On Sept. 20, the CDC, Dillard University and Langston Hughes Academy kicked off the “From Seed to Table” program in the greenhouse on Dillard’s campus. The partnership will bring Langston Hughes Academy (LHA) elementary students to Dillard’s campus once a week to garden and learn about biology, nutrition and agriculture. The students are each paired with a Dillard biology student (their “Botany Buddy”), who will serve not only as a teacher and gardening guide, but also as a role model and friend.

“I love the mentorship aspect of the program,” said Amy Zellweger, garden educator at LHA. “Pairing our kids with Dillard students gives them the idea that, ‘Hey, I can go to college too.’”

Students will grow root crops, such as carrots and beets; lettuces, including spinach and mesclun; and brassicas, like cauliflower, broccoli and kale. After sprouting in the temperature-controlled environment of Dillard’s greenhouse, the crops will be replanted down the street in LHA’s Dreamkeeper Garden.

Much of the food will be donated to families at LHA, which is part of the Firstline Schools charter school network. Some crops will be sold at the Sankofa Farmers’ Market in New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward, an element of the program that teaches entrepreneurship. Thus, “From Seed to Table” will help combat the food dessert that exists in parts of the city where fresh produce is difficult to find. The program was made available with the help of a grant written by the CDC.

“We’re going to work with all the students to see if their attitudes and knowledge about vegetables and healthy eating improve over the semester,” said Dr. Amy Lesen, biology professor at Dillard. “They’re going to see their vegetables actually grow, and we’re all going to eat our food together. So it’s a real seed-to-table, healthy eating, urban gardening project.”

The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University is offering a unique training experience for interested students. Free training in Disaster Response will be available over a 12 week period for those interested in learning new skills and looking for potential job opportunities in this field, in which minorities are vastly under represented. Stipends, lunch and bus tokens will be provided for attendees.

Download the flyer here...

For more information on the training sessions, please contact:

Mary I. Williams, M.Ed

Assistant Director for Community Relations and Student Engagement

email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Phone: 504-816-4028

The debate over whether hip hop music negatively influences youth today continues. In an upcoming discussion forum at Dillard University (DU), men and women will share their insights into how this musical genre portrays women. Dillard University will host “Does Hip-Hop Hate Women? A Conversation About Sex, Love and Gender Politics in Today’s Pop Culture” on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Georges Auditorium of the Professional Schools Building. Taking place in a town-hall-style meeting, the gathering will be conducted by leading hip-hop intellectuals. However, everyone is invited to attend and to participate in the free event.

Panelists will include: Bakari Kitwana, author of “The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture”; Joan Morgan, author of “When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life as a Hip Hop Feminist”; Mark Anthony Neal, professor of African and African American studies at Duke University; Treva Lindsey, assistant professor of women’s and gender studies at the University of Missouri; Marc Lamont Hill, host of the show “Our World with Black Enterprise”; and Akiba Solomon, a journalist with the news website Color Lines. Kevin Griffin of the New Orleans collective 2-Cent Entertainment will preside.

“It’s important that we consistently engage in dialogue about the ways women and men are portrayed in our society,” said event organizer Michael Wilson, an instructor of African world studies at Dillard University. “And by using hip-hop as the vehicle to drive this discussion, students will be able to directly and critically think about visual literacy, identity, black masculinity, homophobia, perceptions of women, and how they overlap in media and public policy debates.”

The event is part of a series called “Rap Sessions: Community Dialogues on Hip-Hop” that has been held at Brown University, Harvard Law School, the University of Chicago and other schools. The panel aims to examine the tensions and animosities between young men and women that some hip-hop music exacerbates, and to present youth with viable strategies they can implement in their personal lives and organizations.

The Department of African World Studies and the Office of the President at Dillard University are sponsoring the event, along with Rap Sessions and 2-Cent Entertainment. A reception with refreshments will follow the discussion.

On Wednesday, September 12 2012, at 12 noon, Dillard University's VisionQuest will begin its "Message in the Middle" series once again. This month's speaker, William Emmanuel Hall, hails from Chicago, IL and promises to deliver a powerful message for youth of today.

William Emmanuel Hall is a man who loves all people, and is dedicated to serving those in need. Growing up on the Southside of Chicago, Halll has witnessed the frustrations of ordinary people trying to make progress. Since the age of four, William has lived out his commitment to uplifting, defending, restoring the poor and the truth.

Hearing the cries of mothers as they bury their children, while feeling the pain of poor kids of color, led Hall to take one year away from his studies to start “CommuniGize”. CommuniGize is a means to solve problems facing our next generation of leaders. William has spent ample time serving the next generation of leaders as a teacher, pastor, mentor, and big brother. He has also started the "Acts of Love" campaign giving books to school age children across the country teaching them the value of education and the value of a gift.

Hall wants to help youth all across the world. He desires to establish wells of resources to replenish the hearts and minds of empty youth. In 2007, William completed his BA in Economics from DePaul University, in addition to a minor in religious studies, and has completed a Masters of Divinity at McCormick Theological Seminary. He has worked in both parish ministry and campus ministry. He currently is on staff at Apostolic Church of God and lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Just as the good book says, Hall strongly believes everyday, if he can just help somebody, then his living is not in vain.