Alumnus, standout Suh donates $2.6 million to UNL

Lincoln, Neb., April 17th, 2010 — The 2009 Associated Press Player of the Year and winner of the Lombardi, Outland, Bednarik and Nagurski football awards -- Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh -- announced today he will donate $2 million for use in the Nebraska Athletics for Strength and Conditioning Program and an additional $600,000 to the UNL College of Engineering to endow a scholarship.

A near sellout crowd cheered this unprecedented gift he announced today at the Husker Spring Game. A defensive tackle who completed his career at Nebraska, Suh graduated with a bachelor's degree in construction management from the College of Engineering at UNL in December. He is projected to be one of the top picks in the 2010 NFL draft after totaling 215 tackles in his career with 57 tackles for loss, 24 sacks, six blocked kicks, 15 pass breakups and 38 quarterback hurries.

Ndamukong Suh

Suh completed his career at Nebraska as the most decorated defensive player ever to don the Husker uniform, finishing fourth in the 2009 Heisman race. He is also the first former Husker player and the first African-American letter winner to commit a generous gift back to the University in advance of the draft and NFL career. After he signs his NFL contract, Suh has pledged to give $2 million to athletics for renovations and updates in the north stadium strength and conditioning center, where he spent so many hours training to become the very best player he could be. "I had a fantastic football career at Nebraska and thanks to my coaches and support staff, I have learned the value of hard work, teamwork and life skills," Suh said.

"These skills will help me tremendously as I prepare for my career in the NFL. As a thank-you to everyone in Nebraska who has assisted me on my collegiate journey, I want to donate $2 million to the Athletic Department.

"When speaking with Guy Rozier, Coach Bo Pelini and Tom Osborne about the gift, I specifically asked that this gift be used to help other future Huskers as they train in the strength and conditioning center. This incredible facility helped me earn all the honors I was so privileged to receive this past season, and I believe this gift can help make this facility the very best in the country. This is my way to honor my teammates, coaches and fans by giving back to a program and a university that has given so much to me."

"This donation from Ndamukong Suh is the largest single gift we have received from a former player," Athletic Director Tom Osborne said. "We appreciate Ndamukong's generosity to the athletic department, and we also appreciate his commitment to education, as he earned an Engineering degree, and appreciate the type of leadership he provided for our football team this past year. He is truly a credit to the football program and the university as a whole."

"Gifts from our former student-athletes send an important message," said Paul Meyers, Associate Athletic Director for Development. "It re-enforces our hope that what we are doing here at Nebraska is making a difference in their lives beyond athletics."

Suh also plans to donate an additional $600,000 to the University of Nebraska Foundation to benefit students enrolled in UNL's College of Engineering. Suh is a graduate of the engineering college's Charles Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction. Suh asked that students from his high school, Grant High School in Portland, Ore., be given first preference for the scholarship he is creating. He said he wanted to help out-of-state students, who pay considerably more than in-state students for tuition to attend the University of Nebraska. Suh's gift will be endowed, which means the principal will be invested and the net income used to create scholarships. By making the gift endowed, the Ndamukong Suh Scholarship will exist in perpetuity.

"It says so much about Ndamukong Suh that one of his first acts as a graduate is one of giving back, and helping students who are in need of a scholarship to the University of Nebraska," said Clarence Castner, president of the University of Nebraska Foundation. "He is an inspiration and a role model. It may be that his biggest impact will occur off the field."

"The balance between athletics and academics is one-of-a-kind at Nebraska," Suh said. "That's the reason I came here, and that's the reason why I wanted to support the College of Engineering. I wanted to make sure that other out-of-state students would have the same opportunities that I did at Nebraska. This is a great school and will hold a special place in my heart forever."

Academics have always been important to Suh's family. His father, Michael, is an engineer and his mother, Bernadette, a teacher. Bernadette insisted her son maintain at least a 3.0 average before he could join his high school football team. One of the primary reasons Suh said he chose the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was its highly regarded engineering program, and the athletic department's strong focus on academics. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have more academic All-Americans than any other football team in the country and the best exhausted eligibility graduation rate in the Big 12 Conference at 94 percent.

Originally from Portland, Ore., Suh's mother, Bernadette, is from Jamaica, while his father, Michael, hails from Cameroon.

WRITER: Christine Anderson, Released on 04/17/2010, at 2:00 PM Office of University Communications University of Nebraska–Lincoln. News Release Contacts: Christine Anderson, Associate Athletics Director/Community Relations phone: (402) 472-7111

UGA announces the endowment of the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies

Atlanta, Ga. – At the April 15 premiere of the documentary Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice , the University of Georgia School of Social Work announced that the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies has been fully endowed.

The professorship, the first distinguished professorship named for an African American at UGA, has been endowed through the UGA faculty-hiring initiative, donations and ticket sales from the documentary premiere.

“The person chosen for this distinguished professorship will advocate for social and economic justice for individuals, families and communities and collaborate with the Foot Soldier Project to advance civil rights scholarship,” said Maurice Daniels, dean of the School of Social Work and director of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies.

Caption:. Louise Hollowell (center, seated) is congratulated on the endowment of the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies in the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia. (Left to right) Derrick Alridge, Jasmine Guy, Vernon Jordan, Mary France Early, Horace Ward, Glenda Hatchett and Maurice Daniels. (4/15/2010, Cliff Robinson/ University of Georgia/Special).

Vernon E. Jordan Jr., chair of the Hollowell Professorship endowment committee, made the endowment announcement following the film’s premiere and a panel discussion in which he participated moderated by Judge Glenda Hatchett, star of the television courtroom series Judge Hatchett. In addition to Jordan, other panelists included Mary Frances Early, the first African-American UGA graduate and Federal Judge Horace T. Ward, a member of the law team that sought to desegregate UGA. “It was my special honor to work with the University of Georgia, School of Social Work, and the university community while serving as chairman of the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship Endowment Committee,” said Jordan.

“Mr. Hollowell was one of the most prominent attorneys and social justice advocates during the Civil Rights era. It is a fitting tribute that the University of Georgia establishes the first distinguished professorship named for an African American in his honor.”

Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice is a production of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies, an interdisciplinary documentary and research program at UGA dedicated to chronicling Georgia’s history in the civil rights movement.


The documentary chronicles the life of Hollowell, one of the movement’s legendary advocates for social justice. Georgia Public Broadcasting will air the documentary on April 18 at 7 p.m.

Born and raised in Wichita, Kan., Hollowell did not encounter the Jim Crow restrictions of the South. But he did face racial discrimination while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Hollowell’s experiences with segregation and his involvement with the Southern Negro Youth Congress after the war inspired him to study law, which ultimately became his weapon of choice in the fight for social justice in the South and across the nation, according to Daniels.

In 1959, Hollowell was among a group of black Atlanta leaders who tapped Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to apply for admission to the then segregated University of Georgia. Over the next two years, Hollowell and Constance Baker Motley, assisted by Ward and Jordan, fought numerous courtroom battles that ended with a federal judge ordering UGA to admit Holmes and Hunter in 1961.

“His dedication and sacrifice for the ideals of equal opportunity and social justice changed the course of our nation’s history and will continue to open doors of opportunity for generations to come,” said Daniels.

Hollowell died of heart failure on Dec. 27, 2004, at the age of 87.

Writer: Wendy Jones, 706/542-6927, wfjones@uga.edu Contact: Maurice Daniels, 706/542-5424, daniels@uga.edu Apr 16, 2010, 11:34

Pacific to Host Forum on Race, Religion and Sexuality: Forum part of Local Efforts to Combat HIV in Black Community

University of the Pacific will host “Toward Harmony: A Discussion on Race, Religion and Sexuality” on Sunday, April 25, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Pacific’s Janet Leigh Theatre on the Stockton campus. The event brings together local leaders and Pacific faculty, staff and students to find common ground in the efforts to combat the alarmingly high rates of HIV/AIDS in the local African American community. The event is free and open to public.

