Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa, 92.9 WTUG, Praise 93.3, 105.1 The Block, and the Tuscaloosa Thread are proud to present the 2022 Black History Makers of Alabama supported by Sealy Furniture Outlet, Twelve25 Sports Bar & Entertainment Venue, and Red Oak Credit Union.

The Yellowhammer State is filled with great African American leaders from the past, present, and future. We thank our West Alabama community partners, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, Delta Phi Lambda Chapter, and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Eta Xi Omega Chapter for their continued support.

Pastor Mike McClure Jr is a Black History Maker

“Black History is inspiration motivation and gratitude it gives me the opportunity to see how strong and how powerful and how magical we have been as a people, and it inspires me to make my own black history” - Pastor Mike McClure Jr. 

Birmingham, Alabama native, Pastor Mike McClure, Jr. is a treasure not only to his church family but to the world. He has inspired many people from all walks of life to change their way of thinking and has encouraged them to dream again despite their circumstances. 

He currently resides in the iron city where he proudly and distinctly serves as Senior Pastor of the Rock City Church, which has one of the fastest-growing congregations in the United States. Rock City Church services congregations of over 8 thousand people weekly via online streams and owns the only black-owned fully accredited K-8 Christian School in the state of Alabama.

With deep philanthropic roots, Rock City Church and Pastor Mike Jr. answer the call as “my brother’s keeper", spearheading programs and initiatives to benefit the underprivileged and underserved in inner-city communities. The church annually pays bills for families in need and provides food, shelter, and clothing.

Pastor Mike, Jr. partnered with RIP Medical Debt to pay off nearly $1 Million in medical debt in the city of Birmingham. As well as partnered with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department to provide toys and Christmas items for the children of incarcerated mothers in 2021. 

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Pastor Mike has also been gifted with musical talents, his Live Free album was an immediate success, making its debut atop the Billboard Gospel charts and garnering 2 coveted Stellar Awards in 2020. Billboard crowned his first single “B!G”, the Gospel Airplay song for the year 2020, as it maintained the top spot at Gospel radio for 9 consecutive weeks. “B!G” the inaugural single from LIVE FREE, receives over 1.5 million plays a week on streaming platforms and has been the #1 Most Added Song at Gospel and R&B Radio.

To date "B!G" has received more than 20 million streams. Pastor Mike swept the 2021 Gospel Music award season by winning 3 Stellar Awards, including Artist of the Year at the 36th Annual Stellar Awards, and performed the groundbreaking hit, “Amazing”, a nod to Cee-Lo and Gnarls Barkley. Followed by the release of “I Got It” which won fans across multiple genres, the single made its way to # 1 on the Gospel Charts and #17 on the HipHop radio charts. Pastor Mike Jr. uses his music to continue to promote the word of God and frequently has sold-out concert dates. 

Pastor Mike has also been a featured presenter and was nominated for Male Artist of the Year at the 52nd GMA Dove Awards and headlined the Ronald McDonald House Summer Concert Series alongside Donald Lawrence, JJ Hairston, and CeCe Winans. 

The multitalented star has plans to release a new album in Spring 2022 and a plethora of concert dates and invitations both statewide and abroad. His greatest joy is working in ministry with his wife Jacquetta and their five children, Xander, Michael III, Mason, Makinley, and Myles.

(Source) Press Release sent to Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa.

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LOOK: Here are the biggest HBCUs in America

More than 100 historically Black colleges and universities are designated by the U.S. Department of Education, meeting the definition of a school "established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans."

StudySoup compiled the 20 largest historically Black colleges and universities in the nation, based on 2021 data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. Each HBCU on this list is a four-year institution, and the schools are ranked by the total student enrollment.

 

 

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