Lincoln University to host HBCU Leadership Conference and Competition - Feb. 27

 

(Jefferson City, MO) -  Campus kings from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) from around the country will gather at Lincoln University this week for the 6th Annual Mr. HBCU Kings’ Leadership Conference and Competition. 
Young men from ten schools will compete for the title of Mr. HBCU on Saturday, February 27 starting at 8 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium.  The competition is free and open to the public. 
Kings from Bowie State University, Central State University, Delaware State University, Harris- Stowe University, Lincoln University (PA), North Carolina A&T State University, Talladega College, Tennessee State University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Winston-Salem State University have registered for the competition. 
A three-day conference will be held prior to Saturday’s competition.  Kings will arrive Wednesday, February 24 and will attend leadership and personal growth sessions. 
The session speakers include Mr. Fonzworth Bentley, best known as the personal assistant to rapper and actor Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Dale Williams, the founder of Leadership for Queens, a leadership conference for HBCU Queens.  Bentley’s session is open to the public on Thursday, February 25, at 11 a.m. in Scruggs University Center Ballroom.    
The Mr. HBCU Leadership Conference and Competition was founded in 2005 by Benecia Spencer Williams, Vice President for University Advancement at Lincoln University.  The conference is held annually during Black History Month to celebrate the African American male in our HBCUs and across the globe.  The 6th Annual Mr. HBCU Leadership Conference and Competition continues the tradition of celebrating the importance and power of African American males joining together for positive causes. 

Harris-Stowe reaches out to Haiti

(St. Louis, MO) – After the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti last month, Harris-Stowe State University, almost immediately, collected donations from its faculty and staff, raising $6,200 for the American Red Cross’ Haitian relief efforts.
Haiti, a country that is especially close to Harris-Stowe’s heart, was adopted by the University last year as a service-learning project. Numerous crates of new school supplies were collected by University personnel and sent to students at the Eben-Ezer des Abricots primary school.
The Harris-Stowe administration encouraged its faculty and staff members to give at whatever level they saw fit, as the Eben-Ezer des Abricots School now needs money more than ever. The school has decided to take in the overflow of children who have lost their parents in the Haiti earthquake.
Harris-Stowe State University presented a check to St. Louis Area American Red Cross CEO Cindy Erickson.

Bowie State presents dance and musical peformance Anansi the Spider is Lost - March 5-6

 

 (Bowie, MD) - The Bowie State University Theater Department will present Anansi the Spider is Lost, a mischievous African tale told through music and dance on March 5-6. The presentation is a collection of fun-filled dance stories for the whole family, “loosely goosely” based on popular nursery rhymes.
The general public is invited to attend at a cost of $3.00 (children through high school) and $5.00 (general admission). The event is being held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Communication Arts Center, Samuel L. Myers Auditorium, 14000 Jericho Park Road, Bowie, Md. 20715.

JSU hosts live musical lunchtime concert series this spring semester

(Jackson, Miss.) – Jackson State University’s Dining Services will kick off a free musical lunchtime concert series at noon today in the Legacy dining at the new Student Center on campus.
The performances will take place on selected Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon-2 p.m. this spring 2010 semester. Featured performers will range from solo local and national vocal artists to ensembles from the JSU Music Department and the Murrah High School Jazz Ensemble.
Regular costs for meals will apply for those wishing to dine. All performances are open to the public.
Tuesday’s performance will feature a seven-member group of JSU student musicians performing Jazz, R&B, neosoul and gospel selections.
Other performers include:

·                Tuesday, Feb. 16, noon-1 p.m. - R&B vocalist Justin Spencer performing R&B, soul and neosoul

·                Tuesday , March 2, 1-2 p.m. – Murrah High School Jazz Ensemble

·                Tuesday, March 23, noon-1 p.m. – Atlanta jazz recording artist Gabbie McGee

·                Thursday, March 25, noon-1 p.m. – Solo artist Sydric Reed performing R&B, neosoul and alternative

·               Tuesday, April 6, noon- 1p.m. – JSU Opera/Musical Theatre Ensemble

