3,000 HBCU students unite to end sexual violence
Eight HBCUs host ending violence against women events
WASHINGTON, D.C.—On April 27, 2011 over 3,500 students at eight (8) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)—Clark Atlanta University, Coppin State University, Howard University, Lemoyne-Owen College, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University and Prairie View A&M University—will participate in the 3rd Denim Day at HBCUs. The HBCU movement for Denim Day is organized by Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW): The HBCU Project, an initiative funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health and The Wright Group.
The Wright Group and EVAW are sponsors of Denim Day in USA 2011. Denim Day is a project of Peace Over Violence—a non-profit, feminist, multicultural, volunteer organization dedicated to building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence. Denim Day was launched in 1999, in protest of an Italian High Court ruling that overturned a rape conviction because the victim was wearing "tight" jeans.
"Today there is a movement of African American students who visibly stand united as one HBCU campus for Denim Day, recognizing their role as champions for survivors in eliminating shame, stigma and blame—one fellow student at a time," said Amelia Cobb, Director of Ending Violence Against Women.
In April 2010, over 2,000 students on six HBCU campuses participated in Denim Day at HBCUs and signed the No Violence Against Women (NO VAW) Pledge which included celebrity e-card messaging from Howard University alumnae, Wendy Raquel Robinson and Malaak Compton-Rock; and radio personality, Olivia Fox.
This week 3,500 students have signed-up to join the movement this year by wearing jeans and a Denim Day at HBCUs T-Shirt as a visible sign to support ending sexual violence on college campuses.
For more information on ways to sign the NO VAW Pledge as public support for ending sexual violence against women on HBCU campuses nationwide, visit www.hbcuendingviolence.com.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Blue jeans will be the style of the day today as Southland residents take part in Denim Day in L.A. and the rest of the USA, a campaign to raise awareness about rape and sexual violence.
The group Peace Over Violence started Denim Day in Los Angeles and across the United States in 1999 when an Italian court overturned a rape conviction partially because the victim was wearing tight jeans—something the justices reasoned the suspect couldn't have removed without the victim's help.
The shooting death of unarmed, 17-year-old Florida resident Trayvon Martin allegedly by neighborhood block captain George Zimmerman, and the subsequent inactions of law enforcement officials in Sanford, Fla., about investigating the case, have had a profound impact on America.
There is a new network on the air, Bounce TV. We’re not able to get it in Los Angeles just yet, but there is no stopping the movers and shakers who put this business venture together.
Bounce TV is the first African American broadcast network, featuring a programming mix of theatrical motion pictures, sporting events, documentaries, specials, inspirational faith-based programs, off-network series, original programming and more.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles Police Department's backlog of untested DNA rape kits, numbering more than 6,000 two years ago, has been eliminated, city officials said today.
"It was 2.5 years ago in this very room that we vowed to investigate every piece of evidence, follow every lead, exhaust every possible avenue that can lead to a prosecution of each open rape case,'' Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. "Today we can announce ... the historical backlog of sexual assault evidence kits has been eliminated.''
Five years after the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina a large percentage of residents are back to living life as they knew it before, but many more continue struggling to get back on their feet and are still looking for help wherever they can get it.
Some neighborhoods can luckily say they received that help partially because of the dedication of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the area.
