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Monthly Archives: May 2012

Danny Glover, Lonette McKee et al. Set for Coalition of Theatres of Color Town Hall Meeting, 6/4

31 May

Danny-Glover-Lonette-McKee-et-al-Set-for-Coalition-of-Theatres-of-Color-Town-Hall-Meeting-64-20010101

Danny Glover, Lonette McKee, Barbara Montgomery, Daniel Beaty,Roscoe Orman and other veterans of New York theater will address “Can NYC’s Theatres of Color Survive in the New Economy?” at the Coalition of Theatres of Color (CTC) Town Hall Meeting on June 4 at 6PM at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (135th St. & Lenox Avenue) in Harlem.

The public is invited to attend this free Town Hall Meeting, which will also feature journalists Esther Armah, Bob Law and Felipe Luciano. There will be special performances by Obie winner Daniel Beaty and the Grammy and Oscar-nominated youth group Impact.

“Each of the CTC theatre institutions have been operating in New York for 35 to 45 years. These CTC members have launched careers of superstars and culturally inspired multicultural communities and the nation,” pointed out Woodie King, chairman, CTC and the founder and producing director, New Federal Theatre. “Yet, according to various reports, CTC members receive less than one-tenth of one percent of the total funds earmarked for arts and culture from city, state and private funding. It’s imperative that elected officials, public and private grantors and theatre audiences understand that it’s important to ensure that New York’s Theatres of Color receive equitable funding.”

Founded in 2004 at the urging of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee to address inequitable funding for theatrical institutions of color, CTC continues to advocate parity in funding and resource allocation between its members. The CTC institutions have a tradition of addressing the needs of the community and preserving and promoting its cultural heritage.

Some of America’s most high profile actors from Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Laurence Fishburne, Phylicia Rashad, Hattie Winston, Charles Dutton, Phyllis Stickney andLucy Liu to Alimi Ballard (“Numb3rs,” “Fast Five”), Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost,”“Hawaii Five-O”) and Donald Faison (“Scrubs,” “Clueless”) to South African producer/playwright Duma Ndlovu (“Shelia’s Day”) and playwright/director Mbongeni Ngema (“Sarafina”) were nurtured and showcased on the stages of CTC’s historically multicultural New York City theatres. While there has been a growth in Broadway shows featuring Black stories, the talented actors, writers, producers, technicians, designers, directors, dancers and choreographers are still sharpening their craft at historically Black and multicultural theatres.

Collectively CTC members brings over 350 years of artistic achievement with critically acclaimed and award-winning presentations. New York City members are AUDELCO, (Manhattan) Black Spectrum Theatre (Queens), Billie Holiday Theatre (Brooklyn), H.A.D.L.E.Y Players (Manhattan), Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center (Bronx), National Black Theatre (Manhattan), Negro Ensemble Company(Manhattan), New Federal Theatre (Manhattan), New Heritage Theatre Group (Manhattan), Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (Manhattan), Paul Robeson Theater (Brooklyn), and The Afrikan Poetry Theatre (Queens).

Read more:http://broadwayworld.com/article/Danny-Glover-Lonette-McKee-et-al-Set-for-Coalition-of-Theatres-of-Color-Town-Hall-Meeting-64-20120528#ixzz1wTbvYCvF

 
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Posted by on May 31, 2012 in African American News, African American Theatre, Events

 

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The Fight to Save the New York Public Library

31 May


The main entrance to the New York Public Library in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Are public research libraries repositories of knowledge or real estate parcels to be auctioned off to the highest bidder? Sometime during Paul LeClerc’s eighteen-year tenure as its president, the New York Public Library formulated the Central Library Plan (CLP), under which two of the system’s major assets, the Mid-Manhattan Library and the Science, Industry and Business Library, would be sold and their holdings incorporated into the landmark Beaux-Arts research library at Forty-second Street. LeClerc retired last summer, but the CLP endures, and the library’s new president, Anthony Marx, is determined to implement it. Conceived in absolute secrecy, the CLP has a price tag of $350 million and will transform, in a destructive way, one of the world’s great public libraries.

As Scott Sherman first reported in these pages (“Upheaval at the New York Public Library,” November 30, 2011), the CLP would compromise the scholarly mission of the NYPL in numerous ways, including banishing nearly 3 million books to a storage facility in Princeton, New Jersey, from which it could take up to five days for requested items to be delivered to Forty-second Street. It would also disfigure an architectural treasure by demolishing the seven levels of century-old stacks beneath the Rose Reading Room to make way for a high-tech circulating library—a proposal that prompted historian David Nasaw to say, at a recent New School forum, “We’re being told that the only way to save the library is to rip out its innards.” The many parts of the NYPL with innards in need of repair—the overburdened and underfunded eighty-seven branch libraries—may not receive a cent under the plan. It appears that the CLP would also starve two other research libraries: the Performing Arts Library—once an oasis and now a “dump,” according to a recent New York Times essay by Edmund Morris—and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which needs an infusion of funds to sustain its historic mission in Harlem.

Sherman’s investigative reporting struck a nerve, generating extensive coverage in the Times (whose editorial board offered halfhearted support for the CLP on May 8), plus articles in the Wall Street Journal, the Daily News, the New York Post and other publications. On A Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor brought his caustic satire to bear by musing that the Forty-second Street stacks will be demolished to make way for high-priced condos. Tom Stoppard, Salman Rushdie, Annie Proulx, Art Spiegelman, Amitav Ghosh, David Byrne and Colum McCann are among the 1,500 people who have signed a protest letter.

Finding itself on the defensive, the New York Public Library has unleashed its lions. Writing in The New York Review of Books, Robert Darnton, an NYPL Trustee, argued that the CLP is a necessary response to fiscal pressures in general and declining financial support from the city in particular. (The Review’s editor, Robert Silvers, is an NYPL Trustee too.) Marx has stated that “by combining three facilities into one, we expect to have up to $15 million more to spend annually”—an assertion that has lately become the chief rationale for the CLP. (The original rationale, as LeClerc declared in an internal publication in 2008, was to build “the largest comprehensive library open to the public in human history”; last summer, NYPL officials told Sherman the objective was to “democratize” the Forty-second Street Library.) But NYPL’s chief operating officer told Charles Petersen of n+1 magazine that the extra revenue could amount to as little as $7 million per year. And there are no guarantees it will be that much. A great deal of public discussion—not to mention robust intervention by city and state elected officials—should occur before the New York Public Library undertakes a $350 million renovation plan that produces $7 million or less a year in additional revenue. But Marx is keen to dash to the finish line: he admitted in a May 16 letter to scholars critical of the CLP that the next mayor and City Council may not support it.

The CLP is a castle in the sky, to which the city will be contributing $150 million. The New York Public Library should abandon it in favor of a more modest proposal, and one hatched in consultation with the public. The sale of one library, instead of two, could raise up to $100 million, and Marx—a scholar who has built his career on the ideals of racial and economic justice—should hasten to allocate that money where it’s needed most: the branch libraries, many of which desperately require more computers, books and DVDs as well as capital improvements. The money promised by the city for the CLP could be usefully redirected to the tumbledown Mid-Manhattan Library. The Forty-second Street landmark, designed by Carrère & Hastings, should be left unspoiled, in all its grandeur.

 
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Posted by on May 31, 2012 in African American Education News, African American News

 

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Colorectal Cancer is Preventable: Information for African Americans

31 May

BETHESDA, Md., May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — By the National Cancer Institute

Many people who fear cancer don’t realize that some types of cancer are preventable. Cancer of the colon or rectum (together referred to as colorectal cancer) is one of these. What’s more, colorectal cancer can often be treated effectively if it is found early enough.

 

 

Regrettably, African Americans (both men and women) are more likely than people of any other racial/ethnic group in the United States to develop colorectal cancer, and also to die from it. Nearly 17,000 African Americans will develop colorectal cancer this year. Only prostate, breast, and lung cancer kill more African Americans.

Doctors don’t know exactly why African Americans are harder hit with this disease, but they do know that many cases and deaths could be avoided if African Americans knew about–and followed–recommended strategies for prevention and early detection. Here are some things to keep in mind about colorectal cancer:

Colorectal Cancer and Precancers Can Be Detected Early

Most colorectal cancers develop from a certain type of polyp, called an adenoma. Polyps begin as small growths on the inner lining of the rectum or the colon. A number of different tests can be used to check if people have polyps or colorectal cancer. Polyps can often be detected by a colonoscopy, a sigmoidoscopy, or a fecal occult blood test, and then removed before they have a chance to develop into cancer. Some of the tests are done at your doctor’s office, and others are done at home using a kit that your doctor gives you.

Some polyps can grow and develop into cancer without any real symptoms. So, unless you are checked regularly for polyps, you could develop colorectal cancer that will be harder to treat by the time symptoms appear.

There are two ways to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer. One is to be sure that you undergo regular screening–and follow-up with effective diagnosis and treatment when screening finds a possible problem, such as large polyps or a cancer. The other is to know–and try to reduce–the risk factors for colorectal cancer that you have the power to change.

Talk To Your Doctor about Regular Screening

Colorectal cancer is more likely to occur as people get older. Many experts recommend that both men and women start getting screened beginning at age 50.

People should talk with their doctor about when to begin screening for colorectal cancer, what tests to have, the benefits and harms of each test, and how often to get screened. Common considerations include your age, your family’s history of colorectal cancer, the convenience of the test and the preparation required for it, your insurance coverage, and other factors.

Although some people may feel embarrassed about the idea of colorectal cancer screening and are worried about some of the procedures that are used, colorectal cancer screening decreases the risk of dying from colon cancer. So, it’s important to push past any reluctance and talk with your doctor to learn more.

Think about Changing Your Lifestyle–Even Just a Little

A number of studies show a link between certain “lifestyle factors” and people’s chances of getting colorectal cancer-and other cancers as well. People who drink three or more alcoholic beverages per day are at increased risk of colorectal cancer, as are people who are obese. Those who engage in regular physical activity have a lower risk. Daily aspirin also decreases risk, but it may cause intestinal bleeding and other side effects, and it’s important to find out from your doctor whether it is right for you.

Take time to learn as much as you can and share the information with people you love. The National Cancer Institute is a great resource for this information. See video.

NCI leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI web site at http://www.cancer.gov (or m.cancer.gov from your mobile device) or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). More articles and videos in the culturally relevant Lifelines series are available at http://www.cancer.gov/lifelines .

Editor’s Note: The following article is part of the monthly Lifelines education and awareness print series that the National Cancer Institute provides to African American media outlets.

SOURCE National Cancer Institute

 
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Posted by on May 31, 2012 in African American Health, African American News

 

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Leading developer sets sights on a Phila. casino

31 May

By Suzette Parmley

Inquirer Staff Writer

R. Donahue Peebles, at the old New Market, has several sites in mind, from Center City to the Delaware River.

AKIRA SUWA / Staff
R. Donahue Peebles, at the old New Market, has several sites in mind, from Center City to the Delaware River.

As owner and chief executive of one of the nation’s largest African American real estate development companies, R. Donahue “Don” Peebles has an impressive resumé.

The multibillion-dollar portfolio of the Peebles Corp. includes luxury hotels, high-rise apartment buildings, and Class A office space in Washington, New York, Las Vegas, and Miami. Missing from that list: a casino, though he has made close-but-no-cigar efforts in Atlantic City and in Yonkers, N.Y.

Which is why Peebles now has his sights firmly set on landing Philadelphia’s second casino license, should it be allowed to stay in the city.

“If you look at Philadelphia, and if you say, ‘There’s no room for another casino,’ that’s like saying, ‘There’s no room for another hotel,’ ” said Peebles, dressed in a dark designer pinstripe suit and blue silk tie during a recent visit to The Inquirer building.

“Sure, there is.”

Peebles, 52, the grandson of a hotel doorman, said he’s been interested in building a hotel here since 1997, and now he sees a casino as a means to that end. A beachhead in this city also will strengthen his company’s growing presence on the East Coast, “the Amtrak corridor,” as he put it.

“Philly gets lost between New York and D.C.,” he said. “We need to give Philly a higher profile – a destination and a promoter of Philadelphia that says: ‘This is Philadelphia. . . . It’s culturally rich and every American should visit’ . . . by giving them one more reason to come and have something to do.”

In April, Forbes magazine ranked Peebles No. 10 among the wealthiest black Americans. (His estimated net worth was $350 million in 2009, the latest Forbes data available). He said he envisions a facility here with a performing-arts component that would attract year-round tourists and bring in world-class performers, such as Lionel Richie or Alicia Keys, that would fill local hotels and attract people from this region as well as farther out.

As his team conducts due diligence on sites for a casino, Peebles said he has a few locations in mind in Center City, Northern Liberties and Old City, and along the Delaware River waterfront. Earlier this month, he met with Mayor Nutter, who wants the second casino license to remain in the city, despite efforts in Harrisburg to auction it off.

On May 2, House Bill 65, which would award the license to the highest bidder statewide, sailed through. But the measure, which starts bidding at $65 million, has yet to be heard in the State Senate.

