LISTINGS FROM DIRECTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ARCHITECTS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

Cincinnati -- A University of Cincinnati-developed tool to enhance the professional prospects of African American architects has just gone "high tech."

The Directory of African American Architects, developed by UC professor of architecture Dennis Alan Mann and by former UC colleague and current Hampton University professor of architecture Bradford Grant, was most recently published in hard- copy form in 1996. A recently updated listing of licensed African American architects practicing in the United States totaling 1302 names has just been placed on the Web at blackarch.uc.edu.

"The Web listing serves as an accurate means for professionals in the field to gauge the progress of African Americans within architecture until a revised hard copy of the directory can be published. For instance, it's a valuable tool for first-generation African American firms where the founders are nearing retirement age. Many of these firm founders are looking for young African American architects to bring in as partners, to eventually take over," explained Mann.

The new website currently contains an alphabetical listing of licensed African American architects and the city and state where they reside. A state-by-state listing is also available. More detailed contact information, such as business addresses and phone numbers, is not available on this site but can be obtained through the hard-copy directory or other sources. "Most states have contact information for licensed architects on the Web or available via phone," Mann added.

Dennis Alan Mann

In the near future, this site will also contain summaries of the surveys of African American architects that Mann and Grant have completed. It will contain an "in memoriam" section listing licensed African American architects who have passed away since publication of the last directory. It will also link to related sites. Through ongoing research connected to African Americans in architecture, Mann has noted some encouraging trends. For instance, the number of African American woman practicing architecture has more than doubled in the last decade.

When the first Directory of African American Architects was published in 1991, 49 African American women were listed as licensed practitioners. Today, that number stands at 111. As a whole, however, African Americans represent just slightly more than 1 percent of the country's licensed architects. -30-

Jan. 20, 2000 Contact: Mary Bridget Reilly 513-556-1824 mary-bridget.reilly@uc.edu

Signal Soldiers commemorate African Americans' service

Signal Soldiers commemorate African Americans' service Feb 26, 2011 By Spc. Charlene Apatang Mendiola.

Strength, courage, and determination describe the African-American men and women who have struggled and contributed to their success within the U.S. military.

The 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion hosted the Black History Month celebration on Camp Victory, Feb. 16, to highlight the distinguished military heritage of African Americans who have, since the Civil War, committed themselves to the nation's defense.

Highlights of the 90-minute event included a slideshow presentation of "Little Known Black History Facts," singing of the National Anthem and the Black National Anthem and keynote speaker, Maj. Ericka M. Brooks, executive officer with the 40th ESB.

Brooks, a U.S. Military Academy graduate, remembers a time when her attendance at West Point as an African American female was not an option. My grandfather and all of his brothers were in the military at a time when only whites could be officers, she said. "I am standing here as an officer in a fully integrated unit."

Spc. Tyrek Parham, a human resources specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th ESB sings the Black National Anthem during the Black History Month celebration. Photo Credit: Spc. Charlene Apatang Mendiola.

Brooks' accomplishments are not insignificant. Despite the number of military conflicts African Americans were involved in, they were not fully integrated into the U.S. armed forces until 1948. It is important that history is taught and learned, Brooks said, otherwise past mistakes will be repeated. Photos of African American heroes such as President Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and W.E.B. Du Bois hung on the walls, creating a timeline honoring those who lead, overcame, and broke down barriers to make America a nation of unity.

"Dr. Martin Luther King is a remarkable icon," said Sgt. Dustin Leechadwick Yates, a radio and communications security repairer with Company B, 40th ESB. "He is known to be one of the initiators of the civil rights movement who fought for fair treatment and equality for every person in America."

Every ethnicity has played a role in getting where we are today, Brooks said. There are values in people, their culture, traditions and experiences; sharing this helps make U.S. forces much more
powerful.

"Behind the lines of race, color, or creed, we become a stronger force," said 1st Lt. Anthony Browitt, a battalion maintenance officer with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th ESB. "A force united through common goals and through racial lines makes us the strongest military in the world."

"Black history is a part of American history," said Brooks. "We wouldn't be the America we are today if it weren't for that."

From THE DICK CAVETT SHOW. September 18, 1972. The Raelettes are: Vernita Moss, Susaye Green, Mable John, Dorothy Berry, & Estella Yarbrough.

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: The Official Homepage of the United States Army

VIDEO CREDIT: cavettbiter

Honoring John Henry (“Dick”) Turpin, Chief Gunner’s Mate, USN. (1876-1962)

National African American History Month in February celebrates the contributions that African Americans have made to American history in their struggles for freedom and equality and deepens our understanding of our Nation””s history. This February, we””ve selected a few African Americans who served in the U.S. Navy to feature here on the blog. For more on the African American Experience in the Navy over the years, visit the Naval History & Heritage Command””s website or the award-winning African Americans and the U.S. Navy presentation.

John Henry Turpin was born on 20 August 1876. Enlisted in the Navy at New York City on 4 November 1896, he was a member of USS Maine’s crew when she was destroyed by an explosion in February 1898. He survived that disaster, and the boiler explosion on USS Bennington in July 1905, as well as serving on several other ships before he left active duty in 1916. Recalled to service when the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, on 1 June of that that year, Turpin became Chief Gunner’s Mate on USS Marblehead, one of the Navy’s first African-American Chief Petty Officers. He served actively in that rank until transferred to the Fleet Reserve on 8 March 1919. John Henry Turpin retired as a Chief Gunner’s Mate on 5 October 1925.

When not serving on active duty, Turpin was employed at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, as a Master Rigger. He also qualified, in his civilian capacity, as a Master Diver. From 1938 through World War II, he voluntarily made inspirational visits to Naval Training Centers and defense plants. John Henry Turpin died on 10 March 1962. Navy Live is the official blog of the United States Navy and is maintained by Department of the Navy, Office of Information (CHINFO). February 23rd, 2011 posted by tjohnson This is a World Wide Web site for official information about the United States Navy. It is provided as a public service by the U.S. Navy's Office of Information, Washington, D.C..

The purpose of this Web site is to provide information about the United States Navy to the general public. All information on this site is considered public information and may be distributed or copied unless otherwise specified. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.

Sonia Sanchez is a special guest on the UMass Dartmouth Campus on February 28 and March 1

February 28: 7p.m.: In closing the Black History Month events, renowned author and poet Sonia Sanchez will give a keynote address and book signing. Books will be available for signing in the auditorium foyer at the end of the event.

On March 1, 2 p.m.: Opening kick-off for Women's History Month Sonia Sanchez will give a poetry reading and hold a writing workshop.

The public is invited to these free events in the UMass Dartmouth main auditorium at the Dartmouth Campus, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth. Parking is in lots 5 and 7.

Sonia Sanchez. is a poet--mother--professor and a national and international lecturer on black culture and literature; women's liberation, and peace and racial justice. Sanchez is a sponsor of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Board Member of MADRE:

Sanchez is the author of over 16 books including Homecoming, We a BaddDDD People, Love Poems, I've Been a Woman, A Sound Investment and Other Stories, Homegirls and Handgrenades, Under a Soprano Sky, Wounded in the House of a Friend (Beacon Press, 1995), Does Your House Have Lions? (Beacon Press, 1997), Like the Singing Coming off the Drums (Beacon Press, 1998), Shake Loose My Skin (Beacon Press, 1999), and most recently, Morning Haiku (Beacon Press, 2010). In addition to being a contributing editor to Black Scholar and The Journal of African Studies, she has edited an anthology, We Be Word Sorcerers: 25 Stories by Black Americans. BMA: The Sonia Sanchez Literary Review is the first African American Journal that discusses the work of Sonia Sanchez and the Black Arts Movement.

