FBG Spotlight: PROPEL Conference in Atlanta, GA

Here at FABULOUS BROWN GIRL, our mission is knowing that being fabulous means doing so much more. For the past two months or so we have been a part of the planning steering

committee for the PROPEL Conference, a free conference hosted by the Community Council

of Metropolitan Atlanta for young black men here in Atlanta, GA. The conference's mission was to Provide Resources, Opportunities and Priorities to Empower Lives for over 250 young black men.

The conference was packed full of young men eager to learn about resources that are available to help them.


Some notable speakers who spoke were the President of Clark Atlanta University, Dr, Carlton E. Brown, the Chairman of 100 Black Men, Thomas W. Dortch, Jr., Michael Rhodes, Entrepreneurship Program Director at Atlanta's Urban League Chapter.

PROPEL's Steering Planning Committee was a group of recent Howard University Alumni who worked diligently and hard to make sure every aspect of the event was a success. The Steering Chairwoman was Brittany Slaughter who worked alongside with the Bukola Ekudayo, Janelle Jolley, Nandi Murphy, Simone Walls, Dominique Witter, and myself, Christine Idokogi.

Boxed Lunches for the PROPEL conference attendees

Thank you to all those that donated to make the conference a complete success!

Violence on College Campuses IS Unacceptable: RIP JASMINE LYNN

Our parents didnt save and send us to college to go through this...

Being that President Obama just declared this week (August 30th to September 5th, 2009) National HBCU Week, it is unfortunate that a Spelman student was shot and killed by a stray bullet last night.

According to Kansas City newspaper, Jasmine Lynn,19, was from Kansas City, and was fatally shot and killed on Clark Atlanta University's campus approximately around 12:30 am.

Even though this was technically a college campus, I am going to go ahead and say that I am pretty sure the people who participated in the violent acts were not college students. It is sad that a lot of HBCUs are located in areas where a lot of senseless violence takes place. Even though you can not possibly protect yourself fully from the violence that may occur anywhere you go, it is sad to think that you have to be scared of your surroundings when living on a college campus.

Picture of Jamie Lynn, Spelman student killed by fatal shooting

Having once lived on a campus that was in the middle of an urban and gritty area, I can say that I tried my best to be precautious, but sometimes you just have to live your life and pray that nothing bad happens to you. I personally know of several people who got robbed at gunpoint (male and female) as well as people who barely escaped with their life by being in the wrong place at the wronng.. It is not a game. It is only by God's grace that I never had anything happen to me. So I am praying for Jasmine Lynn's family and everyone who is just trying to get their education and do better with their lives. This is not what our parents sent us to college to deal with. It is truly unfortunate.