Krishun Lovelace: Mr. HBCU

 

Krishun Lovelace won the Mr. HBCU competition two weeks ago. He is the first Mr. HBCU from LeMoyne Owen College to win the title within the last 10 years. The last Mr. HBCU LeMoyne Owen College who won Mr. HBCU was Jerome Heard in 2008.

Lovelace is in his first month reign as Mr HBCU. His reign will last until the 2018-2019 school year. He currently is a senior at LeMoyne Owen College majoring in business and  foreign languages.

He said that Mr. HBCU changed his mindset. He also said that he has become a better man because of the competition. The Mr. HBCU competition included a talent showcase, preliminary round, oratory, question and answer period, and other event surrounding the crowning of the winner.

During the competition according to Lovelace, the HBCU kings had workshops, worked community service, and attended several events leading up to the competition. Lovelace made it to the final eight competitors and won the competition.

He credits his mentor Ms. Ruby Minter for helping him win the competition. He said she pushed him everyday working on his oratory on the phone. Then Lovelace said Minter also made him practice everyday on the oratory and the Q and A section. Lovelace said helped him personally and professionally grow.

According to him, Lovelace also won Mr. Oratory for his speech during the competition. He won outlasting 17 other HBCU kings in the competition.

Lovelace said he is grateful for the competition, the time he put in, Ms. Minter helping him out and the experience of becoming Mr. HBCU.

HBCU (Historically Black colleges and Universities)…

 

MLK 50: The Celebration of Dr. King

Memphis and MLK 50: From Division to Unity

Memphis and the Mid-South may have its’ problems as far as crime, government issues, and financial instability. However, the city is more than prepared for the MLK 50 event in April. The event is to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death at the Lorraine motel. His death came after the Memphis Sanitation Strike in 1968.

There are many events and celebrations planned in April for Dr. King. Plus, MLK 50 will have a celebration during black history month in February. MLK 50 is expected to be a huge celebration in Memphis with more than several hundred thousand people to come to the bluff city.

The celebration ends with a commemoration at the Civil Rights Museum honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Some events for the MLK 50 include a forum on the state of civil rights for every American, an orchestra honoring the musicians of the movement, a march to the Civil Rights Museum, and other planned events at the University of Memphis.

 

 

Inspiring Young Journalists: From the Women Powerhouses in Memphis Media

The Memphis Association of Black Journalists held a forum about minority women in media. This took place on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2018 at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. The guest speakers included WREG’s Stephanie Scurlock, WATN Katina Rankin and WHBQ’s Mearl Pervis. All of the women anchored during the primetime slot at 5pm, 6pm, and 10pm.

During the forum, the anchors discussed how they work constantly on their shows.  Scurlock said that she was not the first choice as a primetime anchor when Claudia Barr left WREG. “I was working mostly weekends and mornings with Markova Reed,” she said. The station was looking for a primetime anchor. They were considering Markova but if she left mornings the show would crumble. They had other candidates but I was blessed to be chosen as a primetime anchor.”

Pervis said she helps others and she is deeply committed to her job as a journalist.  “I love my job and I stay with it since I was a reporter,” she said. “When I am at work, I am like a mother to the young talent that comes in. I always help out the people that I see are working hard. Commitment is key in this business.”

Rankin said she would not trade this job in for anything. Coming from Mississippi, she advised young journalists what are you waiting for. “If I were a young journalist, I would start now in creating my own content,” she said.  “I mean what is stopping you. I would shoot edit and write something right this minute if I were you. That is how you make an impression. Get out there and get started.”

The meeting concluded with a donation from the New Orleans Association of Black Journalist fundraiser to MABJ. $200 was donated to MABJ along with $100 from Fox 13 to the organization.

MABJ Hosts Black Panther Movie Screening At Stage Cinema

The Memphis Association of Black Journalists will be hosting a screening of Black Panther this Saturday. It will be at the Malco Stage Cinema in Bartlett near the Wolfchase Mall. MABJ is expected to have nearly 175 guests to attend the screening. Montee Lopez the president of MABJ said he is an avid Marvel comic book fan and is excited to see the screening.

Jeremy Pierre, the vice president of MABJ, said the organization wants young people to see a hero or the main hero as a African or African American. He said that this will not only help MABJ but also help the young Memphis community. According to the city of Memphis demographics, the city is mostly populated by African Americans and minorities. Pierre said this gives MABJ and the young people who attends the screening a chance to see a African American character that is not a slave, drug dealer, maniac, threat to society or how the majority race views of them in movies and reality.

The screening is February 17.