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Posts tagged as “Alabama”

HBCU Talladega College Receives Anonymous $2.5 Million Donation to Support Student Scholarships

HBCU Talladega College Receives Anonymous $2.5 Million Donation to Support Student Scholarships

By goodblacknews on December 12, 2021

Talladega College in Alabama recently received an anonymous and historic donation of $2.5 million in support of student scholarships.

With these funds, the HBCU plans to expand its ‘Angel Award’ scholarship program which will tremendously impact the lives of current and incoming students.

“These funds will enable us to continue our path of success and our unwavering journey to remain an institution of excellence,” said Dr. Lisa Long, acting president of Talladega College. “Our mission is to equip our graduates for the global community through academic excellence, moral values, community service, and professional development.”

Earlier this year in August, the College received an anonymous donation of $250,000, which was used to create the ‘Angel Award.’ This scholarship has provided financial assistance to nearly 100 students who were facing economic struggles.

According to Long, she is not certain about the identity of the College’s ‘angel in disguise,’ but she is exceedingly grateful for their generosity.

“Our College’s most important asset is our people,” said Long. “This donation is yet another validation that we’re on the right track with facilitating the needs of our students.”

The College also recently cleared $925,666 in debt for students with balances for the terms of Spring 2020 through Summer 2021, and was recently ranked in the top 100 most affordable public administration colleges.

Talladega College is Alabama’s first private historically black liberal arts college, and has been known for academic excellence for over 150 years.

ABOUT TALLADEGA COLLEGE
The mission of Talladega College is to equip its graduates for the global community through academic excellence, moral values, community service, and professional development. The campus is on a plateau about 700 feet above sea level in the heart of a fertile valley in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is a quiet place – away from the distractions and fast pace of urban living, yet conveniently close to neighboring cities that offer extensive cultural and entertainment outlets as well as shopping, restaurants, and theaters. The college is just 25 miles south of the city of Anniston, Alabama, 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama, 85 miles north of Montgomery, Alabama, and 100 miles west of Atlanta, Georgia. The College has an aggressive tradition of bringing the world to Talladega via workshops, forums, and lectures presented by acclaimed artists, scientists, and political, business, and civic leaders. 

[Photo: Courtesy of Talladega College]

Birmingham Native and “Reparations Now!” Author Ashley M. Jones Named Poet Laureate of Alabama

Birmingham Native and “Reparations Now!” Author Ashley M. Jones Named Poet Laureate of Alabama

By goodblacknews on November 5, 2021

[Photo: Ashley M. Jones via Facebook. Credit: Amarr Croskey]

Birmingham native Ashley M. Jones was recently named Poet Laureate of Alabama (2022-2026), the youngest and first Black person to hold the position created 91 years ago.

“Hopefully, as poet laureate, I can shine some light on the work that is being done that is positive and just remind people that the south is still part of the U.S.,” Jones said.

Jones guest edited Poetry magazine earlier this year after the magazine and its publisher were challenged to do more to support poets from marginalized populations and support Black Lives Matter protests. Jones’ 2021 collection Reparations Now! examines history through verse, such as the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four little girls, as well as Jones’ personal experiences with racism.

Jones earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Florida International University, according to jbhe.com. She currently teaches at Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as well as the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

Jones also co-directs the PEN American chapter in Birmingham, Alabama, and runs a nonprofit organization called the Magic City Poetry Festival, which is having an online event on November 13.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/us/ashley-jones-poet-laureate-alabama.html

(paid Amazon link)

Dr. Billy C. Hawkins to be 1st Black President at Talladega College to have Building Named in his Honor

By goodblacknews on July 20, 2020
Dr. Billy C. Hawkins (photo courtesy Talledega College)

Talladega College will hold a naming ceremony for the Dr. Billy C. Hawkins Student Activity Center on August 14, 2020. The newly constructed 47,000-square-foot student center/arena will be the first-ever campus facility to be named in honor of one of the institution’s African American presidents.

In 2008, when Dr. Billy C. Hawkins became the 20th president of Talladega College, the HBCU was struggling to survive. Dr. Hawkins implemented rigorous plans for renovation and growth that transformed the college.

As a result of his vision, enrollment doubled from just over 300 students to 601 students in one semester; athletic programs were reinstated for the first time in ten years; and major campus beautification projects were undertaken.

The College enjoyed record-high enrollment in both the 2018-2019 academic year and the 2019-2020 academic year.  Talladega College now has over 1200 students.

Under the leadership of Dr. Hawkins, Talladega College is listed among Princeton Review’s best colleges in the Southeast, U.S. News and World Report’s most innovative colleges, and Kiplinger’s Best Value Colleges.  Talladega recently launched its first-ever graduate program, an online Master of Science in Computer Information Systems. In addition, the campus is undergoing a major physical transformation.

