Black Males

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Oct 14 2010

Mothers accuse district

PALMDALE, Calif.—A group of mothers are speaking out against the Antelope Valley Union High School District for allegedly neglecting to properly educate their children with special needs.

The parents say that there may be a dysfunctional pattern of African American boys being mistreated in the district.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Mar 19 2009

‘Work In’ sends message—We need jobs!

 The three young men repeatedly shouted, “We want jobs; we want jobs,” at me and a small group of community leaders as we stood talking to the press at the bus stop on 60th and Crenshaw. We were there to demand that the MTA beef up security on its buses in the area in the wake of the gunning down of a teen on the bus parked at that corner. But that didn’t mean anything to the three young men who accosted us and identified themselves as members of the Rollin 60s street gang. Their shout for jobs was real, palpable, and even unnerving. But it was more than justified.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Mar 5 2009

America’s prison juggernaut continues to crush Black males

For a brief moment in the late 1990s there was a glimmer of hope that America’s incarceration juggernaut would slow down. The Sentencing Project which compiles an annual report on crime and punishment in the nation found a slight percentage drop in the incarceration rate in state prisons. That was due to a mix of better economic times, a slight up tick in drug and counseling and rehabilitation programs, and better community outreach by police departments. The thaw in the hard-line take no prisoner approach to crime and punishment didn’t last.

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.