Sharing is Caring: 6 FAMU students to cover FIFA world cup from South Africa

Source: famu.edu

Six Florida A&M University (FAMU) journalism and graphic communication students will join students from Shantou University in Guangdong Province, China in Johannesburg, Africa where they will produce daily multimedia stories about the 2010 FIFA World Cup of Soccer and its impact on life in South Africa.


“I’m pretty sure what we’re doing is unprecedented for a journalism program at a historically black university,” said Joe Ritchie, the Knight Chair in journalism at FAMU. “Few journalism students anywhere get to do a foreign reporting internship of any kind and to be at one of the biggest events on the planet is a huge deal.”

The students will be responsible for posting stories with video, audio and text as well as blogs, photo galleries and podcasts covering a range of topics related to the World Cup as well as to general social, economic and political issues about South Africa. Individuals can view their daily reports at http://www.famustu.net.

More after the jump.

Gifts for Grads

Its that time of the year again-celebrating our grads. Hold up, its May already? Oh my! For the past few weeks I've been searching for the perfect gift for my favorite grad. I hit snag after snag because I realized I was shopping for a person who has everything (or so I thought). When shopping for a gift I try to picture the moment when the recipient opens the gift to uncover a perfect little treasure courtesy of yours truly. On top of that I'm always apprehensive about whether they will like my gift or pretend to like it to spare my feelings. My goal is to chose a gift that they genuinely like and will continue to treasure for eyars to come. Since I anticipate some of you may need ideas for a grad *cough* *cough* [May 14, 2011], here are a few great ideas I came across in my quest for the perfect grad gift.

1.Personalized gifts. Personalized gifts are great for any occassion and graduation is no exception. Whether your grad is finishing pre-school or getting their Ph.D a personalized gift is a great way to show you went the extra mile in thinking of their gift. Places like personalizationmall.com or Things Remembered offer great gifts with the added touch of personalization. Among the things you can choose to personalize is clothing, plaques, jewelry, mugs, cups, bath robes and much more.


Click here for a list of the best selling personalized grad gifts.

2. Electronics. Although ipods, ipads, macbooks, iphones and everything else Apple sells gets most of the press about electronics dont believe the hype, there are other amazing electronics. For starters, your grad may appreciate a Kindle from Amazon which gives them the freedom to download books in 60 seconds or less.  Also, a new smart phone could be in order. It will help your grad become more organized and many of them have useful apps that make your life much easier. Smart phones are less bulky than a planner and you can back the information up on your computer.You may also choose to give your grad a video game. The nintendo wii is a great option as is a PS3. They provide a family friendly option to relase steam and have fun while doing so.


3. A Book (or 2 or 3). After years of studying and reading books for school work, it would be a pleasant surprise to get a book your grad can read for leisure. You may choose to get a how-to book or a cook book. or an urban fiction book. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a good read as well as Caught Between a Dream and a Job and Millionaire Mindset (google them). Please take Sistah Soulja's books off of your list of favorite books and expand your library. You may also choose to recommend a book club to your grad so they may resist the urge to become a total couch potatoe throughout the summer. Reading is fundamental.

4. A vacation. There is nothing like a nice getaway to really let your hair down and kick your feet up after you've reached a milestone. Especially if you're doing it on someone else's dime. Whether your grad is 10 or 30 they will both appreciate a getaway all the same. Vacations can be as unique as your fingerprint so you have the opportunity to make the gift personal to your grad. You may choose to send them to their favorite tropical destination or their favorite hotel for a few days or on a rock climbing adventure. For an added bonus, you may get together with the parents of your grad's friends and send them off with a few friends. If you choose this option try to keep it as simple as possible. Be sure to line up lodging, transportation to and from the destination in advance to ensure your grad's vacay is a success!


5. Benjamins! *Queue the music* "Its all about the Benjamins baby!" Ok enough of that. If you can't decide on what to buy, there's nothing like handing your favorite grad a few Benjamins! Give your grad money and allow them to spend it themselves. Whether they choose to invest or splurge it but there is nothing like several crisp $100 bills in your hands.



What say you people of HUSL Today? This list is by no means exhaustive so share what you will get your grad? What is the best graduation gift you've received?

Queen Latifah & Common are Champions

Check out footage from Common and Queen Latifa's surprise for the PS22 Youth Choir The two Just Wright stars performed Champion and delivered inspirational words as well.There are crazy screams around the :11 mark so prepare your ears as the kids were understandably excited. Kudos to Queen Latifah and Common for taking time out to surprise those amazing kiddies.



JustWright debuts in theatres May 14. Will you be watching?

Be a Champion Young Professional!