The forum, possibly the first of its kind in the Central Valley, will facilitate open dialogue about the intersections of religious faith and beliefs and the struggle for a community that can be inclusive of its diverse members. In San Joaquin County, where African Americans comprise 7% of the county’s total population and 22% of the county’s cases of AIDS/HIV, and where the majority of the faith community supported Proposition 8, the ban against gay marriage in California, can faith and community leaders and LGBT advocates find common ground through dialogue? This forum seeks to provide an affirmative answer to that question.

The event’s keynote speaker is Sharon Groves, deputy director of the Religion and Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a Washington, D.C.-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) advocacy group and political action committee. In addition to a keynote address by a nationally-known expert, the event features statements by local community and faith leaders such as the Honorable Susan Eggman of the Stockton City Council; the Honorable Gloria Allen, Stockton Unified School District Trustee; Reverend Terri Miller of Valley Ministries MCC and the Reverend Elena Kelly; as well as a panel discussion with a distinguished group of panelists including Brother Tommie Muhammad, Muslim community leader and Angel Picon, Latino community and labor activist.

The event is co-sponsored by the Pride Pacific Alumni Club, Black Alumni Pacific Club, Pride Alliance and Black Student Union of Pacific, and the Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement, Stonewall Democrats and the Human Rights Campaign.

For more information contact Lisa Cooper, assistant vice president for Diversity and Community Engagement, at 209.946.2361 or lcooper@pacific.edu.

DePaul Law School Remembers Alumnus And Former NAACP Head, Benjamin Hooks

Benjamin L. Hooks, who graduated from theDePaul University College of Law in 1948, grew up in an America marked by racism and injustice. Determined to change it, he spent his life fighting for equality. A highly respected champion of civil rights and one of the College of Law’s outstanding alumni, Hooks died April 15 in Memphis, Tenn.

Though his work would take him back to Tennessee and later to Washington, D.C., Hooks remained connected to the College of Law throughout his lifetime. The law school honored his outstanding service to the field of public interest law in 2003, and he earned an honorary degree at the law school’s 1977 commencement ceremony. Recognition for a career and achievements that defied the odds.

According to his official biography provided by the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis, Hooks first began his study of jurisprudence by enrolling in a pre-law course at LeMyone College in Memphis. He joined the United States Army before completing his studies and was stationed overseas. This experience made him determined to champion the cause of civil rights when he found himself charged with guarding Italian prisoners who were allowed to eat in restaurants that would deny him service. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant before his tour of duty ended and returned state side to complete his undergraduate studies at Howard University.

With a desire to become an attorney, Hooks returned to Tennessee. However, what he experienced upon moving back to Memphis was the true meaning of bigotry in the South. No law school in his native state of Tennessee would admit him. So Hooks moved north to attend law school at DePaul University.

“DePaul gave him an opportunity to go to law school when others would not admit him because of his race,” said College of Law Professor Bruce Ottley. Ottley knew Hooks and had the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with him over dinner during one of Hooks’ visits to Chicago and the College of Law. “He was qualified and his G.I. Bill would pay his tuition so his race really did not matter to DePaul.”

After earning his law degree in 1948, Hooks went back to Memphis and embarked on a storied legal career that would earn him a place among of our nation’s most celebrated civil rights advocates.

He first opened a law practice where, according to his biography, he met with prejudice at every turn. This only made him more determined to work to ensure all people are treated equally. He became an ordained minister in 1956 and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was headed by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. His work in civil rights intensified as he helped pioneer National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)-sponsored sit-ins at restaurants and boycotts of consumer services and merchandise.

While becoming a stronger and more vocal advocate for racial justice, Hooks also began to explore the world of politics, where he would shatter racial barriers. In 1965, he was appointed to fill a judicial vacancy in the Shelby County criminal court, becoming Tennessee’s first African American criminal court judge. In 1976, he became the first African American appointed to the Federal Communications Commission. While there, he was outspoken about such issues as the lack of minority ownership of radio and television stations and the image of minorities in mass media.

In 1976, he was elected executive director of the NAACP, one of this nation’s most respected civil rights organizations. In an interview with Ebony Magazine shortly after assuming leadership of the NAACP, Hooks proclaimed, “The civil rights movement is not dead. If anyone thinks that we are going to stop agitating, they had better think again. If anyone thinks we are going to stop litigating, they had better close the courts.”

Even after his retirement from the NAACP, following 15 years at its helm, Hooks continued to be a formidable champion of civil rights. He trained his sights on contemporary issues impacting minorities and the disadvantaged. To progress this goal, he helped create the Hooks Institute.

One of his final national honors was being awarded the Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2007. But, no matter where his accomplished life took him, Hooks always remained one of the College of Law’s most sterling examples of what it means to persevere.

“Benjamin Hooks was a true role model who lived a life that illustrates for our students what they can accomplish no matter what obstacles try and stop them,” said Ottley. “People can look at graduates like Hooks and know that no matter what your background, you can still achieve whatever you want if you get a good education.”

Media Contact: Valerie Phillips vphillip@depaul.edu (312) 362-5039

Students from IU, correctional facility to celebrate completion of Inside-Out Prison Exchange course

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Two dozen college classmates -- half of them from Indiana University Bloomington and half from the Putnamville Correctional Facility -- will present research findings and receive certificates April 30 in the closing ceremony of an Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program course.

The course is the first involving IU Bloomington in the Inside-Out program, which brings together students and prison inmates -- "outside" students and "inside" students -- for a college-level course in which people from different backgrounds learn together as peers.

"Inside-Out allows students and others outside of prison to go behind the walls to reconsider what they have learned about crime and justice, while those on the inside are encouraged to place their life experiences in a larger framework," said Micol Seigel, IU Bloomington assistant professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies, who teaches the course at Putnamville.

Putnamville Correctional Facility Courtesy of Indiana University

"In the group discussions, countless life lessons and realizations surface about how we as human beings operate in the world, beyond the myths and stereotypes that imprison us all," Seigel said. "The program demonstrates the potential for dynamic collaborations between institutions of higher learning and correctional institutions."

Students in the course have discussed issues relating to crime and justice, read materials in history, sociology, political science and literature, and written papers. Their final assignment is a collective research project to recommend ways to reduce incarceration. They will present results from the project during the closing ceremony, which will take place from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 30, in the library at the Putnamville Correctional Facility.

Inside-Out was founded in 1997 by Lori Pompa, a criminal justice faculty member at Temple University, who began classes with Temple students at prisons in the Philadelphia area. Since 2004, it has become a national program, with courses taught in 37 states and involving more than 7,500 inside and outside students. For more information, see http://www.insideoutcenter.org/home.html.

Seigel completed Inside-Out Instructor Training in the summer of 2009 and launched the first IU Bloomington Inside-Out course this spring with the help of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis faculty members Susan Hyatt and Roger Jarjoura. Hyatt and Jarjoura, professors in IUPUI's School of Liberal Arts and School of Public and Environmental Affairs, respectively, completed the Inside-Out training previously and have taught Inside-Out courses at the Indiana Women's Prison and the Plainfield Re-Entry Educational Facility.

The Putnamville Correctional Facility is a medium-security facility operated by the Indiana Department of Correction. It is located at 1946 W. U.S. 40, Greencastle.

