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ASU Head Drum Major Ja’Vonta Price: ‘The Price of Glory Is High’

By Solomon Crenshaw Jr. For The Birmingham Times When he was a child, Ja’Vonta Price was always banging on something: “I pounded on anything that made noise,” said the Birmingham native who is now the head drum major for the Alabama State University (ASU) Mighty Marching Hornets. “We had receptions after church, and I was […]
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1 year ago

October 25, 2023

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Alabama State University Head Drum Major Ja’Vonta Price at ASU Stadium in Montgomery, AL. (Amarr Croskey, For The Birmingham Times)

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By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

For The Birmingham Times

When he was a child, Ja’Vonta Price was always banging on something: “I pounded on anything that made noise,” said the Birmingham native who is now the head drum major for the Alabama State University (ASU) Mighty Marching Hornets.

“We had receptions after church, and I was always the one that stayed [in the sanctuary] and played on the drums,” he added.

Those drums would eventually lead Price to become a field general at ASU, said his family.

“At a young age, he would get a stick, probably a broomstick, and just march,” recalled his mother, LaJeana Boyd, who played flute, clarinet, and trumpet at Birmingham’s Bush Middle School. “Or he would beat. He was interested in drum first, so he would beat on a bed, beat on anything he’d see or come in contact with.”

Around the ninth grade, Price made it clear that his dream was to be a drum major.

“He went from beating the sticks to actually marching with his stick and flipping it and all that,” his mother remembered. “He was saying he wanted to be the drum major, and not just a regular drum major—he said he wanted to be the head drum major at [ASU]. That was always his college choice. Nowhere else. [ASU].”

On Saturday, October 28, Price and the ASU Mighty Marching Hornets will take the field at Birmingham’s Legion Field for the Magic City Classic, the largest historically Black college and university (HBCU) football game in the nation, which matches the ASU Hornets against the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU) Bulldogs.

Click to view slideshow.

“A” Game

“It’s actually a blessing to be part of it,” Price said of the Classic. “By me being from Birmingham, it’s one of the best things to be part of. The [Classic] is what made me want to be in band, to be a part of a college band program. To be able to march during the parade, during the game is really fantastic.”

This will be the senior recreational therapy major’s fifth—and final—Magic City Classic. “I wish I could do it forever,” the 24-year-old said. “It’s good to be part of it. You have to be on your ‘A’ game because you have thousands of people watching.”

Those watching eyes spur the drum majors and the rest of the band to think more about what they’ll do the week before the game. “We try to go in detail and try to make it different because that’s the biggest game of the year,” Price said.

Despite the magnitude of the Classic, the ASU Mighty Marching Hornets aren’t focused on outdoing the AAMU Marching Maroon and White Show Band of the South—they’re just doing what they do best.

“Most times when you try to outperform somebody, you mess up because you’re too worried about them,” Price said. “We just try to do our own thing and be unique, keeping it Bama State style.”

“All I Ever Knew”

Back when he was pounding on anything he could get his hands on, Price somehow knew he would be in a band.

At his grandmother’s house, he recalled, “I used to get pots out of the cabinet and just play beats on them. My grandma used to always tell me, ‘Make sure you put my pans back up, boy, when you’re though making your beats.’”

“I was always that kid that loved the band,” said Price, adding that he would always have a pair of sticks with him in the car. “Even when music came on, I used to [pretend to] beat the drums in the car. Drumming has always been my go-to thing in life, the thing that kept me sane in life. I’ve been doing things dealing with band, been doing that for the longest. Once I got to college, it really wasn’t new because it’s all I ever knew.”

Price had two extracurricular activities as a student at Center Point High School: he played basketball, and he played in the band. But music was his love. He started by playing the tenor drum and expanded his interest to three types of drums during his four-year career.

At ASU, Price is the head drum major among five who lead the band; the others are fellow seniors Justin Heidemen, Kenneth Richardson, Kamran Shabazz, and Marcus Edison.

Time management is a key to Price balancing his responsibilities as head drum major with his academics.

“I have to do my internship, [40 minutes away in Hayneville, Alabama], from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,” he said. “[Afterward], I may take a nap or do a little studying. At 6 p.m., it’s time for band practice to start. Then you wake up the next morning and do it all over again.

“You really have to successfully prepare. If you don’t, things will slip up on you.”

The Field Commander

Price dismissed the notion that a drum major need only be able to dance and step high.

“He or she is a good leader and can do well under pressure, multitasking, basically being an extension of the band director while they’re not present,” he said.

“You have to be somebody that’s not afraid to stand up and be the person that sticks out,” Price continued. “You have to do the right things. You have to be on time. You have to do stuff differently than everybody else because everybody else is looking for you. They’re not looking at the band, they’re looking at you because you’re the field commander. You’re a person that’s supposed to do exactly what you’re supposed to do.”

Showmanship and creativity are part of the formula, as is an ability to dance: “But it’s not the majority part of what you have to do to be drum major,” said Price.