Out the door...inspirational quote to start your day

Good morning friends! Happy Monday! Today is a special day so I decided to extend your daily quote and share my favorite poem with my friends. I hope it helps you triumph over your tough times.

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow

-Langston Hughes

This is one of my favorite poems by Hughes and it has inspired me since I first read it years ago. Your dreams can change your life. Hold fast to your dreams my friends and remain motivated by them. Find personal meaning in these words and use them to uplift you.


Sidenote: HUSL Today congratulates the New Orleans Saints on their victory in the 44th Superbowl and their first ever Superbowl victory! Way to go Saints!

On THIS date in Black History

1810 - The Argentine national hero from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Antonio Ruiz (El Negro Falucho), joins the ancestors, fighting for his country.

1855 - The Wisconsin Supreme Court declares that the United States Fugitive Slave Law is unconstitutional.

1870- Congress ratifies the 15^th Amendment. The amendment granted black men the RIGHT TO VOTE.

1874 - Blanche Kelso Bruce is elected to the United States Senate from Mississippi. He will be the first African American senator to serve a full term and the first to preside over the Senate during a debate.

1879 - Charles Follis is born in Wooster, Ohio. He is the first African American professional football player in the United States reported by the press. He played for a professional team known as the Shelby Blues, in Shelby, Ohio. He played from 1904-1906 and retired due to injuries.

Editor's note: In 1972, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will discover proof that William (Pudge) Heffelfinger, a Yale All-American, played one game for $ 500, for the Allegheny Athletic Association in 1892, making him the actual 'first' to play football for pay. Follis will join the ancestors in 1910 after succumbing to pneumonia.

1935 - Johnny "Guitar" Watson is born in Houston. Texas. He will become a guitarist and singer known for his wild style of guitar playing and the sound which merged Blues Music with touches of Rhythm & Blues and Funk. He died of a heart attack on May 17, 1996.

1938 - Emile Griffith is born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. He won the Golden Gloves title and turned professional in 1958. In his career, he met 10 world champions and box 339 title-fight rounds, more than any other fighter in history. He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the distinction of being the third fighter in history to hold both the welterweight and middleweight titles.

1938 - Elijah Pitts is born in Mayflower, Arkansas. He will become a professional football player with the Green Bay Packers. A major contributor as a running back, he will help his team win Super Bowl I. He will spend nine years with the Green Bay Packers during their championship years under Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi. The Packers will win four NFL championships and two Super Bowls during his career. He returned to the Super Bowl thirty years later as a running back coach with the Buffalo Bills. He died on July 10, 1998 after succumbing to abdominal cancer.

1939 - The Baltimore Museum of Art exhibit, "Contemporary Negro Art," opens. The exhibit, which ran for 16 days, featured works by Richmond Barthe, Aaron Douglas, Archibald Motley, Jr., and Jacob Lawrence's Toussaint L'Ouverture series.

1947 - Percival Prattis of "Our World" in New York City, becomes the first African American news correspondent admitted to the House and Senate press galleries in Washington, DC.

1948 - Laura Wheeler Waring, portrait painter and illustrator, died. Trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, she received the Harmon Award in 1927 for achievement in the fine arts and, with Betsey Graves Reyneau, completed a set of 24 renderings of their works entitled "Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origins" for the Harmon Foundation in the 1940's.

1948 - Rosa Ingram and her fourteen and sixteen-year-old sons are condemned to death for the alleged murder of a white Georgian. Mrs. Ingram asserted that she acted in self-defense.

1964 - School officials report that 464,000 Black and Puerto Rican students boycotted New York City public schools.

1965- Geraldine McCullough wins Widener Gold Medal for Sculpture

1980 - Muhammad Ali starts tour of Africa as President Jimmy Carter's envoy.

1981 - The Air Force Academy drops its ban on applicants with sickle-cell trait. The ban was considered by many a means of discriminating against African Americans.

1984 - A sellout crowd of 18,210 at Madison Square Garden in New York City sees Carl Lewis best his own world record in the long jump by 9-1/4 inches.

1989 - Former St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman, Bill White becomes the first African American to head an American professional sports league when he was named to succeed A. Bartlett Giamatti as National League president.

1993 - The federal trial of four police officers charged with civil rights violations in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, began in Los Angeles.

1993 - Marge Schott is suspended as Cincinnati Reds owner for one year for her repeated use of racial and ethnic slurs.

As always, I know this list is not exhaustive, feel free to share your knowledge about what happened on THIS day in black history.

HUSL Today's 100th post!!!!

This is HUSL Today's 100th post and its a cause for celebration!

Celebrating our 100th post!

Thank you all for your support and readership. You are appreciated!

How do you think I am doing so far? What am I doing right? What could I improve upon? I am open to all constructive criticism.

Consider the comment section your platform my friends!