“Nothing has changed,” Doug Harbach, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, said this week. “We continue to monitor this action but have not set a timetable to accept any applications.”

The investor group behind a Foxwoods casino proposed for South Philadelphia was stripped of the license by the gaming board in December 2010 after repeated delays in getting the project built.

“Our point of view is the state granted a second license in Philadelphia, and there have been people here who have expressed possible interest in pursuing that,” said Alan Greenberger, deputy mayor for economic development. “Our expectation is the state will initiate a process to take proposals and make this happen.”

In expressing his interest in the second casino license, Peebles joins high-profile local developers Bart Blatstein and Robert Zuritsky. (SugarHouse on Penn’s Landing, which opened in September 2010, is the only casino within the city limits.)

Zuritsky is president of Parkway Corp., which owns mostly parking garages and is behind a new hotel rising at 12th and Arch Streets, across from the Convention Center.

“We are not ready to talk about it,” Zuritsky said of his casino project and its location. “There is some interest from some parties, and we are just starting to talk. I think I have the best site, which is in a Center City location. We could do a hotel.”

Blatstein, who has been on a redevelopment spree of North Broad Street, said he was forging ahead with plans for a $500 million casino hotel and entertainment complex with retail space at 400 N. Broad, the current home of The Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com.

Blatstein said that he has been finalizing his plans with an architect and engineering firms, and that he hopes to have economic and traffic-impact studies completed by next week. He also has met with neighborhood groups and city lawmakers to sell them on his plan.

“It’s coming together very quickly,” he said last week.

Not to be outdone, Peebles said he brings vision, a track record of development success, and the ability to raise capital. He said that he was talking to potential equity partners and that he plans to launch a private-equity fund out of New York and Washington.

“A good project is going to get financed,” he said. “Where does it come from? Most likely New York.

“An all-gaming facility is probably not the way to go, but more mixed-use,” he said. “I am confident capital is not going to be an issue.”

In 2007, Peebles made his first Las Vegas investment, purchasing Las Palmas, a 13-acre apartment complex that he sold earlier this year. His Manhattan-based real estate empire plans to expand into gaming there by redeveloping the Mardi Gras Hotel & Casino.

Peebles went under contract in 2002 to acquire the site where the new Revel Casino now sits on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, but he ultimately did not buy it. In 2008, he was part of a team that won the right to develop what is now Aqueduct Racetrack & Casino in Yonkers; the license was rebid and won by another firm.

“We’re in the gaming business,” he said. “But I’m in the development and hospitality business. I develop to own,” including the Royal Palm Hotel in South Beach and a Marriott hotel in Washington.

Developer Peebles has also been an author, writing two books: The Peebles Principles, detailing his most memorable deals, and The Peebles Path to Real Estate Wealth, which outlines fundamentals to real estate investing.

Raised in Washington by a real estate agent single mother, Peebles said an internship on Capitol Hill as a page while in high school inspired a lifelong interest in politics. He serves on the National Finance Committee for President Obama and is on the board of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

He left Rutgers University in 1979 as a premed student to become a real estate agent in D.C. He is the father of an 18-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter and travels frequently to colleges to urge students, with an emphasis on minorities and women, to pursue careers in business and entrepreneurship.

“I try to teach my daughter that, in business, you get another chance,” Peebles said.

He views competition as a good thing. And should he win the casino license he seeks, his operation would face off not only against SugarHouse, but also Parx in Bensalem, the recently rebranded Harrah’s Philadelphia in Chester, and the Valley Forge Casino Resort (the state’s 11th) – which has prompted some to question the need for another casino here at all.

New York-based gaming analyst Greg Roselli, of UBS Securities L.L.C., said at this month’s East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City: “Although the demographics are strong, judging from the recent share loss at Harrah’s Philadelphia over the past year, it doesn’t imply the need for a fifth property in the market.”

But Peebles, former board chair of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, believes that a world-class, big-ticket casino hotel like the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, the Sporting Club & Casino in Monte Carlo, and the Borgata in Atlantic City – which the state lacks – will attract tourists and conventioneers.

“We’re in the beginning stages of a real estate market that is now on the rise,” he said. “Philadelphia is an amazing place for tourism.

“Build the absolute best casino in Philadelphia, and have everyone step up.”

 
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Posted by on May 31, 2012 in African American Business News, African American Employment, African American News

 

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Wisdom from two legendary political professionals

31 May

By A. Peter Bailey
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

Just before the politics of a presidential election year turns scorching hot, it may help to study observations from two influential African-American politicians of a past era—former representatives William L. Dawson of Illinois and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. of New York.

Dawson, in a June 14, 1945 commencement address at Wilberforce University, told the graduates that “….. The world is fast beginning to look to deeds and achievements as the badge of excellence, and we must prepare ourselves to meet the requirements. But preparing our individual selves alone will not suffice; we must help and train our less fortunate brothers and sisters to measure up. The people of other groups are too busy trying to train their own young and to shape the thinking of their own people to meet the world’s requirements to worry about us. They are not going to come into our homes or into our communities to do missionary work among us. The job of shaping and controlling the thinking and action of our people is our responsibility. We are our brothers’ keepers. We are bound together by ties of race and color and blood. What one Negro does, either good or ill, affects the well-being of every other Negro. We of today must accept the challenge and face the responsibilities. You go forth into a world where there are millions who never had the opportunity you have here enjoyed….

“Many of us have acquired education, money, and influence. Do we regard these as a trust and resolve to use some part thereof to help our less fortunate brothers to measure up to required standards, or do we seek to get away from them and get for ourselves personally the benefits which should be extended to all? Life for the Negro in America is not self-seeking. When the showdown comes, we rise or fall together.”

Powell, in 1965 speech at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, declared, among other things, that “Black communities of this country—whether it is New York’s Harlem, Chicago’s South and West sides, or Philadelphia’s North side—must neither tolerate nor accept outside leadership—Black or white. Each community must provide its own local leadership, strengthening the resources within its own local community.

“The Black masses should only follow those leaders who can sit at the bargaining table with the white power structure as equals and negotiate for a share of its crumbs. We must stop sending little boys whose organizations are controlled and financed by white businessmen to do a man’s job. Because only those who are financially independent can be men. This is why I earlier called for Black people to finance their own organizations and institutions. In so doing, the Black masses guarantee the independence of their leadership.

“The Black leadership—the ministers, politicians, businessmen, doctors, and lawyers-must come back to the Negroes who made them in the first place or be purged by the black masses….”

This is sound advice from two legendary political professionals.

This article was originally published in the May 28, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper

 
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Posted by on May 31, 2012 in African American News, African American Politics

 

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Interview with Eva Greene-Wilson, Co-organizer, Anancy Festival 2012 Washington DC

30 May

Eva Greene-Wilson

This week we have a conversation with Eva Greene-Wilson Co-organizer, Anancy Festival 2012 Washington DC. The Anancy festival is June 9th, 2012. Here is our conversation with Eva.

What Caribbean Country are you from?
My parents are from Trinidad and Tobago. Most of my family is still there.  A very small number of us live here in the US, and we try to stay close.

Tell us about Anancy Fest 2012 Washington, DC?
I am a Caribbean American parenting blogger, and I approached Dr. Claire Nelson several months ago about doing a children’s event with the Institute for Caribbean Studies.  When the opportunity arose, she contacted me, and I was happy to get involved.

What is the main goal of the festival?
The goal of the festival is to introduce children to the wonderful Anansi stories.  Many children have heard of Anansi with various spellings and stories.  Even comic book characters have been based on Anansi!  We would like to make the connection to the Caribbean for the children and parents who attend.

What can we expect this year?
This is our first year, and our event is taking place in the morning, so we have a parent’s corner with coffee and light morning foods, face painting for the kids, storytelling, crafts, and giveaways.  Our event is more of an extended story time at the library.

Tell us about this years line-up?
This year, we are fortunate enough have Dr. Claire Nelson herself telling stories at the event as well as well know Jamaican  author Joelle Cohen Wright performing a sketch she is tailoring just for our audience of Caribbean, Caribbean American, and American families.

What does Anancy mean to you?
I grew up in a home that I knew was different.  We ate different foods, had different sayings, and our own stories.  I work very hard to keep my children and my readers connected to Caribbean culture, and I believe that the Anancy stories and this festival are an important and enjoyable way to connect our children to their heritage.

What does Caribbean American Heritage month mean to you?
Many of the achievements of black America can be attributed to a person of Caribbean heritage, and this is a fact that is often overlooked.  Influential writers and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance, proponents the Civil Rights movement, and many of todays artists and entertainers have a Caribbean background.  Caribbean American parents and children need to know how powerful their heritage is, not just as a person of African, Indian, Chinese, or other ethnicity, but as a descendant of Caribbean people. For America, I feel that it is important for non-Caribbean people to know that the Caribbean is more than just a vacation destination that produces beautiful music and beautiful people.  It is a small place that produces beautiful minds as well.

Do you think there is enough being done to pass in Caribbean and African history to the next generation?
I think that as with any culture in America, the pressure to assimilate is there.  Kids and teens, just by their nature, often do not want to stand out from the crowd as different, especially if they are new to the country.  I have tried to instill in my own children that their Caribbean heritage is more than grandma and grandpa’s accents, more than great music, parties, and good food, but it is a work ethic, focus on education, and will to succeed that I feel is stronger in people of Caribbean descent in America than in many other immigrant groups.

The festival this year is in four cities and growing. Where do you see the festival 5 years from now?
I would hope to see it spread to New York, and other areas in the US and Canada that have large Caribbean populations.

What other projects and events are you working on?
I am a homeschooling mom of 3, working outside of the home, so I don’t have too many projects outside of educating my kids, my job, and my blog. I do online events for my blog, Socamom.com, including radio shows and twitter parties.  I just completed one for the Universal Music, the Marley line of coffee and House of Marley.

When you are not busy with work and projects what do you do to relax?
I am pretty much always busy, but when I do get a chance to relax, I enjoy spending time with my family, experimenting with recipes with my husband, and dancing with the kids.  We are a dancing family!

My favorite Caribbean author is…
Claude McKay. I find his story fascinating, and although I don’t agree with all of his beliefs, his poems are beautifully written.

My comfort food is….
my cousin’s roti!

If I wanted to impress someone visiting my city….
I would take them to the new Martin Luther King Memorial.  It is really impressive.

Thanks for the time. Where can we learn more about the Anancy festival?
You can check out my blog at Socamom.com or icsdc.org for more information on the event in our city.  Go to AnancyFestival.com, http://facebook.com/anancyfestival and Jamaicans.com for information on our city and others.

 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in African Diaspora News, Caribbean News, Events

 

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New Black Theatre Troupe Unveiled

30 May

Helen Katherine Mason was a remarkable woman. A woman of vision and determination she founded the Black Theatre Troupe in the early 1970’s when she noticed the distinct absence of one rich and resonant voice within the arts communities of the Valley and the State of Arizona at large.

A City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Supervisor, who was a trailblazer in her job and community Mason dedicated herself to giving that voice a platform from which it could be lifted and heard by all.

Mason died in 2003, but left a legacy that has been led and expanded by David Hemphill, a former protégé of Mason’s. An actor, director and executive director of the organization the troupe will be moving its productions to a new home in the Eastlake Park Village this fall for the 2012-13 season.

The former Iron Mountain Document Storage building at 1333 E. Washington Street is being transformed into the state of the art the Helen K. Mason Center for the Performing Arts.

The 13,333 square foot facility is scheduled to be finished Aug. 28, in time for the start of the new season.

“We are very, very excited,” Hemphill said. “It has been a long and arduous process. We’ve been working since 2006 trying to find a place. Originally BTT was going to renovate its old facility near 3rd Street on Portland, but with asphestos and damage to the building it was way too expensive stated Hemphill.

The troupe has been roaming the downtown area performing since damage to their Portland home prevented them from staging shows there, first at the Herberger Theatre for a few years and the last few at the Viad Tower on Central Avenue.

“The Helen K. Mason Center for the Performing Arts, is an affirmation of our company’s increasing importance in the Valley arts community.”

Attending the Eastlake Park Neighborhood Association meeting last Tuesday were Mason’s daughter Patricia Lee Manson and Patricia’s daughter, Alimas Thomas and others to hear the plans for the new facility. Designed by architect David Bosak of bo Arch Architecture company along with his daughter and business partner, Parice Bosak an interior designer, the new facility will be amazing.

The BTT was a beneficiary of bond money from the 2006 city of Phoenix bond election and received from the cultural bond.

“The city will own the building, but we will be the sole operator of the facility,” Hemphill said.

He noted BTT has a 25-year operating agreement.

“Jackie Berry of Berry Realty knew we were looking for a place and contacted me and wanted to see if I thought about moving to the Eastlake area. He told me about the building next to his property was vacant.

Taking a look at it, it is a match made in heaven. The only regret Hemphill has is the challenges of the current economy.

“It will be challenging to raise the funds needed to outfit the building. We need lights, seating and other things,” he notes.

A can-do man, Hemphill will make it a reality like no other.

