Project Islamic HOPE

Jul 28 2011

Najee Ali steps into his father-in-law’s shoes

Najee Ali, founder and director of Project Islamic H.O.P.E. (Helping Oppressed People Everywhere), a leading Los Angeles advocacy group, recently announced plans to step forward and fill the void left in the American Society of Muslims leadership that has existed for nearly three years since the Sept. 9, 2008, death of Ali’s former father-in-law, Imam W.D. Mohammed, who was the national leader of more than 1 million African American Muslims.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jul 21 2011

Groups call for Tony Wafford’s resignation

Tony Wafford, the West Coast coordinator of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and president of Wafford Consulting and the Palms Residential Care Center, will have to pay former National Action Network program administrator Sharon Song Byrd damages for sexual harassment and battery. A continuation hearing was held Monday to determine the amount of damages Wafford must pay, but no amount has as yet been specified.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jul 14 2011

Najee Ali files second civil rights complaint

Najee Ali, director of the civil rights group Project Islamic HOPE, has filed a second federal civil rights complaint with United States Attorney Andre Birotte’s central district office concerning the racially motivated attack and taunting with a noose of a Black teen at Santa Monica High School.
Principal Hugo Pedroza, Superintendent Tim Cuneo, and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School district are named in the complaint.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jul 7 2011

Santa Monica police shift case to Sheriff’s department

Santa Monica police issued this statement Tuesday regarding the alleged racial bullying incident that occurred at Santa Monica High School:
“During the course of this ongoing investigation, officers were informed of allegations that school administrators had handled the incident unlawfully. Due to the close relationship between city and school district administration, the police department has referred the allegations of misconduct by school administrators to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for investigation.”

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jun 30 2011

Bullying gone to the extreme

Has lynching come to California? It doesn’t have to be a hanging, you know, and it doesn’t have to cause death. Still, if the report is true, this incident close enough.

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.