Sierra Brooks Earns Second Consecutive Big Ten Gymnast of the Year Honor

Senior Sierra Brooks of the University of Michigan women's gymnastics team was named the 2023 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year on Saturday night (March 18), the conference announced following the conclusion of the Big Ten Championships.

The honor is the second of Brooks' career as she also earned the honor in 2022. She is just the third Michigan gymnast to earn the honor twice or more.

Outside of the gym, Brooks is the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is an outstanding student-athlete as a business administration major in the Ross School of Business with a minor in entrepreneurship.

[SOURCE: MGOBLUE]

THE AFRICAN DIASPORA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: March 24 – 26, 2023

The African Diaspora International Film Festival Women’s History Month presents a selection of 10 films centering on women of color from various social backgrounds in the USA, Egypt, Peru, India, Senegal, Puerto Rico and Burkina Faso.

Highlights include:

Ludi by Edson Jean (USA/HAITI).
After a half truth lands her under immense financial pressure, Ludi Alcidor embarks on a frantic scour through Miami's private care-taking world in an increasingly desperate attempt to send money to her family in Haiti.

Ticha Shaher Hona / City Personified by Rasika Agashe (INDIA)
This Mumbai-based story follows Archana, a professional woman leading a routine life who meets confident and vocal house help Kiran. Tragically, Kiran dies in a road accident witnessed by Archana, who is left shattered. This incident changes Archana's perspective and life forever.

Colorism in Latin America: White Like the Moon by Marina Palmier & Angelica by Marisol Gómez-Mouakad (USA / Puerto Rico).
In White Like the Moon, a Mexican-American girl struggles to keep her identity when her mother forces her to bleach her skin. In Angelica, a young Black woman returns to Puerto Rico when her father suffers a stroke, forcing her to confront her strained relationships with family members who judge her for her skin color.

Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun by Sam Pollard (USA)
A documentary about the pioneering novelist and anthropologist who established African American vernacular as an important voice in American literature. This definitive film biography captures her complexity, presenting her as a gifted, flamboyant, and controversial yet fiercely original figure in the American literary canon.
Q&A with writer / producer Kristy Andersen after the screening!

ADIFF Women’s History Month Program will be at Teachers College, Columbia University - 525 W 120th St. Room 408 Zankel. Tickets are $11 and $13. Weekend Pass is $45.
WEB SITE: http://www.NYADIFF.org
For more information about the African Diaspora International Film Festival, to receive links and high resolution images please contact Diarah N’Daw-Spech at (212) 864-1760/ fax (212) 316-6020 or e-mail pr@nyadiff.org.

The African Diaspora International Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE

ADIFF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH COMPLETE LINE-UP

Friday, March 24
7:30pm Ludi by Edson Jean (USA)

Saturday, March 25
1:00pm Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story by Yousry Nasrallah (Egypt)
3:30pm Angels on Diamond Street by Petr Lom (USA)
5:20pm Rosa Chumbe by Jonatan Relayze (Peru)
7:00pm Ticha Shahar Hona (City Personified) by Rasika Agashe (India)

Sunday, March 26
1:00pm Colorism in Latin America: White Like the Moon by
Marina Palmier + Angelica by Marisol Gómez-Mouakad (USA)
3:20pm The Silent Monologue by Charles Van Damme and Khady Sylla
(Senegal/Belgium)
4:30pm An Uncommon Woman by Abdoulaye Dao (Burkina Faso)
6:30pm Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun by Sam Pollard (USA)

The African Diaspora International Film Festival WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH PROGRAM is made possible in part thanks to the support of the following institutions and individuals: ArtMattan Productions; the Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs, Teachers College, Columbia University; the New York City Council in the Arts and WBAI.

ABOUT THE AFRICAN DIASPORA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Established in 1993, the African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) is a Harlem based minority-led not-for profit international film festival that presents, interprets and educates about films that explore the human experience of people of color all over the world in order to inspire imaginations, disrupt stereotypes and help transform attitudes that perpetuate injustice.
The mission of The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) is to expand the traditional views and perceptions of what the Black experience is by showcasing award-winning socially relevant documentary and fiction films about people of color, from Peru to Zimbabwe, from the USA to Belgium and from New Zealand to Jamaica. Visit nyadiff.org for details about the festival.

Dale G. Caldwell Will Be the First Black President of Centennary University in New Jersey

The board of trustees of Centenary University in Hackettstown, New Jersey has unanimously approved the appointment of Dale G. Caldwell as the university’s 15th president. When he takes office on July 1, Dr. Caldwell will be the first African American president of the university, since its founding in 1867.

“I am grateful for the board’s confidence in my ability to lead Centenary at this pivotal time in the university’s history,” Dr. Caldwell said. Citing the university’s strong commitment to the success of its students, he continued, “I look forward to strengthening partnerships between the university and business leaders to grow Centenary’s reputation for scholarship, entrepreneurship, and service.”

Centenary University enrolls just over 1,100 undergraduate students and more than 400 graduate students according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. African Americans make up 9 percent of the undergraduate student body.

Dr. Caldwell is currently executive director of the Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, as well as president of the board of the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey. A resident of New Brunswick, New Jersey, Dr. Caldwell is president of the city’s Board of Education, serving as both an appointed and elected member of the board since 1998.

Dr. Caldwell is a graduate of Princeton University, where he majored in economics. He holds an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in education administration from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

[JBHE]

How Black barbershops are reaching out to at-risk youth in Indianapolis

Amid a violent crime surge in Indianapolis, local Black barbershops are offering safe havens for at-risk youth. Watch the story below:

Bertha Coats Is Missing!

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Police Department is asking for the public's help to find a critically missing 37-year-old woman, Bertha Coats.

Police say Coats was last seen on Saturday, March 18, near 104th and Congress around 5 p.m.

Police describe her as a black woman, 5 feet, 2 inches, 220 pounds with brown eyes and red shoulder-length curly hair. She was last seen wearing "Laffy Taffy" pajama pants and an unknown-colored jacket.

Anyone with information should call the Milwaukee Police Department, Sensitive Crimes Division at 414-935-7405.