 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in African American News, African American Theatre

 

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NAACP Launches “This Is My Vote” Campaign

30 May

WRITTEN BY MARVIN RANDOLPH, NAACP SENIOR VP CAMPAIGNS
The 2008 U.S. Presidential election brought us not only a historic election but also record participation of minority voters.  More than two million more African-American voters and an additional two million Latino voters cast ballots than had done so in the previous presidential election cycle in 2004.  For the very first time, African-American women had the highest turnout rate of any racial, ethnic or gender group, and voting among younger African American voters jumped by more than 17 percent.

Such high levels of civic participation in the melting pot of America are, no doubt, cause for celebration. But 2008’s record turnout also triggered a backlash, which will severely hinder access to the ballot in several states this year. In 2011, at least 34 states introduced legislation or policies that will cause suppression in voter turnout. Thus far, 14 states have passed such laws and presently nearly 10 other states have similar laws pending, according to non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s School of Law.

Proponents of the laws cite no recent illegal voting epidemic but claim the laws are in response to voter fraud, which is virtually non-existent in the U.S. And, of course, there are criminal penalties to deal with anyone who would violate the laws on the books.

The new restrictions attack ballot access by requiring photo IDs to vote, curtailing early voting windows, stripping the formerly incarcerated–men and women who have served their debt to society – of the right to vote and purging voters rolls, often with thousands of errors. Approximately 21 million Americans don’t have a government-issued photo ID, including 25 percent of voting-aged African-Americans.

This is not the first time politicians have curtailed minority voting access Similar restrictive laws were passed as a response to the passage of the 15th Amendment granting ex-slaves the right to vote. On both occasions, these types of laws had the same result: limiting the ability of people of color to cast their ballots.

This attack on voting rights is coordinated. It is insidious. And it is the worst we’ve seen since the Jim Crow era. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called voting the “foundation stone for political action.” The laws restricting access are like jackhammers persistently chipping away at that stone.

The NAACP recognizes this threat and its potential effects.  We are taking action this election year to maintain the successful turnout levels of 2008 by registering new voters to ensure that every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a legitimate vote in the 2012 election.

This Wednesday, the NAACP and our partners in the Faith, Labor and civic organizing communities launched our most ambitious voter registration and education drive in recent history.

This is My Vote will register, educate and turn out hundreds of thousands of voters this year, with a special focus on African-Americans and other minorities, younger and elderly voters.

This is My Vote will enlist volunteers to go door-to-door in neighborhoods throughout the country, registering new voters and educating existing voters on the new laws and restrictions in each state.

Our national voter registration hotline 1-866-MyVote1 allows citizens in every state to receive voter registration documents by mail, and our new website, http://www.thisismyvote.org will provide online tools for people to download registration documents and learn about voting requirements state-by-state. In addition, we have entered into historic partnerships with the National Baptist Convention and other denominations to ensure the reach of the campaign is as broad as possible.

Today, more than 46 years after passage of the Voting Rights Act, most of us would like to believe the fight for voting rights and access had been won long ago. Last year revealed that the battle still rages on, and so does the NAACP. We are more determined than ever to succeed in our fight for equality.

For information about registration, call 1-866-MyVote1 or visit ThisIsMyVote.org.

The coordinated attack on the right to vote requires a coordinated, nationwide re-sponse. Our vote is our power, and with your help, our vote will be protected for generations to come.
 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in African American News, African American Politics

 

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Panel Addresses Low Black Male Graduation Rates

30 May

WRITTEN BY FLOYD ALVIN GALLOWAY
The 2011 report by the Schott Foundation for Public Education stated that only 47% of African-American males graduate from high school. The Schott Foundation for Public Education has tracked the performance of Black males in public education systems across the nation. In New York City alone, 100,000 Black male students fail to graduate from high school with their entering cohort. Not only is the educational system failing Black males, but also the community.

The alarming statistics point to a national education and economic crisis. The Arizona Community Foundation Black Philanthropy Initiative held their quarterly “Feed Your Soul” lecture series, April 26, tackling this alarming crisis.

Held at the ACF’s central Phoenix offices, the room was filled to capacity with educators, community leaders, business and organizational leaders, and others seeking dialogue and solutions to this problem.

Panelist lunchtime presentation included, Bryon Garrett, president/CEO of Lifeworks Int’l and former CEO of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA); Dr. Ann Hart, deputy associte Supt., Arizona Department of Education; Barbara Hawkins, executive director/superintendent of George Gervin Academy; Lasana Hotep, educator, consultant for Black Male Enrichment and developer of nationally recognized program, AAAMASU (African-American Men of Arizona State University); and Steven Seleznow, President/CEO of ACF and former deputy director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Black boys are put on a tract by the education system, not a college tract,” said Hotep. Early on Hotep noted they are put on a tract not to succeed, but to fail or just get by. Seleznow agreed. Selznow stated it is important for parents to check how their child is placed in certain classes and how they are handled in the system from day on.

“Black men have been seen as a threat since the reconstruction time and before,” he noted. “As the system as a whole tries to neutralize Black males young and old.”

Referring to the treatment and disrespect shown President Barack Obama by other politicians, including Arizona’s governor, Hotep noted that because of racism and bigotry this country has a problem with Black people.

This problem is exemplified in the low graduation rates of Black males, their high rates of placement in special education, and the disproportionate use of suspensions and expulsions to discipline them.

Parents and community members need to be more involved in the schools and districts stated Dr. Hart. “Take a look at who we are putting in our schools; teaching our children, running our schools. We must get involved in the board meetings and make our presence known.”

“Take time out of your office. Put down your Blackberry and get involved regardless if you are a parent or not,” demanded Garrett of the audience. “Don’t talk about it be about it.” He and the rest of the panelist agreed action by everyone, especially those who have the capability, is the only way things are going to change.

Hawkins noted the importance of education as a way out of poverty or means to improve your socio-economic status needs to marketed better in the community. The brother of NBA legend George Gervin, Hawkins grew up with four brothers who were athletes in the Detroit area, education and its value should be emphasized as any sport.

The event not only provided insight on the crisis on Black male education challenges, but also provided an avenue for more African-Americans to learn of the life changing work of the Black Philanthropy Initiative.

The Black Philanthropy Initiative, which began in 2008, advances equity, health, education, leadership and social justice issues throughout Arizona. Through strategic grant making, the endowment supports nonprofits serving African-Americans in those critical areas and more.

For more information on the ACF’s Black Philanthropy Initiative contact Keva Womble at kwomble@azfoundation.org.
 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in African American Education News, African American News

 

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Wasting Time Is New Divide in Digital Era

30 May

Drew Kelly for The New York Times

Alejandro Zamora, an eighth grader, calls himself “a Facebook freak.” His mother would prefer that he use the computer for homework.

By 

In the 1990s, the term “digital divide” emerged to describe technology’s haves and have-nots. It inspired many efforts to get the latest computing tools into the hands of all Americans, particularly low-income families.

Technology at home is “not a savior,” said Laura Robell, the principal of Elmhurst Community Prep in East Oakland, Calif.

Those efforts have indeed shrunk the divide. But they have created an unintended side effect, one that is surprising and troubling to researchers and policy makers and that the government now wants to fix.

As access to devices has spread, children in poorer families are spending considerably more time than children from more well-off families using their television and gadgets to watch shows and videos, play games and connect on social networking sites, studies show.

This growing time-wasting gap, policy makers and researchers say, is more a reflection of the ability of parents to monitor and limit how children use technology than of access to it.

“I’m not antitechnology at home, but it’s not a savior,” said Laura Robell, the principal at Elmhurst Community Prep, a public middle school in East Oakland, Calif., who has long doubted the value of putting a computer in every home without proper oversight.

“So often we have parents come up to us and say, ‘I have no idea how to monitor Facebook,’ ” she said.

The new divide is such a cause of concern for the Federal Communications Commissionthat it is considering a proposal to spend $200 million to create a digital literacy corps. This group of hundreds, even thousands, of trainers would fan out to schools and libraries to teach productive uses of computers for parents, students and job seekers.

Separately, the commission will help send digital literacy trainers this fall to organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Some of the financial support for this program, part of a broader initiative called Connect2Compete, comes from private companies like Best Buy and Microsoft.

These efforts complement a handful of private and state projects aimed at paying for digital trainers to teach everything from basic keyboard use and word processing to how to apply for jobs online or use filters to block children from seeing online pornography.

“Digital literacy is so important,” said Julius Genachowski, chairman of the commission, adding that bridging the digital divide now also means “giving parents and students the tools and know-how to use technology for education and job-skills training.”

F.C.C. officials and other policy makers say they still want to get computing devices into the hands of every American. That gaps remains wide — according to the commission, about 65 percent of all Americans have broadband access at home, but that figure is 40 percent in households with less than $20,000 in annual income. Half of all Hispanics and 41 percent of African-American homes lack broadband.

But “access is not a panacea,” said Danah Boyd, a senior researcher at Microsoft. “Not only does it not solve problems, it mirrors and magnifies existing problems we’ve been ignoring.”

Like other researchers and policy makers, Ms. Boyd said the initial push to close the digital divide did not anticipate how computers would be used for entertainment.

“We failed to account for this ahead of the curve,” she said.

A study published in 2010 by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that children and teenagers whose parents do not have a college degree spent 90 minutes more per day exposed to media than children from higher socioeconomic families. In 1999, the difference was just 16 minutes.

The study found that children of parents who do not have a college degree spend 11.5 hours each day exposed to media from a variety of sources, including television, computer and other gadgets. That is an increase of 4 hours and 40 minutes per day since 1999.

Children of more educated parents, generally understood as a proxy for higher socioeconomic status, also largely use their devices for entertainment. In families in which a parent has a college education or an advanced degree, Kaiser found, children use 10 hours of multimedia a day, a 3.5-hour jump since 1999. (Kaiser double counts time spent multitasking. If a child spends an hour simultaneously watching TV and surfing the Internet, the researchers counted two hours.)

“Despite the educational potential of computers, the reality is that their use for education or meaningful content creation is minuscule compared to their use for pure entertainment,” said Vicky Rideout, author of the decade-long Kaiser study. “Instead of closing the achievement gap, they’re widening the time-wasting gap.”

Policy makers and researchers say the challenges are heightened for parents and children with fewer resources — the very people who were supposed to be helped by closing the digital divide.

The concerns are brought to life in families like those of Markiy Cook, a thoughtful 12-year-old in Oakland who loves technology.

At home, where money is tight, his family has two laptops, an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii, and he has his own phone. He uses them mostly for Facebook, YouTube, texting and playing games.

He particularly likes playing them on the weekends.

“I stay up all night, until like 7 in the morning,” he said, laughing sheepishly. “It’s why I’m so tired on Monday.”

His grades are suffering. His grade-point average is barely over 1.0, putting him at the bottom of his class. He wants to be a biologist when he grows up, he said.

Markiy attends Elmhurst Community Prep, located in a rough area (the school has a tribute hanging in its hallway to a 15-year-old girl recently stabbed to death by the father of her baby). Thirty-five percent of the students, like Markiy, are black, and most of the rest are Hispanic.

Alejandro Zamora, 13, an eighth grader, calls himself “a Facebook freak.” His mother, Olivia Montesdeoca, said she liked the idea of him using the computer (until it recently broke) but did not have much luck getting him to use it for homework.

“He’d have a fit. He’d have a tantrum,” she said, adding that she really did not understand some of what he did online. “I have no idea about YouTube. I’ve never even heard of a webcam.”

Ms. Robell, the principal, said children needed to know how to use technology to compete, but her priorities for her students were more basic: “Breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

Many lower-income families take great pains to manage how their children use their devices.

In Boston, Amy and Randolph Ross, neither of them a college graduate — she works in a hospital and he at a bookstore — recently bought their twin 15-year-old girls laptop computers as a reward for good grades. The parents make sure the computers are used mostly for homework or for the girls to explore their interest as budding musicians.

“If you just buy the computer and don’t guide them on the computer, of course it’s going to be misused,” Ms. Ross said.

Her mother-in-law, Edna Ross, the matriarch of their African-American family who lives nearby in Dorchester, Mass., feels the same way. She got a new Hewlett-Packard computer last year through a project funded by the National Institutes of Health intended to provide both access and nine months of digital literacy training.

Edna Ross is strict about how her grandchildren use the computer when they visit. One of her grandsons once sneaked onto the computer and put a picture of himself on his Facebook page making an obscene gesture.

She told him if he could not control himself, he could not use the computer. Training, she said, is crucial.

“If you already have a child who feels like anything goes and you put a computer in his hand,” she said, “he’s going to do the first negative thing he can find to do when he gets on the computer.”

