Marqueece Harris-Dawson

Stanley O. Williford  |   OW Editor
Mar 8 2012

Crisis situation leading to criminal justice system

Perhaps Manual Arts student Joshua Ham said it best when he attempted to walk the Assembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color in California through a day in his school life. 

He talked of the police cars around the campus, the helicopter flying overhead, the gates around the campus, searches by school security guards and cops patrolling the grounds. . . .

“How can we truly be expected to achieve at a high academic level when we’re treated more like we’re in prison than in school?” he asked.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jul 28 2011

Leaders still alert to efforts to change districts

It is down to the wire and leaders in the African American community continue to remain vigilant about the redistricting effort being conducted by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC).

In fact, this past weekend, a pitched battle ensued as some of the commissioners attempted to condense all of the African American districts into one.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jul 21 2011

But some caution that maps could change

The Citizens Redistricting Committee (CRC) released its latest visualization map detailing what proposed congressional and state political boundaries could look like.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
May 19 2011

Release of redrawn district maps near

Changing demographics is not just something to look at and ponder on paper; it is something that impacts the life of every person in the nation, and currently there is a movement within the African American community to ensure that the political gains made since the 1960s are not lost to the numbers.

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.”