21st Annual American Black Film Festival Announces 2017 Dates

(Black PR Wire) NEW YORK,  – The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) recently announced that the 21st annual event will be held in Miami, June 14-18, 2017. In addition to the best of Black film and TV, the five-day festival will offer an innovative program with new experiences, including The Byron Lewis Careers in Entertainment Center, a multi day educational forum with lectures led by industry experts to provide insight into job opportunities in front of and behind the camera at studios and networks; and ABFF Immersive, where festival goers are introduced to virtual reality, 360° video and immersive storytelling through panel discussions, hands-on demos and immersive experiences that demonstrate how technology can impact storytelling. HBO, the ABFF’s founding and presenting sponsor, will be marking the 20th anniversary of the widely acclaimed HBO Short Film Competition at the festival.

Festival passes go on sale November 1 at www.abff.com, providing three different levels of access to festival screenings, official and premium events. Questions regarding registration may be directed to info@abffventures.com.

Submission rules and complete eligibility criteria for feature-length films, documentaries, shorts and web originals will be available at www.abff.com November 1.

Speaking of football rivalries, don't forget Grambling vs Southern (Bayou Classic)

Sure, Michigan vs Ohio State is a great rivalry right up there with Alabama vs Auburn , and Army vs Navy, but let's not forget about today's matchup of Grambling University (8-1) vs Southern University(8-2) in the Bayou Classic.

The two HBCU teams head into the 43rd edition of the Bayou Classic with a lot on the line. Both teams are undefeated in the Western Division so the winner of the game will head to the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) championship game to face Eastern Division champ, Alcorn State. The winner of that game heads to the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl to play MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Champion North Carolina Central see who is the best HBCU football team in the country.

How to watch, stream and listen:

TV: 5 p.m. ET, NBCSN

Radio: Grambling State | Southern

Online streaming: NBC Sports Live Extra

Two black women embrace their chance to be hockey role models for black girls

Kelsey Koelzer

Three years ago, girls from the Hockey in Newark youth program were invited to meet the Princeton women’s hockey team.

During the visit, the girls, many of whom are members of minorities, were drawn to defender Kelsey Koelzer. Like them, Koelzer, who is African-American, played much of her youth in secondhand equipment and was raised by a single parent who struggled to accommodate the costly expenses of hockey.

The girls peppered Koelzer with questions. Koelzer was struck by the encounter, too; her mother, Kristine, still remembers her daughter talking about the effect the visit had.

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Sarah Nurse

Koelzer’s influence is expanding in her senior season at Princeton. In June, she was selected first overall by the New York Riveters in the National Women’s Hockey League draft. Koelzer is believed to be the first African-American player taken No. 1 by a top-tier American professional hockey league. Shortly after the historic pick, Sarah Nurse of Canada, who is also black, was selected in the second round by the Boston Pride.

Koelzer and Nurse, a forward at Wisconsin, are two of college hockey’s top players and rising stars in their national-team programs. With increased visibility, they recognize their capacity to motivate a generation of young girls from similar backgrounds.

Read more: Two black women embrace their chance to be hockey role models

Judge: Dylann Roof competent to stand trial for South Carolina church shooting

Dylann Roof is competent to stand trial starting next week in the killing of nine black worshipers at a South Carolina church last year, a federal judge ruled Friday.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel's ruling clears the way for jury selection to restart Monday.

The judge delayed the process to begin narrowing the final jury pool on Nov. 7 when Roof's lawyers suggested he either didn't understand the charges against him or couldn't properly help them with his defense.

Roof, 22, is charged in federal court with hate crime, obstruction of religion and other counts for the June 2015 attack at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.

The decision came three days after Gergel wrapped up a hastily called two-day hearing that was held behind closed doors.

But the exact reasons and any testimony and facts backing Gergel's findings are not known.

Defense lawyers have not said what led them to question Roof's competency and the judge sealed his findings for the same reason he took the rare step of only allowing Roof, his lawyers, prosecutors, court officials and witnesses in the hearing — Roof made statements to a psychologist that might not be legal to use at his trial and could taint potential jurors.

Gergel had promised to release a redacted version of his order last week, but instead filed it under seal.

At his competency hearing, Gergel heard testimony from psychologist James Ballenger and four other unnamed witnesses and reviewed sworn statements from three others, the judge wrote in his order.

Ballenger completed his psychological review of Roof in just days.

According to police, Roof sat through nearly an hour of prayer and Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church with its pastor and 11 others before pulling a gun from his fanny pack near the end of the class and firing dozens of shots.

[SOURCE]

More minorities buying guns following Donald Trump’s election

More minorities have armed themselves in the weeks following the election, shopping for guns and attending weapons classes in record numbers, gun sellers and advocates said.

Some firearm stores have reported a four-fold increase in the number of minority customers since Donald Trump was elected president on Nov. 8, NBC News reported.

"Most folks are pretty nervous about what kind of America we're going to see over the next five to 10 years," Philip Smith, founder of the National African American Gun Association, said. He hosts the Georgia chapter’s meetings — and twice as many people as usual have RSVP’d for the next one.

The uptick in interest in guns among black citizens and other minorities is fueled by fear that already heightened racial tensions could grow violent as Trump takes office.

Read more: More minorities buying guns following Donald Trump’s election