Howard University grad helps people pay for their water bills through her nonprofit

By Sheyla Fairley

Tiffani Ashley Bell, graduate of Howard University, Washington, DC, is the founder and executive director of The Human Utility, a nonprofit platform dedicated to helping pay the water bills of people who are unable to.

According to an article, Bell was inspired to “create change after working for Atlanta, GA, and seeing how decision-making for cities worked.”

“Halfway through that, I read about what was happening in Detroit with water bills and shutoffs,” replied Bell. “And I was just thinking about — ‘Okay, you have Atlanta and you have Detroit. What’s making them make the decision to instead of actually helping people, just turn their water off?’ So, I was like, ‘Well, we could do something about it. Why not just start paying bills for people?’ And that’s what it turned into.”

For more information, read the full article here.

SFI and Cisco to install wireless 5G internet service at Claflin

By Sheyla Fairley

Wireless 5G internet service will be established at Claflin University, Orangeburg, SC, by Student Freedom Initiative (SFI) and Cisco, best known for its computer networking products.

According to an article, this partnership will provide “Claflin’s students, teachers, administrators and staff members with reliable connection to the internet” and will allow “this institution of higher education to provide a more robust and modern educational experience for its students, while also supporting greater administrative efficiency.”

“Expanding 5G wireless service is an important step in making sure that students at HBCUs have the necessary resources for a high-quality education,” said Saidah Grayson Dill, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Cisco. “This innovative solution will allow us to connect many of the households in the region that currently do not have access to the internet, and will inform our best practices as we expand this program to other HBCUs.”

For more details, read the full article here.

Coahoma CC names Terrence Metcalf, father of NFL’s DK Metcalf, as their new coach

By Sheyla Fairley

Coahoma Community College, Clarksdale, MS, has hired Terrence Metcalf as their new head football coach. Metcalf played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons and is the father of NFL wide receiver DK Metcalf.

“We are fortunate to have a seasoned football coach who has been involved with football at all levels most of his life,” said CCC president Dr. Valmadge T. Towner in a release. “Coach Metcalf is a family man, a spiritual person and in my opinion, he is a good role model for our student-athletes. He will add value to the Coahoma brand and he is eager to build on the successes that our program has experienced in recent years. Also, he is one of us in that he is from Clarksdale. So, we know he has a personal passion to see our own program do well.”

Howard University men’s basketball team tackles Black maternal health 

By Sheyla Fairley

According to an article, the Howard University, Washington, DC, men’s basketball program has decided to focus on “the issue of Black maternal health and the implications of the Roe v Wade reversal on Black women” as their social justice project.

“Being at an HBCU, we also know that Black people, especially Black women, are generally more impacted by issues in American society than other groups. As a team with Black mothers, aunts, sisters, and friends across each of our lives, in addition to being on a campus that is predominately female, we felt like it would be helpful to organize around an issue that affects them, and one that is not talked about nearly enough,” said Jelani Williams, the team captain.

Read the full article, here.

JCSU president to retire in June 2023

By Sheyla Fairley

Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, NC, President Clarence D. Armbrister announced he will be retiring at the end of the semester in June 2023.

As stated in a release, the board of trustees expects to have “a new president in place by fall, for the start of the 2023-24 school year” with Armbrister staying on as “Senior Advisor to the new president until early 2024.”

“It has truly been a privilege and an honor to serve the JCSU family,” said Armbrister. “I’d like to express my gratitude for your support…and for the passion and talent each of you contributes to making JCSU such a special place.”