Note: News media who wish to attend the Inside-Out closing ceremony must contact Micol Seigel by Monday, April 19, at 812-855-6327 or mseigel@indiana.edu, to make arrangements.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 14, 2010

Pat Eliet Lecture Series Features Harryette Mullen, Acclaimed Poet and Scholar of African American Literature

(Carson, CA) – The Department of English at California State University, Dominguez Hills welcomes Harryette Mullen, distinguished poet and scholar of African American literature, as its guest speaker for the 2010 Pat Eliet Memorial Lecture on Thursday, April 22 at 7 p.m. in the Loker Student Union.

Mullen is the author of six volumes of poetry, including “Sleeping with the Dictionary” (2002), which was nominated for the National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her most recent collection, “Recyclopedia” (2006), won a PEN Beyond Margins Award in 2007. Mullen is a professor of English at UCLA, where she teaches creative writing and African American literature.

Harryette Mullen

Discussing the importance of the spoken word in an interview for the African American Review in 2000, she said: "It was through the poetry-[reading] circuit that I began to realize that poetry is not just something on the page, but a community of readers and writers." The lecture is free and open to the public, with a book signing immediately following. Copies of Mullen’s books will be available for purchase before and after the lecture. The lecture series honors former professor of English Patricia Eliet, who taught at the university from 1969 to 1990.

The lecture is sponsored by the Department of English, Associated Students Incorporated, College of Arts and Humanities, and the University Honors Program.

California State University, Dominguez Hill is located at 1000 E. Victoria Street in Carson. The Loker Student Union is at the center of campus. A map of the campus is available online at www.csudh.edu/site/VisitUs/campusmap.shtml.

Convenient on-campus parking is available near Loker Student Union. Enter from Toro Center Drive off University Drive, or from Tamcliff Street or Birchknoll Drive off Victoria Street. Daily permits are $4 and can be purchased at kiosk machines located at each lot.

For more information, contact the Department of English at (310) 243-3322. ###

About CSU Dominguez Hills -- California State University, Dominguez Hills is a highly diverse, urban university located in the South Bay, primarily serving the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The university prides itself on its outstanding faculty and friendly, student-centered environment. Known for excellence in teacher education, nursing, psychology, business administration, and digital media arts, new degree programs include computer science, criminal justice, recreation and leisure studies, social work, and communication disorders. On campus is the Home Depot Center, a multi-purpose sports complex that hosts world-class soccer, tennis, track and field, lacrosse, and cycling.

Media Contact: Laura Perdew (310)243-3264 lperdew@csudh.edu

Director Says Documentary a Story of African American Resolve

(Worcester, Mass.) -- David A. Wilson, writer and co-director of the documentary “Meeting David Wilson,” said he worked on this project not only to tell a story about America’s post-slavery history, but also to show generations of African Americans that they “come from a history of victors, not victims.”

“If they could have the same reaction as I did (to this story), then it would be worthwhile,” Wilson said. Wilson spoke on Wednesday, April 7 in the Student Center’s Blue Lounge as part of the Diversity Lecture Series.

As a 28-year-old African American journalist, Wilson traveled deep into his family’s past to find the answers to America’s racial divide.

David A. Wilson

His journey resulted in “Meeting David Wilson.” In researching his family’s ancestry, Wilson learned of a plantation in North Carolina where his family was once enslaved, and subsequently discovered that the plantation is owned today by a 62-year-old white man—also named David Wilson—who is a direct descendant of his family’s slave master. Discovering the other David Wilson led to a momentous encounter between two men whose ancestors were on the opposite sides of freedom. Their conversation about slavery, segregation in Caswell County, N.C., and race relations today is captured in-depth in the documentary.

But it developed out of what David A. Wilson described as “one of the strangest conversations” two people could ever have and ended with the two men agreeing to meet one day. Today, they talk on the phone once a month.

Wilson told the audience he also learned that he is only three generations removed from slavery, although he believes its affects still linger in predominantly black communities such as his home city of Newark, N.J. In addition, he found out that, after the Emancipation Proclamation, his great, great grandfather founded the first black church in North Carolina. “This did so much for my self-esteem,” he said.

From slavery to the end of the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans have “had to deal with far worse things than we do today” and persevered in face of incredible challenges, Wilson said. The hardest part of the film for him “was waking up at 4 o’clock in the morning and going to pull tobacco,” he said, half joking. “To think of doing it from sunup to sundown, and to think that this was just a fraction of what they went through, you can’t help but get a little bit angry after you realize what they went through.”

Wilson finds inspiration in someone else he interviewed for the documentary, Daisy Blackwell, who is 100. In the film, she encourages him to focus on today’s problems in African American society. He hopes that “Meeting David Wilson” shows how frank and friendly dialogue can help.

In his interactive, multimedia lecture, Wilson showed pivotal moments from the film, including his conversations with the white David Wilson, clips from a DOLL test session he conducted, and comments by ordinary people about the state of race relations today.

The lecture was sponsored by the Student Center/Student Activities Office and the Disability Services Office. ###

For Immediate Release Contact: Lea Ann Scales Assistant Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing Phone: 508-929-8018 April 12, 2010

Family of Emory Athletics Icon Gives Archive to University Libraries

The late W. Clyde "Doc" Partin was a beloved Emory University icon for more than 50 years-a teacher, coach, athletics director and historian known for his remarkable contributions to the athletics program. Now that his family has given his personal papers, books and sports memorabilia to Emory's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library (MARBL), he will have a permanent place within the University.

Partin's son Clyde Partin Jr., an Emory alumnus, physician and professor who has been a member of the MARBL Literary Collections board for the past 10 years, was instrumental in arranging the gift. He and his mother, Betty Partin, and his two siblings, Keith Partin of Charlotte, N.C., and Betsy Partin Vinson of Gainesville, Fla., are making the gift as a family.

W. Clyde 'Doc' Partin

Partin said the family has been touched by Emory's welcoming response. "We are incredibly pleased that Emory has shown an interest in preserving the sports collections of my father. He was a keen competitor who was devoted to Emory University, the study of baseball and the history of athletics." The archive includes essays Doc Partin wrote about baseball Hall of Famers such as Babe Ruth, Earle Combs and Frank Robinson, as well as drafts and research notes for those essays. It also includes posters, documents, and baseballs signed by Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, Buck O'Neil and many other legendary players, along with a substantial collection of books related to African American athletes.

These materials will form the nucleus of what the Partin family hopes will evolve into a major collection exploring the role of African Americans in sports and the role of athletics in the struggle for human and civil rights.


"Doc Partin had a hand in nearly every major athletic development in Atlanta for years, from the Atlanta Braves to the Olympics," said Randall K. Burkett, curator of MARBL's African American collections. "One of the lesser known but profoundly important aspects of Partin's career was his eagerness to break down barriers to the success of African American athletes in sports at every level."

Rick Luce, Emory's vice provost and director of libraries, said the family's gift will strengthen MARBL as a resource for the University and the larger community. "The acquisition of the Partin collection adds a new dimension to our holdings addressing the importance of athletics in our culture generally and in the freedom struggle for racial equality," he said. "We are grateful to Mrs. Betty Partin and her family."


The Partin archive also includes extensive records related to the Atlanta Chiefs, the soccer team from the late 1960s that was the brainchild of Partin's close friend Richard A. Cecil, a former executive with the Atlanta Braves. Cecil played a key role in conceiving the idea of a sports archive at Emory.

Partin earned a bachelor's degree from Emory in 1950 and a master's in education in 1951. During his tenure as athletics director from 1966 until 1983, Emory athletics saw unprecedented growth that culminated in the construction of the Woodruff P.E. Center, which opened in 1983. He expanded the number of intercollegiate sports, particularly for female students, with women's tennis being added in 1975 followed by women's cross-country and track and field in the early 1980s. Partin also founded the Emory Sports Fitness Camp, now in its 45th year.

