Morehouse College and the Ida B. Wells Society partner to increase journalists and editors of color in the field of investigative reporting
By Sheyla Fairley
As stated in a release, Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA, and the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting will be teaming up to “equip scholars with social justice-centered reporting and investigative skills to cultivate a solid foundation for a career path in journalism.”
“This partnership helps our young organization settle more deeply into our mission, which is to increase the number of investigative reporters of color. Being located on the campus of a historically Black college located in Atlanta in proximity to other HBCUs and coming to Morehouse just as it gets its journalism major off the ground provides a tremendous opportunity for us to increase our impact on the field and society,” said Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones.
PVAMU receives $5M from USDA to help underserved farmers improve crop production
By Sheyla Fairley
Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, along with research partners at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, University of Houston, Houston, TX, and Michigan Aerospace Corporation, has been awarded a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their project, the Climate-Smart Sustainability Certificate.
According to an article, the project will help support “small-scale, underserved and limited resources farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Ram Ray, an associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences at PVAMU, will be leading the project.
“This is a very exciting project for me because we plan to develop innovative technologies and approaches to monitoring greenhouse gases, which ultimately benefit other researchers and stakeholders,” said Dr. Ray. “A very good thing about this project is that about $1 million will be paid directly to the limited resources [of] small-scale growers/farmers as an incentive. All they need to do is the climate-smart practice to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester more carbon in the soil while improving soil health and production.”
For more details, read the full article here.
Three HBCU graduates open Black-owned craft beer bar in Harlem
By Sheyla Fairley
In 2018, Kim Harris, Stacey Lee Spratt, and Kevin Bradford opened Harlem Hops, a bar specializing in craft beer in Central Harlem.
“Black people in brewing and Black people in craft beer was something that really wasn’t heard of,” said Spratt. “I felt like it would be something new and inventive, and being able to do business with my friend and then bringing Kevin on board and doing business with him, and it was just a small circle of people, and we all graduated from HBCUs, so it really was just ordained. It was supposed to happen exactly how it’s been happening.”
In a release, the founders have also established a nonprofit organization, Harlem Hopes, to provide scholarships for residents of Harlem, NY who are “planning to attend an HBCU.”
Aetrex partners with PLC to improve footwear design
By Sheyla Fairley
According to an article, Aetrex, a global leader in foot scanning technology, orthotics and comfort footwear, has partnered with Pensole Lewis College School of Business & Design, Detroit, MI, to further “the school’s mission to help diverse, budding designers break into the world of product creation and improve the industry for the next generation.”
“PLC relies on support from brands like Aetrex to make our programming possible and open up opportunities in the industry for our talented students,” said PLC founder and president D’Wayne Edwards. “Over the past year, PLC has served around 150 students – tuition-free, without prior educational requirements. We’re thrilled to integrate Aetrex Technology into our curriculum to further our goal of preparing the largest talent pool of progressive creatives to enter the industry and leave it better than we found it.”
For more information, read the full article here.
FAMU names former NFL player as athletics ambassador and consultant
By Sheyla Fairley
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL, has hired former NFL wide receiver Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson as the new athletics ambassador and consultant for the university’s athletic department.
According to an article, Johnson has been “an avid supporter of the FAMU Rattlers,” often “showing his support on social media” and has also “stopped in football practices, as he visited the team before the 2021 Orange Boom Classic in his hometown, and was present during the 2022 Orange Blossom Classic.”
“I fell in love with FAMU after attending my first (Florida) Classic in 1984 with my grandma, and the rest is history,” expressed Johnson.
Read the full article, here.
