National

A Top HBCU Honor for FAMU President

Published

11 years ago

July 24, 2015

Holding up their awards are Dr. Brian Seymour, research director of the Edward Waters Center for the Prevention of Health Disparities, and Dr. Francis Ikeokwu, chair of the EWC Department of Business Administration (Courtesy of Edward Waters College)

Mangum, Edward Waters research director among honorees at Hampton

Special to the NNPA from the Florida Courier

Two of Florida’s Black universities were honored last week at the annual AARP HBCU Awards ceremony held at Hampton University.

Dr. Elmira Mangum, president of Florida A&M University, was named the “Female President of the Year.’’

Edward Waters College’s Department of Business Administration won “Best Business Program” and Dr. Brian Seymour, research director for the EWC Center for the Prevention of Health Disparities, was named “Best Male Faculty of the Year.

Health care study

Seymour conducted a pilot study that found major variations in allergic antibodies among the African-American populations living in Jacksonville. The results could lead to improved health care and eventually reduce the high mortality rate among Blacks with allergic disorders.

“Edward Waters College’s two 2015 HBCU Awards and the institution’s total six nominations represent the unprecedented ways our faculty, staff and students have excelled. It also demonstrates the college’s commitment to become a national leader for innovative teaching and learning to better educate the next generation oi global leaders,” said Dr. Nathaniel Glover, president of Edward Waters College (EWC), who was nominated for male president of the year.

Howard University President Wayne Frederick was named top male president.

The EWC Department of Business Administration partnered with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to offer a free entrepreneurship certificate program to the community in an effort to increase the number of minority business entrepreneurs. The seven-week program provided a complete overview of the business skills needed to develop a full, applicable knowledge base of the start-up and business operations process.

How finalists chosen

FAMU led all HBCUs with 14 nominations, followed by host Hampton with 10. A record 430 nominations from universities, alumni and students were submitted for the 2015 edition of the awards.

Who reviewed them

Finalists were selected based on the impact of the nominees’ achievement on institutional development, and for media coverage earned for the university by way of the nominee.

According to HBCU Digest, nominees were selected based on their “… impact and achievement in the fields of leadership, arts, athletics, research and community engagement in the previous academic year.”

The nominations were submitted and reviewed by a host of individuals close to the HBCU community including students, alumni, PR officials and journalists covering historically Black colleges and universities. Votes are counted in each category via secret ballot of 13 HBCU presidents and the Center for HBCU Media Advocacy (CHMA) board members.

HBCU Digest is billed as the “national news resource of record for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).”

Mangum on honor

The honor for Mangum follows her recent selection by U.S. Secretary Tom Vilsack to serve on the USDA Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee (APAC), which is responsible for helping to shape our international agricultural trade policy.

“I accept this award on behalf of the entire FAMU community,” said Mangum at the July 10 program.

“The award represents the hard work and dedication of our staff, faculty, Board of Trustees, alumni, and supporters. Without them, I would not be here tonight receiving this award.”

Other FAMU awardees included Cecka Rose Green, who created the university’s 10 for $10 giving campaign, and three-time MEAC track and field championship-winning head coach Darlene Moore.

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Oakland Children’s Hospital Workers and Patients Rally for Pediatric Medical Care

OAKLAND POST — “Children who go through a bone marrow transplant are immunocompromised, meaning that their immune system has been wiped out,” and having to take public transport to San Francisco exposes patients to the risk of getting a dangerous infection, said Paola Portillo, a social worker.

Published

1 hour ago

July 26, 2026

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Staff and family members of patients at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland in Oakland, Calif., hold signs during a rally on Thursday, July 9, 2026. Rally participants protested the relocation of specialized care clinics to the hospital's San Francisco campus. Photo by Kayla Chan/Bay City News.

By Post Staff

Staff, patients’ families, and supporters held a rally recently at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland to protest the hospital’s decision to relocate specialized treatment clinics to San Francisco.

Protesters said the move is creating barriers for patients to access care and raised concerns over whether the hospital was appropriately using funds partially designated for pediatric services.