 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in African American Education News, African American News

 

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America’s Obsession with Silencing Cornel West

30 May

by Dr. Boyce Watkins

Michael Cottman at Black America Web wrote an interesting article about Cornel West and his on-going disagreement with the Obama Administration.   Cottman seems to feel that West is “obsessed” with President Obama, like a stalker baby’s mama seeking out another dollar of child support.   Cottman even goes as far as reducing West’s disagreement with Obama to a disappointment about inauguration tickets.  Says Cottman:

There was widespread speculation that West was upset because he didn’t get a ticket to the inauguration after campaigning hard for Obama in 2008. For West, it seems, Obama can’t do anything right: He’s not black enough. He isn’t doing enough or poor people. He lacks foreign policy experience. He doesn’t listen to black folks.  

What’s most interesting about Cottman’s “analysis” of Professor West is that he forgets that Cornel’s so-called obsession with President Obama is only exceeded by the obsession of those willing to protect Obama, even when he’s wrong.  Professor West has a legitimate right to critique President Obama, largely because, among other things, he helped get him into office.  He is also in the company of great men, like Martin Luther King Jr., whose “Poor People’s Campaign” was the last venture of his life.    Similar to King, West is the target of tremendous criticism from those who would prefer that poor people simply go away.  Obama, in fact, was the first Democratic President since Harry S. Truman not to mention poverty in the State of the Union Address.

There is nothing wrong with voting for Obama, but to give support to a politician and then ask him for nothing is just an inch short of maniacal buffoonery.  It’s interesting that having voted for Obama is not enough; some feel that you must be in love with him.   Protecting politicians like they are members of the family is simply bad politics, and makes you the laughing stock of those who understand how the game is really played.

Rather than addressing the critiques that Professor West has brought to the table, Obama-ites (those who feel that no one has a right to openly challenge the president’s policies) focus on the fine print of Cornel’s media campaign, the sentence where he mentions the inauguration tickets, thus using that comment to invalidate a long list of legitimate issues Cornel mentions.  This disingenuous way of evaluating Cornel’s words is one of the many parlor tricks used by the African American attack dogs propped up by MSNBC to keep African Americans in line without actually giving them anything:  Why should I convince you to support me by offering you something, when I can discredit alternative viewpoints instead?

I wonder if all of the liberals who’ve critiqued the president’s positions on gay marriage, women’s rights, immigration, etc are also considered to be “obsessed” with the president?  It seems that the Obama Administration becomes “obsessed” with the black community around election time (when they need us to show up to the polls), but doesn’t pay much attention to our key issues at any other time.  In a free society, should we not all be “obsessed” with pushing our political leaders (including Obama) to do the job that we sent them to Washington to do?  This is especially true of any politician expecting exceptional loyalty from the African American community.  Speaking up and using your voice is one of the most important rights you possess in an allegedly free democracy, and we can’t give up these rights for anyone.

Would critics of Cornel West be happier if he simply remained silent and chose not to speak about poverty, the deaths of black teenagers, mass incarceration or black unemployment?   Obama remains silent on these issues, but speaks to the concerns of other communities, which has allowed him to be co-opted by Newsweek as “The First Gay President.”

Obama-ites, your decision to enforce silence in the face of meaningful critiques has caused you to be ridiculed, as your hero has been strong armed into appointing a  Harvard alum (Elena Kagan) to the Supreme Court without even considering a black woman for the job.  It has led to Obama boldly speaking on behalf of gay and immigrant communities, while your fathers, brothers and husbands remain products of the prison industrial complex.  White folks are experiencing an economic recovery, while black unemployment remains at levels that would never be acceptable to the rest of America.  All the while, your president says that “the rising tide will lift all boats” and you just smile and marvel at how beautiful Michelle looked at the Beyonce concert.

Do you believe, for one second, that Democracy is made stronger by shutting down all dissenting voices?  Perhaps you also believe in White Supremacy 101, which means that Bill Maher can criticize President Obama nearly every week, but Cornel West can’t do the same thing,  This week, Maher made the remark that President Obama “couldn’t be less threatening if he were Trayvon Martin.”  If Cornel West had said the same thing, the Obama-ites would be up in arms.   Only Colin Powell understands how to offer support for President Obama without being a relentless cheerleader; he knows that unconditional support only weakens your negotiating position, which is why he has what is arguably the most valuable individual endorsement in the United States.

Rather than trying to get Cornel West to stop talking about poverty, how about seeing if Obama is willing to do something about it? Rather than asking Dr. West not to mention mass incarceration and inadequate inner city schools, why not review the Obama Administration’s policies on the issues?  Killing the messenger doesn’t squash the validity of the message.  Also, West was fighting for the black community before Obama came on the scene, and he will be battling for African Americans long after Obama has left the White House and retired with the other Harvard alums to Martha’s vineyard.

The critical point here is that supporting President Obama is fine.  But if there is anything that Bill Maher, Andrew Carvill, Paul Krugman or Chris Matthews can say that Cornel West cannot, then you’re being every bit as racist as the liberals who control your thinking.   Every man and woman has the right to form their own opinion, even if it is an uncomfortable truth.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in African American Education News, African American News

 

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Author’s son seeks Malcolm X letter at Syracuse

30 May

The son of Malcolm X’s biographer is asking Syracuse University to hand over a letter in which the slain activist writes about his shifting views on race relations, claiming his family is the rightful owner.

Malcolm X wrote to Alex Haley, his collaborator for “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” from Saudi Arabia in April 1964, about ten months before he was gunned down at a New York City hotel ballroom. The publisher of the autobiography later gave the letter to Syracuse University as part of a larger cache of papers to be used by researchers.

But Haley’s son, William Haley, said the publisher never had legal title to the letter and could not give it away. His lawyer said Tuesday he plans to make a legal demand this week for the letter, which he believes is worth at least $650,000.

“The history is important for us as a family, the legacy,” William Haley said. Haley said he was acting on behalf of himself and his two sisters. Haley said it’s possible the family would decide to sell the letter, but that would be a group decision.

Alex Haley died in 1992.

“So much of African-American history gets lost and is sometimes not in the place where we prefer it to be,” Haley said.

Malcolm X’s letter, written after a pilgrimage to Mecca, addresses the recent time he spent with Muslims “whose skin was the whitest of white.”

“In fact, what I have seen and experienced on this pilgrimage has forced me to ‘re arrange’ much of my thought patterns, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions,” he wrote.

The letter was sent to publisher Grove Press for inclusion in the autobiography, which was first published in 1965. Grove included the letter in files it gave to Syracuse University in 1969.

Sean M. Quimby, senior director of the university’s Special Collections Research Center, said it has documentation from Grove that shows Syracuse owns the transferred archive. He said the school’s ownership had never been challenged before in 43 years and he has not seen any evidence that the letter was lent, instead of given, to Grove.

“Our library and our special collections are publicly available to anyone, and there is a greater good served,” Quimby added.

Haley’s attorney, Gregory J. Reed of Detroit, said Haley passed along the letter to Grove only so it could be included in the autobiography and that Grove never had legal title.

Haley said he is acting now because he only found out about details of the letter recently after talking to Reed, who collects Malcolm X material. (AP)

 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in African American News

 

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National Black Chamber of Commerce® Announces Annual Convention In Atlanta

30 May

The National Black Chamber of Commerce® celebrates its 20th Annual Convention in Atlanta, GA July 19-21, 2012 at the Four Seasons Hotel. “The theme of the convention is ‘Good Policy Leads to a Great Economy,’ a nod to thoughtful regulation of free enterprise,” says Harry C. Alford, President and CEO.

The convention will be headlined by a thorough workshop from SR Smoot Construction and Herman J. Russell Construction Companies on all upcoming bids and Proposals concerning the building of the $500 million Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. The presentation will include: timely tips for competitiveness, bidding suggestions, relationship building and procurement schedules. A company matchmaker will follow their presentation.

Our corporate partner, Visa, invites you to attend their panel on adapting and enhancing your business with relevant tips for conducting business in today’s economy. A team from Facebook will provide a hands-on training session about the Facebook platform and a more advanced tutorial on business strategies.

During the session on “how to do business with the government”, participants representing US Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, Department of Commerce and Environmental Protection Agency present helpful information on their agencies. Discussion topics also include energy, telecom regulations, procurement and international trade—especially how to do business in Botswana.

And just for the fun of it, there will be drawings during the event to win tickets on our official airline, Southwest Airlines.

The NBCC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of African American communities. The NBCC is a 501(c)3 corporation that is on the leading edge of educating and training Black communities on the need to participate vigorously in this great capitalistic society known as America. The entire event is open to the public. Additional details can be found at http://www.nbccconvention.org.

 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in African American Business News, African American News

 

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Comcast Announces Options for Data Usage Management

30 May

Comcast Announces Options for Data Usage Management

The spectrum crunch has come to cable. Comcast Corp., the country’s largest provider of cable television services recently announced that it is testing two new approaches to managing data usage by its customers.

According to a post on the company’s website, “The first new approach will offer multi-tier usage allowances that incrementally increase usage allotments for each tier of high-speed data service from the current threshold. Thus, we’d start with a 300 GB usage allotment for our Internet Essentials, Economy, and Performance Tiers, and then we would have increasing data allotments for each successive tier of high speed data service (e.g., Blast and Extreme). The very few customers who use more data at each tier can buy additional gigabytes in increments/blocks (e.g., $10 for 50 GB).”

Comcast described its second new approach as one that will increase data usage thresholds for all service tiers to 300 GB per month while offering additional gigabytes in increments or blocks. For example, an additional 50 gigabytes may cost a consumer $10.

In both approaches, Comcast will increase the initial data usage for their customers from the current 250 GB per month to at least 300 GB per month.

Advocacy groups such as Free Press have expressed their displeasure with data caps. In a statement released on Tuesday, Free Press policy director Matt Wood said, “The data caps being pushed by the biggest cable companies are bad for consumers — and the FCC should be investigating these caps, not endorsing them. All the evidence shows that caps on wired broadband platforms like cable make no sense. They don’t affect network congestion, even in the rare instances where congestion actually exists on these systems. Cable companies use them to penalize their subscribers and discourage them from using innovative services that compete with cable TV.

“Comcast’s recent actions show both the harms of these caps and the lack of any legitimate reason for them. Comcast started out by exempting its own content from its caps, while applying them to competitors like Netflix and other online video providers. Then Comcast changed course and suspended caps temporarily in all but a few markets — but promised to start overcharging any users there who exceeded these arbitrary limits.”

Of course, broadband providers should be free to try different pricing strategies. But the FCC’s apparent endorsement of these plans only makes sense in a world with real broadband competition. Unfortunately, the wireline broadband market is at best a duopoly and is trending toward a cable monopoly. That makes broadband providers’ pricing schemes almost immune to market discipline and consumer response.

“The FCC has turned a blind eye to this competition problem. If it wants to see experimentation in pricing that actually benefits consumers, we need a competition policy that creates more experimenters.”

Is there anything wrong with Comcast’s policy? Probably not. Telecommunications and cable companies have practiced tier pricing for decades. Arguably Comcast is merely applying the pricing practices for its cable services to its data services.

Telecommunications companies charge higher prices for certain packages of landline and wireless services. In addition, with the exception of basic tier services, the prices for premium services provided by cable companies have been unregulated for the better part of two decades.

While Free Press is calling on the FCC to implement a competition policy that would bring more players into the cable television market, crafting such a policy may be out of the FCC’s hands. Cable companies typically enter a local market by first meeting franchise requirements of a city, county, or state. While the Communications Act spells out the review process for applying for a franchise agreement, local requirements for service areas, infrastructure, and public channels are the barriers to entry that keep new entrants out of new markets.

In addition, cable companies face increasing costs to purchase programming from content providers such as Disney’s ESPN, and Time Warner’s TNT.

Innovative technology may be the next best way for a new provider to enter a market dominated by Comcast. There is no guarantee that entry by new cable providers will necessarily drive down prices, at least in the immediate and long run. New entrants will eventually seek to recover the costs of entry fees and programming by charging a rate just below that of the incumbent.

 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in African American Business News, African American News

 

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Monica Neal Named Sevior VP of Public Relations for TV One

29 May

monica neal*Silver Spring, MD – Cable industry veteran Monica Neal has been named senior vice president of public relations of TV One, effective Monday, June 25. In this role, she will lead and manage all of TV One’s communications and public relations, public affairs, talent relations, viewer services and investor relations.

Neal will join TV One from Turner Broadcasting, where she has spent the past 12 years in a variety of senior communications, marketing, business development and operational executive positions. Since 2009, she has been vice president of entertainment marketing for TNT and TBS, where she has provided oversight of integrated marketing for late night series Conan and Lopez Tonight, as well as partnerships designed to grow youth/diversity audiences, including for the launches of Hawthorne on TNT and Meet the Browns on TBS. Prior to her current position, she served as vice president and station manager of WPCH-Peachtree TV, and vice president of operations of Turner’s Strategy and New Products Group.

Prior to those positions, Neal had a long career in communications and media relations in the television industry. She joined Turner in 2000 as director of public relations and was promoted to vice president in 2002, adding responsibility for Turner Classic Movies in 2005. Prior to joining Turner, she held corporate communications and media relations positions at Court TV, Nickelodeon, ABC and HBO. She began her career in television as a production associate at Good Morning America in 1990.

