Blacks

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jun 16 2011

More than just an observation

As June 19 comes closer and conversations about celebrating the day that the last Africans in America received word of their emancipation from chattel slavery drew nearer, there are those folks who might wonder or even verbalize a familiar sentiment—“slavery was way back then; it has nothing to do with me today. Why should I go to such a celebration. It’s just old timey stuff.”

According to noted psychologist Wade W. Nobles, Ph.D., there are very good reasons to go to a Juneteenth celebration.

Karen Bass  |   OW Guest Columnist
Jun 16 2011

Downright scary

The Republican budget authored by Budget Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is a downright scary proposal that slashes Medicare benefits and puts insurance companies in charge of seniors’ healthcare.

Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program.

Nobody is spared in this slash-and-burn Republican budget. Not seniors, not working families, and not children.

C. Alexander Haywood   |   OW Staff Writer
Jun 2 2011

Visit historic sites with a Black heritage

Summertime is just around the bend, and that can only mean one thing: Vacation time. If long-distance domestic and/or international travel is beyond your means this year, consider a road trip to one of the historic Black landmarks peppered throughout California. The bulk of them range from old-fashioned towns to national parks and memorials, to an assortment of intersecting pathways used by old settlers and freed slaves during the Gold Rush era. Here are a few suggestions:

Allensworth State Historic Park

C. Alexander Haywood   |   OW Staff Writer
May 26 2011

The jury may still be out

“The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they’re okay, then it’s you.”— Rita Mae Brown (American Writer, b.1944)

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
May 19 2011

Hollywood by Choice

World renown rapper/producer Lil’ Jon was recently fired from Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” which airs on NBC. Although he made it to the final four, which also included Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin, Rock Icon Meatloaf, and Country Western singer/songwriter John Rich, Lil’ Jon apparently didn’t have the confidence that he could win it all for his charity, United Methodist Children’s Home and become the new celebrity apprentice so, he hung himself.

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.