In response, hospital officials say they are concentrating resources for highly specialized procedures so patients can receive the highest quality of care.

One of the speakers at the rally, Paola Portillo, a social worker, said the hospital started transferring the clinics a year ago when UCSF Health integrated with the Children’s Hospital Oakland, located at 747 52nd St. in North Oakland.

According to Portillo, patients who need bone marrow treatments and interventional radiology are forced to travel to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco, which can be dangerous, she said.

“Children who go through a bone marrow transplant are immunocompromised, meaning that their immune system has been wiped out,” and having to take public transport to San Francisco exposes patients to the risk of getting a dangerous infection, she said.

UCSF spokesperson Kristen Bole says the move improves the hospital’s quality of care, giving bone marrow treatment (BMT) as an example.

“Inpatient BMT is a highly complex service where patient volume, specialized infrastructure, faculty coverage and 24/7 support are essential,” she said in a statement. “Concentrating non-gene therapy inpatient BMT care at Mission Bay allows us to provide the safest and most sustainable model for patients and families.”

Hospital officials also emphasized that moving care was not a one-way street. Beginning this month, patients admitted for rehabilitative treatment have been directed to the children’s hospital in Oakland, Bole said.

Speakers at the rally also claimed UCSF has not been transparent about how it has allocated funding from 2020’s Measure C, a measure that created a half-percent sales tax that partially funded pediatric health care at the children’s hospital.

“The community fought so hard for Measure C because every child deserves access to lifesaving, pediatric, high-quality care right here in Oakland,” said Agnes Cho, a policy advisor speaking on behalf of Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas. “The funding should go towards strengthening care for children right here in Oakland.”

Protesters also said UCSF’s $3.3 billion endowment has been misused. Last October, the University Professional & Technical Employees union published a report on the University of California’s spending, which highlighted projects such as the $4.3 billion UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights.

“What I have a problem with is saying the kids from the East Bay have to go to San Francisco to get care, so that UC can build a fancy hospital for its richest patients in San Francisco,” said union President Dan Russell.

The UCSF spokesperson said UCSF has been investing in its Oakland campus, explaining that upgrades that are expected to be completed in 2030 at a cost of $1.6 billion.

“Oakland is central to our pediatric health system, and we are making the largest investment in the campus’ history,” the spokeswoman said. “We do not make investments of this scale in a campus, workforce or community we plan to leave behind.”

This article includes coverage from Bay City News Service and media releases.

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Black History

Opinion: When Politicians Start Sanitizing One Chapter of History, They’re Coming After The Whole Book

OAKLAND POST — The White House recently released a report criticizing the Smithsonian for supposedly promoting “anti-White activism” and other ideological sins. Buried inside is something even more troubling. The report argues Americans shouldn’t think of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 primarily as a racist law. Instead, we’re told it was about national security.

Published

1 hour ago

July 26, 2026

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AI-generated illustration created by Open AI.

By Emil Amok Guillermo

I came to Winnipeg to perform my one-man show, 69, Emil Amok: Anchorman—The News Made Me Do It.

I didn’t expect to leave with another lesson about America.

It came over dim sum.

After the show, Shirley—a Chinese Canadian—and her friend Chris, a Sri Lankan-Mauritian Canadian—insisted on taking me to a restaurant in Winnipeg’s Chinatown.

A Filipino American. A Chinese Canadian. A Sri Lankan-Mauritian Canadian.

The United Nations, if it served dumplings.

Then Shirley told me about her father.

He arrived from China at 14 years old, speaking no English. The school put him in second grade just to learn the language. Once he caught up, they skipped him to ninth grade.

Two years later, he was working.

He opened a restaurant.

It burned down.

He opened another.

Eventually he bought a café in rural Manitoba serving chop suey, burgers, steaks and fries.

The Good Way Café became the place everybody gathered. Rock and roll played from the jukebox until midnight.

Her father, Arthur Mar, built a business, employed people and became part of his community.

Sound familiar?

It should.

It’s the same immigrant story Americans love to celebrate.

Until politics gets involved.