“Monica is the perfect choice for this new position at TV One, as we work to build our in-house corporate communications capability,” said TV One President and CEO Wonya Lucas. “In this rapidly evolving digital and social media environment, it is more important than ever for communications and marketing to work closely together. Her deep understanding of the cable business and experience in PR, marketing and operations will provide a unique perspective as we continue to build awareness of TV One’s programming and brand with consumers, advertisers and distributors.”

A graduate of Smith College, Neal has participated in Turner Broadcasting’s Leadership Development Program, as well as the Time Warner Breakthrough Leadership/Simmons College Executive Management Program. She has been named to CableFAX Magazine’s list of the Most Influential Minorities in Cable, and in 2008 was named by Atlanta Woman Magazine to its list of “Top 25 Women to Watch.”

“I have long admired both Wonya and TV One, especially the network’s mission to portray the diversity of black life in America,” said Neal. “It is an exciting opportunity to help build a brand about which I am personally passionate, and I look forward to sharing and sharpening the skills I have acquired in the wonderful years that I have spent at Turner and in the cable industry.”

Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvone.tv) serves more than 57 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies, and music designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult black viewers.  In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is owned by Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK; www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets African American and urban listeners; and Comcast Corporation [NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK); www.comcast.com], one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services.

source:
Lynn McReynolds
lynn@mcreynoldselek.com

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American Business News, African American News

 

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Geoffrey Fletcher, Oscar-Winning Screenwriter, Starts Imagination Series Filmmakers Competition

29 May
Geoffrey Fletcher

Geoffrey Fletcher hopes to inspire new filmmakers.

Geoffrey Fletcher’s exemplary writing for the 2009 drama “Precious” scored him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, making him the first African-American screenwriter to win in that category.

And now in an effort to help spark the imaginations of aspiring filmmakers, Fletcher recently launced with the Tribeca Film Festival and Bombay Sapphire the Imagination Series filmmakers competition.

Beginning May 8 filmmakers around the world will have the chance to submit their very own short film based on a short screenplay written by Fletcher.

“We’re looking for inspiration and passion above all,” Fletcher told The Huffington Post.

“Spending a lot of money [on a production] never guaranteed any inspiration from the heart on any project,” he added. “We really want to make it known that the greatest investment in this piece should be oneself.”

“At the end of the day that’s what resonates and inspires any audience,” Fletcher said.

Five winning entries will be chosen by Fletcher and the Tribeca Film Festival, with the five filmmakers going on to direct and produce their own films; these will debut at an international movie premiere in 2013.

A Harvard graduate, Fletcher aims to inspire participants to become more creative in their everyday lives as well to encourage risk taking on projects.

“I would like to see studios take chances,” Fletcher said. “We had so many great films from the 1970s because of that spirit, but I also realize that the stakes are very high today.”

“It takes a lot of money to put a film out. And there are fears and pressures, certainly. But it would be great to operate as much or more from a place of desire,” Fletcher said.

“There is so much talent out there and not quite as much opportunity. So hopefully we’ll find some fantastic new voices and at the same time we’re excited about people involving more creativity in their everyday lives. And perhaps they’ll make more films or approach their work differently or inspire someone else to create and imagine.”

Find out more information about the film competition, at this website.

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American News

 

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‘Words of Protest, Words of Freedom: Poetry of the American Civil Rights Movement and Era’

29 May

words of protest (cover)*Jeffrey Lamar Coleman, Associate Professor of English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and the author of Spirits Distilled: Poems, has edited the definitive book about the mood and pulse of the American civil rights movement, Words of Protest, Words of Freedom: Poetry of the American Civil Rights Movement and Era.

Poetry is an ideal artistic medium for expressing the fear, sorrow, and triumph of revolutionary times. Words of Protest, Words of Freedom is the first comprehensive collection of poems written during and in response to the American civil rights struggle of 1955-75. Featuring some of the most celebrated writers of the twentieth century – including Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Lowell, Langston Hughes, Sonia Sanchez, and Derek Walcott – alongside lesser-known poets, activists, and ordinary citizens, this anthology presents a varied and vibrant set of voices, highlighting the tremendous symbolic reach of the civil rights movement within and beyond the United States.

Some of the poems address crucial movement-related events – such as the integration of the Little Rock schools, the murders of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers, the emergence of the Black Panther party, and the race riots of the late 1960s – and key figures, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and John and Robert Kennedy. Other poems speak more broadly to the social and political climate of the times. Along with Coleman’s headnotes, the poems recall the heartbreaking and jubilant moments of a tumultuous era.

The book includes poems by Maya Angelou, W.H. Auden, Amiri Baraka, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Langston Hughes, June Jordan, Philip Levine, Audre Lorde, Robert Lowell, Pauli Murray, Huey P. Newton, Adrienne Rich, Sonia Sanchez, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Derek Walcott, Alice Walker, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, and many others. Altogether, more than 150 poets showcase the breadth of the genre of civil rights poetry.

jeffrey lamar colemanProfessor Jeffrey Lamar Coleman

As a student and product of those turbulent times during the 60s, this poem by Sonia Sanchez resonates with me particularly from Coleman’s book:

malcolm
do not speak to me of martyrdom of men who die to be remembered on some parish day. i don’t believe in dying though i too shall die and violets like castanets will echo me.

yet this man this dreamer, thick-lipped with words will never speak again and in each winter when the cold air cracks with frost, i’ll breathe his breath and mourn my gun-filled nights. he was the sun that tagged the western sky and melted tiger-scholars while they searched for stripes. he said, “fuck you white man. we have been curled too long. Nothing is sacred now. not your white faces nor any land that separates until some voices squat with spasms.”

do not speak to me of living. life is obscene with crowds of white on black. death is my pulse. what might have been is not for him / or me but what could have been floods the womb until i drown.

– Sonia Sanchez, 1965

For those of us that grew up during the civil rights movement, this is a book that needs to be in your collection, a book that I highly recommend.

Dennis Moore is the book review editor for SDWriteway, an online newsletter for writers in San Diego. He is the author of a book about Chicago politics; “The City That Works: Power, Politics and Corruption in Chicago.” Mr. Moore can be contacted at contracts_agency@yahoo.com or you can follow him on Twitter at: @DennisMoore8.

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American Books, African American News

 

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African Immigrants Want No ‘Community’ with African Americans Explains New Book

29 May

community or conflict*A former USIA Research Officer found that African immigrants to the U.S. want no “reunion” or “community” with African Americans.The focus of this e-book is on the “Why” and how these attitudes could lead to conflicts in the future if not heeded and addressed RIGHT NOW.

“Africans come here and they are under misconceptions that African Americans are losers and don’t take advantage of opportunities,” says Dr. Eugene Walton.

African immigrants want no part of “community” with African Americans, is the finding of African Immigrants and African Americans: Community or Conflict?, published by EWEmedia in two formats: E/Book and Paperback. E/Books are delivered immediately to your mobile device and Paperbacks are delivered by mail. (Click on appropriate link below):

The main focus of the book is on the reasons for the overwhelmingly negative attitudes illustrated by this incident reported by an African immigrant: “…my mother took extraordinary measures to keep my sister and me separated from local black Americans…like Kicky, who lived across the street from us. My mother not only banned Kicky from our house, but also from the sidewalk in front of our house.”

The author of the research is Dr. Eugene Walton, former research officer with the U.S. Information Agency, who served as Regional Research Officer/West Africa, posted to Lagos, Nigeria 1963-1965. During his tour Dr. Walton supervised public opinion surveys on Africans’ attitudes on Cold War issues with additional questions on their attitudes toward American Negroes (African Americans). The results of the surveys, which showed Africans to be favorably inclined toward community with American Negroes, remained classified for 50 years and are now being made public for the first time. The goal of this research was to determine if current African immigrants shared the historic inclinations of their parents and grandparents in Africa years ago.
E/Book for e-readers, tablets, smartphones, computers: $5.95
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ZCRTQ4

Paperback (108 pp) : $6.95
https://www.createspace.com/3872317

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American News, African Diaspora News

 

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People of Note: 97 Year Old Playwright Showcases Her Play ‘This Way Forward’

29 May

by Deardra
Bertha and Dan Crawford as portrayed by Valerie Tekosky and Ralph McCain

Gertrude Jeannette

“This Way Forward” is the latest offering of The Hadley Players, a community theatre group nestled within the Harlem School of the Arts, located on 142nd Street and St Nicholas Avenue, and founded by 97-year-old Gertrude Jeannette, a denizen of the arts.

Ms. Jeannette is the playwright of “This Way Forward,” starring Colette Bryce, Maxx Carr, Khadim Diop, Albert Eggleston, Ivan Goris, Gary Lawson, Ralph McCain, Louise Mike, Janet Mitchell, Kimberlee Monroe, Ward Nixon, Arjenis Mora, Chantal Ngwa, Malek Ogee, Stacey Pryor, Jared Reinmuth, Sharon Shah, Rodney Sheley, Kalina Singleton, Kalvin Singleton, Donnell Smith, Nzintha Smith, Valarie Tekosky, Joan Valentina and Cookie Winborn.  Ward Nixon directed the production.

Having written five plays, “This Way Forward” is the first play written by Ms. Jeannette per the suggestion and encouragement of Lee Strasberg, an American actor, director and acting teacher who had a profound influence on the American theatre and with whom Gertrude studied directing and playwriting.  Strasberg was the director of the Actors Studio and the founder of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York and in Hollywood.  Included among his students were: Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, James Dean and Elia Kazan. Naturally Gertrude wrote about what she knew, so penned details of having grown up in Arkansas on a large family farm. Although, in the play, there is no specific region mentioned other than the southwest.  “This Way Forward” featuring a 24-character cast, is based on accounts from Miss Jeanette’s childhood when both whites and Blacks sharecropped and had large families to help provide the labor to work their farms.  Therefore, few children had the luxury of an education beyond the fifth grade.

Naturally every generation wants their children to do better, so Bertha Crawford (Valarie Tekosky), the wife of Dan Crawford (Ralph McCain) the central characters in the play, was determined to extend the community’s all-black school to the level of 9th grade. More educated than her husband, Bertha initially had to convince her husband and then eventually the rest of the community who were more concerned with survival than education, of the importance of a higher education. Although the Great Depression did not hit until 1929, there was a small recession in 1924 and then another one in 1927.  Naturally, whatever affected whites, affected Black people twice as much.  But this play did not dwell on material poverty but rather poverty of the mind.  Bertha saw education as a way of giving black children opportunity and a choice outside of sharecropping.

Cast of “This Way Forward” Photo Credit: Peter Cooper

Dan Crawford had gone as far as the fifth grade and believed he had all the book learning he needed since he had acquired a large farm.  He was generous in giving his time and labor to his neighbors, but was the kind of proud man that would not ask anything of his neighbors ― preferring to run his farm primarily by the sweat of his brow and that of his two sons ―  Herman (Gary Lawson) and Floyd (Donnell Smith). The Crawford neighbors were played by Albert Eggleston as Rev. Jackson, Tom Williams (Ward Nixon), Stacey Pryor as Sarah, Kimberlee Monroe as Minnie and Cookie Winborn as Aunt Effie (Louise Mike alternated).  The ladies often got together to form sewing-bees and gossip. Segregation was still in effect during the era of this play, thus making Aunt Effie essential to the life and death of the community as their midwife since oft-times Black folks were barred admittance to hospitals. While the ladies gossiped, their husbands joked and drank, but the younger men found their recreation occasionally on the seedier side of town where they found their entertainment in the form of liquor, dice, cards, loose women and the occasional fist fight.  This often frightened Bertha whose ambitions for her older son Herman were not shared by him. Her constant efforts to push her son to stay in school only caused him to dig in his heels and misinterpret his mother’s intentions toward him.  Eventually this divide brought about tragic results.

This production has a limited engagement with the last show on Sunday, May 27th at 2:30 pm.

 Community theatres are struggling all throughout New York and it is up to us the theatergoer and lovers of art to keep our theatres thriving.  In doing so, we keep our history alive and our stories told.  Open your wallets and send your donations to the Hadley Players, c/o St. Philips Church, 204 West 134th Street, NYC, 10030, so that we can live into perpetuity through our art forms. Gertrude Jeannette Cast of "This Way Forward" Bertha and Dan Crawford as portrayed by Valerie Tekosky and Ralph McCain

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American News, African American Theatre

 

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Black technological innovators are banking on a bright future

29 May

By Olu Alemoru, Staff Writer |

Blacks in technology

Despite the possible criminal fallout from taking Facebook public, and on paper making himself $19.1 billion in the process, you have to hand it to tech visionary Mark Zuckerberg — in a ruthless, Machiavellian kind of way — it’s quite an achievement to go from an idea in a college dorm room to a billion people logging on to your creation everyday.

Zuckerberg has followed in the footsteps of Bill Gates and the late Steve Jobs, to marry computers, technology, and entrepreneurship in hothouse environs of Silicon Valley — a rarified atmosphere dominated by White male ivy leaguers and a newer crop of male, Asian and Indian software developers.

