Across Black Americam Black News

Across Black America
Aug 30 2012

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

California
Three Harvard Law School alumni recently launched The M.B.A. Series, a new collaborative mentoring and training program to support African American youth. The M.B.A. Series (M.B.A. stands for Motivated Brilliant Achievers) is a multi-platform series that provides youth, ages 8 to 18-plus, with leading edge, inspirational and motivational advice and counsel bolstered by specific hard skills and technical skills development in leadership. The M.B.A. Series is a collaborative effort between three Harvard Law School alumni and their respective nonprofit foundations: Hill Harper, founder of MANifest Your Destiny; Raye Mitchell, founder of G.U.R.L.S. Rock Global Leadership Training Program; and Lisa Jones Johnson, founder of The Micro Learning Centers of America Inc., which has launched a unique approach to elementary education targeting African American boys K-5.
 

District of Columbia
This year’s Democratic and Republican national conventions will feature screenings of “Won’t Back Down,” a new major studio motion picture to be released on Sept. 28. The screenings will be hosted by StudentsFirst, a bipartisan national grassroots education reform movement, and partners at both conventions. The screening at the Democratic National Convention will be co-hosted by Democrats for Education Reform and Parent Revolution. The screening at the Republican National Convention will be co-hosted by the Foundation for Excellence in Education. The film tells a story of two mothers who will stop at nothing to transform their children’s failing inner-city school. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions featuring the director and co-writer, Daniel Barnz; the film’s producer, Mark Johnson, as well as StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee.
 

Florida
When the Florida Coalition on Black Civic Participation (FCBCP) originally planned and hosted their 2012 Healthy, Wealthy & Wise Mini-Expo and Black Men’s Round Table (BMR) in Miami, Fla., the organizers were unsure what to expect. But the gathering of Black men that included NBA Hall of Famer, Isaiah Thomas; actor and producer, Charles S. Dutton (“Rock”); Dade County Circuit Judge Daryl Traywick; and Miami Police homicide detective and cast member of “48 Hours,” Detective Ervans Ford, proved to be so powerful that the singular occasion has spawned the announcement of the FCBCP Black Men’s Roundtable Statewide Tour. Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Orlando will be among the first stops. A springboard of the popular National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) “Black Women’s Roundtable Health Wealthy & Wise National Tour,” BMR will now address and focus on the concerns and issues of Black men. With the goal to uplift, educate and empower Black men and youth, the BMR tour will continue to provide important information related to health and wellness and stimulate honest discussions about issues relevant to Black men all in a mini-expo environment.

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

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Across Black America
May 31 2012

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

California
African American young men from the San Francisco Bay Area who are graduating from high school and heading to college will take center stage June 3 at a unique graduation ceremony aimed at celebrating and amplifying their achievements. The event is part of the Mitchell Kapor Foundation’s College Bound Brotherhood, a college readiness program that aims to expand the number of young Black men in the San Francisco Bay Area who are prepared for college. Youth participating in the event will be eligible for a $100 stipend to defray the cost of college books. Across the nation and locally, African American young men are graduating from high school at alarmingly low rates, and even fewer are ready for a college education. Since the launch of the College Bound Brotherhood in 2008, the Kapor Foundation has distributed more than $1 million in grants to organizations that support young Black men through college readiness workshops, college tours, academic coaching and mentoring.

Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are partners in owning a racehorse—a 4-year-old gelding named Siempre Mo—which made its first start at Betfair Hollywood Park on Saturday. The horse was entered in the sixth race, and was ridden by Joy Scott. The teammates purchased 25 percent of the gelding at a team charity auction in April. Part of their deal is that neither Bryant nor Gasol pay any expenses in the horse’s care and training. Santa Anita CEO Mark Verge and Chris Quinn, also an executive at Santa Anita, are the horse’s other owners. Siempre Mo won a $25,000 claiming race in his last start. He’s trained by Doug O’Neill, whose coltse I’ll Have Another, won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and will try to win the Triple Crown when he runs in the Belmont Stakes on June 9. Bryant and Gasol’s horse will carry the Lakers gold and purple colors.

