Black Youths

May 10 2012

Sister Circle and JAAMAL celebrate at CAAM

Thomas Jefferson High School administration, teachers, and students gathered at the California African American Museum recently to celebrate its first awards banquet for student groups Sister Circle and Jefferson African American Male Academy of Leadership (JAAMAL).

Founded by Bobbi McDaniel, after a riot between Black and Latino students erupted on campus at Santee High School in 2005, Sister Circle was formed as support group for the Black female students who felt that their voices and concerns we not being heard or addressed.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Sep 8 2011

A common theme runs through proposals

As the nation continues to struggle economically, the latest jobs report (August) did not offer much good news. Unemployment remained stuck at 9.1 percent nationwide; at 16.7 percent for African Americans and zoomed up to 46.5 percent for Black youth, ages 16-19, up from 39.2 percent in July.

This sustained economic malaise for the nation has pumped up the urgency to create jobs, and that mantra has now (belatedly as far as some in the Black community are concerned) become the drum beat to which much of Washington is responding.

Datwa M. Morales  |   OW Guest Contributor
Nov 11 2010

Pictures remains grim for Blacks

The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6 percent for the month of October, according to a report released last week by the United States Department of Labor. California ranks third highest in the country, behind Nevada and Michigan, with a 12.4 percent unemployment rate. Nationally, 14.8 million Americans are out of work, with 6.2 million job seekers reporting they have been jobless for 27 weeks or more.

Nov 4 2010

Omega Educational Foundation

The Omega Educational Foundation recently held their 17th annual Youth Leadership Conference at Compton College. The program, founded by Ricky Lewis of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., strives to have a positive impact on the lives of young African American men ages 8-18 by providing them with effective mentorship, leadership, and fellowship. More than 300 young men registered for the event and many parents also took advantage of the free conference activities tailored specifically towards adults, which addressed issues that impact their sons each day.

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.