But what is the Black tech world’s response; is there a Jackie Robinson ready to recast the scientific mold?

According to Cincinnati-based network systems engineer Greg G. Greenlee, who two years ago founded the Blacks in Technology LLC and website (blacksintechnology.net), that is a resounding yes.

Greenlee’s confidence comes in the wake of the much discussed CNN Black in America 4 documentary, chronicling of the NewMe accelerator program for minority-led tech ventures, co-launched in 2011 by entrepreneur, adviser and technology journalist Wayne Sutton.

NewMe is currently in its second run, this time backed by sponsors including Google, Hewlett-Packard, and venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz. The new batch of seven entrepreneurs was selected from more than 300 applicants.

“We have more than 600 members, and we’re tackling this problem now,” said the 39-year-old Greenlee. “It’s a shift I’ve not seen in years, and maybe I’m more attuned with launching my site, but all around, not just within my circle, it’s cool to be in tech. You see entertainers like MC Hammer, Will.i.am, and Kamillionaire, calling for more science education. President Obama is saying we need to invest in science education, not just for Black people. That’s going to change the mindset, the perception, and visibility.”

Greenlee’s site brings Black techies together from all over the country for networking, possible business collaborations, information sharing, and he also puts out podcasts — nearly 30 so far — interviewing leading Black innovators in the field.

After all, it’s not as if there haven’t been Blacks at the forefront of innovation. Every year celebrating Black History Month referenced are the likes of Garrett Morgan, who patented a traffic signal device in 1923.

Furthermore, inventor and computer engineer Mark E. Dean, the first African-American to become an IBM Fellow — the highest level of technical excellence at the company — led the design team that developed the interior architecture (ISA systems bus) that enables multiple devices, such as modems and printers, to be connected to personal computers.

He also led the team responsible for creating the first one-gigahertz computer processor, and helped in the early development of the computer keyboard.

“It’s great for Facebook and those entrepreneurs, but we suffer from a lack of images and visibility,” Greenlee added. “We see Zuckerberg, and other startups, like Google and Twitter, making billions. They do not lack role models in the field. When you think about innovation and technology, you automatically think of any culture besides Black culture. It’s like that Best Buy commercial … I created the camera phone … I gave your words a voice … I created the first text message. It’s a problem within our culture; we have to let our young people be comfortable with being smart, intelligent, creative, and innovative.”

“That’s why I’m working on an extension of the site,” he continued. “It will be built around a community of shared knowledge and experiences. There’s going to be a technical digest, like an online magazine, written by Black techies, on things like virtualization, web design and development, and networks. It will offer free online courses, and then we’ll put on conferences. Once we tear down the barriers, you’ll see an explosion of Black techs.”

No doubt techies like Cleavon Blair, Curtiss Pope, and Tiffani Bell.

Blair, whose three-year Scottsdale, Arizona-based start up Blosme, has developed a couple of key products in the search engine and online advertising realm, and is currently working towards a big launch of a global, payment process to rival Paypal.

“I’m African-American, and I’m in my 40s, so I’m not necessarily what the venture capitalists are looking for,” he explained. “But, I’ve been doing this for 15 years; I’ve worked for The Thompson Corporation, Intel, and in various aspects of software management. I have mixed emotions about Facebook, I’m really happy for Zuckerberg, at the end of the day he took something he created in his dorm to a public company, and that’s a huge achievement.”

Blair added: “[But] he had help, and we don’t do that in our community. We can have all the entertainers invest in music and alcohol, see a young brother over here with the next Google, and he can’t get $100. There are so many of us that don’t get that opportunity. There’s a pretty new, interesting, social platform called gokit.me, created by a young brother, but he’s not getting the same kind of buzz.”

A reporter ventured that Blair’s payment platform might put him on the front cover of Time, but he demurred and praised the work of his colleague Greenlee.

“That would be nice, but I have to say Gregg is a real hero,” he replied. “So many of us out here never knew of each other, and he’s bringing us all together. I personally believe we as African-Americans have a responsibility to share this industry with others. We can’t all become Zuckerbergs, but if young people can see there’s an opportunity to go into the field, then we’ll start to see ourselves as techs and innovators.”

Meanwhile, Bay Area-based Pope, who just turned 30, is the brains behind supermarket app Aislefinder, a navigational tool that makes it easier to find your favorite items in the store.

Pope, who segued from graphic design into technology, has seen his app, which is on the iPhone and android systems, downloaded about 10,000 times.

“I actually got the idea when I was 15, and worked in a grocery store,” he explained. “People would constantly be asking you to find something. I thought someone should create a map or directory to make it easier to find stuff. So, in 2008 I’m shopping with my wife for a last minute dinner party, and I was like surely there’s got to be an app for that, now. There wasn’t, so I thought, let me cobble something together.”

Last, but not least, Bell, based in North Carolina, was an original NewMe participant, who quit her job to create the online appointment booking site Pencil You In.

She studied computer science at Howard University, and went on to intern at IBM and Hewlet-Packard before working as a Web developer for a government contractor.

“My product is slightly different, in that people pay to sign up,” said Bell, who got the idea for the concept after constantly missing hair appointments in college. “I expanded it from hair to any kind of important appointment. We’ve signed up a few thousand people. Right now, the company is just me, and a couple of part-timers, but we want to become the place where all online appointments are scheduled. I watched as Facebook went public, and thought, [wow] I joined the site in 2004, when I was a sophomore. I’m focused on growth, in six months I’d like to have signed up 50,000 people.”

Arizona-based tech entrepreneur Cleavon Blair, wants to see young African-Americans emulate the likes of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Courtesy photo

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American Business News, African American Education News, African American News

 

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More lawyers of color a law school priority

29 May

By Charles Hallman

Staff Writer

 

According to a 2010 American Bar Association report, less than seven percent of partners and less than 20 percent of associates in law firms nationwide are people of color. Locally, only five percent of partners and 13 percent of associates are people of color. African Americans are only a fraction of these small percentages.

“When people see the numbers, they are surprised,” says Lawrencina Mason Oramalu, an assistant dean and multicultural affairs director at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. However, she argues that is not a complete snapshot of the profession.

“Those numbers are just about attorneys in firms. There are a lot of attorneys of color who choose not to work for a firm. They instead have a solo practice or may work for the government, a state agency, or in higher education like me. We aren’t included in those numbers.”

Nonetheless, Oramalu wants to see more Blacks in the legal profession, and recruitment is part of her office’s mission to increase the numbers.

A 2005 Mitchell graduate, Oramalu says she suspects debt is one of the main reasons why Blacks aren’t studying law. “I know that’s one of the things we are experiencing this year, because applications are down. It’s pretty expensive,” she notes. “Students are having second thoughts — is it worth the investment to go to law school? And of course my response is [that] it is an investment in yourself.”

Second, there’s the time factor: Full-time students must attend classes five days a week and spend 14 hours in class each week. “If you are on the full-time track,” explains Oramalu, “you definitely are doing it in three [years], but if you take some summer classes, some people are able to finish in two and a half. But if you are part-time, your credits fluctuate depending on what you can manage when you are working and going to school.”

Third, Oramalu quickly points out that being a lawyer requires some hard work. “There are going to be challenges, but we have to instill in our young people that they can do it.” In return, “A law degree opens up lots of different doors” and can prepare you for careers in such fields as government and the nonprofit sector.

William Mitchell, with a student body that is 16 percent students of color, has several programs designed for recruiting more Blacks to the profession.

The Future in Learning Law (FILL) program (June 11-27) is a two-week summer program for Twin Cities high school students. “During the program they learn about legal research, visit the courthouse, and participate in a mock trial,” explains Oramalu. “We try to emphasize different skills — how to evaluate the facts of a case, how to analyze the case, and oral and writing communication skills.” A current first-year female student was previously a FILL participant, and “We’re very proud of that fact,” says Oramalu.

Since 1990, the Summer Partnership in Law (SPIL) program (June 5 — July 19) offers undergraduate college students and graduates the opportunity to see if a law career is right for them. It is an intensive orientation to law school, with classes held twice a week during the summer along with an introduction to primary legal resources and important study and exam skills necessary for law school.

Her office also conducts campus visits from local students. “We need to go to the students, to the schools,” proclaims Oramalu. “We are trying to build relationships not only with high-school students, but also reach further back and work with middle-school students as well.”

She also works hard to combat the profession’s negative images and stereotypes often portrayed in media. “We do have a code of ethics that we are supposed to abide by,” Oramalu points out, adding that she stresses this every time she can when meeting with students.

“One of the things I think is important [for Blacks and other people of color] is for them to see people in the legal profession who look like them, doing positive things trying to bring about change. We will bring in attorneys and judges. They need to see real people doing the job.”

Oramalu’s office also helps Black students and other students of color make it once they arrive on the Mitchell campus. “Part of my job is not only to get the students [of color] here, but once they’re here, making sure that they feel they are in a supportive environment,” she says.

The REACH (Recruiting, Engaging, Acknowledging, Connecting and Helping) program is one such support, as is Students Together Advancing the Need for Diversity and Dialogue (STAND), which was formed this school year to further diversity efforts on campus and in the legal community.

Oramalu’s office also works with various multicultural organizations at the school and partners with the Minnesota State Bar Association, Twin Cities Diversity in Practice, and the American Bar Association Judicial Clerkship program. “This office is here to provide support for students of color, but I also make a special effort to reach out to the students,” says Oramalu.

Her consistent three-part advice to Mitchell’s Black students and other students of color is: “Keep remembering why you came and what’s your passion, and you can do it.”

 

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com. 

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American Education News, African American News

 

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Career Edge for HBCU Grads

29 May

In 2007, economists at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a study that captured considerable public attention and infuriated many educators at historically black colleges. Their finding was that black graduates of historically black colleges had a wage advantage over black graduates of other institutions in the 1970s, but that the advantage had been reversed by the 1990s.

A new study on the topic — by economists at Morehouse College and Howard University — has received much less attention. The research, published in The Review of Black Political Economy (abstract available here), finds that black graduates of black colleges continue to have a career advantage over black graduates of other colleges. The new study covers the same time frame as the previous one, and so extends well into the era of desegregation. That’s crucial because much of the speculation about the previous study was that predominantly white institutions have become better at recruiting and graduating black students, and at attracting top black students who had far fewer options in the Jim Crow era.

The new study used a different database and a different methodology, and one author says that those approaches lead to a more accurate reflection of where black Americans are in their careers and lives. Previous studies have used national longitudinal databases, while the new study is based on the National Survey of Black Americans, which the authors argue is a better tool for studying black Americans. Further, the new study employs the Duncan Socioeconomic Index, which gives credit not only for wages, but for working in high-prestige professions.

Using this approach, the new study finds that the career advantage has remained with black graduates of black colleges, not with black graduates of other institutions.

Gregory N. Price, chair of economics at Morehouse and one of the authors of the paper, said that the database he and his colleagues used was “more robust” than any of the national ones, such as College and Beyond.

Further, he said that the broader definition of career success (going beyond salary alone) was also appropriate. For “a whole array of fields,” he said, career success for black Americans may not have the same impact on wages as does career success for others. For instance, black doctors and lawyers who opt to work in low-income urban communities are in fact successes, he said, even if they may earn less than if they sought the best-paying jobs available for those in the medical and legal fields. Many black colleges in fact encourage graduates to think about careers that serve African American communities, and to define career success beyond money alone. (The other authors of the paper are William Spriggs and Omari H. Swinton of Howard University.)

At the same time, he acknowledged that “different databases can yield different results.” He said it was important that these findings be added to the discussion when people discuss the impact of attending a black college. Price agreed that the study from the Cambridge-based scholars had received much more attention than the one he and his colleges did. “MIT and Harvard are nice addresses to get a lot of attention,” he said.

Asked why he thought black colleges continue to have a greater impact on graduates’ career success than other institutions, Price cited mission and history. “We have a historical comparative advantage,” he said. “Some of us have been doing this since emancipation.”

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American Education News, African American Employment, African American News

 

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In Oakland schools, chronic absence, suspension derail black boys

29 May

California Watch

High rates of chronic absence, suspension and poor academic performance signal that more than half of African American male students in the Oakland Unified School District are at risk of dropping out, according to new research.

The Urban Strategies Council, an Oakland-based community advocacy organization, found significant disparities between African American boys and their peers: Fifty-five percent of black boys in the 2010-11 school year were falling off course from graduation or were at risk of doing so, compared with 37.5 percent of students overall in the district.

From kindergarten through 12th grade, researchers found that black boys struggled with regular attendance and suspensions and scoring proficiently on standardized tests or maintaining grades above a C average – warning signs that they might drop out.

Among African American males who were not on track to graduate, 73 percent in elementary school were chronically absent, missing 10 percent or more of school days for any reason, according to the findings released this week. In middle school, the same percentage had been suspended at least once. Nearly two-thirds of high schoolers were chronically absent and had less than a C average; 41 percent had been suspended at least once.

“We need to understand what’s going on if we’re going to effectively intervene and improve outcomes and graduation and success of African American males,” said Junious Williams, chief executive officer of the council.