New construction on campus includes a 45,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art residence hall, which  opened in 2019, and the Dr. William R. Harvey Museum of Art, which opened in 2020.  The Dr. William R. Harvey Museum of Art houses six critically-acclaimed Hale Woodruff murals, including the renowned Amistad Murals.

Writer Producers Saladin K. Patterson and Lee Daniels to Reboot “Wonder Years” With Black Family at ABC

Writer Producers Saladin K. Patterson and Lee Daniels to Reboot “Wonder Years” With Black Family at ABC

By goodblacknews on July 8, 2020

A reboot and reimagining of 1960s-set half-hour comedy series “The Wonder Years” has landed a pilot production commitment at ABC, with Saladin K. Patterson (“The Last OG,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Bernie Mac Show”) writing and executive producing. “Empire” and “Star” producer Lee Daniels will executive produce along with Marc Velez via Lee Daniels Entertainment.

According to variety.com, the updated version of the series will focus on how a Black middle class family in Montgomery, Alabama in the turbulent late 1960’s made sure it was The Wonder Years for them too.

The new show will live in the same time period as the original series, which was set between 1968 and 1973. A mini writer’s room for the show will be opened once ABC signs off on a pilot script.

Fred Savage, the lead of the original series, will direct the pilot and executive produce. Neal Marlens, the co-creator of the original series, will serve as consultant.

Charles Barkley to Sell Memorabilia to Build Affordable Housing in his Alabama Hometown

By goodblacknews on March 11, 2020
NBA great Charles Barkley (photo via commons.wikipedia.org)

According to the Washington Post, former NBA superstar Charles Barkley is selling his 1993 NBA MVP trophy and an Olympic gold medal among other memorabilia from his Hall of Fame basketball career so he can use the proceeds to build affordable housing in Leeds, Ala., where he grew up.

“That stuff’s not that important to me. I’ve had an unbelievable life,” Barkley told Birmingham’s WJOX-FM last week, explaining why he isn’t attached to these possessions. “I’ve been in Leeds a lot and we’ve probably got 30 eyesores, as I call them, where houses used to be when I was growing up. Either a rotted-out house or there’s just weeds that have overgrown.

“So, what I’m trying to do — I want to work with the city of Leeds, I want them to give me the spaces, number one. I want them to give me the houses, and I’m going to use my own money, selling my memorabilia.”

To quote the article:

Panini, a sports card and memorabilia company that Barkley has a relationship with, estimated that the MVP trophy alone could fetch $300,000 to $400,000, Barkley said. And his 1992 and 1996 Olympic gold medals? “ ‘I don’t even want to guess,’ ” Barkley said he was told, “ ‘but I can get you a lot for those gold medals.’ ”\

“I got an autograph deal with Panini and I was talking to the guys,” Barkley said. “All that stuff is at my grandmother’s house; I don’t even keep it, to be honest with you. And I said, ‘How much could I get for my MVP trophy and my two gold medals? And I got an autographed plaque signed by the [1992] Dream Team.’ He says, ‘Oh, I can get you a lot of money for that stuff.’ ”

Barkley went to high school in Leeds, which is about 20 miles east of Birmingham, and played collegiately at Auburn from 1981 to 1984. Now working for TNT, Barkley lives in Arizona but remains vocal about his Alabama roots. He has toyed with the idea of running for political office and hasn’t shied away from offering his opinion, whether it’s about Roy Moore when he was a candidate for Senate in 2017, the issues of race and poverty, or Trump.

“I want to do something really nice for Leeds. And if I could build 10 to 20 affordable houses — I want to do green housing, too,” he said. “If I could sell all that stuff, it would just be a really cool thing for me.”

To read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/03/09/charles-barkley-is-selling-memorabilia-build-affordable-housing-his-alabama-hometown/

Steven L. Reed Elected Mayor of Montgomery; 1st African American to Lead Alabama’s Capitol Since its Founding

By goodblacknews on October 9, 2019
Newly-elected Montgomery, Alabama mayor Steven L. Reed (photo via wtvm.com)

Voters in Montgomery, Alabama made history Tuesday by decisively electing Steven L. Reed as their new and very first African American mayor in the 200 years since the city’s founding.

To quote the Washington Post:

Reed, already a trailblazer as Montgomery County’s first black probate judge, defeated David Woods, owner of the local Fox affiliate, in a non-partisan runoff election with 67 percent of the vote and all precincts reporting, according to the unofficial election results.

“This election has never been about me,” Reed, 45, said during his victory speech. “This election has never about just my ideas. It’s been about all of the hopes and dreams that we have as individuals and collectively in this city … and the way we found the opportunity to improve outcomes regardless of neighborhood, regardless of Zip code, regardless of anything that may divide us or make us different from one another.”

