Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated is releasing its newly created Anti-Hazing Training Video, the latest component to the organization's Anti-Hazing Training Curriculum. The goals of the Anti-Hazing Training Video are to (1) define hazing, (2) explore the impact of hazing on culture, (3) understand the implications of hazing, (4) understand responsibilities at every level, and (5) begin the process of eliminating hazing.

During 2012 in partnership with the National Action Network, Phi Beta Sigma launched an international Anti-Hazing Awareness Campaign with the sole purpose of eradicating the crippling culture of hazing in America. Joining Phi Beta Sigma as Coalition Partners are U. S.  Congress Representative Frederica Wilson, (D-FL) and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.Expressing Phi Beta Sigma's commitment to this initiative, President Jimmy Hammock states, "This training video is another example of our commitment to ending the culture of hazing. The video allows viewers to become educated and equipped to join us in this cause.  I encourage everyone to download the entire curriculum and become fully equipped to make a difference in our communities."

Jonathan A. Mason, Sr., International First Vice President and Task Force Chairman shares "We are determined to kill the culture of hazing. This video is a step-by-step presentation of key areas with regard to hazing, developed for the purpose of educating our members, students, children and communities about hazing. We're also thankful for our fellow Greek-lettered organizations and institutions who are standing with us in support of this initiative."

You will be able to log onto www.phibetasigma.org and download the Anti-Hazing Training Video. You can also click on the link above and view the video now.

Although their team did not make it to the NCAA championship game, K-State students watching on Monday night agreed that the battle between Louisville and Michigan was a classic. The Cardinals defeated the Wolverines 82-76.

Pat Robinson, junior in business administration, was part of a group of students who watched the game in the Flint Hills Room of the K-State Student Union while his fraternity Phi Beta Sigma hosted Grocery Bingo.

“It was a great night. Grocery bingo was intense,” Robinson said. “As college students, everyone was excited to win and stock up on groceries. We were playing the game during bingo and it made it hard for people to keep focus. That 12-0 run that Louisville went on during the first half had us all pumped up. We ended bingo at 10 so everyone had to get home as fast as possible, but overall it was a great night.”

Louisville entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed overall and the prohibitive favorite to win the championship, while Michigan seemed to have stumbled into the the tournament after losing in the quarterfinals of the Big 10 tournament.

But that did not stop the Wolverines from making a strong run in the NCAA championship tournament. In one memorable performance, Michigan came back from a 10-point deficit with just over two minutes left to defeat Kansas 87-85 in overtime and advance to the Elite Eight.

While some K-State fans wanted Michigan to win because the team knocked KU out of the tournament, Nick Hisey, freshman in food science, only wanted to see the two teams do their best.

“I didn’t really have a favorite for this game, I just wanted a good game,” Hisey said. “It is safe to say that I got it. [Louisville's] Peyton Siva and coach [Rick] Pitino have built that squad up from the ground, but then to see Tim Hardaway Jr. continuing the legacy of his family for Michigan — it was just an epic game.”

The game had everything a fan could want. Michigan started out on fire before the Louisville Cardinals did as they had done all season and responded with a run of their own. Siva and National Player of the Year Trey Burke, of Michigan, both took over in stretches.

Championship games do not always live up to the hype. Monday night’s title game was different. It featured two teams that played their hearts out, and those who watched witnessed an instant classic.

The Brothers of the South West Region of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc, put on the annual step show, which occurs region to region. The south west region has one of the first conference of the season, and one of the first regional step shows.. Youtube video attached..... Enjoy!!!!!

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised Jackie and her four other children. They were the only black family on their block, and the prejudice they encountered only strengthened their bond. From this humble beginning would grow the first baseball player to break Major League Baseball's color barrier that segregated the sport for more than 50 years.

Growing up in a large, single-parent family, Jackie excelled early at all sports and learned to make his own way in life. At UCLA, Jackie became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. In 1941, he was named to the All-American football team. Due to financial difficulties, he was forced to leave college, and eventually decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. After two years in the army, he had progressed to second lieutenant. Jackie's army career was cut short when he was court-martialed in relation to his objections with incidents of racial discrimination. In the end, Jackie left the Army with an honorable discharge.

In 1945, Jackie played one season in the Negro Baseball League, traveling all over the Midwest with the Kansas City Monarchs. But greater challenges and achievements were in store for him. In 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey approached Jackie about joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Major Leagues had not had an African-American player since 1889, when baseball became segregated. When Jackie first donned a Brooklyn Dodger uniform, he pioneered the integration of professional athletics in America. By breaking the color barrier in baseball, the nation's preeminent sport, he courageously challenged the deeply rooted custom of racial segregation in both the North and the South.