From 1986 until his retirement in 2002, Partin was a professor of physical education. Over the course of his career, he mentored hundreds of young student athletes. Even after his retirement, he kept an office on campus and often manned the press box, announcing during Emory baseball games. Partin's book on the history of Emory athletics, "Athletics for All: The History of Sports at Emory," was released in 2006. He passed away in June 2009.


Betty Partin said the family discovered the treasure trove of materials in the attic of her Decatur home, and she is glad to entrust the archive to Emory. 

"Clyde loved Emory, he loved his collection, and I think he would like very much to have his work at the Emory library," she said.



The Partins' gift is part of Campaign Emory, a $1.6 billion fund-raising endeavor that combines private support and the university's people, places and programs to make a powerful contribution to the world. Investments through Campaign Emory fuel efforts to address fundamental challenges: improving health, gaining ground in science and technology, resolving conflict, harnessing the power of the arts, and educating the heart and mind. ###

Contact:

1. Beverly Clark: 404.712.8780

Jonathan Walton Is New Assistant Professor of African American Religious Studies

Social ethicist and African American religious studies scholar Jonathan Walton has been named Assistant Professor of African American Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School, effective July 1, 2010.

Walton is currently an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of California, Riverside. His research addresses the intersections among religion, politics, and popular culture.

"Harvard Divinity School is among the premier centers of theological education and hubs of academic inquiry," Walton said. "I am honored and humbled to join such an amazing scholarly community, particularly since HDS has a proven track record of neither resting on its reputation nor being lulled asleep by its laurels.

Its continued commitment to recruiting and cultivating cutting-edge scholars of religion in general, and of American religion in particular, makes it the place I want to be."

Walton's scholarly work is grounded in the progressive strand of the African American religious tradition and informed by the creative potentiality and rhythmic sensibility of hip-hop culture. His first book, Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of African American Religious Broadcasting, is an important intervention into the study of African American and American religion.

Jonathan Walton

As he explains, those working on Christian religious broadcasting have given little attention to the phenomenon outside of white, conservative, evangelical communities, while black liberation theologians have yet to give careful attention to televisual representation as a site of theological production. "Jonathan Walton thinks historically, ethically, and theologically," said Amy Hollywood, Elizabeth H. Monrad Professor of Christian Studies at HDS, who chaired the faculty search committee. "His intellectual range, his energy, and the interdisciplinary nature of his work on African American religions make him uniquely suited to HDS and to the University as a whole." Drawing on British cultural studies, Walton explores the interrelationship between the media used by African American megachurches and the theologies thereby conveyed. He argues for forms of theological innovation within the productions of black televangelism that are enabled—perhaps even generated—by the media that televangalists use, and he asks what the implications are for black theology and the study of African American religion when one attends to these particular forms of religious and theological expression.

"He is an exciting young scholar whose field work with contemporary religious communities will bring an added dimension to our course offerings and faculty coverage here at HDS and at Harvard more broadly," said Dean William A. Graham. "I feel strongly that with this appointment, together with that of Mayra Rivera Rivera, Assistant Professor of Theology and Latina/o Studies, who will also begin her work at HDS on July 1, we are now well staffed in two important areas that we have wanted covered for some time."

Trained as a social ethicist, Walton earned his PhD in religion and society from Princeton Theological Seminary. He also holds a master of divinity degree from Princeton Seminary as well as a BA in political science from Morehouse College in Atlanta. His insights and reflections concerning the intersections of religion, culture, and society have been noted in numerous prominent news media outlets, such as CNN, The New York Times, Time magazine, and NPR.

"I look forward to this challenge," Walton said of his appointment to HDS, "Just as I look forward to contributing to the intellectual, spiritual, and familial climate on campus."

Contact: Jonathan Beasley, 617.496.6004

UM Team Receives $1.8M to Encourage Cancer Awareness through Church

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Doctors have long struggled to convince African American men to get informed about prostate cancer screenings, though this population has a disproportionately high mortality rate from the disease. Now a team of Maryland researchers will study the effectiveness of encouraging discussions about screening through a trusted authority in the black community: the church.

The American Cancer Society has awarded $1.8 million to Cheryl Holt, an associate professor in the university's School of Public Health, to develop and evaluate "spiritually themed health interventions" specific to prostate cancer for men attending 20 predominately African American churches in Prince George's County, Md.

Cheryl Holt, associate professor of public and community health at Maryland, leads a four-year study that will provide information on prostate cancer screening to African American men in Prince George's County, Md.

The four-year study announced today (April 7) will include training local churchgoers as "community health advisers" who can offer their peers information on the disease, seek inspiring testimony from cancer survivors and provide resources for screening and treatment options. The goal is to encourage the men to talk to their doctors and make informed decisions on whether to get screened. "We know [African American men] are more likely to get the disease and they are more likely to die from it. What we don't know are the exact reasons why they are less likely to seek early screening than some other groups," says Holt, who will lead the project.

Prostate cancer is often referred to as a "silent" disease, displaying few noticeable symptoms until it reaches a stage where treatment is much less effective and survival rates drop significantly. Early detection with a digital rectal exam or prostate-specific antigen testing may help to combat the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, particularly among groups at high risk for the disease.

Last year, there were 192,280 reported cases of prostate cancer in the United States, and 27,360 deaths, with African American men showing a mortality rate twice as high as other racial or ethnic groups.

Holt, a social psychologist and an expert in health communication, says that peer-based health education in a church setting is "culturally appropriate," and churches are already recognized as a social network for African American men. "The gentlemen are comfortable -- it is an all-male session, and one of their peers is providing the information," Holt explains.

The setting can also allow information to be framed in a spiritual way that emphasizes already-accepted church principles regarding body, mind and spirit, or the notion of being healthy in a holistic way. The key, Holt says, is to capture the men's interest and give them enough data to decide whether prostate cancer screening is right for them.

The American Cancer Society recently released new recommendations stating that all men over the age of 50 should discuss with their doctor the need for an annual screening.

"If you can access and educate people who carry weight and carry influence in the African American community, hopefully they can then go out and explain to people the importance of getting this done," says Michael Naslund, M.D., head of urology and director of the Maryland Prostate Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

Naslund, who is also a professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, expects to provide medical expertise during the study. He says it is important to drive home that prostate cancer is curable if caught early.

The first year of the Maryland study will be spent developing the curriculum and materials that the community health advisers will use. Input will come from an advisory panel of local pastors and prostate cancer survivors.

Once the curriculum is established, the community health advisers may start out talking about basic issues, Holt says, perhaps talking about something as simple as leading a healthy lifestyle. The discussions will then progress, with the adviser leading a conversation that may include such questions as, "What is cancer?" or, "What is the prostate? Where is it? What does it do?"

"We also think we'll see the health advisers identify and bring in gentlemen who will give their testimony -- it is a common thing in the church for folks to give their testimony," says Holt, who conducted similar church-based studies in Alabama two years ago that the current project is based upon.

In the context of cancer, it may be a gentleman who is a survivor. "He can give his testimony on how his cancer was found, how it was found early, it was treated, and how he is here today because he was proactive," Holt says.

Later sessions may talk about what to do following a diagnosis of prostate cancer, including possible treatment options. The health advisers will not offer any medical opinions, but will be trained to provide links to resources, such as where men can get free screening or treatment if they do not have insurance.

Holt says that it is important to recognize that the project has a lot of sustainability built into it. For example, after the prostate-screening curriculum is taught to community health advisers, these same people can then be taught another targeted intervention -- diabetes, perhaps.

"We expect to teach them the core knowledge and the skills to communicate," Holt says. "All they have to do is pick up a new curriculum and integrate it into their health ministry or health group."

