ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY PLEDGES $1.6 MILLION TO HBCUS

on February 1, 2019

Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first Greek-lettered sorority established by African American college women—and sorority of presidential candidate Kamala Harris, has pledged $1.6 million to HBCUs.

The sorority has established the AKA-HBCU Endowment Fund in partnership with the Educational Advancement Foundation (EAF). Over the next decade, the fund will distribute $10M to 96 schools.

From a press release from the sorority:

On February 28, 2019, presidents from 32 of the participating HBCUs will receive the first installment of the endowment gift in the amount of $50,000 at the Alpha Kappa Alpha International Headquarters in Chicago, Illinois

“As an HBCU graduate and someone who has dedicated my life’s work to the HBCU community, I personally know that the financial challenges of many institutions have an impact on student enrollment, retention, and graduation rates,” said Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. International President Dr. Glenda Glover via the press release. “Implementing an endowment fund is a critical need and has been a priority for my administration since I took office last year. Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 111-year history is deeply interwoven into the history of HBCUs and therefore it is imperative that we continue to invest in these treasured institutions.”

The 32 participating schools include:

Albany State University

Alcorn State University

American Baptist College

Bennett College for Women

Chicago State University

Coppin State University

Fayetteville State University

Florida Memorial University

Fort Valley State University

Grambling State University

Harris-Stowe State University

Le Moyne-Owen College

Lincoln University

Livingstone College

Miles College

Mississippi Valley State University

Norfolk State University

North Carolina Central University

Philander Smith College

Savannah State University

Shaw University

South Carolina State University

Southern University at New Orleans

St. Augustine’s University

Stillman College

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Voorhees College

West Virginia State University

Wilberforce University

Wiley College

Paul Quinn College

Edward Waters College

HBCUs have been struggling for funding. In December 2018, Bennett College for Women lost its accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) due to its inability to remain financially stable. Pizza corporation Papa John’s recently donated $500,000 to the school. At least six HBCUs have closed since 1988 due to financial reasons.

source: /https://www.blackenterprise.com/alpha-kappa-alpha-sorority-pledges-1-6-million-to-hbcus/

Phi Beta Sigma Names Actor Malik Yoba The New Spokesman For Their Youth Auxiliary Program

on January 12, 2019

It was just announced that actor Malik Yoba has been named the new spokesperson for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.’s auxiliary program that mentors young men, the Sigma Beta Club.

The fraternity made the announcement on social media on January 4th, as a part of National Mentorship Month and Sigma’s “Trilogy of Change” a strategic plan by the fraternity to impact the African American community that starts with enhancing the lives of youth through mentorship in the Sigma Beta Club.

Malik Yoba will take over the charge as an official spokesperson for the program. You may know Yoba as Lucious Lyons’ fix-it-man on “Empire”; the street savvy detective on “New York Undercover”; or a Jamaican bobsledder in “Cool Runnings” but you might not know that he is a highly engaged community activist and educator.

A member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Yoba’s full-time commitment to community organizations, education, and underprivileged youth dates back to the 80’s.  He served as Vice President of The CityKids Foundation, a New York-based organization that worked in conjunction with New York City public schools to assess students, faculty, and parents in an effort to improve school attendance, and the quality of education.  In 1994, he founded Nature Boy Enterprises as a vehicle to offer keynote addresses, motivational workshops, and the “Why Are You On This Planet” self-esteem program.

His work as an educator has extended internationally to schools in South Africa, Canada, Jamaica, Central America, and Ethiopia.  The Honorable Bill Clinton, the Congress of United States, and the UNICEF, are some of the dignitaries and organizations that have recognized his humanitarian work and advocacy for the youth.

Yoba was born and raised in the Bronx in 1967.  He became an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma in 2009.  At the age of fifteen he was shot and it ultimately changed his perspective and led him into a life of community activism.  Since the 90’s, he has served as a board member and committee member for such organizations as Reach New York and Hale House.  Yoba is an author of two books and has worked as an educator at Long Island University.

The Sigma Beta Club goes all the way back to the early 1950s when Phi Beta Sigma became the first Greek organization to develop a youth auxiliary group. “Under the direction of Dr. Parlett L. Moore  the Sigma Beta Club was founded. While as National Director of Education, Brother Moore was concerned about our changing needs in our communities and recognized the important role that Sigma men could play in the lives of our youth,” the Sigma Beta Club’s website states.

“Throughout its existence, Sigma Beta Clubs have been an essential part of the total organizational structure of many of the Alumni chapters of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and offers men of Sigma a unique opportunity to develop wholesome value, leadership skills, and social and cultural awareness of youth at a most critical stage in the youth’s personal development.”

According to the fraternity, “Sigma is rewriting the narrative on what service to humanity looks like.”

source: https://www.watchtheyard.com/sigmas/malik-yoba-phi-beta-sigma-2/