The council’s reports on dropout indicators are part of Oakland Unified’s African American Male Achievement Initiative, an effort launched in 2010 to improve academic and social equity for black boys. The findings provide “a sense of urgency” for the district, said Chris Chatmon, executive director of the district’s Office of African American Male Achievement.

Chatmon, who plans to hold a community meeting next month to discuss the council’s findings, said improving attendance among black boys requires working with other agencies and the community and presents different challenges in different age groups.

In kindergarten and first grade, African American boys in the district were more than four times as likely as their white peers to be chronically absent, the council found.

“Five-year-olds don’t miss school without an adult knowing at home,” said Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works, an initiative that seeks to improve student success by reducing chronic absence.

Families might face hurdles, such as transportation or health problems, in getting their young children to school, or they might not understand the importance of kindergarten, said Chang, who has worked with Oakland Unified to address chronic absenteeism.

“Once you miss a month or more of school, and you miss a month or more in kindergarten and first, you’re not on track for reading in third grade,” she said. “We’ve got to make sure kids have a chance to start on the right track.”

One way the district has tried to target chronic absenteeism among young black students is by working with the Oakland Housing Authority. Forty percent of students at four West Oakland schools live in public housing; 30 percent of those students were chronically absent in 2010-11. Chatmon said the district saw an uptick in school registration by reaching out to West Oakland families living in public housing.

By the time black boys reach middle and high school, different factors begin to undermine attendance, Chatmon said.

“Street culture becomes more attractive than learning and school culture,” he said. “How do we define school culture? What is it? What would get our students getting up at 5 in the morning, running to school? … You get school culture right, then you will produce African American boys that produce high academic outcomes.”

Cultural clashes and misunderstandings also factor into high rates of suspension among black boys, Chatmon and Williams said.

“We still have a teaching and administrative body that doesn’t … understand the cultural context of where our students come from,” Chatmon said. “We have to do a lot of work with our adults to authentically engage with our boys, with our families, to understand our community context.”

African American boys made up 17 percent of Oakland Unified students in 2010-11, yet they represented 42 percent of students suspended. Disruption or defiance of authority was the most common reason for discipline, accounting for 38 percent of their suspensions.

Subjective standards for disruption and defiance – the reason behind more than 40 percent of suspensions in California and the recent target of criticism and legislative action - could be contributing to high suspension rates among black boys, Williams said.

The council recommended that Oakland Unified carefully monitor such offenses and clearly define what constitutes impermissible behavior. The district also needs strategies for prevention and intervention so students are not suspended for single incidents, Williams said.

In many ways, Chatmon said, that work already has started.

“This is a ‘we’ problem,” he said. “We are taking this on with the frame of full-service community schools that call out everybody, humbly. We can’t do it in isolation.”

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American Education News, African American News

 

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Swimming Classes for Minorities

29 May

Swimming Girl

With summer just around the corner, safety advocates are raising awareness about swimming pool safety and speaking about the importance to teach Latino and African-American children to swim.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission presents on its annual childhood drowning report, estimates of deaths and injuries associated with pools, spas and hot tubs, and it coincides with a national campaign that aims to reduce the number of similar events. The “Pool Safely” campaign is focusing this year on increasing swimming education in black and Hispanic communities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black children between the ages of 5 and 14 are three times more likely to drown than white children of the same age range. Meanwhile, research by the USA Swimming Foundation indicates that up to 70 percent of black and Hispanic children cannot swim.

Citing that research, safety commission chairman Inez Tenenbaum said “there’s no question” that not knowing how to swim contributes to the deaths of minority children who drown in pools and in natural bodies of water such as lakes, streams or the ocean.

“We are focusing on minority children because the data show they are most at risk for drowning,” she said in a telephone interview.

“It’s a cultural issue, because many of the African-American and Hispanic children have parents and grandparents who never learned to swim,” Tenenbaum added.

The safety commission is working with the Y, the American Red Cross, public schools and other community organizations to boost access to free swimming lessons.

In its report, the agency has found that:

— An annual average of 390 pool- and spa-related deaths involving children younger than 15 were reported from 2007 to 2009. About 73 percent of those deaths occurred at a residential location, and three-quarters of the reported deaths involved children under the age of 5.

— Of the estimated annual average of 5,200 pool- or spa-related injuries involving children younger than 15 from 2009 through 2011, approximately 51 percent occurred at a residential location.

— Portable pools accounted for an annual average of 40 deaths involving children younger than 15.

— Children between the ages of 1 and 3 represented 66 percent of the estimated injuries for 2009 through 2011 and 67 percent of the reported fatalities for 2007 through 2009.

— No deaths caused by entrapment, when the suction in a pool or hot tub traps a swimmer underwater, were reported in 2011. Seven entrapment injuries were reported last year.

According to the report, more than half of the reported deaths involving children under the age of 5 could be attributed to a lapse in adult supervision. Also, more boys were treated for pool- or spa-related injuries than girls.

“These numbers are consistent, and it has been long known that drowning is the number one cause of death in children younger than 5,” Tenenbaum said.

Tenenbaum noted that swimming is a featured activity in first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” fitness initiative, and she encouraged parents who don’t know how to swim to make swimming lessons a family activity.

At Thursday’s announcement, Tenenbaum will be joined by representatives from the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, USA Swimming and the Josh Project, a non-profit which teaches minority children to swim.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American Health, African American News

 

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Congressional Black Caucus rallies preachers to tackle voter-ID laws

29 May

BY WILLIAM DOUGLAS, McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON – The Rev. Dr. Franklyn Richardson longs for the old days, when all it took was Sunday sermons by African-American ministers to fire up their flocks to get registered and vote in local, state and federal elections.

“In the past, all we had to do was encourage people to register,” said Richardson, the senior pastor of the Grace Baptist Church of Mount Vernon, N.Y., and Port St. Lucie, Fla., and the chair of the Conference of National Black Churches. “Now it’s a different animal.”

African-American churches, historically at the forefront of the nation’s civil and voting rights efforts, are grappling this election year with how to navigate through the wave of new voting-access laws approved in many Republican-controlled states, laws that many African-Americans believe were implemented to suppress the votes of minorities and others.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and several hundred clergy leaders from the Conference of National Black Churches are scheduled to hold a summit Wednesday in Washington to discuss the new laws, their potential impact on African-American voters and how churches can educate parishioners, help them register and help get them to the polls on Election Day to prevent any significant drop-off from 2008.

“We will have attorneys there who are well-equipped to provide the guidance to the clergy members,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., the Congressional Black Caucus chair and a United Methodist pastor. “They will understand, before they leave, about some of the new laws in certain states designed – as we interpret them – to reduce the turnout. The day is over when they could just stand in the pulpit and say ‘Go vote. It’s your duty.’ They’ve got to now be equipped with some sophisticated information to help inspire a turnout and protect parishioners from some of the schemes that are out there.”

Since last year, at least 15 states have passed a wide array of laws that they say are aimed at reducing voter fraud. Up to 38 states, including some of those 15, are weighing legislation that would require people to show government-approved photo identification or provide proof of citizenship before registering or casting ballots.

Other changes that states have adopted or are considering include restricting voter-registration drives by third-party groups such as the League of Women Voters and the NAACP, curtailing or eliminating early voting, doing away with same-day registration and rescinding the right to vote of convicted felons who’ve served their time.

Advocates of the new laws say they’re needed to protect the integrity of the vote, to prevent illegal immigrants from casting ballots and to clamp down on voter fraud, although several studies over the years indicate that systemic voter fraud in this country is negligible.

A study last year by New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice said the new laws “may sharply tilt the political terrain for the 2012 election” by restricting voting access to 5 million people – most of them minorities, elderly or low-income.

States that have adopted such laws account for 171 electoral votes this year, 63 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, according to the Brennan Center. Some of the states with new laws – Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, and Virginia – are battlegrounds considered crucial to the fortunes of President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

African-American ministers, elected officials and civil rights advocates are especially concerned about photo ID laws. The Brennan Center study found that more than 21 million Americans don’t have government-approved photo identification. The NAACP estimates that about 25 percent of African-Americans nationwide don’t the proper documentation to meet some ID requirements. And, according to the Brennan Center, 15 percent of voters who earn less than $35,000 a year don’t have government photo ID.

Opponents of the photo ID requirement consider it the equivalent of a modern-day poll tax. They say it forces voters to pay for driver’s licenses or other government-approved picture ID in order to exercise a guaranteed constitutional right. Photo-ID advocates point out that such identification is needed to travel aboard airplanes and to purchase cigarettes and alcohol.

Seeking to minimize the poll-tax and disenfranchisement arguments, some states are making government-issued identification available free or at a reduced cost to voters who provide documentation proving they are who they say they are. Earlier this month, Virginia Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell signed an executive order calling on the state’s election board to issue non-photo IDs to all the state’s registered voters. He also ordered that a public awareness campaign be launched to educate residents about the new ID requirement.

“Every qualified citizen has the right to cast one vote,” McDonnell said in a statement. “Not two votes; not zero votes. It’s our duty as a democracy to ensure that is always the case.” McDonnell often is included on the list of possible GOP vice-presidential candidates.

The Justice Department recently rejected stringent photo ID laws in South Carolina and Texas as discriminatory. It’s reviewing Florida’s new voter laws as part of Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which requires approval of proposed voting-law changes in 16 mostly Southern states because they have histories of discrimination.

African-American clergy members work against this unsettled electoral backdrop. African-American churches played a significant role in voter turnout in 2008, which helped Obama capture swing states including Florida, North Carolina and Virginia to win the White House.

“The black clergy will have to do a yeoman’s job of educating their congregations about the various changes that vary from state to state,” said Nicole Austin-Hillery, the director and counsel of the Brennan Center’s Washington office. “The churches will really have to step up to the plate and help parishioners get the voter ID required by some states.”

At this week’s meeting, Congressional Black Caucus officials will urge African-American clergy leaders to embark on a 90-day voter empowerment effort starting in August.

The plan includes churches taking up “love offerings” – monetary collections – for church members who lack government-issued photo IDs and don’t have the means to pay for them; holding voter-registration drives in partnership with other organizations; encouraging parishioners to vote early or absentee where available and making sure that parishioners go to the correct polling stations on Election Day.

Caucus members also will show ministers innovative ways of getting the word out on the new voting laws, including giving hand-held church fans to parishioners – such as those designed by Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., and Florida election officials – that have information on how to vote absentee and how to fill out election forms.

But accomplishing some of the 90-day tasks could prove difficult.

Florida’s new laws, for example, shrank the early-voting period from 14 days to eight and eliminated voting on the last Sunday before Election Day. In 2008, scores of African-American churches in Florida and across the country held “Souls to the Polls” drives, in which churches helped parishioners go directly from the pews to the polls after Sunday services.

African-Americans composed only 13 percent of voters in Florida but 22 percent of early voters. And they accounted for 31 percent of voters on the final Sunday before the election, Dartmouth College government professor Michael Herron and University of Florida political science professor Daniel Smith told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee in January.

African Methodist Church Bishop McKinley Young, whose district encompasses Florida and the Bahamas, said losing that last Sunday “hurts the scope and reach of the people with ‘Souls to the Polls’ ” and will make turnout efforts tougher for African-American clergy.

“We have a challenge, and we’re not going to let these rules hinder us,” he said. “We worked hard in 2008 and we’ll work even harder in 2012.”

Email: wdouglas(at)mcclatchydc.com

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American News, African American Politics, African Americans and Religion

 

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What 100 African American Women Can Do

29 May

In the winter of 1970 in New York City, 24 Black women began meeting in their homes to assess the problems and opportunities left behind in the wake of the turbulent 1960s. As a result of their meetings, they formed the Coalition of 100 Black Women.

For the rest of the 1970s, they slowly but persistently worked to master root causes of issues that affected their families, their communities and themselves. They began to reach out to other Black women in common cause, and eventually, mobilized their emerging stature as a visible force of influence promoting gender and racial equity.

In 1981, the New York Coalition had over 500 members throughout New York City’s metropolitan area, far in excess of the symbolic “100” in its title.

Its effective role-model projects and its association with grass-roots community activity won notice in both local and national news media. As the Coalition gained recognition, Black women from other parts of the country aspired to duplicate its mission and programs in their own geographic areas.

In 1981, it decided to create a national organization, to expand beyond the boundaries of New York City,

Today, the national movement has garnered more than 6,000 members over the years throughout 60 chapters representing 25 states and the District of Columbia. In profile, the typical Coalition woman has completed college, holds a professional position, earns a median income of $40,000, is age 40 to 50, and is integrally involved in the socioeconomic and political matrix of her respective community.

Maryland has a Baltimore Metropolitan chapter as well as an Anne Arundel County chapter to foster principles of equal rights and opportunities, promote the awareness of Black culture. and to develop the potential of the membership for effective leadership and participation in civic affairs.

