Dr. Jerry Wallace to serve as next president of WVU Potomac State College

An experienced servant leader and higher education administrator with ties to the Mountain State has been named the next president of West Virginia University Potomac State College.

Dr. Jerry Wallace, president of Danville Community College in Danville, Virginia, will begin his term as PSC president on Dec. 1.

“I am excited to welcome Jerry Wallace to West Virginia University,” President Gordon Gee said. “He brings with him a unique blend of experience and leadership that will position WVU Potomac State College to grow and better serve students and communities across the Mountain State.”

Wallace has led Danville Community College since 2022. During his tenure, the college has experienced six consecutive semesters of enrollment growth, increased community engagement activities and launched multiple workforce training programs.

Previously, Wallace served as the Nebraska Central Community College Hastings Campus president, leading programs to develop employee-community volunteer programs and an apprenticeship program to provide community members and employers an alternative workforce solution.

“We feel very fortunate to have Dr. Jerry Wallace joining WVU to lead Potomac State College,” said Paul Kreider, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “He is a proven, recognized leader among community college administrators and a passionate community supporter as well. His commitment to building meaningful campus-community connections and improving the student and employee experience will be invaluable as we continue to grow.”

In addition to his roles as a campus president, Wallace served the New River Community and Technical College in Beckley as dean of Workforce, Technical and Community Education from 2017-19. Before that, he was a resident director at WVU Institute of Technology.

“It’s an honor to join WVU Potomac State College and engage with faculty, staff and students,” Wallace said. “I’m excited to be selected to lead PSC and have the opportunity to bring my family back to West Virginia. The PSC culture of a tight-knit learning environment and student-centric programs continues to provide students access to success.”

In 2023, Wallace was named one of the Top 100 People to Meet by Virginia Business Magazine and received the Young Professionals PACE award from the Danville-Pittsylvania Chamber of Commerce. Most recently, Wallace traveled to New York to receive the 2024 Rising Star Award from the Rural Community College Alliance.

Wallace holds a doctoral degree in leadership and management, a master’s degree in educational leadership and a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science. He also completed a second master’s degree, earning his MBA in human resource management with a minor in marketing.

Kreider will end his term as interim campus president at PSC, effective Dec. 1, and will continue to serve WVU as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs in a full-time capacity.

Chester Higgins work part of Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now at Metropolitan Museum

Photographer Chester Higgins a friend of African American Reports will have two of his works displayed at an exhibition, Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876-Now at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.

Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now examines how Black artists and other cultural figures have engaged with ancient Egypt through visual art, sculpture, literature, music, scholarship, religion, politics, and performance. In a multisensory exploration of nearly 150 years of artistic and cultural production—from the 19th century to the Harlem Renaissance to the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s to the present day—the exhibition includes nearly 200 works of art in a wide range of media.

Higgins told African American Reports that the exhibition ‘Flight Into Egypt’ embraces our agency of sacred heritage and examines the history of African people before slavery and Genesis. It’s an awesome starting point to consider our amazing sojourn and uniqueness as a people.

He also suggested that those who attend check out the catalog and a copy of his book ‘Sacred Nile' as a gift worthy of ourselves.

Higgins’s work has been the subject of many international exhibitions, and is held in notable collections, such as The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, and The Brooklyn Museum of Art. Higgins lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

The exhibtion runs November 17, 2024–February 17, 2025. The location is at The Met Fifth Avenue, The Tisch Galleries, Gallery 899 Floor 2.

The estate of Malcolm X Files Lawsuit Against the DOJ, FBI, CIA, and NYPD on Behalf of Malcolm X

The estate of Malcolm X has filed a lawsuit against the United States Government, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the New York Police Department. The lawsuit alleges these entities played a significant role in the events leading to Malcolm X’s assassination and engaged in a decades-long cover-up to shield their involvement from the public.

According to the complaint, U.S. government agencies and the NYPD were aware of serious, credible threats to Malcolm X’s life and failed to intervene, allowing the tragic assassination to take place on February 21, 1965. It asserts that these entities, under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, then-head of the FBI, went beyond mere allegedly illegal surveillance of Malcolm X, actively conspiring to reduce his protection and leaving him vulnerable to an attack they knew was imminent.

For decades, these agencies viewed Black activism as a threat to national security, resulting in the unchecked targeting of prominent leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Marcus Garvey. This lawsuit seeks accountability for the systemic negligence and intentional actions that deprived Malcolm X’s family and the world of his life and legacy.

According to the lawsuit, the FBI and CIA collaborated with undercover agents within the Nation of Islam. Despite knowing the gravity of the threats, the FBI failed to protect Malcolm X, instead actively compromising his safety by arresting his security team days before his assassination, removing security officers from the ballroom where he was killed, and not approving permits allowing him to purchase a firearm.

The estate’s lawsuit includes the following allegations:

• The NYPD and federal agencies were aware of imminent threats but failed to safeguard Malcolm X’s life.
• The NYPD and federal agencies removed security personnel from the ballroom, reducing his protection.
• Federal and local agencies allegedly encouraged the assassination and directly facilitated conditions that made it possible.
• Federal agents, including undercover operatives, were in the ballroom during the assassination and took no steps to intervene.
• After the assassination, a coordinated effort was made to conceal the involvement of these agencies, preventing the Shabazz family from seeking justice in court.

“This cover-up spanned decades, blocking the Shabazz family’s access to the truth and their right to pursue justice,” said Attorney Ben Crump. “We are making history by standing here to confront those wrongs and seeking accountability in the courts.”

The lawsuit details nine causes of action, which include excessive use of force against Malcolm X, deliberate creation of danger, failure to protect, and the denial of access to the courts for Malcolm’s family. It also charges the defendants with conspiracy, fraudulent concealment, and wrongful death.

