Lisa Olivia Fitch
OW Contributor
Mar 24 2011

Author contends legal system is most pressing racial issue

We’ve all heard the sad statistics before and wondered about the future of our community; with so many men and women incarcerated. For years, conspiracy theorists have pointed to the same statistics and claimed that people of color are purposefully targeted and how the prison system is akin to the old Jim Crow system.

“For a long time I resisted the comparison,” author Michelle Alexander said. “I thought people who made those kinds of claims were doing more harm than good. 

Mar 10 2011

Doctrines vary, view on life does not

As we move deeper into Women’s History Month, the status of Black women’s health is a subject ripe for discussion, and there is no topic more connected to health than abortion.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 30 percent of abortions occur to non-Hispanic Black women; 8 percent of women who have abortions have never used a method of birth control, and non-use is greatest among those who are young, poor, Black, Hispanic or less educated.

Feb 10 2011

Females: Living in a dream

Ah, the Valentine’s weekend is upon us and a young woman’s thoughts turn to love. But what is the Black woman really looking for? Why is love fleeting for some and near impossible for others? How can the Black couple keep love strong?

“One of the biggest differences between Black men and women is we, as women, still hold onto fantasies,” said LaDawn Black. “We meet a man and in 15 minutes, we’re gonna marry him and have his baby.”

Feb 3 2011

Three families that believe in philanthropy

“To whom much is given, much is required,” is a life principle Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Mattie and Michael McFadden-Lawson and Leon Garr take to heart. 

Bernard and Shirley Kinsey
“Too many of us have done well and not done enough to share,” Bernard Kinsey said. “Not just share a check, but share contacts with Black businesses and organizations, share networks so others can break through.”

Oct 28 2010

Harms environment says opponents; eliminates taxes disguised as fees, adds supporters

Proposition 26 proposes that state laws which result in any taxpayers paying higher taxes must require approval by two-thirds of the state Legislature or by local voters instead of a simple majority in the Legislature.

This law would repeal the recent fuel tax laws and increase state general fund costs by about $1 billion annually, according to the legislative analysts’ estimate.

Oct 28 2010

This is the best course, says Black chamber

Putting the redistricting process into the hands of the people is the topic of two initiatives on the Nov. 2 ballot—Propositions 20 and 27.

Although Proposition 11 passed just two years ago, creating a 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission, passage of Prop. 27 would eliminate the commission, giving power back to legislators to draw legislative district lines.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.