District of Columbia
Nearly 300 people attended the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation’s 15th annual Spirit of Democracy Awards Gala in Washington, D.C., last week. As the night was dedicated to “Celebrating Our Brothers,” six men doing constructive work to empower the African American community were honored. There was also a special Servant Leadership and Community Service Award established in memory of the former manager of the annual Spirit Awards, Ruby Campbell Pulliam. “It was important to take a moment to lift up and celebrate what the brothers are doing in our communities across the country,” said president and CEO of the Coalition, Melanie L. Campbell. “The men who dedicate their lives to mentoring, social justice, training and creating opportunities for our youth—especially those running Black male initiatives—are truly the fabric of our community.”

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

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Across Black America
Jul 7 2011

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

Florida
Florida Memorial University (FMU), South Florida’s only historically Black university, will officially dedicate the recently restored A. L. Lewis Archway Plaza during a ceremony celebrating the school’s historic roots in St. Augustine, Fla. The event takes place July 14 at the Collier-Blocker-Puryear Park in St. Augustine. A reception will follow with an opportunity to view informational kiosks chronicling the story of FMU. “Florida Memorial University has a prosperous and inspiring history,” said Henry Lewis III, president of the university. “The vision of our former presidents led to establishing St. Augustine’s first college and shapes a legacy of educational excellence we still honor today. We are building upon that legacy and transforming it from good to great.”

Indiana
In an effort to decrease or eliminate the number of injuries and deaths during off-season conditioning practices in collegiate athletes, the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA) has announced its support for the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC) program and supports requiring the RSCC program for all college strength coaches. The goal is to enhance the safety of college athletes throughout the country by recognizing strength and conditioning coaches who have proper training and experience, and have an accredited certification. “The BCA’s announcement highlights the tremendous need for hiring qualified, experienced, certified coaches to ensure the welfare of all athletes, especially those with potentially serious medical issues,” said the NSCA’s Board President Jay Hoffman. “Registered strength and conditioning coaches have expertise that is separate and distinct from the medical, dietetic, athletic training and sport coaching fields. Having the right professional working with the athletes can save lives.”

Louisiana
Lt. Michael Lohman knew police had a serious problem when he arrived at the scene of deadly shootings on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina. Officers had shot and killed two people and wounded four others, but no guns were found on any of the victims. Lohman, the ranking officer on the scene of the Danziger Bridge shootings, testified that he didn’t order officers to devise a cover story and wouldn’t have objected if they had acknowledged wrongdoing. But instead of encouraging them to tell the truth, Lohman said he helped orchestrate a cover-up to make the shootings of unarmed residents on Sept. 4, 2005, appear justified. Lohman retired last year and is one of five former officers who have pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up. Now he is a key government witness in the case against sgts. Robert Gisevius, Kenneth Bowen and Arthur Kaufman; officer Anthony Villavaso and former officer Robert Faulcon.

Minnesota
Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins rose to fame as an actress, singer and member of the popular ‘90s musical group TLC all while quietly battling sickle cell disease. Now, she is lending her famous voice to encourage people, especially those in the African American community, to join the Be The Match Registry as potential bone marrow donors and to help others fight similar life-threatening diseases. Watkins has partnered with Be The Match on two public service announcements which have already hit the airwaves and Internet in recognition of July’s African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month. Donor registry drives will also take place nationwide throughout the month. “As a person with sickle cell disease and an advocate for everyone fighting this disease, I was naturally drawn to Be The Match,” Watkins said. “Unfortunately, myths about bone marrow donation keep many people from joining the Be The Match Registry and potentially saving a life. That is why I am passionate about encouraging everyone to learn the facts about bone marrow donation through these PSAs. We need more African Americans to step up.” For more information, visit www.BeTheMatch.org or call (800) MARROW-2.

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

Florida

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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.

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