Latin America

Apr 8 2013

Easy to make and eat

Today’s food holiday gets our seal of approval! April 8 is National Empanada Day.

Some food dishes know no boundaries; they are loved by many cultures the world over. Empanadas fit perfectly into this category.

Most people think of these half-moon shaped pastries as being South American, but their origins can be traced back to Portugal and Galicia. The beauty of empanadas is that the rich, buttery dough can be filled with almost anything — sweet or savory.

Mar 28 2013

Race and ethnicity have always played a major role

After years of non-action and adverse action from differing political groups, persuasions and governmental entities, the issue of immigration almost immediately gained more serious national attention following the re-election of President Barack Obama.

While most people think primarily of Hispanics and Asians when the topic of immigration comes up, there are number of people of African descent that fall into the immigrant population as well.

Mar 13 2013

Pope Francis I

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Bells sounded at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles today to greet the announcement that a new pope had been selected.

Archbishop Jose Gomez celebrated the midday Mass at the cathedral in recognition of the historic selection of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina as pope.

Mar 5 2013

“Good riddance to this dictator”

Minutes after the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was announced, scores of his fellow citizens made their way to El Arepazo, a Venezuelan restaurant outside Miami.

The colors of the Venezuelan flag—red, blue and yellow—predominated among the crowd of about 200 people, many of whom cheered and waved tiny flags as they bellied up to a buffet stocked with “pabellon criollo,” the traditional Venezuelan dish of rice, beans, shredded beef and stewed black beans.

Feb 7 2013

The huge festival opens today

The 12-year-old wears neat pigtails. Her dry, black skin seems to match the barren surroundings of her village, which is void of vegetation with the exception of a few weeds and battered corn stalks that resemble plant fossils against the backdrop of a doom-colored sky.

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.