In addition to Holt and Naslund, the project includes several other investigators, a statistician and other support staff from the university's School of Public Health and Department of Anthropology. Two community-based organizations will provide partnership and staffing: Community Ministry of Prince George's County and Access to Holistic and Productive Living Institute Inc. The project will be operated in conjunction with the Seat Pleasant/University of Maryland Health Partnership

Media Contact Information: Associate Professor Cheryl Holt, 301-405-6659.

Dr. Michael Naslund can be contacted throughEllen Beth Levitt, director, Public Affairs & Media Relations, University of Maryland Medical Center, 410-328-8919.

For Immediate Release April 7, 2010 Contacts: David Ottalini, 301 405 4076 or dottalin@umd.edu

New Study Details High Rates of Rehospitalizations and Emergency Pain Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease

The largest study to date of the use of acute care medical services by people with sickle cell disease found four of every 10 had to return to the hospital within 30 days of a previous hospitalization or go to the emergency department for treatment of pain, according to a new study funded in part by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The study, "Acute Care Utilization and Rehospitalization for Sickle Cell Disease," conducted by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Children's Research Institute at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, both in Milwaukee, and AHRQ, is published in the April 7 issue of JAMA.

"This study is important because it provides benchmark data to evaluate the quality of management of sickle cell disease symptoms," said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. "The next step is to determine why patients are being rehospitalized or seeking emergency department treatment at this rate and to make improvements in their care." Sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disorder, most commonly causes acute, severe, recurrent painful episodes due to occlusion of blood vessels by sickle-shaped red blood cells.

People with sickle cell disease are also at increased risk for stroke and chronic problems, such as kidney and lung disease. The disease affects millions of people worldwide, including an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 persons in the United States. African Americans are disproportionately affected.

When the researchers analyzed acute care use by age groups, they found that 18- to 30-year-old patients had the highest rate of rehospitalizations within 30 days (41 percent). They also were more likely to go to the emergency department for treatment of pain and then be released (20 percent within 30 days). In general, they had approximately three and a half hospital visits per year—either a rehospitalization or an emergency department visit—regardless of their insurance. This rate is markedly higher than the two visits per year for children 10 to 17 years old with sickle cell disease.

Regardless of age, the patients with Medicaid or other types of public insurance used acute care for sickle cell-related reasons more than privately insured and uninsured patients. Publicly insured 18- to 30-year-old patients had the highest rate—nearly five encounters per year compared with all other age groups with any other insurance, private or public.

The researchers also examined the data for the percentage of sickle cell disease patients who had to go back to the hospital or visit the emergency department within 14 days of being discharged. They found that two-thirds of the patients rehospitalized within 30 days were actually readmitted within 14 days of their previous hospital discharge.

The study was based on 21,112 sickle cell disease patients in eight states—Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, South Carolina and Tennessee—who were hospitalized or treated and released from hospital emergency departments in 2005 and 2006. The state databases are part of the AHRQ-administered Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.

"It was important for us to draw attention to the high rate of acute care utilization for people with sickle cell disease. Armed with this knowledge, we can focus attention on the need for improved care for people with sickle cell disease," said lead study author David C. Brousseau, M.D., M.S., associate professor of pediatrics (section of Emergency Medicine) at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He also practices at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin as a pediatric emergency specialist.

For more information, please contact AHRQ Public Affairs: (301) 427-1855 or (301) 427-1539; Medical College of Wisconsin: (414) 955-4700. Press Release Date: April 6, 2010

Goshen College choirs to perform fourth annual world music concert

Concert: "Earthtones: Songs from Many Cultures" by Goshen College choirs
Date and time: Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Goshen College Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall
Cost: $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and free for GC students with ID. Tickets available at the door only.

GOSHEN, Ind. – Singing music from multiple regions of the world, the Goshen College choirs will again explore the large palette of sounds available to the human voice at the fourth annual Earthtones choral concert on Saturday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Music Center's Sauder Concert Hall.

Performing will be the Goshen College Chorale, Chamber Choir, Men's Chorus and Women's World Music Choir. The program will feature choral works from a wide variety of composers, cultures and countries, including Venezuela, Scandinavia, Ireland, Iraq, Syria, India, South Africa, Japan, Republic of Georgia and African-American traditions. The choirs will perform individually and as a combined choir.

Drawing from powerful melodies of almost every continent, Earthtones promises to provide a concert full of vitality and tone color in a celebration of world music.

The Goshen College Choirs are directed by Debra Brubaker, professor of music, and Scott Hochstetler, assistant professor of music. They are accompanied by Christine Larson Seitz, assistant professor of music and pianist.

At Goshen College, Brubaker is involved in the choral and opera theater programs, teaches church music courses and serves as department co-chair. Since coming to Goshen in 1999, she has directed the Goshen College Chorale and Chamber Choir, and created the Women's World Music Choir, which made its debut in the spring of 2004. Brubaker and her choirs have collaborated and performed with such noted conductors as Alice Parker, Vance George, Donald Neuen and Gregg Smith.

Hochstetler directs the Chorale and Men's Chorus and teaches applied voice and conducting. He was music director at Western Mennonite School in Salem, Ore., from 2000 to 2005 and has taught at Corban College and the University of Michigan-Flint. Hochstetler holds a doctorate in choral conducting from Michigan State University, master's degrees in conducting and voice from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's in music and biology from Goshen College.

The cost of the concert is $7 adults, $5 seniors/students. Tickets are available at the door only. Goshen College students are free with ID.

Editors: For more information about this release, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu. ###

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.

G.R. Little Library presents 'Thomas Day, Cabinet Maker: Man in the Middle'

The G. R. Little Library and the N. C. Humanities Council present: "Thomas Day, Cabinet Maker: Man in the Middle" at 3:30 p.m. on April 15 in the lecture hall of the Jimmy R. Jenkins Science Center. This free event is one of several planned for National Library Week. Free parking is available in the parking lot of Roebuck Stadium and a shuttle bus will transport pedestrians at 3 p.m. to the Jimmy R. Jenkins Science Center.

Thomas Day (1801-ca. 1861) is mostly remembered today by North Carolinians as a furniture maker who had the largest furniture business in the state during the height of slavery.

A black artisan and business man, Day’s shop turned out striking beds, bureaus, tables, sofas and chairs that are still highly coveted just as they were over 150 years ago. But Day is increasingly being seen as more than just a talented Tar Heel craftsman. Described by the New York Times as a "major antebellum figure" he stood at the center of competing forces in nineteenth-century America: between black and white, slave and free, North and South, Africa and America, and art and craft. Dramatic new research is forcing a re-interpretation of the complex layers of identity Day created to maintain his personal integrity as a human being while living with the racism of the antebellum South.

This dynamic mediated presentation by film-maker, educator, and long-time Thomas Day researcher, encourages audience participation as they analyze the historical evidence, savor his legacy in wood, and explore the mystery of one of our state’s most extraordinary and fascinating historical figures.

Laurel Sneed, of the North Carolina Humanities Council Rhodes Scholar Speaker Bureau, is our presenter and an educator, researcher, and media producer/film-maker based in Durham, North Carolina. In 1995 she led the research effort that discovered Thomas Day's origins and parentage in southern Virginia. Since then she has produced a broad range of materials and media on Thomas Day, as well as on other African American historical topics. In addition, she has been director of the Crafting Freedom teacher workshops which have brought over 400 teachers to North Carolina to study black artisans, entrepreneurs and abolitionists who contributed to the making of North Carolina and our country. Sneed makes presentations throughout the United States on Thomas Day and a broad variety of subjects mostly related to American history and improving the teaching of it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Kesha Williams April 5, 2010 Elizabeth City State University ,1704 Weeksville Road, Elizabeth City, NC 27909 P: 252.335.3400

History journal explores abolitionism, Freemasonry and feminism in 19th century

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The radical abolitionist George Thompson was a minor celebrity in the mid-19th century. He was imprisoned for five years for a botched attempt to free slaves in Missouri, the author of several books and the head of the African mission established by the Amistad slave rebellion survivors.