 

US Olympic Hero Michael Johnson Launches GRAND SLAM TRACK

US Olympic Hero Michael Johnson Launches GRAND SLAM TRACK™, a Revolutionary Track League to Elevate the Sport’s Global Footprint

Grand Slam Track will center around fan-focused storytelling and promotion of track’s biggest stars, with competition to begin in 2025

Los Angeles, CA - Four-time US Olympic Champion Michael Johnson officially launched Grand Slam Track™, the new global home of professional track competition. This new league will usher in a new era of professional track for the global fanbase of 2.5 billion people worldwide and provide undiscovered opportunities for fan engagement, sponsorship, and elite competition for racers.

The league will host four annual Slams during the spring and summer season in four global cities. The inaugural Slam will take place in April 2025, followed by three more Slams over the summer months. Los Angeles will serve as the global home for Grand Slam Track, and host one of the Slam events. There will be one further Slam that will take place in the United States, and two in international locations. The other host cities will be announced and celebrated in their respective local markets later this summer.

“I am delighted to finally unveil Grand Slam Track to the millions of track fans around the world,” said Michael Johnson, the league’s founder who will serve as Commissioner. “We are excited to launch this new platform for the planet’s greatest racers in this sport we all love. Our team has worked tirelessly to design and build a product that will be loved by fans and provide opportunities for our racers that they truly deserve. We’re revolutionizing the track landscape, allowing our sport to remain at the forefront of the sporting world year round, and pushing our superstar racers to break new ground in their personal storytelling, competitive success, and marketability. Grand Slam Track is going to take our sport to new heights, and we want you to come along for the ride.”

Each year, 48 athletes will be named to the league as GST Racers. These racers are selected by the Grand Slam Track Racing Committee based on a combination of factors to include the fastest and best racers in each race group, with a focus on fierce rivalries and thrilling competitive racing. GST Racers commit to racing in all four Slams per year. They will receive an annual base compensation for racing in each Slam and are eligible for full prize money. These GST Racers will receive annual contracts, access to the GST content and data services team, inclusion in the league collective, group licensing and new revenue opportunities, plus access to world class athlete support services throughout the season. GST racers are compensated under contract to race and promote the league and receive additional marketing and branding support.

The remaining 48 racers will be known as GST Challengers and will be paid a set appearance fee to compete at individual Slams. GST Challengers are chosen by the Grand Slam Track Racing Committee based on a combination of factors including recent performances, and the most intriguing athletes and matchups.

Racers and Challengers will be assigned to compete in one of the following categories, and will all race in two events during each Slam: short sprints (100m/200m), short hurdles (100H or 110H/100m), long sprints (200m/400m), long hurdles (400H/400m), short distance (800m/1500m), or long distance (3000m/5000m). All competitors’ final placement score will be determined by their combined finishing order between the two races. In the event of a tie across the two events, it will be the athlete who had the quickest combined time across the two races who will be deemed the winner. The winner of each Slam group will take home $100,000 in prize money, and the 8th place competitor will earn $10,000. Grand Slam Track will have a total of $12.6m of prize money that will be awarded across the slams each year in addition to the base compensation and appearance fees paid to racers.

The focus of Grand Slam Track is on head to head competition, not winning times. There will be no rabbits or pacing lights. Each Slam is equally as important as any other, will have its own prize purse, and will be independently scored, with points and previous finishes not carrying over to the following Slams. All racers will compete twice over the three-day event, and all Slam events will meet World Athletics regulations, with achieved marks being eligible for rankings and standards.

Racers will compete in their own sponsored kits, without traditional hip numbers or bibs. Racers and Challengers are encouraged to work with their sponsors to create customized kits, in their own desired style. Grand Slam Track has no affiliation or sponsorship agreement with any shoe company; all shoe companies are considered to be important stakeholders and partners in the promotion of our racers.

Grand Slam Track has secured more than $30 million in financial commitments from investors and strategic partners for the launch of the league. Winners Alliance, a global, athlete-centric commercial solution and Johnson’s operating partner, was the lead investor in the first fundraising close for the new venture. The investment in the league will aid in Johnson’s ultimate goal: to develop better engagement with fans by promoting track and field’s biggest stars and reaching new audiences with unique, innovative storytelling. Ticket sales information will be released in due course. For further information, please follow @GrandSlamTrack on all social media platforms, and visit grandslamtrack.com.

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to Reflect on Her Memoir, Career, and Speech

The National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) is honored to present a live virtual Q&A with Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday, November 15, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. CST via Zoom. The event will feature a discussion of Justice Jackson's recently published memoir, her storied career, and the role that speech and debate played in shaping her path to the nation's highest court. Hosted by NSDA Executive Director J. Scott Wunn and two-time Informative Speaking national champion Anneteke Adoga, this highly anticipated event is open to all.

In her memoir, Justice Jackson shares her journey from her early years in Miami to her historic role as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. She reflects on her high school speech and debate experience, where she competed in speaking events such as Original Oratory and Humorous Interpretation under the mentorship of her coach, Fran Berger. In 1988, Justice Jackson's performance (found here) took her to the final round of the national competition—a milestone that highlighted her skill in public speaking.

The event is free to attend. To register or learn more, visit NSDA Live Q&A with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

About the National Speech & Debate Association
The National Speech & Debate Association is the authority on public speaking and debate in the United States. The Association builds the infrastructure for speech and debate competitions around the world by providing topics, educational resources, and training for students and coaches. For 100 years, the National Speech & Debate Association has built a platform for youth voices that culminates in the National Tournament, the largest academic competition in the world. For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.