When photographer and director Gillian Laub returned to Montgomery County, Ga., a small community which held segregated proms until 2009, she was expecting to document racial progress in a region that appeared to be frozen in time. (Laub’s New York Times photo essay shed light on the archaic, segregated proms and forced the community to change.) However, what she uncovered was a community still struggling with racial divisions as well as economic and legal inequalities. Laub documents her findings in the HBO movie, “Southern Rites.” Singer John Legend served as executive producer for the film.
Author Archives: Manny Otiko OW Contributor
Posted inEducation
Course shows Dorsey students how to open, run restaurant
Most students sit through high school often wondering how the information they’re learning is going to help them in the future. That was not the case recently for students from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. Students in the School of Business and Entrepreneurship (SBE) took part in a 16-week Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) course that showed them how to launch and operate a restaurant. At the end of the program, the students operated a “pop up restaurant,” called Ruff Dog. The SBE is one of three academies at Dorsey and the curriculum integrates business principles and partners students with local companies to teach them about entrepreneurship.
Posted inFeature
Economy, police violence causing Blacks to consider emigrating from U.S.
America is a nation of immigrants, with some people risking their lives to make it here. But a few Black Americans are saying they’ve had enough of “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” even though it’s their native country. The 20th century was one long battle for Black equality. And even with the election of Barack Obama, the first Black president, African Americans are struggling with the effects of high unemployment and mass incarceration. Now it seems the turbulent economy and police brutality are causing some Black Americans to think about emigrating.
Posted inFeature, Feature
Shaka Senghor: From convicted killer to college professor
Shaka Senghor has been to hell and back. He was once imprisoned in one of the country’s worst correctional facilities, but now is a director’s fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Media Lab and a successful author and speaker.
Posted inCovers
Going back to our roots
What started off as a trickle has now become a tsunami. At first there were a handful of Black bohemians, people like Erykah Badu, who wore natural hair styles, but the trend is becoming more popular again. Natural hair styles, like Afros, braids and dreadlocks, are becoming so popular, relaxer sales are actually decreasing.
Posted inArts & Entertainment-OW, Entertainment
Eric Jerome Dickey has been churning out sexy stories for 20 years
Long before “50 Shades of Grey” and Zane, there was Eric Jerome Dickey. The Southern California-based writer has been churning out steamy novels featuring African American characters for about 20 years. His books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today and Essence bestsellers lists.
Posted inArts & Entertainment-OW, Entertainment
Rappers face extra scrutiny from the ‘Hip-Hop’ police
Hip-hop artists seem to be getting hauled off to jail on a weekly basis. The latest rapper to run afoul of the law is Nelly, who was recently detained for having guns and drugs on his tour bus.
Posted inOpinion-OW
Black cops say recent police shootings are ‘outrageous’
The nation is up in arms over the recent spate of police brutality incidents, such as San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies who kicked and pummeled a detained suspect. South Carolina police officer Michael Slager was charged with murder after he gunned down Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man fleeing a traffic stop.
Posted inBusiness-OW
Black online entrepreneurs say tech is the way of the future
When most people think of the technology field, they think of White computer “whiz kids” like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. However, African American entrepreneurs have founded technology-related companies. Many of them are attracted to the independence of running their own businesses and the low-cost of starting an Internet-based company.
Posted inOpinion-OW
Black Republicans have mixed views on President Obama’s legacy
The African American community votes overwhelmingly Democratic. President Barack Obama was elected with more than 90 percent of the Black vote, and Sen. John Kerry and Vice President Al Gore also got the lion’s share of Black votes. But, not all Black people are Democrats. A significant number of African Americans are conservative Republicans, and they are becoming more prominent.