Sonia Sanchez

Sanchez is recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts, the Lucretia Mott Award for 1984, the Outstanding Arts Award from the Pennsylvania Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Community Service Award from the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, she is a winner of the 1985 American Book Award for Homegirls and Handgrenades, the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Humanities for 1988, the Peace and Freedom Award from Women International League for Peace and Freedom (W.I.L.P.F.) for 1989, a PEW Fellowship in the Arts for 1992-1993 and the recipient of Langston Hughes Poetry Award for 1999.

Does Your House Have Lions? was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Sanchez is the Poetry Society of America's 2001 Robert Frost Medalist and a Ford Freedom Scholar from the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Her poetry also appeared in the movie Love Jones.

Sonia Sanchez has lectured at over 500 universities and colleges in the United States and has traveled extensively, reading her poetry in Africa, Cuba, England, the Caribbean, Australia, Europe, Nicaragua, the People's Republic of China, Norway, and Canada. She was the first Presidential Fellow at Temple University and she held the Laura Carnell Chair in English at Temple University. She is the recipient of the Harper Lee Award, 2004, Alabama Distinguished Writer, and the National Visionary Leadership Award for 2006. She is the recipient of the 2005 Leeway Foundation Transformational Award. Currently, Sonia Sanchez is one of 20 African American women featured in "Freedom Sisters," an interactive exhibition created by the Cincinnati Museum Center and Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition and she was the recipient of the Robert Creeley award in March of 2009.

For more information contact Donna Moore, dmoore@umassd.edu or call 508-999-9222.

Author: Donna Moore [Contact] Date: February 25, 2011 Department: Cultural

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth • 285 Old Westport Road • North Dartmouth, MA 02747-2300 Phone: 508 999-8000 • TDD: 508 999-9250 (for the hearing impaired)

Racism Shapes African-American Women’s Views on Depression Care

Study of African-American women living in Portland, Ore., reveals racism, expectation to be a “strong Black woman” are significant obstacles to depression care

African-American women’s beliefs about depression and depression care are consistently and systematically influenced by racism, according to a new study conducted at Oregon Health & Science University. The results are published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

To be eligible for the study, participants had to be 18 or older, consider themselves African-American, have a score of 15 or higher on Patient Health Questionnaire Depression scale and have experienced intimate partner violence at some time in their lives. Thirty women participated in four private focus groups facilitated by African-American female community members of the research team.

Study participants were asked about their experiences and beliefs surrounding the relationship between violence and health in general, mental health, depression, and depression treatments. They also were asked to discuss their recommendations for improving depression care. The researchers found one issue dominated discussions about depression care — the participants’ deep mistrust of what they perceived to be a “White” health care system.

From left to right: Christina Nicolaidis, M.D., OHSU; S. Renee Mitchell, Interconnections Project community partners at large; Mary Jo Thomas, Multnomah County Department of Mental Health and Addiction; Vanessa Timmons, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Portland; and Stephanie Wahab, M.S.W., Ph.D., School of Social Work, Portland State University

“These women were extremely wary of most depression treatments and providers they associated with ‘White’ systems of care. Although they acknowledged that violence, depression and substance abuse adversely affected their health, discussions about health care revolved around their perceptions of racism,” said Christina Nicolaidis, M.D., M.P.H., principal investigator and an associate professor of medicine (general internal medicine and geriatrics), and public health and preventive medicine in the OHSU School of Medicine. “Based on our findings, we recommend health and mental health providers endeavor to better understand and acknowledge how racism informs the experiences and perceptions of their patients.”

The expectation of being a “strong Black woman” also was a significant barrier to recognizing depression and seeking care. Co-investigator S. Renee Mitchell has used this finding to launch a campaign asking: “Strong Black woman – what are you burying, your feelings or the myth?” The research team also has organized several community depression and violence awareness events titled “Redefining the Blues.” An additional event is planned for the fall.

Study participants expressed a desire for community-based depression programs that addressed violence and drug use and are staffed by African-Americans with “real-life experiences.” In response to this request, the research team used their study data to create a community-based, culturally tailored depression-care program, which they currently are pilot-testing at Bradley-Angle House’s Healing Roots Center, a drop-in center for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

The researchers make clear that their results aren’t reflective of all African-American depressed women, especially those who live in places with larger African-American populations, those with higher incomes and those who have not experienced intimate partner violence.

“Future study is needed to test the generalizability of our findings, as well as the effectiveness of culturally specific interventions in reducing depressions severity and improving depression care among African-American women,” the researchers concluded.

The research team comprised Nicolaidis; Vanessa Timmons, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Portland; Mary Jo Thomas, Multnomah County Department of Mental Health and Addiction, Portland; A. Star Waters and S. Renee Mitchell, Interconnections Project community partners at large, Portland; Stephanie Wahab, School of Social Work, Portland State University; and Angie Mejia, OHSU Department of Medicine.

The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, a branch of the National Institutes of Health, and the Northwest Health Foundation Kaiser Permanente Community Fund.

About Oregon Health & Science University

Oregon Health & Science University is the state's only health and research university and Oregon's only academic health center. OHSU is Portland's largest employer and the fourth largest in Oregon (excluding government). OHSU's size contributes to its ability to provide many services and community support activities not found anywhere else in the state. It serves patients from every corner of the state, and is a conduit for learning for more than 3,400 students and trainees. OHSU is the source of more than 200 community outreach programs that bring health and education services to every county in the state.

Media Contact: Tamara Hargens-Bradley 503 494-8231 Email Tamara

Florida’s first African American Guardsman continues service in community

Grandson carries on family tradition of National Guard service By Staff Sgt. Blair Heusdens Florida National Guard Public Affairs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., (Feb. 23, 2011) – It was 1963. Northeast Florida was center stage of the Civil Rights Movement. Protests, marches and riots – some peaceful, some violent – marked a period of resistance from segregation and movement toward equal rights in America.

Amidst the racial tension, James Solomon Bryant, an African American postal worker from Jacksonville, Fla., became the first African American to enlist in the Florida National Guard in October 1963. Bryant remembers feeling proud as he walked down the streets of downtown Jacksonville in uniform for his first drill at the Maxwell C. Synder Armory, located on the corner of Market and State Streets.

“When it was announced that I was the first black Guardsman, people would look at me like, ‘What? Him?’” remembers Bryant. “It was an accomplishment, you can imagine. We just thought of the armory as some place of socializing, but it was the headquarters that controlled the first line of defense; and you’re a part of it.”

Bryant served in the Air Force during the Korean War, before returning in 1953 to North Florida to find a job as a postal worker. The opportunity to join the Florida National Guard came from a co-worker at the post office, a second lieutenant in the 55th Command Headquarters. He mentioned to Bryant that he was interested in getting an African American into the National Guard. Bryant, though unwilling at first after nearly 10 years out of the service, decided to give it a go.

Pride of service

Bryant remembers taking his physical and the oath of enlistment into the Florida National Guard in the evening so as not to draw too much attention. His aptitude tests indicated he had mechanical abilities. A slot was available in the motor pool section of the 55th Command Headquarters, so Bryant came into the Florida National Guard as a Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic.

“I grew up around trucks, so it wasn’t anything I hadn’t done as far as changing tires, working on engines and transmissions,” said Bryant. “I was not a novice to that.”