Because before Arthur Mar could build anything, Canada made him pay a $500 Chinese head tax—a fortune in the 1920s.

When that didn’t keep enough Chinese out, Canada passed its own Chinese Exclusion Act.

Different country.

Same racism.

Canada has spent decades admitting what it did.

The Trump administration wants America to do the opposite.

The White House recently released a report criticizing the Smithsonian for supposedly promoting “anti-White activism” and other ideological sins.

Buried inside is something even more troubling.

The report argues Americans shouldn’t think of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 primarily as a racist law.

Instead, we’re told it was about national security.

Funny how those two words have always been available whenever politicians want to discriminate against somebody.

Black Americans have heard that song before.

Slave patrols became public safety.

Jim Crow became states’ rights.

Mass incarceration became law and order.

Same melody.

Different verse.

History has a way of putting racism in a respectable suit.

When politicians begin sanitizing one chapter of history, they’re coming after the whole book.

Communities of color don’t have identical histories.

But we recognize familiar tactics.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is an award-winning journalist, commentator and comic monologist. He performs “69, Emil Amok: Anchorman—The News Made Me Do It” at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, July 16–26.

Get Tix: https://www.winnipegfringe.com/performer-detail.aspx?kw=Emil+Amok+Productions

Follow him at YouTube.com/@emilamok1.

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Black History

Beyond Politics: California Legislators Across Party Lines Celebrate Lori Wilson at 50

OAKLAND POST — Organized by Assemblymembers Anamarie Ávila Farías (D-Martinez) and Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove), the celebration featured a video filled with birthday wishes from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as Capitol staff, honoring Wilson, who serves as chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee and is a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus.

Published

2 hours ago

July 26, 2026

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Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City). File photo.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media

In a Capitol more often defined by policy debates and partisan differences, California lawmakers recently offered a reminder that respect, friendship and collegiality can still rise above politics.

On July 17, legislators from both sides of the aisle came together to celebrate Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson’s (D-Suisun City) 50th birthday with a surprise tribute that reflected the admiration she has earned from colleagues across the political spectrum.

Organized by Assemblymembers Anamarie Ávila Farías (D-Martinez) and Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove), the celebration featured a video filled with birthday wishes from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as Capitol staff, honoring Wilson, who serves as chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee and is a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus.

“I hope you’re feeling the love from the Legislature, Lori, and I’m so honored to be able to serve with you and have you as my seatmate,” Ávila Farías said in the video. “You’re an amazing human being, and I feel so privileged to celebrate this milestone with you. Happy birthday.”

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, thanked Wilson for her leadership and service.

“Happy Birthday, Lori. Thanks for what you stand for and all the work that you’ve done in the Legislature.”

Republican Assemblymember David J. Tangipa (R-Fresno) also joined in the celebration.

“You are a rock star. Happy, happy birthday and have a great one.”

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) praised Wilson’s character and leadership.

“Hugest of happiest birthdays of all time, dear Lori. You are such a ray of sunshine in the Legislature; you are an adult in the room; you are a badass warrior, and we love you and appreciate you,” said Wicks.

Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-San Diego), also a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, reflected on Wilson’s future.

“Wishing you a very happy 50th birthday, Lori. You are an amazing woman, and there’s so much more to come for you,” she said.

Assemblymember Sade Elhawary (D-Los Angeles), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, added:

“Lori, we are so happy that you are the fearless queen that you are. Happy 50th. Enjoy. You deserve it.”

Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego) also shared his appreciation.

“Happy birthday. I believe you’re an amazing individual, an amazing person, and I love your housing policies, so thank you. Again, happy birthday. Have some fun today.”

Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton) closed with words celebrating both Wilson’s milestone and her wisdom.

“There’s a saying that when you become older you become wiser, but I want to say that you’re already there.”

At a time when political divisions often dominate the public conversation, the celebration served as a reminder that personal relationships and mutual respect continue to exist inside California’s Capitol. For one afternoon, party labels took a back seat as lawmakers from across the aisle came together to honor a colleague whose leadership, professionalism and friendship have earned admiration well beyond partisan lines.