·               Tuesday, April 20, noon-1 p.m. – JSU Vocal Jazz Ensemble

For details, call Pamela Berry 601-979-0623 or visit https://sites.google.com/a/jsums.edu/live-at-the-legacy/home

HSSU Players to present Pulitzer prize winner August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson - Feb. 25-27

(St. Louis, MO) - The Harris-Stowe State University Players will present The Piano Lesson, February 25-27, at 8 p.m. with a student matinee on February 26, at 10 a.m. in Harris-Stowe State University’s Emerson Performance Center’s Bank of America Theatre.
With February being Black History Month, this play couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time. Set in 1936 Pittsburgh, The Piano Lesson is centered on an 137-year-old piano and what to do with the historic piece. As the Charles family argues about the future of the instrument, their family’s ties to slavery come to the forefront, along with the former owner of the piano who enslaved their ancestors. Playwright August Wilson won his second Pulitzer Prize for this play.
Director of the play and HSSU Humanities Instructor Gregory Carr said, “Wilson, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, is virtually unknown to the African-American community at large. Hopefully this production will stir up interest in his considerable body of work and promote discussion.”
HSSU students will portray the following leading roles: Ryan Cunningham (“Boy Willie”), Carisa McGraw (“Bernice”), Napoleon Williams III (“Doaker”), Jeremy Mitchell (“Lymon”) and Stephen Sanders (“Wining Boy”).  
Tickets for the evening shows cost $10 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors with a valid ID. Tickets for the student matinee cost $5. For tickets, please call Director Carr at (314) 340-3667 or Director of Speech and Theater Beverly Brennan at (314) 340-5975.

BET now casting for Spring Bling 2010

BET is now casting Spring Bling 2010!   Contact the casting director now via at facebook.com/BETSpringBling for info!
Time to soak up the sun and fun at 2010’s ultimate party destination:  BET’s SPRING BLING.   We’re taking over Florida and ramping up the heat in Panama City, Daytona Beach, Miami - March (dates tba) and West Palm Beach on April 10. 
Join us for the hottest live events and special guest artists.    They’ll be big names and big competitions and we want YOU to be part of the fun! 
If you have what it takes to be Spring Bling’s Best Dance Team or if you’re the life of the party and should have your own show, then reach out and tell us why we should make YOU a part of BET’s SPRING BLING 2010.   
Calling all: 
DANCE, STEP and CHEER teams
College students with TONS of personality
Comics 
Florida-based models, dancers, actors and beautiful people 
Music celeb look-a-likes located in the Florida area
Performers with unique or unusual talents

Wanna be centerstage or just looking to attend?   Then friend us for the latest updates @: 

www.facebook.com/SpringBling2010

www.twitter.com/BETSpringBling2010

www.myspace.com/BETSpringBling2010

SC State’s I. P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium Presents spring exhibit through July 1

(Orangeburg, S.C.) -  SC State’s I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium (The Stanback) is excited to present Twentieth Century Masters from the Cochran Collection, an exhibition of the works of some of the most interesting and exciting artists of the Twentieth Century.  The exhibit will be on display through Thursday, July 1, 2010.
This amazing collection includes works on paper by internationally renowned artists, to include Jacob Lawrence, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Romare Bearden, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, James Rosenquist, Alexander Calder, Elizabeth Catlett, Jim Dine, Jasper Johns, Joan Miro, Willem De Kooning, George Segal, Helen Frankenthaler, Louise Nevelson, Robert Rauchenberg, Camille Billops, John Biggers, Mildred Thompson and many others. 
This is the first time that the Twentieth Century Masters from the Cochran Collection is being exhibited in all of its diversity, without ethnic differentiation.  
The collection is the brain child of Wes and Missy Cochran. Wes will serve on the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium’s Advisory Board.  They are devoted art collectors with a passion for art rivaling artists and collectors. Wes learned about art from his avid art collector uncle, William May, referred to by Wes as “Sir William.” Wes is a stone mason by trade, and Missy is a retired school teacher. They reside in La Grange, Ga., where they opened an art gallery to assist with the La Grange Museum, located in La Grange, Ga., in an effort to continue to purchase art with all of their resources.
“Their friendship and support has enabled The Stanback to produce an exhibition of rare and extraordinary quality, usually seen only in major museums in large cities,” said Ellen Zisholtz, director and curator of The Stanback.
The accompanying planetarium show will be introduced by Wes Cochran who will share his experiences as an art collector. The planetarium show, In the Mind’s Eye: Illusion and Art, will highlight select works of art from Twentieth Century Masters from the Cochran Collection presented by Dr. Elizabeth Mayo, the Stanback’s planetarium manager. In the Mind’s Eye: Illusion and Art, will explore the use of illusion in artistic expression and imagery, and showcases artists who employ this amazing technique in their works. 
On Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, the Stanback also opened the accompanying exhibition, Remembering the Rosenwald Schools,  celebrating two additional Twentieth Century Masters - Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish immigrant from Germany, and Booker T. Washington, a former enslaved American.  This exhibition is located in the Educators Resource Center and features images and artifacts from former Rosenwald schools in South Carolina.
For additional information about the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium’s Spring Exhibition Opening, contact Ellen Zisholtz at (803)536-7174, or Ingrid Owens, program manager, at (803)536-8329.