Bryant served four years in the Florida National Guard. During that time, he had the opportunity to serve on state active duty during Hurricane Dora in 1964 by providing a generator to power a local school. He was also on active duty during the 1964 race riots in Jacksonville, pulling duty at the armory where rioters were held. Bryant was also chosen for the honor of driving Governor Kirk and Generals Ballard and Simmons for a review of the troops during Kirk’s gubernatorial inauguration in 1967.

During annual training at Fort Stewart, Ga., in 1966 Bryant received top marks and praise from reviewers while serving as the chief of the unit’s motor section. The report states that, “Specialist 5 Bryant of Maintenance was in charge and is very capable, a definite credit to the unit.”

“In the motor pool, we just prided ourselves because we wanted our vehicles to look top-notch,” said Bryant. “The deuce and a half had to hum right. We tuned them to perfection and they recognized that.”

Bryant said there were some problems because of his race, but, for the most part, he got along well with his fellow Soldiers.

“I look at it as God-given, how you treat people,” said Bryant. “Because I came not as a novice, I came as a citizen; I came as a married person; I came as a deacon; I came as a valued employee with the postal service. So a combination of skills that were God given – just being able to treat people right – endeared me to them and we got along good.”

After leaving the Florida National Guard, Bryant became more involved with the post office and received his introduction into postal management when he became the first black assistant safety officer in 1971. He continued to advance in leadership positions throughout his 35-year postal career before retiring in 1988.

“God’s Men”

Bryant took the values he learned in the military, along with his concern for people, and put them into service within the Jacksonville community. He was ordained as a deacon at the Mount Ararat Baptist Church in Jacksonville in 1958. Through the church he became involved in local politics, where he had the opportunity to meet and interact with many different people within the community.

“God called me into ministry, not as a pastor of a church, he just simply spoke to me early one morning,” said Bryant. “He said, ‘God’s men,’ very audible. He gave me direction of what he wanted, which is to make men of caliber – not in the limelight or spotlight – just men.”

Bryant assembled a group of approximately 20 men to make a difference in the community. He believed that good men of character from all walks of life could have a positive impact in the Jacksonville area.

“I told them this, ‘I don’t care who you are; you leave that at the door, because now we are all men of equal ground. We are able to do things for people God’s way,’” said Bryant.

Bryant is involved in several projects within the Jacksonville community through his ministries. He works closely with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Advisory Council, which encourages partnerships between law enforcement and the community. Bryant also helps ex-offenders who are coming out of the prison system and works closely with the Baker County Correctional Facility. This past Christmas, Bryant and his peers helped 63 local children through the Angel Tree program.

“We look at religion as a blessing,” said Bryant. “Not because of title or prominence, but to be able to do something for people and keep that common touch.”

Family ties

As the eldest of six children, family has always been very important to Bryant. His large family includes four children (one who died in 2000), seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Patriotism and sense of service are evident in the military tradition within his family. Bryant’s son, the late James S. Bryant, III, served in the Florida National Guard and one of his grandsons, Sgt. Douglas Bryant, currently serves in the Florida National Guard as an information technology specialist.

“When I was younger, I used to visit Camp Blanding,” said Douglas. “My grandfather would take me out there and show me around a little bit and he gave me the story along the way about him being the first black national guardsman.”

Like many, the youngest Bryant saw the benefits that the Guard offered for education, but has come to appreciate the impact the National Guard has had upon his family and the opportunities that are available to him.

“As I started going through the day-to-day operations of the Guard and as I went through school, it allowed me to find a career within the Guard,” said Douglas.

With a degree under his belt, Douglas is focused on the future, a future he sees with the Florida National Guard. One of his goals is to become a warrant officer.

“I want to be the first officer in the family,” said Douglas. “Being a trailblazer; it’s kind of hard to picture yourself doing that; because nobody before me has done that. I not only want to make myself proud, but also my family and my country. I want to try to make some more first time-type history within the family.”

The eldest Bryant doesn’t regret his military service and carries an immense amount of pride in his accomplishments and service.

“It gave me an opportunity to really know how to transition from civilian to military at a phone call,” Bryant said. “I call it ‘Operation Ready.’ You become the state’s first defender. You never forget that ever that you’ve sworn the duty.”

Although his military service was groundbreaking, Bryant’s service to the Jacksonville community has been with less display but is no less important. A self-professed workaholic, Bryant plans to continue to work to make a positive difference in the Jacksonville community.

“There are so many good programs to keep our young people involved,” said Bryant. “We take pleasure in sharing what’s happening in Jacksonville. We have a cross section of things that we’re doing; we’re not making a big splash, just doing it.” ###

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: Florida National Guard Public Affairs

Submariners Recognized as Black Engineer Award Winners

By Kevin Copeland, Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Five submariners were recognized at the 2011 Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) in Washington, D.C., Feb. 19.

Rear Adm. Bruce E. Grooms, Lt. Cmdr. James Mahoney, Lt. Michael Paisant, Lt. Thomas Dotstry and Lt. j.g. Cameron Lindsay were all recognized at the awards ceremony for demonstrated technology leadership contributions within the African-American community.

Two award competitions are held annually for BEYA recognition, one for Professional and Career Achievement, and one for the organization's Modern Day Technology Leaders. Sponsored by the Career Communications Group, the BEYA awards program recognize men and women from around the country who demonstrate outstanding performance in a technical field and show great potential for shaping the future course of science, technology, engineering and math.

Grooms was recognized for with the award for Professional Achievement in Government. This award is presented to a highly professional past the midpoint of their career which signifies achievements in government as a role model and leader for other minorities.

110218-N-ZB612-090 WASHINGTON (Feb. 18, 2011) Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead delivers the keynote address at the 2011 Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) Stars and Stripes dinner. The event is part of the BEYA Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Global Competitiveness Conference. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst/Released)

Grooms is currently assigned as the Assistant Deputy, Operations, Plans and Strategy (N3/N5B) on the Chief of Naval Operations staff in Washington, D.C. Mahoney, Paisant, Dostry and Cameron were recognized as Modern Day Technology Leaders. Mahoney, a native of Sumter, S.C., is currently assigned as deputy assistant chief of staff for Resources and Requirements for Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain; Paisant, an Atlanta native, is currently assigned as navigator and operations officer aboard Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Montpelier (SSN 765); Dotstry, a native of Newport News, Va., is currently assigned as admissions advisor at the U.S. Naval Academy; and Lindsay, a Kernersville, N.C. native, is currently assigned as assistant engineer, sonar officer, and dive division officer on Virginia-class attack submarine USS Texas (SSN 775) homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Capt. Richard R. Bryant was also announced as a recipient of the Professional Achievement in Government award and will be recognized as the 14th recipient of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Government at the 37th Annual NSBE Conference in St. Louis March 26.

"I am very humbled, and internally pleased to be recognized for this award," said Bryant. "Just to be considered is an immense honor, but to be selected is something more touching. I am glad that I am able to bring the message about the Navy's nuclear propulsion program to some who do not understand the program and may not have the opportunity to see it. It is a challenge to maintain a diverse work force in the Navy's nuclear program, because individuals who qualify for nuclear engineering are certainly qualified for other civilian occupations."

"It is poignant and very spiritual for me to receive this award in my hometown of St. Louis, because I grew up in the rough section of Kinlock and not many nuclear engineers come from there," continued Bryant. "Presentation of the award there sends a strong message that hard work and determination can be springboards to future success. Once again, I am extremely humbled by my selection, and having known previous recipients, it is tough for me to realize I belong in their company."

NSBE is the premier organization serving African-Americans in engineering and technology, and are the link between the African-American community and the world of technology. The Golden Torch Awards link the accomplishments of distinguished African-American engineers and technical professionals with college bound dreams of pre-college students.

