President Trump, Democratic Challengers to Attend Criminal Justice Forum in South Carolina

Mr. Trump will participate in a criminal justice forum Friday at Benedict College in Columbia.

POLITICAL WRAP: President Trump Speaking in SC at Criminal Justice Reform Event

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Happening this week: President Donald Trump is visiting South Carolina as part of a bi-partisan event on criminal justice reform.

The White House confirms Trump will appear Friday at a forum at Benedict College in Columbia. The event marks Trump’s first visit to a historically black college or university.

Some of the democrats vying to challenge him are also planning to attend… including front-runners Former Vice-President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

There’s More Than 1 Kind of Black: HBCUs Celebrate the Diversity of the Diaspora

It was definitely a major coup for Johnson C. Smith University, one of the nation’s HBCUs, to snag Oprah Winfrey as its commencement speaker. And she certainly delivered with down-to earth wisdom, her own inspirational stories and lessons from leaders from Martin Luther King Jr. to Maya Angelou.

On a sunny Sunday morning, Winfrey told the sea of more than 300 graduates—her words overheard by the several thousand family members and friends who came to support them—“Your future is so bright, JCSU, it burns my eyes!” The eyes that stared back at her, sometimes glistening with tears, reflected the global diversity of HBCUs, a quality that might surprise those who don’t know much about the schools’ historical mission. (Winfrey herself attended HBCU Tennessee State University.)

Winfrey was just one of a parade of high-profile speakers at HBCUs, up to and including the president and first lady, who, during the Barack Obama years, have highlighted the institutions that historically educated a majority of the doctors, lawyers and professionals of color—and, indeed, students of color in general—before most majority white institutions admitted them. And because admission to majority-white schools doesn’t guarantee a warm welcome (see current turmoil because of racially charged incidents on campuses from the University of Missouri to Yale), many students of color given every option continue to gravitate toward HBCUs for social and psychological reasons in addition to academic ones.

Mission to Keep CIAA Tournament in Charlotte

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The CIAA Education Day kicks off for 5,000 students in the Charlotte area at the Convention Center.

It’s one of the many benefits of keeping the tournament in town.

Columnist Mary C. Curtis explains why the tournament is so sought after.

The crowds are expected to contribute up to $40 million to the local economy as they enjoy parties, concerts and basketball games. The city puts in about $1 million to host the tournament.

The CIAA didn’t renew the commitment to keep the tournament in Charlotte. They’re taking bids from cities, including Atlanta, Raleigh, D.C., Greensboro, Baltimore, and Brooklyn.

Cities want to host it because it’s the third largest tournament in the NCAA behind the ACC and Big East.