Harris-Stowe State hosts free tax clinic through April 15, 2010

St. Louis, MO (January 11, 2010) – Harris-Stowe State University and the Anheuser-Busch School of Business proudly announces its free tax clinic, from February 1-April 15, 2010.
The free tax service is extended to any and everyone interested in having their 2009 taxes prepared by certified volunteers, under the supervision of Quintin Davis, CPA, accounting instructor at Harris-Stowe, and Owolabi Tiamiyu, assistant professor of business administration. Additional CPAs will be on hand to advise. While the HSSU tax clinic is open to everyone, it uniquely caters to international individuals and families, the elderly and low-to-moderate income households. Those who have a household income of $50,000 or less will be given priority service.

The free tax service schedule is as follows:
Mondays and Wednesdays
9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Room 103 of the Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Administration Building, located at 3026 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103

Saturdays
10 a.m.-2 p.m., HSSU Anheuser-Busch School of Business, located at 5707 Wilson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110

Please make sure you have all relevant information necessary to file 2009 tax returns. For details, please call (314) 256-8188.

Hampton University to host Black Heritage Extravaganza - Feb. 23

(Hampton, VA.) - In honor of Black History Month, Hampton University will host the Black Heritage Extravaganza on Feb. 23. The event is one of several events the campus hosted this month to commemorate Black History Month throughout February. The month’s theme is “The Hampton Renaissance.”
Black Heritage Extravaganza — A theatrical production that celebrates the history and culture of Africans and African Americans. The production includes songs, poetry, speeches, music and dances. The event includes student, faculty and community performers. 7 p.m., Ogden Hall
All events are free and open to the public. For more information contact the HU Office of Student Activities at (757) 727-5691.

Ambassador Andrew Young to speak at JSU’s Martin Luther King Convocation - Feb. 25

(JACKSON, Miss.) – Perhaps the most iconic, living figure of the civil rights movement, Ambassador Andrew Young will give the keynote address at the 41st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Convocation at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, in the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium on the campus of Jackson State University. The convocation is sponsored by the Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center.
Young was one of King’s most trusted advisors and was at his side the day King was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in 1968. His civil rights activism led him to become a three-term U.S. Congressman, Ambassador to the United Nations under President Jimmy Carter, and Mayor of Atlanta, where Young was instrumental in getting the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.
Ambassador Young will also be one of four honorees at the 15th annual Isaac Byrd “For My People” Awards Luncheon, which will take place in the JSU Student Center ballroom immediately following the convocation. The “For My People” Awards are named for Margaret Walker Alexander’s most loved poem and are given to individuals who have distinguished themselves in the preservation of African-American culture. Along with Young, this year’s recipients include Alferdteen Harrison, Clarence Hunter, and L.C. Dorsey.
Margaret Walker Alexander founded the forerunner to the Alexander Center, the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People, at JSU in 1968. Today, the Alexander Center is both an archive and museum that seeks to honor her artistic and academic legacy through the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of 20th century African-American history and culture. The Center is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in historic Ayer Hall on the JSU campus.
Board member Rosia Crisler of Jackson is serving as chairperson of these events.