Bryant is currently the Special Assistant to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Chairman's Action Group at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He will soon assume command of Commander, Submarine Squadron Three in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

For more news from Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/sublant/.

Randall Kenan will be the 2010-11 Sturm Writer-in-Residence at WVU

Randall Kenan, an award-winning author and professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been chosen as the 2010-11 Sturm Writer in Residence at West Virginia University.

Kenan will read at 7:30 p.m. Monday (March 7) in the Gold Ballroom in the Mountainlair. In addition to this public reading, Kenan will work with 12 WVU creative writing students for the remainder of the week.

Randall Kenan is the author of “Let the Dead Bury Their Dead,” a collection of short stories published in 1992 by Harcourt, Brace. It was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was among The New York Times Notable Books of 1992. He is also the author of “A Visitation of Spirits,” a novel published by Grove Press in 1989; a young adult biography of James Baldwin published in 1993; and “The Fire This Time,” a work of nonfiction, published in July 2007. He wrote the text for Norman Mauskoff’s book of photographs, “A Time Not Here: The Mississippi Delta” (1997). “Walking on Water: Black American Lives at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century” was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1999, and was nominated for the Southern Book Award.

“We are extraordinarily fortunate to have Randall Kenan come to WVU as our Sturm Writer-in-Residence,” said Mark Brazaitis, associate professor of English and the director of the Creative Writing Program. “He is a superb craftsman who writes beautifully in a number of genres. I also understand he is a mesmerizing reader of his work.” From 1985 to 1989, Kenan worked on the editorial staff of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. In 1989 he began teaching writing at Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University. He was the first William Blackburn Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Duke University in the fall of 1994, and the Edourd Morot-Sir Visiting Professor of Creating Writing at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1995.

He was the John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Memphis, and held the Lehman Brady Professorship at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. He has also taught urban literature at Vassar College.

He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers Award, the Sherwood Anderson Award, the John Dos Passos Award and was the 1997 Rome Prize winner from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He was awarded the North Carolina Award for Literature in 2005.

Students are selected for the Sturm Workshop on the basis of a campus-wide writing competition. Any student may submit a sample of writing for consideration. Those selected are among the University’s finest creative writers.

The reading, which will be followed by a reception and book signing, is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Mark Brazaitis, director of Creative Writing, at (304) 293-9707. Mark.Brazaitis@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Rebecca Herod, Marketing and Communications Coordinator 304-293-7405, ext. 5251, Rebecca.Herod@mail.wvu.edu

University Relations 48 Donley St. 4th Floor, Marina Tower P.O. Box 6688 Morgantown, WV 26506-6688 Email: John Bolt Phone: 304-293-6997

IMAGE CREDIT: Department of English and Comparative Literature Greenlaw Hall, CB #3520 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3520 phone: (919) 962-5481 | fax: (919) 962-3520

Black-Owned Businesses Grow at Triple the National Rate

February is Black History Month, a time when our nation celebrates the contributions of people of African-American heritage.

It’s also an appropriate time to acknowledge the growing impact the black community has had on our nation’s economy.

Data released today from the 2007 Survey of Business Owners (SBO) highlight black-owned businesses and their growing numbers since 2002.

What’s exciting about the new SBO data is that it gives us a complete look at black-owned businesses (including industries and size of business), insight that we have not had since the last statistics were released from the 2002 survey. So what do these new data show us about black-owned businesses?

Between 2002 and 2007, the number of black-owned businesses increased on a rapidly upward track (60 percent), more than triple the national rate (18 percent) to 1.9 million businesses. The data show that, in terms of sheer number, black-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing segments of our economy.

Map of Black Owned Businesses

In addition, black-owned businesses’ revenue increased to $137.5 billion (a 55 percent increase) between 2002 and 2007. These businesses employed 921,032 workers in 2007 (an increase of 22 percent from 2002) and their payrolls totaled $23.9 billion (an increase of 36 percent). According to the data, nearly four in ten black-owned businesses operated in health care and social assistance; and repair, maintenance, personal and laundry services.

The SBO survey does much more than give us a complete picture of black-owned businesses nationally. It also provides us with a detailed look of black-owned businesses by smaller geographic areas, including cities, counties and metro areas.

For more information on black-owned business in your area, Survey of Business Owners (SBO).

Harvard Professor Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham to Lecture on African American History at Adelphi University on February 23

Adelphi University is pleased to host Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham as she delivers the John Hope Franklin Distinguished Lecture “From Slavery to Freedom and the Legacy of John Hope Franklin: A Tribute.” The event will take place on Wednesday, February 23, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. in the Ruth S. Harley University Center’s Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY. The annual distinguished lecture, which pays homage to the great African American culture and history scholar, John Hope Franklin, who first delivered the lecture in 1996, is sponsored by The Center for African, Black, and Caribbean Studies and the John Hope Franklin Distinguished Lecture Series. The event is part of Adelphi’s Black History Month celebration.

Dr. Higginbotham is the Victor S. Thomas professor of history at Harvard University, as well as the chair of the African and African American Studies Department at the school. This year, she was invited to be the first John Hope Franklin Professor of American Legal History at the Duke University Law School. She also served as acting director of Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute in spring 2008.

Dr. Higginbotham has revised and re-written the classic African American history survey, From Slavery to Freedom, and co-authored the book’s latest edition with the late John Hope Franklin. She also co-edited the African American National Biography with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was editor-in-chief of The Harvard Guide to African-American History, and authored Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church: 1880-1920, among numerous other works and accomplishments.

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham

Her accolades include induction into the American Philosophical Society for promoting useful knowledge, the 2008 Carter G. Woodson Scholars Medallion from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and the 2008 Legend Award from the Urban League, among others. In March 2005, she made the AOL Black Voices’ list of “Top 10 Black Women in Higher Education.” In April 2003 she was chosen by Harvard University to be a Walter Channing Cabot Fellow in recognition of her achievements and scholarly eminence in the field of history. Professor Higginbotham earned a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in American History, an M.A. from Howard University, and her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before coming to Harvard, she taught on the full-time faculties of Dartmouth, the University of Maryland, and the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, she was a visiting professor at Princeton University and New York University.

For more information about this and other events on campus, please visit adelphi.edu, or call the Cultural Events Hotline at 516.877.4555.

About Adelphi University: Adelphi is a world class, modern university with excellent and highly relevant programs where students prepare for lives of active citizenship and professional careers. Through its schools and programs—The College of Arts and Sciences, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Honors College, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, and the Schools of Business, Nursing, and Social Work—the co-educational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults.

Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,000 students from 41 states and 60 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and centers in Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Poughkeepsie, the University, chartered in 1896, maintains a commitment to liberal studies in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.

Media Contact: For additional information, please contact: Kali Chan Director of Media Relations p - 516.877.4040 f - 516.877.3266 e - chan@adelphi.edu

Texas Tech Celebrates Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and Texas Tech University’s history department is commemorating with faculty-led talks, film screenings and panel discussions, one of which honors 25 years of celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.

Black History Month is an annual celebration recognizing the achievements and momentous role that African-Americans have and continue to contribute to U.S. history.

Barton Myers, history professor and Civil War historian, said the history department has been trying to put together a series of talks and panel discussions for Black History Month over the past few years, and it finally came together this year.

“It’s always been my opinion that as Americans we own all of American history,” Myers said, “both the good and the bad.”

Myers said he thinks it is wonderful that Texas Tech is hosting events to celebrate Black History Month, and it is important to highlight the role of minority communities in American history.

