News Release-August 1, 2011
October 18, 2011
American Idol Winner Ruben Studdard to Perform Half-Time show at the 2011 Commemorative Classic Football Game and Pre-Game Symposium
(Charlotte, NC) – August 1, 2011 – The Commemorative Classic celebrates the contribution of both Livingstone College and Johnson C. Smith University as the first two teams to compete in a black college football game on December 27, 1892. This year the 2-day event will take place in Charlotte, NC November 4-5, 2011.
The 2011 Commemorative Classic Game features “American Idol” winner Ruben Studdard, as halftime performer. Since winning American Idol, Studdard released four studio albums and acquired numerous accolades including the NAACP’s Image Award for Best New Artist, and nominations from The Grammy’s, American Music Awards, BET Awards, and the Soul Train Awards.
The Commemorative Classic agenda for 2011 includes a 2-Day Symposium commencing on Friday, November 4 with speakers and sessions held at the Park Center in Charlotte, NC and continues at The Park on Saturday morning. The event continues on November 5 with an Inspirational Breakfast, additional speakers and sessions and of course, the Game between the rival Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls and the Livingstone College, Blue Bears will be played at 2:00 PM in Charlotte.
Topics to be covered in the 2011 Symposium include: health and wellness, relationship development, leadership development, gang and violence recognition/prevention, and others. The Symposium theme is “Black/Minority Males Taking Flight through Personal Development, Knowledge Sharing and Commitment to Community.”
In 2010, the Commemorative Classic expanded to include a hugely successful 2-Day Symposium with nearly 1,000 high-school and college students along with teachers, parents, practitioners and researchers. The panels and presentations were lively and informative and featured a diverse group of presenters including Dr. Maya Angelou, Stedman Graham and Dr. John H. Jackson, President and CEO of The Schott Foundation.
“The symposium far exceeded our expectations, both in terms of the number of students who attended and the messages they received,” shared Livingstone College President Dr. Jimmy Jenkins. “If we don’t help our young people and teach them what they need to know to excel in school, graduate and assume their rightful place in today’s global society, we will not have lived up to the charge that was mandated by the visionaries who organized that historic game back in 1892,” Jenkins continued. “If we do not help our young people, we will have failed, and neither Dr. Carter nor I accept failure.”
Dr. Ronald Carter, who has served as President of Johnson C. Smith for three years, noted, “We want everyone to understand that what we’re doing now will have a far‐reaching impact on this country. Studies have shown that in year 2020, which is only a decade away, minorities will be the majority of students who are eligible to attend college. We need to ensure we have as many of our students in the educational pipeline as we can so that in the future the country will have highly educated and talented leaders. If we don’t do that, I believe in 2020 and beyond we will experience flashpoints ignited by very disgruntled young people.”
Founded and chartered as Biddle Memorial Institute in 1867, renamed Johnson C. Smith University in 1923; JCSU is a private, four-year, co-educational, liberal arts institution of higher learning with an enrollment of approximately 1,563 students located in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina. JCSU offers active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, international study, faith development, career discovery and community service. Today, Johnson C. Smith University prides itself as Charlotte’s premier independent urban university.
Livingstone College and Hood Theological Seminary were originally founded as Zion Wesley Institute by a group of A.M.E. Zion ministers for the purpose of training ministers in the Cabarrus County town of Concord, North Carolina in 1879. The Rowan County town of Salisbury, just 20 miles northeast of Concord, gave the Trustees a generous donation of $1,000 and an invitation to relocate the school in Salisbury. They accepted both gifts, and the College re‐opened in Salisbury in 1882 on J. M. Gray’s farm called Delta Grove with one building and 40 acres of land. Today, Livingstone College’s new holistic learning approach is designed to deal prepare students to gain maturity and intellectual awareness, and motivation toward learning.
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