"And yet he has been almost completely ignored by historians," writes Joseph Yannielli, who attributes the oversight to a tendency to see militant abolitionists as mentally deranged, along with a failure to engage the global dimensions of the anti-slavery movement. His article "George Thompson among the Africans: Empathy, Authority and Insanity in the Age of Abolition" is included in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of American History, published at Indiana University Bloomington by the Organization of American Historians.

Yannielli argues that dismissing Thompson and other militants as insane is "at best speculative and at worst irresponsible." He shows that Thompson's Christian ideals were tested when he headed the Mendi Mission in Sierra Leone from 1848 to 1856. His 6-year-old son died, his wife and infant son returned to America, and Thompson clashed with local chiefs and used harsh discipline against the native population, once administering 50 lashes to a pregnant woman accused of adultery.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony are among the popular speakers depicted in "The Lyceum Committeeman's Dream" by C.S. Reinhart (1873), the cover illustration for the most recent Journal of American History. Photo: "Courtesy of Indiana University."

"But his willingness to transgress conventional social, political and geographic barriers and identify with the oppressed and exploited was a crucial feature of the global battle over slavery, and we lose a great deal by erasing him from our history," Yannielli writes. Also in the issue: * Stephen Kantrowitz, in "African American Freemasonry in the Emancipation Era," argues that segregated fraternal organizations, especially the Freemasons, provided an institutional framework in which African American men gained experience in politics, organization and leadership in the years before the Civil War. * Lisa Tetrault, in "The Incorporation of American Feminism: Suffragists and the Postbellum Lyceum," examines suffragists who earned money by giving lectures in the years after the Civil War. Women such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton became stars in a system that linked reformist ideals with financial opportunity. * Joanne Meyerowitz, in "Sexuality, Race, and Mid-Twentieth-Century Social Constructionist Thought," shows how the "culture-and-personality school" of public intellectuals replaced eugenics with a biopolitics of child-rearing and argued that the quality of a population could be enhanced by nurturing certain cultural traits.

* In the journal's annual "Textbooks and Teaching" section, 10 authors explore the challenges and opportunities of teaching American history in Australia, Lebanon, Russia, Brazil and elsewhere outside of the United States.

In the JAH Podcast for March 2010, editor Ed Linenthal speaks with contributing editor Scott E. Casper about the "Textbooks and Teaching" feature. The podcast and selected content from the journal are available online at www.journalofamericanhistory.org/.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 5, 2010

Higginbotham to Discuss 'From Slavery to Freedom'

Author and scholar Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham will give a presentation on her work and longtime collaboration with famed African-American historian John Hope Franklin at 4 p.m. Friday, April 16 at Emory University's Woodruff Library.

Higginbotham worked with Franklin, considered the dean of African-American historians, on a thorough revision of "From Slavery to Freedom," his classic survey of African-American history first published in 1947. Franklin died in March 2009.

Higginbotham, chairperson of Harvard University's Department of African and African American Studies, is co-author of the ninth edition, published in January, which features President Barack Obama on the cover.

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham Photo: W.E.B. Du Bois Library, UMass Amherst

Higginbotham will speak about Franklin and his place in history, followed by remarks from Emory Provost Earl Lewis. David Eltis, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of History, will moderate the discussion, which is co-sponsored by the Department of History and the James Weldon Johnson Institute and the Department of African American Studies. Updating a Classic Text The new edition was updated with greater coverage of African-American women, transnational artistic and political movements, differing expressions of protest, community activism, civil rights and black power, as well as current events such as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the globalization of hip-hop and the election of the first African-American U.S. president.

Randall K. Burkett, curator of African American collections at Emory Libraries' Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL), says Higginbotham's contributions revitalize the classic text, which was last updated in 2002.

"There's so much work being done in the field in all aspects - in art history, music, African history, politics, literature, theater - and she really has the breadth to synthesize that material and bring it to bear," Burkett says. "I think it will give this book a new life."

About Higginbotham

Higginbotham is the author of several books, including "Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church 1880-1920"; editor-in-chief of the massive bibliography project "The Harvard Guide to African-American History"; and co-editor with Henry Louis Gates Jr. of several books including "Harlem Renaissance Lives" and the eight-volume "African-American National Biography."

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Jones Room on Level 3 of the Woodruff Library. Light refreshments and a book signing will follow the program; books will be available for purchase.

Woodruff Library is located at 540 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322. Parking is available in the Fishburne and Peavine decks; see the map. for locations. For more information, call 404.727.6887, e-mail marbl@emory.edu or visit MARBL. ###

Contact:

1. Maureen McGavin: 404.727.6898
2. Elaine Justice: 404.727.0643

U of M Will Present MLK Human Rights Award and Scholarship April 5

The University of Memphis will present the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Award to Leah C. Wells in a ceremony Monday, April 5, at 2 p.m. in the University Center Theatre. The award recognizes individuals whose activities exemplify non-violent leadership in the pursuit of social justice and human rights.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship also will be awarded at the ceremony. The 2010 recipient is Antedra Alexis Finger, a junior biology major. She is the daughter of Marquazette and Alex Finger of Little Rock.

Wells has long worked on issues of human rights. She taught courses on conflict resolution in Washington, D.C., and in California, where she was recognized by the National Peace Corps Association as the Peace Educator of the Year.

Leah C. Wells Antedra Alexis Finger

In Memphis she has worked on issues of child poverty with The Urban Child Institute and on leadership training through GOT Power, and she has served on the Public Buildings and Purchasing Policies Committee with Sustainable Shelby. Wells worked with the U of M’s Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change in 2005. She led the nonviolence training at the National Civil Rights Museum for participants in the 2007 march in Jena, La., in support of the Jena Six. She has published extensively about poverty, human rights, ecology, and economics, and is a regular contributor to The Commercial Appeal’s online publication, “Going Green.” Wells is now working with BioDimensions and the Memphis Bioworks Foundation on several projects, including publishing a local green-jobs assessment and contributing to a report on strategies for biobased products in the Mississippi Delta. She earned her bachelor of science degree in linguistics from Georgetown University in 1998 and her master’s degree in political science from the U of M in 2005. She is pursuing her doctorate in political science at the University of Mississippi.

Finger is vice president of the Minority Association for Pre-medical Students (the U of M chapter of the Student National Medical Association), which connects undergraduate students with medical students and physicians in the Memphis area. The organization provides networking experiences, HIV screenings, and blood drives, and collaborates with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center to host health fairs in African-American communities. Her goal is to become a neonatologist in a rural area.

The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by African and African-American Studies and the Office of Diversity at the U of M. For more information, call 901-678-3516.

For release: April 2, 2010 For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey, 901/678-2843

David Hinson Remarks at Greater Los Angeles: African American Chamber of Commerce

Greater Los Angeles: African American Chamber of Commerce Dinner Remarks – International Trade Focus.

On behalf of President Barack Obama and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, I want to thank you for allowing me to join you this evening.

Secretary Locke was unable to attend this event, but he asked that I extend his heart-felt thanks to the Board of Directors and staff of GLACK and Chairman and Co-Founder Gene Hale who graciously extended the invitation to address you this evening. I’d also like to thank Kerman Maddox a good friend of the Administration, for being here.