Barton A. Myers

“As a Civil War historian,” Myers said, “I think it is fundamental to study African-American history.” Myers said it is important not to only look back at 20th century black history and the Civil Rights movement, but also to go as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries. Myers led a brown bag lunch and discussion that covered a wide range of black history, but specifically examined black military resistance to the Confederacy during the Civil War. He said approximately 180,000 African-American soldiers aided the Union Army to victory, which was pivotal to American history.

Written by Audrey Rickel Contact: Barton Myers, history professor and Civil War historian, Texas Tech University, barton.myers@ttu.edu, or (806) 742-3744

Preaching with Power: A Forum on Black Preaching and Theology

Preaching with Power: A Forum on Black Preaching and Theology returns to Philadelphia for the 29th year from Sunday, March 6 through Thursday, March 10. Preaching with Power is a program of the Urban Theological Institute (UTI) of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), and features five sermons and one lecture by six distinguished African American preachers and theologians, along with an Ash Wednesday service with preaching by seminary professor the Rev. Dr. Charles Leonard.

Local churches in the Philadelphia community host the evening worship services, plus the lecture and music celebration held on the LTSP campus in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. All are welcome! Come and be inspired! The worship offering proceeds go to The Rev. Dr. Joseph Q. Jackson Endowed Scholarship Fund, which benefits UTI students.

Dates and preachers/programs for 2011 are:

Sunday – March 6, 2011, 6:00 pm, The Rev. Dr. William H. Curtis preaching at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2800 West Cheltenham Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19150

The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.

Monday – March 7, 2011, 7:30 pm, The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. preaching at Grace Baptist Church of Germantown, 25 West Johnson Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144 Tuesday morning – March 8, 2011, 11:30 am, Dr. Anthea D. Butler lecturing at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, Benbow Hall, The Brossman Center, 7301 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119 Tuesday evening – March 8, 2011, 7:30 pm, Bishop Vashti McKenzie, Mt. Pisgah AME Church, 428 North 41st Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Wednesday morning – March 9, 2011, 11:30 am, Ash Wednesday: Word and Sacrament service, Schaeffer-Ashmead Chapel, LTSP Campus, 7301 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119

Wednesday evening – March 9, 2011, 6:30 pm (note earlier time), The Rev. Dr. Loran E. Mann preaching at Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ, 6401 Ogontz Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19126

Thursday – March 10, 2011, 7:30 pm, The Rev. Dr. Kevin Dudley preaching at Reformation Lutheran Church, 1215 East Vernon Road, Philadelphia, PA 19150

The week concludes with a Prospective Student Day on Saturday, March 12 starting at 8:30 am on the LTSP campus. Is God calling you? Come and See what is available for you at LTSP!

For more information on Preaching with Power, including venue directions and preacher profiles, and to register for Prospective Student Day, go to the seminary Web site: www.Ltsp.edu.

About the UTI: The Urban Theological Institute (UTI) of The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, celebrating 30 years, is dedicated to providing theological education to church leaders that is relevant and upbuilding for the African American community. The UTI sponsors Preaching with Power, a series of public lectures and several certificate programs for lay church leasers, as well as academic programs to prepare MDiv, MAR and DMin credentialed leaders for the black church. UTI Director The Rev. Dr. Quintin Robertson can be reached at qrobertson@Ltsp.edu or call 215-248-7324.

About LTSP: One of eight seminaries certified by the 4.6-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), LTSP (www.Ltsp.edu) has prepared well over 4,000 church leaders during its history. The school has been located on its Mt. Airy campus in Philadelphia since 1888 and has embraced seminarians from some 30 Christian traditions. Its 30-year-old Urban Theological Institute has prepared scores of African American leaders for church service in the Greater Philadelphia area.

John Kahler Director of Communications The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia 7301 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19119 215-248-6397 fax 215-248-4577 jkahler@ltsp.edu

For Immediate Release For more information please contact: John Kahler, Seminary Communications, communications@ltsp.edu, 215-248-6397

GRAMMY-WINNING GROUP SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK PERFORMS AT OTTERBEIN

Westerville, OH—The Otterbein University Signature Series will host a performance by the Grammy Award-winning a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey in the Rock, at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 11, in the Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St. This event is free and open to the public. Free tickets must be picked up in advance at the Campus Center Office, 100 W. Home St., between 8:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. There will be a limit of two tickets per person. For more information, call (614) 823-3202.

Founded in 1973 at the D.C. Black Repertory Theater Company, Sweet Honey in the Rock is an ensemble of six African American women internationally known for their a cappella sounds of blues, spirituals, traditional gospel hymns, rap, reggae, African chants, hip hop, ancient lullabies, and jazz improvisation.

Called “a national treasure” by First Lady Michelle Obama, Sweet Honey has performed at the White House and prestigious venues across the country. Audiences can see them at Otterbein before their upcoming performances at the Rose Center in New York as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Symphony Hall in Boston as part of the Celebrity Series, and Carnegie Hall in New York as part of the Around the Globe Series.

White House photos 2/18/09 by Joyce N. Boghosian.

Sweet Honey won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Recording in 1989 for their version of Leadbelly’s Grey Goose and have been nominated for several other Grammy Awards, including one in 2008 for their latest release, Experience…101. They have been featured on NPR, PBS, and the Ken Burns epic documentary, The Civil War. For more information, or to listen to samples of their work, visit www.sweethoney.com.

The Otterbein University Signature Series was created to bring national and international artists and lecturers to Otterbein to share their experiences with Otterbein students, faculty and staff and the general public. The presenters also teach classes and interact with students and faculty during their visits. The Signature Series has previously featured renowned photographer Joel Meyerowitz and his exhibition of art from Ground Zero, a performance of the musical piece On the Transmigration of Souls by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams, independent filmmaker Gus Van Sant, and a performance by Grammy Award-winning musician Branford Marsalis featuring guest soloist Ellis Marsalis.

Otterbein University

Poets Gary Jackson and Yusef Komunyakaa headline NOMMO African American Authors Series

What: Seventh annual NOMMO African American Authors Series
Who: Poets Gary Jackson and Yusef Komunyakaa
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24
Where: Cowles Auditorium, Hubert H. Humphrey Center, University of Minnesota West Bank campus, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis
Tickets: $15. Complimentary tickets available to U of M students and Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Call (612) 624-2345 or visit www.tickets.umn.edu

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/15/2011) —Gary Jackson and Yusef Komunyakaa will appear at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, in Hubert H. Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, on the university’s West Bank. Both Jackson and Komunyakaa will read from and discuss their works with series host Alexs Pate, University of Minnesota professor and author of the novel "Amistad."

The event is part of the annual NOMMO African American Authors Series. This is the fourth year the series has been co-presented by the Givens Foundation for African American Literature and the University of Minnesota Libraries. Additional sponsors for this event are the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach/Engagement Center, (www.uroc.umn.edu), Cave Canem (www.cavecanempoets.org) and Graywolf Press (www.graywolfpress.org).

Gary Jackson and Yusef Komunyakaa will headline NOMMO African American Authors series with host Alexs Pate, University of Minnesota professor and author of the novel "Amistad."