“That’s everything I try to preach every time I come across a high school drum major,” added the Center Point High alum. “[I tell them], ‘Make sure you can lead, make sure you want to be the different person in the band, if you want to be the leader. Just do the best you can, even though there’s a lot of stuff going on. You’ve got to be on your best game each time you go out and perform or practice. You’ve got to be a good example of a bandsman.’”

Each night when the ASU band completes practice, band members repeat their motto: The price of glory is high.

“You have to pay the price before you get the fame,” Price said. “People don’t really see what we do behind the scenes. We practice late. We practice hard. We stay up. We make sure we get our work done.”

“We don’t slack off,” he continued. “Any time you slack off, that’s a chance for people to say Bama State is slipping. When we say, ‘The price of glory is high,’ that means we’re giving our all, 100 percent. Every time we touch the field, every time we touch the stands, every time we put on a uniform, every time we come to practice, we’re giving our all because you never know when it’s gonna be your last time.”

The 82nd Magic City Classic between Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University and Alabama State University will take place on Saturday, October 28, at Birmingham’s Legion Field. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. Central Time.

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

The post ASU Head Drum Major Ja’Vonta Price: ‘The Price of Glory Is High’ first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn, Pressley, Scanlon, Colleagues Urge Biden to Use Clemency Power to Address Mass Incarceration Before Leaving Office

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country.

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Read the letter here.

Watch the press conference here.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.

The lawmakers hosted a press conference earlier today to discuss the letter. A full video of their press conference is available here and photos are available here.

“Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “The grant of pardons and commutations and the restoration of rights will undoubtedly send a powerful message across the country in support of fundamental fairness and furthering meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Mass incarceration remains a persistent, systemic injustice that erodes the soul of America. Our nation has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with nearly two million people locked in jails and prisons throughout the country. The extreme use of incarceration has resulted in one in two adults having had an incarcerated family member. People of color are disproportionately put behind bars, along with individuals from low-income communities, LGBTQIA+ folks, and those with disabilities. The bloated prison system reflects and emboldens biases that undermine the ideals of our nation and diminish trust in the rule of law. Mass incarceration attacks the most vulnerable Americans, thereby destabilizing families and inflicting intergenerational trauma.

In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the President’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning people convicted of simple marijuana possession and LGBTQ+ former servicemembers and urged the President to use his clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers. The lawmakers also outlined the fiscal toll of the growing mass incarceration crisis.

“You have the support of millions of people across the country who have felt the harms of mass incarceration: young children longing to hug their grandparents, people who have taken responsibility for their mistakes, and those who simply were never given a fair chance,” the lawmakers wrote. “These are the people seeking help that only you can provide through the use of your presidential clemency power.”

Joining Representatives Clyburn, Pressley, and Scanlon in sending the letter are Representatives Joyce Beatty, Sanford Bishop, Shontel Brown, Cori Bush, André Carson, Troy Carter, Yvette Clarke, Jasmine Crockett, Valerie Foushee, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Steven Horsford, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Henry Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Summer Lee, Jennifer McClellan, Gregory Meeks, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Marilyn Strickland, Bennie Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The lawmakers’ letter is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union; Center for Popular Democracy; Last Prisoner Project; Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Death Penalty Action; The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls; The Faith Leaders of Color Coalition; Second Chance Justice of MCAN; JustLeadershipUSA; FAMM; The Episcopal Church; The Bambi Fund; Free Billie Allen Campaign; People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom; Prophetic Resistance Boston; and Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

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Tennessee State University Set to Debut the First Division I Hockey Team at An HBCU

THE AFRO — “I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Duanté Abercrombie, the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team, in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

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By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com

Tennessee State University (TSU) continues to break ground on a historic journey to become the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to field a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey team. Alongside some assistance from the National Hockey League (NHL), the NHL Players’ Association and the Nashville Predators, the TSU Tigers have already named their official head coach, unveiled their jersey and received their first official commitment from a student-athlete.

TSU held an official press conference to announce the plan in June 2023. Their first official season as a sanctioned Division I program is planned to commence in 2025-26. On April 18, TSU named Duanté Abercrombie as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers ice hockey team.

“I am incredibly excited to embark on building this program, supported by God, my family, TSU students, alumni, and all those eagerly awaiting this moment,” said Abercrombie in a press release courtesy of TSU Athletics. “I firmly believe that one day, TSU will be recognized not only as a powerhouse on the ice but also as a program whose student-athletes leave a profound legacy on the world, enriched by the lessons learned at TSU.”

Abercrombie was raised in Washington, D.C., and was mentored by hockey legend Neal Henderson, the first Black man to be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Abercrombie attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Hampton University, where he was a track and field athlete prior to retiring due to an injury. After college, Abercrombie briefly played professional hockey in both the New Zealand Ice Hockey League as well as the Federal Hockey League.

After his career as a professional hockey player, Abercrombie moved onto coaching, including stints with his alma mater Gonzaga and Georgetown Preparatory School. In 2022-23, Abercrombie was a member of the coaching staff for NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

“We are no longer doing club play in 2024-25. We are going right into D1 play for 2025-26,” Nick Guerriero told the AFRO. Guerriero is the assistant athletic director of communications and creative content at Tennessee State.