David Hinson

I am always happy to be in Los Angeles away from the sometimes frigid weather back in D.C. From the looks of this very attractive crowd, I am going to have to make my way back to Los Angeles more often. My younger sister, Peyton, lives out here so I have a legitimate excuse! I am glad she is able to join me this evening. I feel privileged to be here to talk to you about the priorities of our Administration, an Administration that would not be in office if not for all of you. So first I want to thank you for your support as we strive to continue to earn your trust ---- and confidence.

The Minority Business Development Agency is also fortunate to have members of GLAAC who serve on the Advisory Committee of our Los Angeles Business Development Center.

These members include:

Delenn Ayo from the Walt Disney Company, who also acts as the Advisory Committee Chair; Linda Wright from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Aura Mc-Cracken from AEG; Bob Blake from Bob Blake & Associates; and Michelle Smith Ballard from Turner Construction Company.

Thank you all for your service and dedication to minority business development.

I also want to recognize and thank the state and federal officials who are here and finally, I would like to take a moment and thank the founders of GLAAC for having the vision to create a powerful organization that promotes the growth and expansion of African American-owned businesses in the global arena.

President Obama’s National Export Initiative, an effort to encourage all businesses, including African-American owned businesses, to grow through global trade demonstrates that the Administration shares this vision.

A short 24 months ago, many of you took part in a national conversation. This conversation centered on how to expand opportunity for all of the citizens of this great nation - on how to re-establish our nation as a respected leader in the global arena - and on how to strengthen our economy not just for today, but also for the long run.

But by the time President Obama took office, we were facing the greatest economic crisis of our lifetime. The nation was shedding 700,000 jobs per month, housing values had imploded, and credit was all but frozen. Some of our largest and most powerful corporations where on the brink of failure, the stock market was on its way to losing over $10 trillion in value, all while we were facing two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This scenario required bold leadership and within 30-days of his inauguration, the President acted by signing into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. What has been forgotten by those that continue to criticize the stimulus bill is that without it, we would not only have lost the two million plus jobs that were created, but not passing the stimulus legislation would have resulted in a cascading effect that would have had many cities laying off firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel who protect us everyday. Not passing the stimulus bill would have forced the closure of public schools because teachers would have been forced out of their jobs and not passing the stimulus bill would have resulted in many cities simply defaulting on their municipal bonds.

Most important, if the President had accepted the failed notion that the “market” would “fix” the economy, it would have resulted in a loss of confidence in our economic system that may have taken decades to repair.

After the Great Depression in 1929, it took 11 years for the US economy to return to its former level. Unemployment reached nearly 25% and the collapse of production and wealth led to massive bankruptcies and the disappearance of nearly half America’s financial institutions. Virtually every industrialized country experienced a severe economic contraction and a terrible raise in unemployment. Now, after just 18 months into our “Near Depression”, we are beginning to see the light.

Today, job losses have been dramatically reduced to less than 200,000, and unemployment is holding steady at 9.7%. Indeed 9.7% is far too high, but certainly much better than it would have been the case without the stimulus package. Credit is slowly starting to flow to smaller businesses. The US manufacturing sector is showing signs of recovery and the recently announced sale of two key AIG assets, AIA and ALICO, narrows the expected TARP losses by nearly 50%. The President is committed to building our economic recovery by investing in a 21st century infrastructure, focusing on creating green and blue jobs, stabilizing healthcare cost for millions of Americans, providing the educational foundation to prepare our young people and workers in transition to compete in the global economy, and providing the opportunity for businesses of all sizes to export their products and services around the world.

African American businesses must take a leading role in capitalizing on the economic opportunity that exists around the world. But how do we do this when so many African-American owned businesses both large and small are just trying to survive?

How do we prepare our firms to participate in the global economy when they continue to experience limited access to capital and to government and private sector contracts?

What can we do in an environment where America has a severe cold and the African-American community has pneumonia?

The first thing you can do is engage my agency, the Minority Business Development Agency. MBDA is the only agency in the federal government tasked to promote the growth and global competitiveness of minority-owned firms. We manage 46 business development centers nationwide that help companies achieve two things – access to capital and access to contracts.
Our goal is to create an entire generation of $100 million minority-owned companies across industries.

Last year, we executed on nearly $3 billion in contracts and financings for MBE’s nationwide. And many of those that have engaged us as clients have achieved outstanding results:

For example, NECCI an African American-owned interior finish construction company in New York came to us seeking to expand their business. The firm had $37 million in revenues prior to seeking MBDA’s assistance. We provided procurement matching and construction related consulting. As a result, NECCI was able to secure $6.5 million in financial packages and $13.3 million in new contracts.

Another company, CII, a Hispanic-owned environmental engineering and technology services firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico came to MBDA for assistance in executing their business model. We provided procurement matching and bid assistance. As a result, we were able to help this $15 million in annual revenues company obtain a $395 million dollar contract.

Finally, a native American-owned company, Fort Mojave Construction came to us with a desire to grow. We provided federal contract identification and marketing and surety bonding assistance. Through these efforts, Fort Mojave Construction was able to obtain $12.9 million in contracts from the US Air Force and US Navy, in addition to $12.9 million in surety bonding.

These are just a few of the thousands of companies that we have helped to grow. We encourage you to engage us; so that we can also help your firms grow.

The second thing that African American-owned firms could do to strengthen themselves is to reconsider their growth models. Today, the average African-American owned business in California generates a mere, $86,000 in gross revenue. This is less than 10% of the average gross revenue for California a firm which is approximately $961,000. The average African American owned firm is simply too small to be competitive. So to be successful, we must de-emphasize organic growth– one contract at a time – one client at a time, and aggressively pursue growth strategies such as: growth though merger; growth though acquisition; growth through joint venture; and growth through strategic partnership.

As you may know, 6 of the 10 largest Black and Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States were created through Mergers & Acquisitions or joint venture transactions, and many of them came directly through large corporate sponsors.

Johnson Controls partnered with a minority management team to create Bridgewater Interiors - now a billion dollar company. McDonalds collaborated with a Hispanic entrepreneur to create Lopez Foods that now has revenues exceeding $500 million. And more than 20 years ago, Coca-Cola partnered with a minority investment group to create the Philadelphia Cola-Cola Bottling Company.

But to do this African American business owners must be willing to accept a smaller percentage of something big and give up a large percentage of something small.

Are you ready to make this change?

Finally, to survive this economic downturn, African American-owned companies MUST be committed to operating globally -- and opportunity abounds!

For example, by 2020, China is going to complete 97 new airports…..97! Someone in this room has a company that can help China build or manage its airports! In India and Pakistan, approximately 40% of the total food supply is lost to spoilage. Someone in this room has a solution to food spoilage!
And in Africa, there is a need for assistance in managing scarce water supplies. Someone in this room knows a little something about water preservation! America needs African-American companies that will think globally and maximize their export opportunities.

To help you globalize your business models, MBDA has developed a strategic partnership with our sister agency, the International Trade Administration, to provide export related training to your companies.
In addition, we will provide business-to-business networking sessions to link your companies to global opportunities. We are building relationships with OPIC, EX-IM Bank and various other government agencies who can help you finance your global strategy.

Finally, we are working to open up opportunities for your companies to participate in national and international trade missions. Last week, Secretary Locke announced that he will lead a slate of 19 new trade missions for 2010 in addition to the more than 40 trade missions and reverse trade missions already in the works for this year.

These trade missions include:

* A Green Industries trade mission to Paris, France
* A Civil Nuclear policy trade mission to Poland, and the Czech and Slovak Republics
* An Agribusiness Trade mission to Nigeria
* A public health trade mission to Saudi Arabia and Qatar
* And a medical trade mission to China.


MBDA can help you access these trade missions so that you can build relationships with the global participants in your area of expertise.
Engage us on this.