"Nommo" is a Dogon word meaning "the magic power of the word." "Too many vital African American writers, and I count myself among them, find our work sprouting shallow roots on the periphery of public awareness," Pate says. "My conversations with these authors present rare opportunities to publicly define the state of the art of African American literature and to locate our work and contributions within the present authoring of our literary tradition." More about Gary Jackson and Yusef Komunyakaa

Winner of the 2009 Cave Canem Poetry Prize for his manuscript "Missing you, Metropolis," Jackson was born and raised in Topeka, Kan. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from the University of New Mexico in 2008 and his poems have appeared in "Inscape," "Magma," "The Literary Bohemian" and local chapbooks. Published by Graywolf Press, "Missing you, Metropolis" is lauded by critics such as Komunyakaa, who writes that the book “embodies and underscores a voice uniquely shaped and tuned for the 21st century.” Jackson currently teaches English as a Second Language in Seoul, South Korea.

Komunyakaa is the critically acclaimed author of 14 books of poetry, including "Copacetic" and "Neon Vernacular: New & Selected Poems 1977–1989," for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book of poems, "Warhorses," was published in 2008. His prose is collected in "Blues Notes: Essays, Interviews & Commentaries," and he coedited "The Jazz Poetry Anthology." In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, his honors include the 2004 Shelley Memorial Award, the 2001 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Hanes Poetry Prize and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. He is professor and Distinguished Senior Poet at New York University.

Contacts: Marlo Welshons, University of Minnesota Libraries, welsh066@umn.edu, (612) 625-9148 Preston Smith, University News Service, smith@umn.edu, (612) 625-0552

Hispanic and African American Vets at greater risk of living on the streets shelters

Our guest blogger today is Mark Johnston, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Programs

For the first time ever, HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published the most comprehensive analysis of the extent of homelessness among American veterans. According to HUD and VA’s assessment released this week, nearly 76,000 veterans were homeless on a given night in 2009, while roughly 136,000 veterans spent at least one night in a shelter during that year – a national tragedy.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan has said that “understanding the nature and scope of homelessness among all our veterans is critical to meeting President Obama’s goal of ending veterans’ homelessness by 2015.”

Overall, veterans are fifty percent more likely to become homeless compared to all Americans, and the risk is even greater among poor minority veterans. Of all veterans in shelters, 34% were African American and 11% were Hispanic. By comparison, only 11% of all veterans are African American and 5% are Hispanic. That means that Hispanics and African Americans are significantly overrepresented in the homeless population. The risk of homelessness among poor minority veterans is even greater. Poor Hispanic veterans are twice as likely to use a shelter compared with poor non-Hispanic veterans. African American veterans in poverty had similar rates of homelessness.

Mark Johnston, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs Programs.

HUD and VA are currently working together to administer a joint program specifically targeted to homeless veterans. Already, through the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, HUD provides rental assistance for homeless veterans while VA offers case management and clinical services. Since 2008, a total investment of $225 million is working to provide housing connected to VA health care for some 30,000 veterans who had been homeless. And last month, HUD awarded $1.4 billion to keep nearly 7,000 local homeless assistance programs operating in the coming year. These programs house hundreds of thousands of persons who had lived on our streets and in emergency shelters. Finally, the Department also allocated $1.5 billion through its newHomeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing (HPRP) Program, to prevent people from becoming homeless due to the recession and to rapidly re-house those who fell into homelessness.

TEXT CREDIT: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 451 7th Street S.W., Washington, DC 20410 Telephone: (202) 708-1112 TTY: (202) 708-1455

Ceremony Honors Service of African Americans in Korean War

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2011 – African Americans fought against Communism during the Korean War of 1950-53 to protect the rights of individuals, even as their own civil rights were denied at home, the Defense Department’s top equal opportunity official said here yesterday.

Speaking during a Pentagon ceremony to honor African American veterans of the Korean War, Ronald M. Joe, acting director of the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity, said America now remembers the contributions of African American veterans during the war sometimes called “The Forgotten War” or the “The Forgotten Victory.”

“Yours is a distinguished generation in the history of African American military service,” Joe said to a group of seven Korean War veterans in attendance. “You belong to a legacy older than the Declaration of Independence, one that includes the legendary service of the Massachusetts 54th in our Civil War, the Buffalo Soldiers in the West, the 92nd Division and the Tuskegee Airman of World War II.”

For too long, he said, the service of African Americans during the Korean War was forgotten, “but it should be clear to all of you that you are forgotten no more.”

Mr. Ronald M. Joe, Acting Director of the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity.

Joe said the armed forces has played a pivotal role in the nation’s pursuit of equity for all Americans, following President Harry S. Truman’s 1948 Executive Order 9981, which called for the end of segregation in the military. The Korean War “interrupted” work to desegregate all-black units, so many of those units went into the conflict. It was when fighting intensified in Korea that the armed forces realized they had “a manpower problem,” Joe said. Increasingly, large numbers of black American draftees and volunteers were in the training pipeline, but no more room existed in the segregated units. Joe said Army studies showed “integration was a more efficient policy than segregation.” The result, he said, was that “Black Americans were individually assigned to units on an as-needed basis, and the Army began working toward true integration.”

The last two years of the Korean War, after all-black units were disbanded and ended segregation in the U.S. military, African Americans had served in command positions, in elite units such as combat aviation, and served in a variety of technical specialties, Joe said.

The military began a social movement, he said, that served as a model or the nation and as a pattern for other military organizations. The armed force has made impressive progress toward equality, but work is yet to be completed, because women and minorities are still under-represented, Joe added.

A number of other speakers made brief remarks at the ceremony, including members of a panel of Korean War veterans; South Korean Defense Attaché Brig. Gen. General Lee, Seo Young; and Frank Martin, producer of “For the Love of Liberty: The story of America’s Black Patriots.” The audience watched a 15-minute segment of Martin’s four-hour documentary.

Today’s Black History Month observance stems from the Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemorative Committee, created by Congress to honor the service and sacrifice of Korean War veterans, their families and those who lost loved ones in the conflict.

American Forces Press Service By Terri Moon Cronk American Forces Press Service

I. India Geronimo Named Director of the Damon J. Keith Law Collection of African American Legal History

DETROIT (Feb. 11, 2011)—I. India Geronimo has been named Director of the Damon J. Keith Law Collection of African American Legal History.

Geronimo previously served as a law clerk to Judge Damon J. Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and more recently clerked for the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Previously, she clerked for the Honorable Robert L. Carter in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and was as an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Racial Justice Program, where she was the Marvin M. Karpatkin Fellow. She has been involved in litigation and advocacy surrounding a variety of civil rights issues.

“I am pleased to welcome Ms. Geronimo to Wayne Law,” said Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. “Her legal expertise combined with her commitment to upholding Judge Keith’s legacy will benefit the Wayne Law immeasurably.” Geronimo will also be working with the Keith Center to develop programming around its “education as a civil right” initiative.

The Keith Collection, which houses exhibits such as Marching Toward Justice and Saluting a Giant, was created to meet the need for a central repository for the nation’s African American legal history.

The collection is dedicated to recording the history of African American lawyers and judges. It was firmly established upon the founding contribution of papers and records by Judge Keith. - ### - Visit the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at: keithcenter.wayne.edu. Contact: Kristin Copenhaver Wayne Law communications director, with any questions, media inquiries or if you'd like to subscribe to Law School news releases. Or, visit our news and publications page online at law.wayne.edu/about/news for more information.

Author of Black Pain and activist Terrie Williams to lecture Feb. 23 VIDEO

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University will host a free public lecture by Terrie Williams, president and founder of the Terrie Williams Agency and the Stay Strong Foundation, on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at noon in the NKU Student Union Ballroom. Following the lecture, which is sponsored by the NKU Office of African American Student Affairs, will be a book signing and reception from 1:30-3 p.m.

Williams' most recent work, titled "Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting" (Scribner, 2008), reveals her personal struggles with depression and the impact the stigma of this and other mental illnesses have, particularly on the African-American community. That is also the topic of her lecture at NKU.

