males Taking Flight Through Personal Development, Knowledge Sharing and Commitment to Community.” The symposium will include youth practitioners, interested adults and faith-based entities that deal with issues relative to males of color. Topics will include health and wellness, relationship development, leadership development and gang violence recognition and prevention. Event organizers expect the symposium to be the precursor to an annual Black and Minority Institute.

Black College football classics are nothing new, and arguably the most famous one is The Bayou Classic, an annual clash between Southern University and Grambling State University that was established in 1974, is held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving at the Louisiana Superdome and televised on NBC. Other classics include The Battle of the Bay, featuring Hampton University and Norfolk State University, The Aggie-Eagle Classic, featuring North Carolina A&T State University and North Carolina Central University, and The Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic.

Livingstone College President Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr. and Johnson C. Smith University President Dr. Ronald L. Carter enjoy a good football game as much as the next person. They’re excited about this year’s Nov. 6 contest and hope for a record-breaking crowd. But the leaders of two of North Carolina’s 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities realize the potential for this year’s Commemorative Classic to truly make a difference isn’t on the gridiron where their student-athletes will showcase their talent but inside The Park, a black-owned business where a talented panel will convene to try to create viable solutions to some of the ills plaguing minority men.

Renowned author, educator, poet, actress, historian, filmmaker and civil rights activist Dr. Maya Angelou will be a symposium keynote speaker. Other confirmed panelists are: Barrington Irving, the youngest person and first black person to fly solo around the globe; Dr. Ronny A. Bell, a professor in the division of public health sciences, department of epidemiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine; Stedman Graham, chairman and CEO of S. Graham & Associates, a management and marketing consulting company that specializes in corporate and educational markets; Fabian J. De Rozario, president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAAAP, or National Association of Asian American Professionals; and Mike Minter, a former All-Pro safety with the Carolina Panthers, businessman and philanthropist.

As Livingstone’s head football coach, James is gearing up for the big game. But as a father of two – his daughter, a consultant living in Charlotte, was a Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his son, a senior at Pikeville Aycock High School in Goldsboro, N.C., has committed to play football at UNC next fall – he’s excited about the symposium and its potential impact.

“When they say it takes a village to raise a child I can relate to that,” said James, who has a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Elizabeth City State University and a master’s degree in physical education from North Carolina Central University. “I was part of that. I was adopted by my maternal grandmother because both of my parents were alcoholics and my mother had me at 15.”

James hasn’t wavered from his initial thought that the symposium is a wonderful idea.

“We’re having this symposium because we’re trying to save our kids,” he said. “I can identify with what they’re trying to establish because I was a product of the type of environment the symposium will address. I’m a football coach, but to me the kids are what it’s all about. Even in practice I ask my guys to ‘give me something to grow on.’ In other words, I’m trying to ascertain what they learned in class that day. I always try to emphasize education. After all, there’s life after football, and education is a sure-fire way to turn things around with our minority males.”

Jenkins and Carter are determined through the symposium and other ways to affect change. They realize the very existence of Livingstone College and Johnson C. Smith University – along with 103 other HBCUs across America – in and of itself is a profound way to address the plight of minority males. But they also recognize a profound need to devise ways to reach these men outside of higher education settings.

They hope students from the Rowan-Salisbury and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school systems will attend the symposium because they way they see it; it’s never too early to start trying to teach young men about choosing the right paths or too early to put them face-to-face with positive men of color, men who in some instances grew up in circumstances not altogether different from theirs but who founds ways to defy the odds, rather than reaffirming the stereotypes, nonetheless.

“As HBCU presidents, Dr. Carter and I see African-American males everyday, and it’s time society stops ignoring the plight of the African-American male and begins doing something about it,” Jenkins has said. “This symposium is our way of trying to gather the troops to begin addressing the problems.”

Want to attend?

The symposium is being held at the Park, formerly the Charlotte Merchandise Mart, 800 Briar Creek Road in Charlotte, N.C.
For more information, call B&C Associates at (336) 884-0744

Hampton’s Kendall Langford Loses $50K Earring at Dolphins Practice

HBCUDigest.com — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:13:58 +0000

Former Hampton University football standout and Miami Dolphins defensive end Kendall Langford lost a 2.5 carat diamond earring at practice on Tuesday, prompting a team search on the practice field and a nationwide lampooning of his wealth and his short-term memory.

Investigation of North Carolina A&T Student Death Reveals Broken Policies

HBCUDigest.com — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:34:35 +0000

An internal investigation by North Carolina A&T State University into the death of student Joseph Milandu during a tryout for the school’s track team revealed a number of violated university policies in the organization and monitoring of the event, the school announced Tuesday. Milandu, who collapsed at the school and died later at a nearby hospital, voluntarily participated in what officials called ‘an unscheduled’ event. From the Greensboro News-Record:

The release did not specify what policies were broken. After the death, athletics director Wheeler Brown said that university policy called for all students trying out for a varsity sport to have a complete physical on file and sign a waiver to participate. No trainer was present during the tryouts, he said.

