Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

First class: Auburn University to graduate first class of students at Staton Correctional Facility

Retrieved on: 
Friday, December 15, 2023

AUBURN, Ala., Dec. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A college education can mean a pathway to a brighter future, a chance for a better life. It's that extra credential needed to land the dream job you've always wanted, to prepare you to improve your community.

Key Points: 
  • Kenny lived in Auburn for three years, but said he wasn't in the right mindset back then to enroll at the university.
  • They never entered a classroom on the Plains; their classes were held in a stark white, non-descript room at Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore County, Alabama.
  • These 11 students will receive their Auburn degrees on Dec. 16, one week after the university graduates nearly 2,000 students.
  • They represent the first class of students to graduate from Auburn through the Second Chance Pell program.

Clark Atlanta University to Construct Three New Buildings Simultaneously to Enhance Student Experience

Retrieved on: 
Monday, October 16, 2023

ATLANTA, Oct. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Trustees of Clark Atlanta University (CAU) has made the historic decision to construct three new campus facilities simultaneously in order to enhance the student experience.

Key Points: 
  • ATLANTA, Oct. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Trustees of Clark Atlanta University (CAU) has made the historic decision to construct three new campus facilities simultaneously in order to enhance the student experience.
  • This residence hall will be the first of its kind to be built and owned by Clark Atlanta University since the 1996 construction of Brawley Hall for the Olympic Games.
  • To finance these vital projects, Clark Atlanta University will utilize a combination of debt financing and contributions from a food service vendor.
  • As Clark Atlanta University continues to prioritize the well-being and achievement of its students, these new facilities will undoubtedly contribute to an enriching and transformative educational experience.

Lessons for today from the overlooked stories of Black teachers during the segregated civil rights era

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 29, 2023

As one of the handful of Black teachers in Mississippi during the Jim Crow era of racially segregated public schools, she faced a daunting challenge in providing a first-class education to students considered second-class citizens.

Key Points: 
  • As one of the handful of Black teachers in Mississippi during the Jim Crow era of racially segregated public schools, she faced a daunting challenge in providing a first-class education to students considered second-class citizens.
  • Before the 1954 landmark Brown v. Board decision that deemed segregated schools “separate and unequal,” the efforts of Black teachers went unheralded, underappreciated and virtually unknown.
  • My research revealed at least one important lesson: What Black teachers face today is not that different from what we faced in the past.

In spite of it all

    • What I found was that for Black people, education was in and of itself an act of active resistance against racial disenfranchisement.
    • As education scholar Christopher Span explained in his 2012 seminal book “From Cottonfield to Schoolhouse”: “To be educated was to be respected; to be educated was to be a citizen.
    • As a result, Black teachers used classrooms to not only impart the lessons of history, but also to encourage students to be actively involved in the fight for racial equity.

Education was paramount

    • Here are a few that serve as lessons for today: Arguably the most important, the first is developing relationships and mentorships.
    • Further solidifying those relationships was the fact that many of the teachers had taught several generations of families.
    • Because of their teachers, Black students valued education and modeled their own behavior to achieve their own potential.
    • She knew then that education was intended to be the great equalizer in America and the key to upward mobility – and she worked her entire career making sure that became a reality in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

How a hip-hop mindset can help teachers in a time of turmoil

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 23, 2023

As a researcher who specializes in hip-hop culture, I know that one of hip-hop’s greatest gifts is a certain mindset that focuses on freedom of thought, flexibility and truth-telling.

Key Points: 
  • As a researcher who specializes in hip-hop culture, I know that one of hip-hop’s greatest gifts is a certain mindset that focuses on freedom of thought, flexibility and truth-telling.
  • It also includes creativity, authenticity, confidence, braggadocio, uninhibited voice and integrity as those things relate to one’s community and culture.

1. Claim your space

    • And when I say ‘Who’s house?’ I want y'all to say ‘Run’s house.’” Through this call-and-response routine, the group claimed every arena in which they performed.
    • Hip-hop’s longevity is due in large part to this boldness – artists standing firm and fighting back even when they were under attack.

2. Form a squad or a crew

    • Educators can lean on their squad to help strategize and stay sane.
    • A squad or crew need not be confined to just one school.
    • Just as hip-hop artists are often part of larger groups, educators can similarly build a larger community of support.

3. Remix

    • One of the most popular strategies of creating hip-hop music is the remix – where a song’s producer will create a new version of a song, sometimes by borrowing or sampling beats from other songs, changing up the pace, or even introducing new lyrics that weren’t part of the original.
    • A classic example would be KRS-One’s 1988 song “Still #1.” Whereas the original version was laid back, the “Numero Uno” remix featured a sample of an upbeat Latin jazz song and even opened in Spanish.
    • A remix may also be helpful with school funding.

4. Go crate digging

    • Crate digging is a critical part of the remix.
    • After desegregation, for instance, a new struggle emerged in the 1960s and 1970s to make school lessons more culturally and racially inclusive.
    • Communities around the country partner with the Children’s Defense Fund to offer local Freedom Schools.

5. Still keep it real

    • At the time, it felt like intense pressure to keep it real and to represent your community.
    • I now look back and appreciate that it actually wasn’t pressure, but rather permission to be authentic.
    • But there’s no restriction against “keeping it real” and discussing the new laws and policies as a civics lesson.

