Ben Jealous

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
Sep 20 2012

There are four so far, so take your pick

If diversity is what you crave in politics, you have it in this election. In the four candidates who will appear at the OurWeekly Mayoral Forum Saturday at Brookins A.M.E. Church, there is an African American, three White Americans, Jews, a gay, women and men. All but one of the candidates has a sizable track record in politics. The other is an attorney who has worked for one of the world’s largest law firms and is a former U.S. prosecutor.

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
Mar 22 2012

Councilman for the 13th District wants to be mayor

“You can plop me down anywhere in this 4-million-person metropolis, and I have a personal and intense connection,” Councilman Eric M. Garcetti said. 

Taken on its face, the statement seems brash, or just so much braggadocio. At the very least, it sounds like political hyperbole, but the statement is pretty well documented.

He is of Russian-Jewish descent on his mother’s side and Mexican-Italian descent on his father’s side. But there are also Irish genes from a great-great grandfather. 

Jul 28 2011

Tyrone Willingham talks choices

Youthful exuberance at the 102nd NAACP national convention is not wasted even as the adults convene in downtown Los Angeles this week to solve this nation’s social injustices. And despite the fact that it might appear the convention is a meeting of gray hairs, young people are intimately involved in learning the ropes.

For many of the young people attending, this is their first visit to Los Angeles. But as their priorities are being developed, activities are scheduled throughout the conference to engage and mentor the more than 1,500 young people.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Dec 23 2010

Practical Politics

In February and again in April, President Barack Obama met with significant elements of the African American community to discuss what Blacks saw as their most critical need, and how they could work together with the White House to improve the condition of African Americans in the country. He met with the NAACP’s Ben Jealous, the Urban League’s Marc Morial, and Rev. Al Sharpton.

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.