On Jan. 19, TSU got their first official commitment from an ice hockey recruit, Xavier Abel. Abel played at Drury University and scored 12 goals in 34 games, including three game-winning goals. Abel was recruited by Guerriero.

In July, the Tigers got their second commitment from forward Trey Fechko. In October, Trey’s brother Marcus Fechko also committed to Tennessee State. Since, the Tigers have also signed forward Greye Rampton, goaltender Johnny Hicks, Grady Hoffman and four-star forward Bowden Singleton. Singleton flipped his commitment from North Dakota to Tennessee State. Guerriero said that TSU has a “few” other recruits that they are waiting to announce during their November signing period.

“I think it’s important to invest in these unorthodox sports for Black athletes because it allows Black children to have more opportunities to play sports in general,” said Zion Williams, a 2024 Gettysburg College graduate and former collegiate athlete. “The more opportunities that children have, the better. They won’t feel like they are boxed into one thing or sport.”

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HBCU Champions Advance to Postseason Play

WASHINGTON INFORMER — From HBCU football teams, to the University of the District of Columbia’s soccer program, and Howard University’s volleyball players, athletes are still working to capture titles and garner bragging rights in their various conferences.

Published

2 days ago

November 21, 2024

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By Ed Hill | The Washington Informer

As the semester quickly winds down, several teams at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are hoping to find success in the postseason.

From HBCU football teams, to the University of the District of Columbia’s soccer program, and Howard University’s volleyball players, athletes are still working to capture titles and garner bragging rights in their various conferences.

South Carolina State proved all the prognosticators wrong by winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season title after being picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll.

As a result of their success, defeating the Morgan State Bears 54-7 on Nov. 16, the South Carolina Bulldogs now qualify for the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Dec. 14 in Atlanta, kicking off at noon and streaming on ABC.

However, another game between Jackson State and Southern University must happen a week before the big matchup in Atlanta, before the Bulldogs (8-2, 4-0 MEAC) know who they’ll be going against.

The Bulldogs, who have one game remaining on the schedule against Delaware State on Saturday, Nov. 23, will square off against the winner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) title game between Jackson State and Southern University on Dec. 7.

The Southern Jaguars (7-4, 6-1 SWAC) won the West Division, while the Jackson State Tigers (9-2, 7-0 SWAC) captured the East Division and the two will now meet up on Jackson, Mississippi at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, kicking off at 1 p.m. and streaming on ESPN2.

In the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championship game, it was Virginia Union University that defeated rival Virginia State 21-17 for the title in Salem, Virginia, on Nov. 16.

Virginia Union University celebrates after defeating Virginia State University, and winning the regular season CIAA title in Salem, Virginia, on Nov. 16. (Courtesy photo)

It was the Virginia Union University Panthers’ second straight CIAA title, avenging a 35-28 loss to the Virginia State University Trojans on Nov. 9. The Panthers (8-3 overall, 6-1 in the CIAA) got an effort of 178 yards rushing on 32 carries and a touchdown from Jodo Byers.

Virginia Union will open the playoffs with a road game at Wingate in Wingate, North Carolina on Nov. 23, with kickoff at 1 p.m.

In the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAC) championship, it was Miles College (9-2) overwhelming Clark Atlanta (7-3), 53-25 in the title game. The Miles College Golden Bears piled up over 430 yards of total offense, giving them a NCAA Division 2 bid as they host Carson-Newman on Nov. 23 at 11 a.m.

Miles boasts one of the top defenses in the country in Division 2, having forced 33 turnovers.

University of the District of Columbia Soccer Team Defeats Molloy

In men’s soccer, the University of the District of Columbia defeated Molloy University in the East Coast Conference (ECC) championships final on Nov. 17.

The University of the District of Columbia men’s soccer team celebrates after winning the East Coast Conference championship game on Nov. 17 (Courtesy photo)

Mustafa Tahir scored the game-winning goal in the 100th minute. It was Tahir’s third game winner of the season.

The Firebirds (8-7-4, 3-4-1 in the ECC) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division 2 tournament against the No. 7 seed Post University. on Friday, Nov. 22. UDC enters the game on a four-game win streak.

Howard University Volleyball Dominating in the MEAC

Howard University is one of the hottest women’s college volleyball teams.

Howard University’s volleyball team has been on fire at 21-5 overall and undefeated in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. (Courtesy photo)

The Bison (21-5 overall, 14-0 MEAC) went undefeated in league play and are on a current 15-game game win streak headed into Friday’s tournament in Dover, Delaware.

The final is scheduled for Sunday at 8:30 pm on ESPNU.

Howard is the top seed, and they will be looking to capture their sixth tournament title and NCAA bid in the past nine years.

The Bison boast one of the top players in the country in junior outside hitter Rya McKinnon, who is headed for an unprecedented third straight Player of the Year honor.