His victory reverberated well beyond Montgomery as many celebrated the milestone in a city remembered as both the cradle of the Confederacy and the birthplace of the civil rights movement. Montgomery, where about 60 percent of residents are black, was the first capital of the Confederate States of America, becoming a bastion of racial violence and discrimination in the Jim Crow era but also of protests and resistance in the civil rights era.

It’s home to the Montgomery bus boycott against segregation led by Rosa Parks, and it’s home to the Selma to Montgomery marches for voting rights led by Martin Luther King Jr. It was in Montgomery where, after the third march in March 1965, King addressed a crowd of 25,000 people on the steps of the Alabama Capitol, famously saying, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

“This is a historic day for our nation,” Karen Baynes-Dunning, interim president and chief executive of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is based in Montgomery, said Tuesday on Twitter. “The election of Steven Reed, the first black mayor of Montgomery, AL, symbolizes the new inclusive & forward thinking South that so many have worked to achieve.”

To read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/09/steven-reed-montgomery-first-black-mayor-alabama/

“True Justice” Documentary about Attorney Bryan Stevenson, Founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, to Premiere on HBO

“True Justice” Documentary about Attorney Bryan Stevenson, Founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, to Premiere on HBO

By goodblacknews on June 25, 2019

On June 26, HBO will premiere True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality, a documentary about Alabama public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and best-selling author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Stevenson has advocated on behalf of the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned, and seeks daily to eradicate racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.

Told primarily in his own words, True Justice shares Stevenson’s experience with a criminal justice system that, he asserts, “treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.” The burden of facing this system is explored in candid interviews with associates, close family members and clients.

The documentary chronicles Stevenson’s struggle to create greater fairness in the system and shows how racial injustice emerged, evolved and continues to threaten the country, challenging viewers to confront it.

According to hbo.com, the film covers Stevenson’s work in Alabama, birthplace of the civil rights movement and home to the Equal Justice Initiative, as well as the early influences that drove him to become an advocate for the poor and the incarcerated. As a young lawyer in the 1980s, he witnessed firsthand how courts unfairly applied the death penalty based on race and how the Supreme Court ultimately declared that racial bias in the administration of the death penalty was “inevitable.”

Tracing the trajectory of the Court since the 1857 Dred Scott decision, which ruled that African Americans are not citizens of the U.S., True Justice shows how the Court has long sanctioned inequality, oppression and violence. Illuminating the power of memory in cultural change, the film instills hope of a brighter American future through the insights of this pioneer.

The film also documents the monumental opening one year ago, on April 26, 2018, of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and its National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the country’s only lynching memorial, which is dedicated to the more than 4,400 African American victims of lynching.

These sites are part of the EJI’s nationwide effort to engage in a truth and reconciliation process around this country’s legacy of Native American genocide, slavery, lynching and racial segregation. As part of the campaign, Stevenson and the EJI are also working with communities to recognize lynching victims by collecting soil from lynching sites and erecting historical markers.

True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality is a co-production of HBO and Kunhardt Films; produced and directed by Peter Kunhardt, George Kunhardt and Teddy Kunhardt; executive produced by Trey Ellis and Peter Kunhardt; edited and produced by Maya Mumma, ACE. For HBO: executive produced by Jacqueline Glover, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller.

Memorial Park to be Built Commemorating Huntsville, Alabama’s 1st Public School for African Americans

By goodblacknews on December 15, 2018
City of Huntsville breaks ground on William Hooper Councill High School Memorial Park (photo via Twitter)

via waff.com

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) – On Friday, the William Hooper Councill Alumni Association broke ground on a memorial park celebrating Huntsville’s first public school for African-Americans.

Councill High School opened in 1867 and closed in the era of desegregation in the 1960s. The school was named after Dr. William Hooper Councill, a former slave and founder and first president of what would become Alabama A&M University. Councill also became a lawyer, newspaper editor, legislator and Alabama Supreme Court justice.

William Hooper Councill (photo via clio.com)

Crews will start work on a memorial park in 2019, on the school’s old site.

Members of the alumni association spoke about what the school means to them.

“We found friendship in William Hooper Councill High School, and we found affection,” said Brenda Chunn, president of the William Hooper Councill Alumni Association.

“It’s important because African-American history sometimes gets lost, and this is a way of preserving the heritage of the African-Americans, particularly with the celebration of the bicentennial that is coming up,” said Laura Clift, an alumni of Councill High School.

