Page 21 - 7-28-15 Tuesday's Edition

National
Spelman College Severs Ties With Bill
And Camille Cosby
Sports Stars And Hip Hop Artist Team Up To Increase Enrollment At Historically Black Colleges And Universities (HBCUs)
ATLANTA, GA — HBCU Di- rect, LLC (HD), a marketing collective specializing in HBCU relations, formed a multi- faceted partnership with AS- PiRE, the television network from Magic Johnson Enter- prises, former NBA superstar Tracy “T-Mac” McGrady, and hip-hop celebrity 2 Chainz to build awareness of HBCUs and increase overall enrollment.
The first effort of the strate- gic alliance is the September 2015 launch of a 20-campus Hoops-N-Hip Hop® Tour reaching 100,000 Black college students. “The partnership provides a huge opportunity to use our voices to support the efforts of the nation’s 105 HBCUs to build awareness and attract talent,” said seven-time NBA All-Star Tracy Mc- Grady. “HBCUs are a corner- stone of our community, having graduated some of the most notable African Ameri- cans across the spectrum in- cluding medicine, technology, the arts, sports and beyond. With more African Americans entering college today than ever before, it is imperative that we do all that we can to support HBCUs in every way as they continue to provide a high quality education.”
ASPiRE delivers enlighten- ing, entertaining and positive programming to African Amer- icans with a diverse slate, in- cluding live and encore HBCU football and basketball games featuring member schools of the CIAA and SIAC confer- ences.
“Through this unique col- laboration, ASPiRE will con- tinue to capture the positive lifestyle on HBCU campuses and present the authentic and aspirational images from the HBCU experience to our view- ing audience,” said ASPiRE Senior Director of Business Af- fairs and Development Melissa Ingram.
“Providing positive pro- gramming for African Ameri- cans is at the core of who we are, and this partnership is an extension of that mission.”
Members of 2 Chainz label imprint, TRU University, will join the Hoops-N-Hip Hop tour as performers during the tour concert following each event.
“2 Chainz is an Alabama State University alum that deeply cares about the HBCU community” stated David Leeks, co-owner of 2 Chainz management company Street Execs. 2Chainz played colle- giate basketball at ASU.
“This partnership perfectly aligns with our mission of serv- icing and creating positive awareness of HBCUs,” added
Rod Chappell, CEO and Ex- ecutive Director of HBCU Di- rect.
“Collectively, HBCUs need more support in marketing and awareness to increase rev- enues through enrollment and fundraising. The statistics re- garding increased college en- rollment for African American students are encouraging, and wehavetodoallthatwecanto make sure that HBCUs are strong benefactors of this in- crease.” The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics (BLS) recently reported that among 2014 U.S. high school graduates, 70.9 percent of African American graduat- ing high school seniors had en- rolled in college by October, up from 59.3 percent college en- rollment rate in 2013.
Through this partnership, the five-year-old HBCU Direct follows its mission of support- ing the nation’s 100+ HBCUs through with partnerships to increase revenues and/or re- duce expenses. For more infor- mation about HBCU Direct, visit www.hbcudirect.com.
Even after donating $20,000,000 to Atlanta’s Spel- man College, the university de- cided on Friday to officially severed ties with Bill and Camille Cosby.
The college has discontinued its Cosby endowed professor- ship in which was created by the 1988 donation of $20,000,000. Last year, the professorship was suspended as the drug and rape stories resurfaced again, but on Friday the college decided to perma- nently end the program.
According to USA Today, the related funds from the pro- fessorship have been returned to the Clara Elizabeth Jackson Carter Foundation, established by Camille Cosby. "The William and Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Endowed Profes- sorship at Spelman College has been discontinued and related
BILL COSBY
funds have been returned to the Clara Elizabeth Jackson Carter Foundation," said Spel- man spokesperson Audrey Arthur in a statement.
The Cosby family has deep ties with the college, from its monetary support, to even one of the Cosby daughters at- tending the university.
MAGIC JOHNSON, TRACY MCGRADY AND 2 CHAINZ
Sandra Bland Laid To Rest In Chicago
CHICAGO, IL ----Sandra Bland, who found dead in a Texas jail cell, was remem- bered Saturday as a coura- geous fighter for social justice.
Family and friends gath- ered at her wake and funeral in Lisle, Illinois, the Chicago suburb where she grew up. The service was held a day after an autopsy report was released, which found that Bland, 28, used a plastic bag to hang herself three days after her controversial traffic stop July 10.
Her family has raised
The funeral program for #Black- questions about the find- LivesMatter activist Sandra Bland. ings, saying she was about to start a new job that she was
excited about and that it is unlikely that she would have taken her own life.
Before the service at the DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lisle, the Rev. Theresa Read said mourners would re- member Bland as a “young lady that refused to be subdued and si- lenced.”
“Our service will be one of celebration. We’ll be celebrating the life of Sandy Bland. We have much to celebrate. We’re happy that she found her voice, found her purpose in social justice. We cele- brate that she walked and lived in her truth,” Rev. Read said.
Emmitt Till was murdered at age 14 by 2 white men in 1955.
Black History Tidbit
Emmitt Till Would Have Been 74, If He Had Lived
This is what Till looked like after he was found.
Emmitt Till is shown in his last photo taken with his mother before he was kidnapped and murdered in 1955 by 2 brothers.
CHICAGO, IL --- 74 years ago Saturday, Emmett Louis Till was born in Chicago, Illi- nois
Civil rights icon Emmett Till, a Black 14-year-old that was brutally murdered in Mis- sissippi in 1955, as retaliation for allegedly flirting with a white woman. The woman’s husband and his half-brother were acquitted of the crime, but later confessed their guilt, however, the law on double jeopardy prevented them from being tried again.
Till’s horrific death be- came a powerful symbol for the civil rights movement.
Today the same issues of racism are embedded in soci- ety that were present 74 years ago, showing not much has changed. With incidences such as the murders of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice, all of which were young Black males, Till’s legacy is still rel- evant today.
His story should not be for- gotten as we combat present issues of white supremacy, po- lice brutality and the execu- tion of Black lives all over the world. Let Emmett Till’s life be a lesson to us all that hate will not bring about change.
Teen Found Hung In Her Cell, One Day After
Sandra Bland
HOME-
WOOD,
AL ----
With the
mysterious
death of
Sandra
Bland still
leaving us
with more
questions
than an-
swers, very few of us even real- ize that another young African American woman was discov- ered in the same way, just one day later.
Kindra Chapman, 18, was found dead in her jail cell in Homewood, Alabama. Her death is being called an appar- ent suicide after she was discov- ered with a bed sheet around her neck.
Chapman’s death comes only one day after Bland’s, but less than an hour-and-a-half after she was booked into the jail.
KINDRA CHAPMAN
TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 21-A