Williams is a mental health activist, author and advocate for change and empowerment. Named one of Ebony magazine's "Power 150" for activism and Woman's Day magazine's "50 Women on a Mission to Change the World," she has utilized her influence and communications expertise for more than 30 years to educate and engage audiences in causes that affect the community, the nation and the world.

Williams has written four successful books and countless articles. Her first book, "The Personal Touch: What You Really Need to Succeed in Today's Fast-paced Business World" (1994, Warner Books), is a perennial business bestseller.

Her second book, "Stay Strong: Simple Life Lessons for Teens" (Scholastic, Inc. 2001), has been utilized in school curricula and was the catalyst to launch The Stay Strong Foundation, a national non-profit for youth. "A Plentiful Harvest: Creating Balance and Harmony Through the Seven Living Virtues" (Warner Books, 2002), is her undertaking to help others achieve balance in their daily lives. ### NKU ###

For immediate release... Friday - Feb. 11, 2011

Northern Kentucky University, Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, KY 41099 -

Atlantic City Resident Serving as First African American Editor of Rutgers Law Journal at Rutgers-Camden Law School

CAMDEN -- “Making law review” is an aspiration for ambitious law students who recognize the value of producing journals that showcase cutting-edge legal scholarship and theory.

At the Rutgers School of Law–Camden, Matthew D. Sykes has achieved that goal, and set a milestone in the process: the 24-year-old Atlantic City resident is the first African American to serve as editor-in-chief of the prestigious Rutgers Law Journal.

Currently in his third and final year as a Rutgers–Camden law student, Sykes acknowledges that his editorship at the nationally respected law school offers a positive message. “My position should encourage others not only because of my race, but because of my experiences, which many African Americans share in common,” he explains. “I grew up with a lack of positive role models, ineffective school systems, and a neighborhood where drugs were sold and used at my high school bus stop. I graduated from high school with a C average. Nevertheless, I managed to make it to college and was later admitted to Rutgers School of Law.

“I want to send the message that, if I can do it, anyone can. Moreover, for those who share my background, and those committed to public interest work, my position is significant because it demonstrates that the greatest strength and motivation comes from the desire to help the people that weren’t so lucky, because up to this point that has been my only objective. “ Law reviews are student-run publications that allow scholars (and the occasional jurist or practitioner) to advance discussion about legal theory.

Dating back to the mid-1800s, the practice might seem out of synch in the social media era to some, but not to Sykes. “Law journals provide a forum, other than the classroom, where students can express their ideas and gain recognition based on their original legal scholarship. Likewise, I think law journals are important to the advancement of the study of law specifically because they allow for the exchange of ideas, which is essential to growth and innovation within the legal field.”

At the Rutgers School of Law–Camden, the Rutgers Law Journal publishes online while maintaining a subscription-based print distribution. Rutgers law students review submissions from professors across the nation, and select the articles for publication. Sykes envisions the journal sponsoring symposia featuring top legal scholars as an opportunity to build upon the prestige of the publication.

In addition to setting new standards for the Rutgers Law Journal’s chief editorship, Sykes pursues his passion for public interest law. He has been an active student participant in the Prisoner Reentry Program at the Rutgers School of Law–Camden, whereby law students work closely with attorneys to provide critically needed pro bono services to ex-offenders seeking to forge new roles in society.

Currently, Sykes teaches Camden children and teenagers about their rights and the legal system through the Rutgers–Camden Street Law Program, and helps Camden residents to file their state and federal income tax returns through the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program at the Rutgers–Camden law school.

While helping ex-offenders with such important matters as finding employment and securing new driver’s licenses, Sykes also maintains high marks in the classroom. He is a Dean’s List student at the Rutgers–Camden law school, where he has received numerous scholarships and has been active with the Black Law Students Association. He has been offered a clerkship with the Hon. Dolores Sloviter, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Sykes is a 2008 graduate of Rowan University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science. -30-


For Immediate Release Media Contact: Mike Sepanic (856) 225-6026 E-mail: msepanic@camden.rutgers.edu

Director Kobina Aidoo Asking ‘Who is Black?’ to Speak at Neo-African Americans

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Director Kobina Aidoo will give a showing of his 2009 documentary Neo-African Americans on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 17 in Beckman Auditorium of The Ames Library (1 Ames Plaza East, Bloomington). The event, which is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs in honor of African-American Heritage Month, is free and open to the public.

Neo-African Americans explores the influx of voluntary immigration to the United States, and how it impacts the traditional interpretation of the term African-American, as well as initiatives like Affirmative Action. According to Aidoo, over the past 25 years, more than 3 million people have immigrated to the U.S. from countries in Africa and the Caribbean.

“It is not simply a matter of white Americans and black Americans confronting a shared past. It is a redefinition of who is white, who is black, who is African-American, and how we should treat each other,” Aidoo said in a 2009 interview.

Along with filmmaking, Aidoo is a consultant for the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Originally from Ghana, he is a self-described African non-American, who studied at Barry University in Miami.

Kobina Aidoo

He has since worked with Warner Bros. Publications, Intel Computer Clubhouse and De Beers. He has also performed economic consulting assignments for governments in the Middle East and Africa. Aidoo holds a master’s degree in public policy with a specialty in international trade and finance from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he also served as co-chief editor of the Africa Policy Journal.

For additional information, contact the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at (309) 556-3412.

Illinois Wesleyan Contact: Rachel Hatch, (309) 556-3960

Mayor William A. Bell, Sr. will be the featured speaker for Talladega College’s Black History Month convocation

Talladega, Alabama—The Honorable Mayor William A. Bell, Sr. will be the featured speaker for Talladega College’s Black History Month convocation on Thursday, February 10th. Talladega College will join in the national celebration of accomplishments and the impact of blacks on American history during this commemoration scheduled for 1:00 pm Thursday afternoon in DeForest Chapel on the campus.

Mayor Bell is the 33rd mayor of the city and he’s also ranked as one of the longest serving public officials in Birmingham. During his public service, Bell became the first African-American President of the Birmingham City Council in 1985 while serving his third term. He also served as the City Council President in 1987 and 1997. Then in 1999, he advanced and became the Interim Mayor of Birmingham. Some of Bell’s major accomplishments include: assisting in the funding of a fitness track and a mini-park at Legion Field; and the establishing of the first Hope VI Project in downtown Birmingham that converted a local inner city housing development and made it become an affordable, mixed housing community. Mayor Bell has also acquired over $197 million dollars for Birmingham schools, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) received an excess of $87 million dollars plus for capital improvements during the mayor’s tenure.

He received a Master’s Degree in Psychology and Guidance Counseling from UAB, and he has a doctorate in Jurisprudence from Miles Law School in Birmingham. Mayor Bell is married to Dr. Sharon Carson Bell and they have 2 children who graduated from the Birmingham City School system and from UAB. The public is invited to come hear Mayor Bell on the campus. For more information, please contact the Office of the President at (256) 761-6212. For more upcoming Black History month events at the College, please go to: http://www.talladega.edu/calendar/events.asp.

ABOUT TALLADEGA COLLEGE

Talladega College, founded in 1867, is Alabama's oldest historically black private college and among the oldest liberal arts colleges in the nation. Located in the historic district of the city of Talladega, Alabama, the college offers a range of degrees in four divisions: Business and Administration, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Social Sciences and Education.

