Ph.D.

Jun 14 2012

The highest teen birth rate among Western, industrialized nations.

After more than a decade in decline, the United States teen pregnancy has been rising in recent years.

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
May 31 2012

Open season on the president

“Any man who wants to be president is either an egomaniac or crazy.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Does it disturb you that so many people hate you?” —Conservative political commentator Bill O’Reilly to Barack Obama on a Feb. 6, 2011, during a White House interview.

Shae Collins  |   OW College Intern
May 31 2012

Some claim legislators will have too much power

The wording of Proposition 28 is tricky. The information in the official voter guide says that Prop. 28 reduces the total amount of time a person may serve as a state legislator from 14 years to 12 years. Supporters of this measure argue that Prop. 28 places a definite 12-year limit on legislators. 

But those against the measure say that it actually weakens term limits and lengthens a legislator’s time in office.

May 3 2012

If you’ve ever walked down a dark alley and seen a stranger approach, then you probably know that automatic vigilance—a signal from your brain making you more alert. And even if you consider yourself unprejudiced, you may have also noticed that this response is more prevalent when you encounter people of races other than yours.

—Science Daily, Feb. 4, 2005

Ordinarily, Feb. 26, 2012, would have been a normal day for Patricia A. Wallace, a noted Michigan-based clinical psychologist. She had left her practice and was driving home with her radio tuned as usual to the Rev. Al Sharpton show. 

But as she listened, Wallace realized that the legislative monster she had fought against since before its adoption in 2005 was being discussed on the air—an African American Florida youth had been killed and the killer was using as a shield the notorious Stand Your Ground law. 

Mar 29 2012

Are Black youth safe in America?

The shooting death of unarmed, 17-year-old Florida resident Trayvon Martin allegedly by neighborhood block captain George Zimmerman, and the subsequent inactions of law enforcement officials in Sanford, Fla., about investigating the case, have had a profound impact on America.

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.