During the campaign, the President often spoke about the fierce urgency of now. Now is the time for African American business owners to take the leadership in reducing unemployment within our community

Now is the time to build bigger, stronger African-American owned companies that can compete as prime contractors for the largest public and private sector contracts.

Now is the time to embrace those innovators within the African-American community and encourage them to participate in renewable energy, food security, green construction, and healthcare IT.

Now is the time for members of the African-American community to ramp up our investments in African-American companies, to embrace failure as a key component to the path to success, and to have faith in the history of our people – a history of making something out of nothing. A history of participating at the highest intellectual level across industries. And a history of creating profound change in this nation!

So I am asking you to join President Obama, Secretary Locke, Deputy Secretary Hightower, MBDA and me in creating a new paradigm for African –American businesses that the founders of GLAAC and the great business leaders of our nation would be proud of.

Thank you!

Posted On: Thursday April 1st, 2010 at 2:00pm EDT. AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY. MBDA Public Affairs 202.482.4690

Special guests highlight African American Dance Company's spring concert April 10

Students selected the theme "Environmental Justice (Injustice?)"

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's African American Arts Institute Dance Company will feature guest dance and musical performers as part of its 36th annual spring concert on April 10.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., in downtown Bloomington.

"The concert will demonstrate and illustrate the passion that dance company students have for the dance discipline," said Iris Rosa, director of the African American Dance Company and a professor in IU's Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies.

Bernard Woma will be one of the special guest performers. African American Dance Company. Photo by Mark McCullough.

"The students have had the opportunity to explore dance techniques, forms and styles of performance in the Black dance aesthetic from Africa to Argentina." The students selected the theme "Environmental Justice (Injustice?)" for their Collaboration 2010 pieces. They will discuss and interpret through dance, the many ways to address the industrial waste and environmental pollution driven by political and economic decisions which adversely affect our communities. The concert will feature performances by guest artists Evelyn Yaa Bekyore and Bernard Woma. Bekyore is an internationally known dancer and teacher who has toured with the Saakumu Dance Troupe for more than 10 years as a senior performer and artist. She is principle teacher at the Dagara Music Center and has collaborated with many choreographers in Ghana, Burkina Faso and the United States. She frequently tours to perform and teach traditional dance and songs of Ghana at universities and colleges across the country. She has been in residency with the African American Dance Company since September. Woma has toured the world as xylophonist and lead drummer of the National Dance Company of Ghana.

He has appeared with the New York Philharmonic at the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, and has been in residency with national and international performing groups. He is the director of Saakumu Dance Troup and the Dagara Music Center in Ghana, West Africa, where he is celebrating his 10th anniversary year. He currently is pursuing a Master of Arts degree in the African Studies Program at IU.

Ticket prices are $20 for adults and $10 for children and students with ID (limit 2 per student).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 31, 2010

Media Contacts: Olivia Hairston African American Arts Institute 812-855-5427 George Vlahakis University Communications gvlahaki@indiana.edu 812-855-0846

Ambassador Andrew Young to deliver Mary Frances Early Lecture

Athens, Ga. – Andrew Young, a former ambassador to the United Nations and Civil Rights leader, will deliver the 2010 Mary Frances Early Lecture on April 6 at 4 p.m. in the UGA Chapel. The tenth annual lecture honors Mary Frances Early, the first African-American to earn a degree from UGA, and her legacy at UGA.

Young first came to national prominence by serving as a top aide and ordained minister to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights movement. He played a key role as a negotiator in Civil Rights protests across the South.

In 1972, Young was elected to the House of Representatives from Georgia’s 5th District. After serving four years in Congress, President Jimmy Carter appointed Young as the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations.

Andrew Young Photo Credit: University of Rochester.

He later served two terms as Atlanta’s mayor and co-chaired the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. In recent years, Young has extensively worked on humanitarian efforts across the world. He is the co-founder and chair of GoodWorks International, an organization that promotes international business in Africa and the Caribbean. Young has traveled to more than 150 countries to build the economies of developing nations with a business model that combines education, religion, democracy and free enterprise. The Mary Frances Early Lecture was established in 2001 by Graduate and Professional Scholars, a minority graduate and professional student organization at UGA.

The Graduate School assumed responsibility for the lecture series in 2010, working in partnership with GAPS to institutionalize it as part of UGA campus life.

The annual lecture recognizes Mary Frances Early’s dedication towardmaking UGA an institution of higher learning for all people. The lecture strives to demonstrate the progress that has been made in achieving her vision and identifies the work that remains to be done.

Mary Frances Early began her graduate study in 1961 in support of the first African-American undergraduates who enrolled at UGA and graduated a year later with a master’s degree in music education.

For more information on the Mary Frances Early lecture or the Graduate School, see www.grad.uga.edu or contact Judy Milton at 706/425-2953 or jmilton@uga.edu.

Writer: Ben Benson, bbenson@uga.edu Contact: Judy Milton, 706/425-2953, jmilton@uga.edu Mar 23, 2010, 10:56

2010 Herman C. Hudson Symposium at IU April 9-10 to feature keynote address by a former ambassador

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The seventh annual Herman C. Hudson Symposium at Indiana University April 9-10 will feature a keynote address by former ambassador and Indiana native Cynthia Shepard Perry. The theme this year is "Bodies, Borders and Resistance."

Perry, who has served three past presidents as an ambassador and diplomat, will share her story of personal and educational triumph at a luncheon on April 10 at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave., where all of the Hudson Symposium activities will take place.

The symposium also will offer panels and individual paper presentations by undergraduate and graduate students from IU. The Hudson Symposium is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Cynthia Shepard Perry. Courtesy of Indiana University.

For the seventh year, the chair and the faculty in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS) have supported graduate student efforts to organize an annual symposium in honor of founding faculty member, Dr. Herman C. Hudson. This year, the symposium will be part of the department's ongoing 40th anniversary celebration of African American and African Diaspora studies at IU. Many co-sponsors have come together to help make the 2010 symposium possible, including AAADS, the Student Activities Office, the Office of the Provost, the Kelley School of Business, the departments of English, history and comparative literature, IU Bloomington Libraries, the Office for Women's Affairs, and Residential Programs and Services.

A native of Lost Creek Township (located just outside Terre Haute, Ind.), Perry earned a bachelor's degree in political science and education from Indiana State University and a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts. After a career in higher education that included several assignments in Africa, she was appointed in 1982 by then President Ronald Reagan to become chief of the education and human resources division of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

In 1986, Reagan named her ambassador to Sierra Leone. Three years later, Reagan's successor, George H.W. Bush, appointed her ambassador to Burundi. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed her U.S. executive director of the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, where she served for six years before retiring in 2008.

In 2000, she published a memoir, All Things Being Equal: One Woman's Journey (Stonecrest International). She now resides in Houston, Texas, and lectures widely on the complexities of women's educational issues and on the scourge of human trafficking in Africa and its ramifications for women and children in the world.

Other events happening in conjunction with the Herman C. Hudson Symposium include an AAADS Exhibition that opens on March 31 and a social event entitled "Dances of the Diaspora" on April 9. The annual African American Dance Company Spring Concert will conclude the weekend on April 10 at 8 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. in downtown Bloomington.

"We are very excited about this year's Symposium. We have a large number of diverse and talented scholars presenting on issues ranging from the art of spoken word to identity construction," said Caralee Jones, the 2010 symposium president and vice president of the African American and African Diaspora Graduate Student Society. "This year's Symposium is also special because it will give us a chance to commemorate one of our founding faculty members, Herman C. Hudson, and the 40-year anniversary of our department."

For a complete calendar of events for the 7th annual Herman C. Hudson Symposium, please visit the Web site at www.indiana.edu/~afroamer/events/conferences. or send an e-mail to hchs@indiana.edu.