At the end of Robinson's rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he had become National League Rookie of the Year with 12 homers, a league-leading 29 steals, and a .297 average. In 1949, he was selected as the NL's Most Valuable player of the Year and also won the batting title with a .342 average that same year. As a result of his great success, Jackie was eventually inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Jackie married Rachel Isum, a nursing student he met at UCLA, in 1946. As an African-American baseball player, Jackie was on display for the whole country to judge. Rachel and their three children, Jackie Jr., Sharon and David, provided Jackie with the emotional support and sense of purpose essential for bearing the pressure during the early years of baseball.

Jackie Robinson's life and legacy will be remembered as one of the most important in American history. In 1997, the world celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Jackie's breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier. In doing so, we honored the man who stood defiantly against those who would work against racial equality and acknowledged the profound influence of one man's life on the American culture. On the date of Robinson's historic debut, all Major League teams across the nation celebrated this milestone. Also that year, on United States Post Office honored Robinson by making him the subject of a commemorative postage stamp. On Tuesday, April 15 President Bill Clinton paid tribute to Jackie at Shea Stadium in New York in a special ceremony.

The brothers of the Beta Epsilon Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. had a service date for their 2013 Sigma Week celebration. Attached is the video from this event, and it looks to be worth a watch. The Beta Epsilon Chapter is located in the South-Western Region, @ Langston University , in Langston, Oklahoma and was  Chartered May 6th, 1947.

The brothers of the Alpha Beta Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc, got together a step show, a little earlier this year. The Alpha Beta Chapter, was chartered in 1927, and holds the distinction of being the first BGLO established in the state of Mississippi. In a collaborative effort boasting Greek unity, amongst the organizations on the campus, the video contains members of a ton of organizations, including: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, founded Jan 15th, 1908, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated , founded Jan 5th, 1911, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc, founded Nov 17th, 1911, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc, founded Nov 12, 1922, and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. Founded Sept 19th, 1963.

When hundreds of members and supports of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity meet in Las Vegas on April 11 for the first day of their 2013 Leadership Conference, awareness will be brought to a situation rarely addressed in the Black community: sex trafficking.

The San Diego chapter of Phi Beta Sigma has recently partnered with San Diego-based non-profit Nu(me)r.a.l.s. to launch a new campaign, “Gentlemen Don’t John,” pushing men of color to speak about the realities of sex trafficking. “John” is a commonly used term to identify men who solicit prostitutes.

The growing number of Black and African American women sold into sex trafficking made it imperative to spread awareness about this growing epidemic, according to Nu(me)r.a.l.s. Executive Director and Founder Chida R. Warren-Darby. Nearly 40 percent of the girls trafficked in the United States are African American and more than 48 percent of the pimps are Black.

During the first day of the four-day conference, the two organizations will sponsor a town hall meeting on sex trafficking and its impact on the Black community. Panelists include Khalifa King, CEO and founder of Harmonious Solutions, a nonprofit that provides therapy and general counsel to minority communities, and Black sex trafficking survivor and advocate Leah Albright-Bryd.

The event will mark the first time Albright-Bryd has returned to Las Vegas since her friend Bridget, who she coerced into prostitution and sex trafficking, was murdered in the city. Albright-Byrd has since founded an organization, Bridget’s Dream, in her friend’s honor to help rescue young girls from the business.

Warren-Darby said that as she began mentoring girls in the San Diego area, the theme of sex trafficking continuously emerged.

“Trafficking kept coming up and initially I didn’t think it was happening here. When you hear trafficking you think of some place abroad like Taiwan,” said Warren-Darby. “I met a lot of survivors. Kids are being pimped in schools. Families are pimping kids.”

She said she then knew she had to use her organization as a platform to address the growing problem.

During the town hall meeting, Warren-Darby said she hopes to inform Black men about the realities of prostitution and sex trafficking.

“It’s supply and demand. We can’t stop them from soliciting prostitution, but we can hope to bring awareness,” said Warren-Darby.

She said she looks for King to address sex trafficking and prostitution and the Black male psyche during the discussion.

Warren-Darby is critical of the rap culture and its violent and sexually explicit lyrics, which she said create numbness to the seriousness of prostitution and sex trafficking.

“Our music culture plays a big role. Unfortunately there are parts of our culture that promote pimping and gaining status and finances through sex,” said Warren-Darby. “It’s like the Pied Piper. You listen to the beat because it sounds good and it brings a numbness to the issue.”

Warren-Darby’s comments comes on the heels of rapper Rick Ross facing criticism from Black community leaders, social critics and fellow rap and hip-hop artists for his song “U.O.E.N.O,” in which he raps about drugging a woman’s champagne and having sex with her while “she ain’t even know it.”

Ross on April 4 apologized about the lyric on Twitter, stating, “I don’t condone rape. Apologies for the #lyric interpreted as rape. #BOSS.”

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