black community

Apr 17 2013

To serve as housing model

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The City Council approved a plan today aimed at turning Jordan Downs, a 700-unit public housing project in Watts, into an “urban village” with a mix of affordable and market-rate homes, along with retail storefronts and “pedestrian-friendly” features.

Apr 17 2013

One solo survivor

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The sole survivor of a fiery single-car crash that killed three people in South Los Angeles was undergoing surgery this morning, police said.

The car crashed into a light pole in the 800 block of South Manchester Avenue near Hoover Street around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday, said Katherine Main of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Three people trapped in the wreckage "were beyond help," she said.

The surviving victim, a man of around 20, was ejected and seriously injured, Main said.

Apr 16 2013

Shooting under investigation

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — A man was found shot to death today in a vehicle in Inglewood, the apparent victim of homicide, authorities said.

The 35 year old man was pronounced dead at about 12:30 a.m. in the 600 block of West Hardin Drive, according to  Coroner’s Chief Craig Harvey.

Authorities withheld the name of the dead man, pending notification ofhis relatives. The circumstances of the shooting were under investigation.

Apr 11 2013

Same-sex marriage is still a hard-sell for most Christians

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, and Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative in Washington, D.C., are brothers of the cloth. Though they share a love for Christ and the Bible, they do not share the same views on same-sex marriage, an issue now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Apr 11 2013

"The song is bad."

In 2009, Brad Paisley released the song “Welcome to the Future” from his album “American Saturday Night.”

In it, he sings about all the cultural changes he’s witnessed in his life, including the evolving demographics of the country. He includes glowing references to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. The election of Barack Obama inspired him to write it.

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.