“The university is unconditionally committed to effective oversight of the university’s athletic programs,” Tuesday’s release said. “Chancellor Martin has instructed the university’s athletics director to assume direct responsibility for all compliance matters related to the university’s track program until further notice.”

Bowie State Hosts Drunk Driving Awareness Program

HBCUDigest.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:53:16 +0000

The Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Center at Bowie State University today hosted an interactive program to inform the campus community about the dangers of drunk driving and kick off Alcohol Awareness and Recovery Month. Students and the public were invited to operate a driving simulator that presented vision and conditions synonymous with drunk driving.

“Bowie State’s ATOD Prevention Center focuses on educating our students about the consequences of bad choices associated with alcohol and illicit drugs,” stated Vanessa C. Cooke, Director of BSU’s Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug (ATOD) Prevention Center. “We are proud of the ATOD interactive educational activity that we have hosted every year since 2003, with the support of a grant from the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration (ADAA); and by federal support from SAMHSA, Department of Health and Human Services through funding from McFarland & Associates, Inc.”

Cooke says national research data indicates that binge drinking is a high risk behavior and although it is illegal for anyone under 21 to purchase alcohol, binge drinking often begins in high school and that behavior continues when the student goes to college.

Howard Alums to Be Installed as D.C. Magistrate Judges

HBCUDigest.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:08:13 +0000

Two Washington D.C. attorneys with alumni ties to Howard University will be installed as D.C. magistrate judges in the city. Errol Arthur and Kimberly Knowles, both graduates of the Howard School of Law, are two of three total lawyers to receive the prestigious appointment. From the Washington Examiner:

Arthur is a Washington native who graduated from Howard University law school in 1998 and was appointed as chairman of the D.C. Board of Elections in 2008.

Knowles was born and raised in New York and graduated from Howard University law school in 1996. She served as the deputy chief of the sex offense and domestic violence section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington.

Their installation will take place on September 10.

SWAC Announces Weekly Volleyball Honors

HBCUDigest.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:12:37 +0000

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has announced its first weekly award recipients for the 2010 season. Jackson State University’s LaToya Clark and Chyna Coleman and Mississippi Valley State University’s Maura Moed completed a Mississippi sweep of the awards, being named Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week, respectively. From the release:

Clark (S, 5-5, Jr., Tallahassee, Fla.) tallied 140 assists and 52 digs on the weekend, finishing with three double-doubles at the JSU Lady Tiger Invitational. She helped her team to a 2-2 mark at the Invite with wins over University of New Orleans and Louisiana-Monroe.

Moed (MB, 5-10, Sr., San Antonio, Texas) had 15 kills, three blocks and three digs in Valley’s 3-0 sweep of Philander Smith. Against Lyon College, she recorded 12 kills, five blocks and four aces.

Coleman (OH, 5-8, Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) tallied 54 digs and 50 kills on the weekend, finishing with two double-doubles in four matches. A transfer from Phoenix College, Coleman also registered nine blocks.

Alcorn State To Receive $1 Million for Biofuel Research

HBCUDigest.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:29:53 +0000

A recently-approved multi-million dollar support package for a biofuel company seeking to build processing plants in Mississippi includes $1 million in biofuel research resources for Alcorn State University. The support package, which is nearly $45 million in total support for the KiOR initiative, will allow Alcorn students and faculty new opportunities in this field of science, and may bolster new growth in the biofuel research industry in the state. From the Natchez Democrat:

Though the total funding on research is only a fraction of the total amount of investment planned on the KiOR project, it could be the most impacting, particularly if it helps set up our state as a hub of research for alternative fuel development.

Between this project and the potential Rentech project still on the menu for Adams County, Southwest Mississippi could be poised for some amazing things ahead.

Like Texas is to the U.S. petroleum industry, Mississippi could wind up being that for the alternative fuels — particularly coming from biomass — industry.

Dr. Lonise Bias, Mother of Len Bias, Addresses UDC Athletes

HBCUDigest.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:00:23 +0000

Dr. Lonise Bias, mother of the legendary University of Maryland forward and NBA lottery pick Len Bias, delivered an address to the University of the District of Columbia’s body of student-athletes last Friday. In her remarks, she challenged the students to maintain the tenets of self-control and self-respect. From the release:

“I came to give you gentle reminders of who you are,” Dr. Bias added. “Get up in the morning and be satisfied with who you are. Stop discounting yourself and find your personal value. Obstacles in life come to build you up. You need to work through your weaknesses in your personal life.”

“Learn to love, appreciate and value yourself,” Dr. Bias said. “Use every opportunity to educate yourself and always reach back to give to someone else. Be careful of who is in your inner circle. Self preservation comes first.”

Dr. Bias is the founder of Abundant Life Resources A More Excellent Way, LLC in Prince Georges County, MD, and is a sought-after motivational speaker. Her son Len died of an infamous cocaine overdose in 1986, and her other son Jay was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1990.