Read more: http://www.waff.com/2018/12/14/ground-broken-park-commemorating-huntsvilles-first-public-black-school/

Dol Miles, Self-taught Pastry Chef in Alabama, Ranked Best in Nation by James Beard Foundation

Dol Miles, Self-taught Pastry Chef in Alabama, Ranked Best in Nation by James Beard Foundation

By goodblacknews on November 4, 2018

Dolester Miles brushes egg wash onto an apple crostata in the kitchen of Bottega. (Rob Culpepper/For The Washington Post)

by David Hagedorn via washingtonpost.com

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — It’s just before 2 p.m., the end of a workday that began at 5:30 a.m. for Dolester Miles, a self-taught pastry chef who, in May, was named the best in the nation by the James Beard Foundation. Wearing a spotless white bib apron over an equally spotless chef coat, with sleeves neatly rolled above her elbows, she stands in the compact kitchen of Bottega restaurant, deftly smoothing a thin layer of whipped cream frosting on a towering, three-layer coconut pecan cake.

She flicks her offset spatula all the way around where the top and sides meet, employing rote precision born of three decades of experience to create a crisp, perfect edge. After she coats the cake with toasted coconut, it’s ready to be picked up by a patron waiting to pay $80 for it, plus tax. Anyone who has eaten that cake, which yields 14 slices, knows two things: that it’s worth every penny, and that the last crumb of it will be snatched up and savored like the last word of a great novel.

Miles, who goes by Dol, oversees a staff of four and the baking production of the four restaurants owned by chef Frank Stitt and his wife, Pardis, including their fine-dining flagship, Highlands Bar & Grill.

In addition to the coconut pecan cake, Miles’s fruit cobblers with flaky biscuit tops, her lemon tarts with swirls of caramelized meringue and her silken panna cottas are legendary in Birmingham. She handles with alacrity the array of Southern, Italian and French favorites found on the menus of the Stitts’ restaurants. A prep list 44 items long on the Thursday before Labor Day revealed the breadth of her work. Production included: chocolate pots de crème; citrus shortbreads; hamburger buns; pizza dough; buttermilk tarts; batches of ice creams, sauces, fig jam and frangipane (an almond-based tart filling); polenta cakes; and crème caramels.

Pear and Almond Tart (Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post/Food Styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post)

Miles was one of 20 semifinalists in the Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Pastry Chef category for five years running, and among its five finalists for the past three years. The awards gala at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House was a celebratory one for the Stitts, too. After being nominated for 10 consecutive years as the nation’s Outstanding Restaurant, Highlands won. The first time Miles was a finalist, she couldn’t believe it.

“I never really understood how the Beard thing goes, how you get nominated and all of that and, you know, from being down South, from Alabama! Most of them be from New York, California, Chicago — all those big places,” she said. “But to be nominated from all the way down here? That was amazing.” (Miles’s fellow 2018 finalists were from New Orleans, Minneapolis, Chicago and Los Angeles.)

Democratic National Committee Launches “Seat At The Table” Tour, a New Black Women Outreach Initiative

By goodblacknews on July 2, 2018

Two women hold signs reading “Vote Baby Vote” and “Voting is People Power,” c. 1970. (Photo by Gabriel Hackett /Getty Images)

by Ashley Alese Edwards via refinery29.com

The Democratic National Committee has launched a new initiative, the Seat At the Table Tour, a Black women outreach tour designed to “rebuild relationships, restore trust, and strengthen infrastructure within communities to champion Democratic values and build towards electoral victories,” Refinery29 has learned.

Black women have been the Democratic Party’s most reliable voting bloc since the 1990s. Doug Jones’ win over Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate special election in December especially highlighted Black women’s power; they were largely credited to lifting Jones to victory through on the ground organizing and voter registration efforts.

Despite this, however, the Democratic Party has been criticized for neglecting the needs of Black women and not adequately supporting Black women who are running for office. Many Black women candidates, particularly in Alabama, have been operating with little institutional support, as Refinery29 reported in June.

According to the DNC, the tour, in collaboration with the Congressional Black Caucus and Black women mayors, will consist of listening and training sessions for Black women.

“This is the Democratic Party’s opportunity to show that we want more than just Black Women’s votes. We also need and want Black Women’s input, ideas, and organizing power,” Waikinya Clanton, the DNC’s director of African American outreach, told Refinery29. “We want to hear from Black Women across this country about what keeps them up at night and what we can do to help fix it. Whether it’s training candidates on how to address certain issues, training organizers on how to advocate on issues locally or connecting Black women Democrat. We want to connect and work with Black women to help move this country forward in a real and meaningful way.”

The tour officially kicked off June 16 in Brooklyn, where the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, was honored.

According to Black Women In Politics, a database of Black women running for office, there are 603 Black women candidates this year.

“This is our chance to invest in more than just candidates and state parties but opportunity to invest in infrastructure and people who help sustain communities,” Clanton said.

Source: https://www.refinery29.com/dnc-seat-at-the-table-black-women-initiative