Norwalk

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
May 9 2013

High levels of suspensions and special education placement to be targeted

Nearly 500 people turned out Saturday for a town hall discussion on the status of Black children in California’s public education and system.

The event, sponsored by Congresswoman Karen Bass, D-Calif., was held at Audubon Middle School in the Crenshaw District and drew people ranging from high school students attending local campuses, to former school district superintendents, to educational professionals, to parents to concerned community stakeholders.

Apr 8 2013

Thousands without power

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — High surf pounded the coast and fierce winds howled across the Southland today, with gusts topping 70 mph whipping the Saugus area and 50 mph in Lancaster.

Sep 23 2011

Chosen from 75,000 teachers

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Ten women and six men were recognized today as the “best of the best” among Los Angeles County’s nearly 75,000 K-12 public school educators.

Three Los Angeles Unified School District teachers made the cut. The others teach in Arcadia, Azusa, Bellflower, Burbank, Castaic, Palmdale, East Whittier, Manhattan Beach, Norwalk, San Marino and Torrance.

The winners span all grade levels and school subjects, and their experience levels vary widely.

Aug 4 2011

Prohibits disruptive messages

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Gov. Jerry Brown today signed a school safety bill prohibiting disruptive messages that threaten the physical safety of school children in preschool, elementary or middle schools.

The legislation was written by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk, who said he wrote the law because as a former teacher “I know how important student safety is for the success of our schools.”

A March 2003 demonstration outside a middle school by the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform was also a factor, officials said.

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Jul 28 2011

Eugenics movement flourished in the ’40s and ’50s

This month, North Carolina is inching toward making restitution for a shameful part of its history as its Eugenics Task Force began hearing testimony from some of the men and women who endured irreversible surgical sterilization as part of a state-sponsored policy, which lasted from 1929 until 1974.  

During that time span, the Eugenics Board of North Carolina (EBNC) neutered about 7,600 people, some as young as 10 years old, in an effort to rid the populace of characteristics and traits determined to be detrimental for the betterment of society. 

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.