Black Youth

Datwa M. Morales  |   OW Guest Contributor
Dec 9 2010

Teens searching for work can’t find it

Nearly half of all Black youth in the nation who are looking for work are not getting hired, according to recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor.

In October, 48 percent of African Americans, ages 16 to 19, who were actively looking for work could not find jobs. That’s more than double the rate of White youths looking for jobs.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 4 2010

For the past few weeks, mothers in the Antelope Valley have been sharing their stories, conspiring to change the local educational system that has historically plagued African American boys

Overrepresentation of African American males in special education is an old, yet unchanging issue. Year in and year out, a disproportionate number of Black male students are enrolled in special education courses for various reason, but mostly behavioral issues and learning disabilities.

Within the Antelope Valley Union High School District, African Americans make up 21 percent of the total student population, yet is the second largest group enrolled in special education, according to the California Department of Education.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Oct 21 2010

Many groups target same goal

Black students in Los Angeles are struggling to improve their academic achievement, and there are a number of efforts under way to provide the resources needed to help them succeed.
One such effort is being pushed by Los Angeles Unified School Director Board of Education member Marguerite LaMotte and the others comes from the Coalition for Black Student Equity and the African American Education Alliance.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Oct 14 2010

Annual parent conference educates everyone

Throughout the school year, test results come out that detail how well California students are doing in math, language arts and other subjects.

Inevitably, when the statistics are taken apart and looked at by ethnic group, African American youngsters are not doing well. That is the case on a state-wide basis. It’s the case in the nation’s second largest school district—Los Angeles Unified School District; and it is the same in the Antelope Valley.

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.