Talladega College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award associate and baccalaureate degrees; and the school holds several institutional memberships. For more information visit www.talladega.edu # # #

Talladega College 627 West Battle Street Talladega, AL 35160 256.362.0206 (Main Number) 256-761-6235 (Admissions)

Released On: Monday, February 07, 2011 Nicola Lawler Office of Public Relations 256-761-6207

The Tuskegee Airmen and the Struggle for Civil Rights

by Andrew Billman 65th Air Base Wing Historian

Lajes Field, Azores -- Sleek red-tailed P-51 fighters, the 99th Fighter squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group--valiant men with air-combat prowess and a stellar combat record all come to mind with the mention of Tuskegee Airmen. But the Tuskegee story would be incomplete without addressing the experiences of the B-25 pilots, navigators, and bombardiers that comprised the 477th Bombardment Group (477 BG). While their 332nd brothers-in-arms bravely flew their P-51s to glory in the skies over Europe, the men of the 477th courageously fought another enemy at home - racism and discrimination.

From 1941 through 1946, 994 pilots graduated from Tuskegee Army Airfield and earned the wings they hoped would finally silence the racist critics who thought black men lacked the necessary skills and abilities to fly. At this time even more African-American men broke racial barriers and received training as navigators, bombardiers, gunners, mechanics, and ground crew at various bases spread across America. By the spring of 1945, they would come together at Freeman Field in Seymour, Indiana as the 477 BG under all-white leadership, as they prepared to enter the War in the Pacific. But they would not make history fighting the Japanese in the Pacific--their place in history was reserved for battling the forces of bigotry in the very country they were willing to defend with their lives.

A few of the 162 Tuskegee Airmen under arrest at Freeman Field April 1945. (courtesy photo)

When the 477 BG arrived in Seymour, the African-American members of the group soon felt the sting of discrimination as many of the grocery stores in the community would not allow them to buy goods and only one restaurant in town would serve them. The Seymour Laundry took this treatment a step further as they refused service to black airmen, while, at the same time regularly laundering the clothes and bedding of German prisoners of war confined in the area. This maltreatment continued on base as the group's commanding officer, Col. Robert Selway, issued an order on April 1, 1945, segregating the officers clubs at Freeman Field.

A former dilapidated non-commissioned officers club was designated for the "black training personnel." Col. Selway attempted to circumvent Army regulations that maintained equal access to recreational facilities on post for all officers by categorizing all black officers in the group as "trainees." But the airmen saw this ploy for what it was and dubbed the run-down structure set aside as their officers club, "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

In reaction to this intolerable situation, black officers refused to use "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and they began to formulate a non-violent plan to integrate the officers club on post. Under the leadership of Lt. Coleman A. Young (a future mayor of Detroit), small groups of men attempted to enter the club on the evening of April 5, 1945, only to be refused entry. Before the club had closed at the end of the night, 36 black officers had not only been refused service but had been placed under arrest in quarters. These consequences did not deter more persistent airmen, who, on the next night, attempted entry only to be refused; they joined their compatriots under arrest, now totaling 61 men. Col. Selway could not prove all these men had read the order and eventually had to release 58 men from custody and possible court-martial. Three men remained in custody, pending court-martial, accused of pushing a lieutenant placed at the door of the club to prevent access.

Col. Selway then issued Base Regulation 85-2, defining the segregated facilities and required all officers to sign a statement they had read and acknowledged the new regulation. This time 162 black officers had the courage to refuse their signatures on a document they knew to be unjust, and faced arrest and possible court-martial. These brave men were willing to put "Service before Self" in defense of justice, and in the face of an uncertain and possibly perilous future.

In the end, an Advisory Committee on Special Troop Policies was convened in Washington, D.C., that determined the regulations put into effect at Freeman Field were not in accord with existing Army regulations prohibiting separation of recreational facilities on the basis of race. Col. Selway was relieved of command on July 1, 1945, and Col. Benjamin O. Davis, a Tuskegee Airman, assumed command. Fifty years later, on Aug. 12, 1995, the Air Force vindicated all the courageous men who stood against the unlawful orders at Freeman Field. The Air Force ordered the removal of all letters of reprimand from the personnel records and overturned the one court-martial which resulted from the civil disobedience at Freeman Field. The Air Force also reinstated 2nd Lt. Roger C. Terry to all the rights, privileges, and property he lost as a result of the conviction.

The non-violent quest for civil rights for African-Americans did not begin in December 1955 on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The origins for civil disobedience and the Civil Rights Movement may be traced 10 years earlier to an Army Air Forces base in Indiana. Freeman Field became the site where Tuskegee Airmen took a firm, peaceful stand against the twin evils of racism and discrimination at home. While the 332nd fighter group brought honor and glory to Tuskegee Airmen as they fought against tyranny and racism in Europe, the Tuskegee Airmen that comprised the 477 BG exhibited the same courage, and became instrumental in the integration that would soon sweep throughout all of the armed forces of the United States. These heroic men provided the non-violent examples which translated years later into the fabric of the Civil Rights Movement and fundamentally changed American society as a whole.

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: The Official Web Site of Lajes Field

Connecticut Recognizes February 7th as National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Blacks in Connecticut found to be disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.

Hartford – In recognition of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day local organizations throughout the state, funded by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), will provide free HIV testing and educational activities on Monday, February 7, 2011.

“Although Blacks in Connecticut only make up ten percent of the state’s population, they account for nearly one-third of the state’s population living with HIV/AIDS,” said DPH Commissioner Dr. Jewel Mullen. “It’s important that not only Blacks, but people of all races and ethnicities, educate themselves about HIV/AIDS and get tested to know their status.”

According to state health officials, there are 10,574 reported cases of people living with HIV/AIDS in the state. Blacks account for 3,412 reported cases (2009 data).

Monday marks the 11th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The day is meant to promote education, HIV testing and treatment in an effort to mobilize Black communities nationwide. In 2008, an estimated 18,328 Blacks in the United States received an AIDS diagnosis, a number that has remained relatively stable since 2005. In 2006, Black men accounted for two-thirds of new infections (65%) among all Blacks, with 63% of those being men who have sex with men.

There are several agencies throughout the state that will be offering free HIV testing. For a list of participating agencies, visit www.ct.gov/dph/hivtesting or call (860) 509-7801 to find where to get tested. More information is also available at blackaidsday.org/. Additionally, individuals can speak to their health care provider about HIV testing.

In 2009, the Connecticut General Assembly passed House Bill 6391, An Act Concerning Revisions to the HIV Testing Consent Law. This law, which went into effect July 1, 2009, facilitates routine HIV screening in health care settings by eliminating the requirement for a separate written or oral consent for HIV testing. Testing is voluntary.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health is the state’s leader in public health policy and advocacy with a mission to protect and promote the health and safety of the people of our state. To contact the department, please visit its website at www.ct.gov/dph or call (860) 509-7270. ###

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Activities

Bridgeport – Greater Bridgeport Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program, ASHA Women’s Conference

February 7, 2011, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. - Mount Aery Baptist Church, 73 Frank Street, Bridgeport: HIV testing and free giveaways, to register call 203-870-0761

Hartford – Latinos Community Services

February 7, 2011, 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.- Zezzo House, 184 Homestead Avenue, Hartford: HIV testing (event organized by the African-American Caribbean Care Team)

February 8, 2011, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Loaves and Fishes, 360 Farmington Avenue: HIV testing and outreach

New Haven – Cornell Scott Hill Health Center

February 7, 2011, 10:00 a.m – 3:00 p.m. - 428 Columbus Avenue, New Haven: HIV testing and free giveaways

Connecticut Department of Public Health: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 4, 2011 Connecticut Department of Public Health Contact: William Gerrish (860) 509-7270