Monday, November 19, 2012




The Beasts of the Southern Wild, the fantasy film that was a favorite at Sundance Film Festival can now be seen on demand TV. The story line follows the adventure of a young African American girl, Hushpuppy (played by Quvenzhané Wallis) who  survives an apocalypse in the Bayou of Louisiana.   Although a young girl stars in the leading role the storyline is for a much older audience. The film is rated PG-13. The director and producers of the film have invited everyone interested to the  TV premiere.

Read the following invitation:

“Join us on Friday, November 23rd for an evening of food, friends and film!

In celebration of the Beasts of the Southern Wild on demand release, we’re asking you to host a post-Thanksgiving Day Beasts watch party in your home! Get creative with leftovers, or if you want, we can send you our Bathtub inspired, community sourced recipe book for fun food fare! Need decorations? We’ll send you flyers and buttons to get everyone in the party the spirit!

It doesn’t stop there.  The Beasts team wants to join your Feast of the Southern Wild!  On Friday, Nov 23rd, between the hours of 9pm EST and 12am EST, director Benh Zeitlin, producers Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey and Josh Penn and our New Orleans based crew will join your party online!

Beyond our wildest expectations, Beasts has traveled the globe and now it’s coming to your home.  Help us share the film and continue the conversation with others!  Beasts will be available on the following platforms, Comcast, iTunes, DirecTv, AT&T UVerse, Verizon FiOS, Amazon, XBOX, Playstation, Vudu, and many more!

If you’d like to host a Beasts watch party, send us an email at beasts@beastsofthesouthernwild.com!”


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Higher Education Grants of Interest to African-Americans


From The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education information for college bound students and parents:

Higher Education Grants of Interest to African-Americans -

Filed in Grants and Gifts on November 14, 2012
Here is this week’s news of grants to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Historically Black Dillard University in New Orleans received a $300,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation to support the university’s Pre-Collegiate Emerging Scholars Program. The program is a free college preparatory initiative designed to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to complete high school and enroll in college.

Fayetteville State University, a historically Black educational institution in North Carolina, received a $100,000 donation from Nicholas Perkins, a 2003 alumnus of the university, for scholarships for entrepreneurial students enrolled in the university’s School of Business and Economics. Perkins is president and founder of Perkins Management Services Company of Charlotte, a food services management firm.

Historically Black Tuskegee University received a four-year, $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for programs to increase research opportunities for undergraduate students. The grant will support the university’s Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) program.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a historically Black educational institution in Princess Anne, received a five-year, $750,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health for a research project on viruses that cause cold sores and complications that can lead to blindness and brain lesions.

Kansas State University received a $1.2 million grant from Cargill, a privately held agricultural and food conglomerate that employs 142,000 people in 65 countries. The grant will support the Cargill Project Impact Diversity Partnership at the university which seeks to increase the number of minority students in the colleges of agriculture, business administration, and engineering.

The program began at Kansas State in 2008. Since that time there has been a 68 percent increase in multicultural students in the target disciplines.
http://www.jbhe.com/2012/11/higher-education-grants-of-interest-to-african-americans-39/




http://www.jbhe.com/2012/11/higher-education-grants-of-interest-to-african-americans-39/

Thursday, November 8, 2012






BET’s  presentation of Black Girls Rock! last Sunday hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross and Regina King showcased young women who are committed to changing the world for better. Seeing these young women and the work they were doing was totally inspirational. Although I  thought the TV program was too celebrity driven (I would have loved to see more about the young women), I realized this was their fundraiser.  BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Inc. is  youth empowerment and mentoring organization established to promote the arts for young women of color, as well as to encourage dialogue and analysis of the ways women of color are portrayed in the media. Young women are offered access to enrichment programs and opportunities that place special emphasis on personal development through the arts and cooperative learning.

BET will repeat this show today at 8 pm so check their listings and visit website Black Girls Rock to learn more and give a donation. This is worth seeing with the young people in your life.