Simply Cheris. . .

This is the last year that the CIAA Basketball tournament is contracted to be in Charlotte. Here's my hope, I hope another city comes in and takes the tournament away. Yes, I live in Charlotte. The greatest CIAA school in the world, Johnson C. Smith University, is in Charlotte but the City of Charlotte doesn't deserve this tournament. Over the last nine years, the city has made an average of $50 Million. The CIAA has made $9 Million for the member schools scholarships. That. Is. Not. Right. According to The Charlotte Observer , "Last year, the CIAA rebuffed the city’s request to exclusively negotiate a contract extension. Instead, the association has said it will issue a formal request that all interested cities submit proposals. At stake is one of the city’s biggest tourism events, estimated to generate more than $40 million in economic impact." If the City of Charlotte is making that much money off the league, there is no way in habanero hell that th...

There was  a small crowd in Time Warner Cable Arena Wednesday afternoon as the women's basketball tournament continued. I've always wondered why alumni of the CIAA schools don't support the women's basketball teams. Women's basketball is exciting because many of the women on the floor seem to play harder than the men because they seem to have something to prove. Shaw University's women's basketball team — in my humble opinion—could give any men's team a run for their money. The older alumni is styling on you! The women looking around the vendor booths at the arena today are dressed to kill. Even though it's balmy 55 degrees today, one Livingstone alumnae I saw still wore her blue fur head wrap. That's style commitment. Shaw advanced to the semi-finals with a victory over St. Augustine's. And, most importantly, The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team advances to the semifinals of the 2012 CIAA Tournament with a 75-7...

Nightlife writer and blogger Jarvis Holliday has lived in Charlotte since the CIAA Basketball Tournament set its roots here. So, he know a little something, something about having a good time at the annual event. Check out his tips:

The main party spots in Charlotte during the CIAA are the same venues that have been accused of discriminatory practices in the past. Take the EpiCentre for example; many of the most tweeted about parties of the CIAA will be held at Suite, Howl at The Moon and The North Carolina Music Factory. In local African American circles, it seems that everyone has a story about being mistreated at these venues. The most publicized acted of alleged racism involves Phillip Agnew , a Charlotte man who was arrested last summer at the EpiCentre for a dress code violation. Agnew claims that the incident was racially motivated. When 25-year-old Phillip Agnew was arrested at the Charlotte entertainment complex, The EpiCentre, last summer, he started a movement that brought praise and scorn his way. According to published reports, he was arrested because he wouldn't turn his hat around -- at an outside event. Agnew said his arrest was racially motivated, a complaint about the EpiCentre t...