In honor of Black History Month, Jackson State University’s Concert Chorale recently performed a spiritual rendition of “Lord, How Come We Here,” which the university presented online in partnership with Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson.

The performance was part of a documentary series called “The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song,” which highlights the role of Black churches as spaces for healing, spiritual reflection and community action, a release from JSU says.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, hosted and wrote the documentary and served as executive producer of the JSU event. Gates' documentary covers 400 years of history and culture of the Black church in America, a release from MPB says.

JSU alum Cherita Brent, an entertainer and comedian, moderated the discussion for the documentary. Panelists included Bishop Ronnie Crudup of New Horizon Church International; Rev. C.J. Rhodes of Mount Helm Baptist Church; Pamela Junior, director of Two Mississippi Museums; and Lannie Spann McBride, music minister, retired educator and composer.

To view the JSU Concert Chorale performance, visit http://www.jsumsnews.com/?p=47503.

JSU to Appear on ESPN's "First Take"

Sports television personality Stephen A. Smith plans to feature Jackson State University in a virtual visit as part of ESPN's "First Take" series on Wednesday, Feb. 24. The event is part of a higher education series during Black History Month in which Smith is showcasing four historically black colleges and universities, including his alma mater, Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.

Every Wednesday in February, Smith has been featuring a different HBCU on the 2-hour show. The series began with WSSU on Feb. 3, then Howard University in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 10 and Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 17.

During JSU's segment, students will ask Smith questions and discuss HBCU pride, a release from JSU says. The university's Sonic Boom of the South marching band is also set to do a performance.

JSU's "First Take" segment will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 24. To watch the segment online, visit https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/59fe7218-3b48-4543-8f24-7bafd3956f03/first-take.

MSU Hosting Public Online Training Sessions

Mississippi State University Libraries recently received a grant from the Governor’s Emergency Education Response Fund to offer free online training programs and resources for educators and students participating in remote learning during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The GEER grant will allow MSU Libraries to provide public training sessions on how to use free online resources available through the Mississippi Alliance for Gaining New Opportunities through the Library Information Access project. MAGNOLIA provides online research databases for publicly funded K-12 schools and public, community college and university libraries in Mississippi, including peer-reviewed journals and curated age-appropriate content not available through public searches.

MSU's public training sessions will all begin at 1 p.m. and will consist of 45 minutes of instruction from MSU faculty librarians and 15-minute question-and-answer segments. The first scheduled public session will begin on Friday, Feb. 19, and the last will take place on Friday, April 30.

To sign up for a public training session, visit https://magnolia.msstate.edu/resources/remote-learning-resources. For more information on MSU Libraries, visit library.msstate.edu. For information on the MAGNOLIA project, visit, magnolia.msstate.edu.