Postal Service Honors Congressman John Lewis on New Forever Stamp

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 22, 2023

The words "USA" and "Forever" appear in the stamp's top left corner.

Key Points: 
  • The words "USA" and "Forever" appear in the stamp's top left corner.
  • Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp.
  • The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
  • For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com .

Harry Belafonte leveraged stardom for social change, his powerful voice always singing a song for justice

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

In fact, the singer, actor and activist was on intimate terms with many pivotal figures of the civil rights era.

Key Points: 
  • In fact, the singer, actor and activist was on intimate terms with many pivotal figures of the civil rights era.
  • He was a confidant and adviser to Martin Luther King Jr and allied with Ahmed Sékou Touré, the president of Guinea.
  • If he was a powerful voice for justice, it was because he leveraged his celebrity.

A remarkable career

    • Though Belafonte never kisses his white co-star, Joan Fontaine, on screen, the film explores the theme of interracial romance.
    • This exceptionally handsome Black man was charming primarily white audiences, though his light skin color and facial features softened that threat.
    • “Harry Belafonte stands at the peak of one of the remarkable careers in U.S, entertainment,” proclaimed Time magazine in a 1959 cover feature.
    • By then, he was earning about US$750,000 a year, with a lucrative residency at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas.

Civil rights activism

    • The civil rights leader called him in 1956 during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
    • As their friendship strengthened, Belafonte realized the crosses that King bore: the burden of leadership, the fear of death.
    • His guests included King, who was about to launch his Poor People’s Campaign, and Kennedy, whom Belafonte urged to start a presidential campaign.
    • Like few others, he blended the worlds of culture and politics, singing a song of justice.

National Civil Rights Museum Statement Regarding the Passing of Harry Belafonte

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Memphis, TN, April 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Civil Rights Museum joins the world in grieving the loss of a civil rights activist, cultural icon, and its 1999 Freedom Award honoree, Mr. Harry Belafonte.

Key Points: 
  • Memphis, TN, April 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Civil Rights Museum joins the world in grieving the loss of a civil rights activist, cultural icon, and its 1999 Freedom Award honoree, Mr. Harry Belafonte.
  • Belafonte was a charismatic, candid, and compassionate activist who used his platform to advance civil and human rights in America and abroad.
  • He was part of the power-packed slate of Hollywood celebrities present during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 60 years ago.
  • In the 1960s, he challenged the norms by adding a diverse set of performers on his show “Tonight with Harry Belafonte” for which he won an Emmy.

ProQuest Black Studies Combines Newspapers, Archival Collections and Journals in a Single, Browsable Destination

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 14, 2022

LONDON, Feb. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EdTech leader ProQuest, part of Clarivate, today announced the launch of ProQuest Black Studies, a browsable collection of curated sources on the history and lives of Black Americans, for use in classrooms and research.

Key Points: 
  • At launch, it includes10 major historical Black newspapers, 120 archival collections and 120 full-text journals, video, and faculty essaysall centered on Black studies.
  • "ProQuest Black Studies allows users to see contextual relationships within a topic and make serendipitous discoveries.
  • Students and faculty can browse the archival collections as though they were exploring a physical archive in a library."
  • ProQuest Black Studies is ideal for research at all levels, from undergraduate courses to Ph.D. programs.

National Civil Rights Museum Statement on the Passing of Bob Moses, Leader of the Civil Rights Movement

Retrieved on: 
Monday, July 26, 2021

Memphis, TN, July 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Civil Rights Museum mourns the passing of civil rights icon Bob Moses, a visionary leader, innovative educator and champion for voting rights.

Key Points: 
  • Memphis, TN, July 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Civil Rights Museum mourns the passing of civil rights icon Bob Moses, a visionary leader, innovative educator and champion for voting rights.
  • Moses was passionate about bringing math and science literacy to minority students in impoverished communities and driving much-needed educational reform.
  • Moses applied daily the constitutional premise that We The People is inclusive of all who believed and acted on it.
  • The National Civil Rights Museum mourns the passing of civil rights icon Bob Moses, a visionary leader, innovative educator and champion for voting rights.

Central Atlanta Progress Unites Downtown Atlanta For Reimagine The Legacy: A Community-Wide Tribute To The Life And Legacy Of Congressman John Lewis

Retrieved on: 
Monday, July 19, 2021

ATLANTA, July 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) announced Reimagine the Legacy, a tribute to the life and legacy of Congressman John Lewis.

Key Points: 
  • ATLANTA, July 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) announced Reimagine the Legacy, a tribute to the life and legacy of Congressman John Lewis.
  • Reimagine the Legacy will begin at 10:00 a.m. with a special tribute and mural rededication at the John Lewis Memorial mural, located at 219 Auburn Avenue (at the corner ofAuburnAvenue andJesse HillJr.Drive.
  • At 11:00 am, church bells will ring throughout Downtown for 80 seconds initiating a community-wide moment of reflection, marking the day and time Congressman Lewis was laid to rest.
  • The public is strongly encouraged to participate in this inaugural event, which will return annually on the same day in Downtown Atlanta to Reimagine the Legacy of Congressman Lewis.