Blacks

May 31 2012

Programming for, by and about women

The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF) held its 37th Annual Gracie Awards gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, hosted by Emmy Award-winning actress Angela Kinsey. The Gracies recognize exemplary programming created for women, by women, and about women in all facets of media, including radio, television, cable and new media. The awards program, held Tuesday, also encourages the realistic and multifaceted portrayal of women in entertainment, news, features and other programs.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
May 17 2012

‘The moral equivalent of Jim Crow’

Because of the mass incarceration of African Americans, a Black child born today in America is less likely to live and grow up in a home with two parents than a Black child born during slavery.
And according to civil rights attorney Michelle Alexander, that is the shocking reality that has developed particularly since the so-called “war on drugs” began.

Jan 12 2012

The lender will pay $335 million in mortgage-loan discrimination case

Bank of America’s agreement to pay the largest housing fair lending settlement in history to settle allegations that Countrywide Financial Corp., its recently acquired subsidiary, has proved to be another indictment of the mortgage banking industry.

The Department of Justice alleged in its case that Countrywide engaged in widespread discrimination against African American and Hispanic borrowers just before the near-collapse of the U.S. economy.

Bank of America has agreed to pay $335 million. The bank agreed to acquire Countrywide four years ago.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Nov 24 2011

Local organizations that teach their clients to fish

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
—Chinese Proverb
 

Nov 18 2011

427 reported hate crimes countywide

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Reported hate crimes in Los Angeles County fell by 28 percent in 2010 to the lowest level in 21 years, according to the county Commission on Human Relations’ annual report released.

The commission defines a hate crime as one where hatred or prejudice toward a victim’s race or ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation was a substantial factor in the crime.
According to the 2010 Hate Crime Report, there were 427 reported hate crimes countywide last year, a decline of 166 from the previous year.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”