 

Baltimore%20Metropolitan%20Chapter%20of%20the%20Coalition%20of%20100%20Black%20Women.jpg

Members of the Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (Photo courtesy of chapter web site)

Audio

WBAL’s John Patti reports on the progress being made by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women
 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American News, African American Politics

 

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Black Self-Help Book: A Fool’s Errand?

29 May

Black Self-Help Book: A Fool's Errand?

When did you last buy something from a Black-owned business? Maggie Anderson is a champion of ” and has made supporting Black businesses her goal.

Anderson and her husband John are doing what all African-American households should do in the marketplace. A few years ago, they embarked on the “Empowerment Experiment” during which they vowed to patronize Black-owned businesses exclusively. The Anderson’s story about their activities during 2009 is in the book, “Our Black Year: One Family’s Quest to Buy Black in America’s Racially Divided Economy.”

Although they could have remained in the middle-class American mainstream, the couple set about to inspire more support for Black-owned businesses; stimulate supplier diversity in corporate America; and to get Black households to make pledges of support. The book’s purpose is to place the issues facing Black businesses in the national dialogue.

This dynamic duo should be lauded by the race as true role models who have affected us in ways that make us want to be better people. They are setting examples to correct Black Americans’ lack of economic power by showing how to strengthen our economic base; empower ourselves and/or be self-reliant and self-sufficient. In the book, “Our Black Year,” Anderson issues a call to action to all of us to do our part. Alfred Edmond Jr. of Black Enterprise Magazine adds that: “Our Black Year is a must-read.”

The most iniquitous thing among humanity is self-destruction and self-hatred. “Being your own worst enemy” is a widespread condition among African Americans. In the book, Anderson reports that: “Black people patronize businesses within their own ethnic group less than other ethnic groups.” She discovered that Blacks’ businesses lag behind all other racial and ethnic groups. Anderson points out that a dollar circulates among local shop owners, banks and business professionals for up to 28 days in Asian communities. In the Jewish community, a dollar circulates for 19 days. But, in the African-American community the money earned is gone within six hours.

African Americans are dysfunctional when it comes to capitalism and reciprocity. Blacks only spend 2 cents of each dollar we get with other Blacks, and often conspicuously choose to spend with White businesses rather than support Blacks. “Sometimes I wonder whether something in our DNA prevents us from working together, whether the cultural liabilities we’ve experienced and … cultivated over the decades have become the essence of who we are,” Anderson said. Anderson points out the plight of Black economic empowerment: “in flexing our economic might, by proving that we can shop wherever we want, in so doing, we abandoned Black-owned businesses.”

To be real players in American capitalism, Blacks should shop consciously and racial identity and affiliation should play a role in our actions. In contrast to Blacks that boast how “mainstream” they are in their purchases, the Anderson family transferred their money to a Black bank and switched cell phone companies based on race.

Blacks have more than $800 billion in expendable income each year, yet the majority of this money is spent outside our communities. You’d think that this would be a prime time in Black Americans’ development toward economic empowerment based on Blacks helping Blacks. In contrast to post-racial politics, Anderson encourages Blacks to: 1) subscribe to Black media, 2) open an account at a Black or community-owned bank, and 3) look for basic services – like an alarm or cable company – owned by Blacks. In addition to the Anderson’s campaign, radio talk show host Warren Ballentine teamed up with the National Bankers Association, a Washington, D.C.-based consortium of minority-owned financial institutions, in “The People’s Economic Movement” designed to encourage African-American individuals and institutions to deposit dollars in Black banks.

The book, “Our Black Year” and Ballentine’s “The People’s Economic Movement” provide interesting challenges for African Americans. To understand the interplay of race, economics, and conscious consumerism, it’s recommended that progressive Black civic and church groups, book and block clubs make “Our Black Year” their organization’s next month’s theme and topic. Contact: info@eefortomorrow.com or http://www.EEforTomorrow.com.

(William Reed is available for speaking/seminar projects via the Bailey Group.org)

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African American Business News, African American News

 

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Sudan Receives “large amount” of Hard Currency

29 May

Sudan Receives

KHARTOUM – Sudan’s central bank has received “a large amount” of hard currency from abroad and plans to use it to stabilize the pound following the local currency’s effective devaluation, the deputy central bank governor said in remarks published on Saturday.

Deputy governor Badr el-Din Mahmoud told al-Sudani newspaper the central bank had received the foreign currency from “friendly” countries. “It arrived in the treasury of the central bank in the past few days,” he said, without elaborating.

“We will meet the country’s currency demands until the end of this and next year,” he said, adding that all requests to fund imports would be met.

He did not give any details of where the money came from or the terms under which it had been transferred to Sudan. Sudanese newspapers reported earlier this year Qatar would give Sudan $2 billion in aid but this was never confirmed by either country.

The deputy governor was not immediately available for comment on Saturday.

Sudan’s economy has been battered since the country lost three-quarters of its oil production to South Sudan when the latter became independent in July.

The loss of oil revenues, the main source of state income and dollar inflows, has hit the pound hard and driven up inflation. One dollars buys around 5.5 Sudanese pounds on the black market, way above the official rate of around 2.7.

Sudan said on Friday it would allow foreign exchange bureau and banks to trade dollars at a level close to the black market rate, to end the increasingly widening spread over the official rate, a move that effectively devalued the currency.

Deputy governor Mahmoud told the newspaper exchange bureaux could set a dollar rate they found appropriate, while the central bank would consult commercial banks this week to set a rate below 5 pounds.

He said the new rate would erase the black market. “It will end (the spread) with one single rate.”

He also said Sudan had made $1 billion from gold sales so far this year and expects to make $3 billion in 2012, upping a previous forecast of $2.5 billion from gold sales. Exports would benefit from a new gold refinery in Khartoum that just started work, he added.

Sudan is hoping to develop its gold, agriculture and other industries to make up for the loss of oil. But experts say Sudan’s gold exports are hard to verify because much of the output comes from amateur seekers whose output is hard to verify and partly gets smuggled abroad.

As a result of a scarcity of dollars, inflation shot up to 28.6 percent in April, more than triple the level of November 2010. Sudan needs to import much of its needs.

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2012 in African Diaspora News

 

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Barbara Graves, Wife of Black Enterprise Founder Earl Graves Sr., Dies

25 May

Family matriarch was a guiding force of Black Enterprise and a quiet source of strength and inspiration

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Posted: May 25, 2012

Barbara Kydd Graves (Image: Courtesy of The Graves Family)

Family matriarch and a guiding force of Black Enterprise, Barbara Kydd Graves succumbed early this morning at Howard University Hospital after a more than three-year battle with gall bladder cancer. She was 74.

The wife of Earl G. Graves Sr., the founder, chairman and publisher of Black Enterprise, she played a vital role in the growth and development of the publication and media company, and its mission of economic empowerment and wealth building for African Americans.

Since the launch of Black Enterprise Magazine in 1970, Barbara Graves, an alumna of Brooklyn College and a former elementary school teacher, held every major position, including editorial director, circulation director and chief financial officer, during the 40-plus-year history of this company. Along the way, she is credited with grooming and developing several generations of executive leadership, including sons Earl Jr., Johnny and Michael, all of whom have worked as executives at Black Enterprise. Graves also co-founded and guided the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit, the premier networking event and conference for women executives of color.

“My mother was a steadfast and loving partner and counselor to my father; his quiet source of strength and inspiration,” says Earl Graves Jr., president and CEO of Black Enterprise. “She served as mentor and guide to several generations of employees, managers and professionals. Above all, she genuinely cared for every member of the Black Enterprise family, and held a special passion for children and young people in particular.”

Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.

 
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Posted by on May 25, 2012 in African American Business News, African American News, Influential African Americans Who Passed Away

 

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JAMAICA NEWSWEEKLY For the week ending May 25th, 2012

25 May

THIS WEEK”S SUMMARY
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JPS “ARROGANT” ACCORDING TO PAULWELL—05/19/12
Phillip Paulwell, Jamaica’s Energy Minister, believes the government could sell the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to new investors as an option, rather than let the utility company maintain what he calls its “monopolistic arrogance.” He did not mention how Jamaica could force a sale of the energy company, however. A sale would probably require a takeover if its owners do not support the plan because the government has a minority holding of nine percent. This latest effort to end the monopoly of the JPS on the distribution of power follows a remark by the company’s CEO Kelly Tomblin that the country would probably have to buy out the majority holders if it wanted to liberalize its operations.

U.S. JUSTICE BREYER VICTIMIZED BY BURLARY A SECOND TIME—05/19/12
United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, whose Caribbean home was burglarized in February 2012 by a man carrying a machete, has had his home in Washington D.C. broken into as well. No one was in the home at the time of the break-in, which was discovered on May 4, 2012. When in the United States, Supreme Court justices rely on the Court’s security officials; when traveling outside of Washington, the U.S. Marshals Service has the responsibility for their security. No details were provided about the latest crime against Breyer because the investigation is ongoing.

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP IN JAMAICA GLAD OF POLICE APOLOGY TO DIGICEL—05/20/12
Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) praised the Police High Command for apologizing to Digicel about the behavior of police participating in a raid conducted by tax authorities on the telecommunications firm. The JFJ now expects the same courtesy be given to other Jamaicans if it is found that police act in an unprofessional manner. According to the head of the JFJ, Carolyn Gomes, if the police can apologize in one situation, they can treat similar situations in the same way.

JAMAICA AWARDED FIRST SAFETY AWARD—05/21/12
Jamaica’s Ministry of Transport, Works, and Housing has received the first International Road Federation (IRF) Decade of Action Find A Way Award. The Ministry, led by Dr. Omar Davies, has acted as overseer of a regulatory overhaul and infrastructure improvement plan under the national Save 300 Lives campaign. The campaign seeks to provide safe traffic conditions for all the users of Jamaica’s roads. The award was given in recognition of a decision by the Ministry to disallow the use of fishtail or turned-down barrier terminals on new road projects. This follows guidelines issued by the IRF for safe roadside design.

CRIMINALS IN JAMAICA BUY COSTLY BOAT PASSAGE TO U.S.—05/22/12
Jamaican criminals have found a new way to avoid local law enforcement officials and travel to the United States. They buy safe passage to the U.S. via local fishermen who work with their counterparts in the Bahamas and Miami, Florida. Many suspected drug and gang leaders are using this method to escape arrest. Local fishermen have been involved in similar activities in the past. Criminals know that the 106 miles between the Bahamas and Miami offers cover, since individuals travel legally along this route.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL LAMENTS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN JAMAICA—05/23/12
The 2012 report from Amnesty International has called attention to the fact that there has been no accountability for the alleged violations of human rights that occurred under the 2010 state of emergency. The Public Defender conducted an independent probe into the alleged violations, but had not submitted a report of findings as of the end of 2011. The organization noted that the number of individuals killed by police in the first six months of 2011 dropped by 32 percent over the same period in 2010. However, several of those that were killed seem to have been the victims of “extra-judicial” executions.

TAX MEASURES ANNOUNCED BY GOVERNMENT—05/24/12
Dr. Peter Phillips, Jamaican Minister of Finance, announced the creation of new measures designed to raise $23.4 billion in additional tax revenues. The General Consumption Tax (GCT) will be reduced by one percentage point from 17.5 percent to16.5 percent, but more items will lose their exemption from the CGT. For example, milk-based products and condensed milk, along with saltfish, will be taxed. Chicken and sanitary napkins will continue with the tax-free status, said Phillips. There will be a special tax of $9.50 imposed on each liter of alcoholic beverage under the new tax regime.

“DUDUS” TO BE SENTENCED ON JUNE 8, 2012—05/25/12
Jamaican drug kingpin Christopher “Dudus” Coke will be sentenced on June 8, 2012, in a New York court. He faces 23 years in prison in the United States after being convicted on charges of racketeering and conspiracy. Prosecutors in the U.S. used the testimony of Anthony Brown, former assistant track and field coach at a St. Catherine high school, to  strengthen their case against Coke. Brown said he left Jamaica in 2001 because he was afraid Coke would murder him.

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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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FELLOW JAMAICAN TESTIFIES AGAINST “DUDUS”—05/22/12
Jermaine Cohen, 37, testified in the case of Jamaican crime boss Christopher “Dudus” Coke, telling the court about how Coke drafted him into his drug gang. Cohen described the Coke system during a sentencing hearing. Prosecutors called Cohen to the stand in an attempt to convince the judge to sentence Coke to the maximum of 23 years for his conviction on racketeering and assault charges.

JAMAICAN CRIMINALS SMUGGLED FROM BAHAMAS—05/23/12
A search for a group of missing Jamaicans has brought to light an illegal trafficking plan that used the waters around the Bahamas to smuggle criminals into the United States. The alleged smuggling route goes from Grand Bahama and Florida, allowing Jamaican criminals a safe way to avoid law enforcement. This is a plan used by high-profile gang and drug trafficking leaders. The police in the Bahamas remain silent on the matter of the missing Jamaican men, whom they believed were trying to enter the U.S. illegally at a cost of $5,000 each.

JAMAICAN DIASPORA CONVENTION SPARKS BOOK GIFT—05/24/12
Kevin O’Brien Chang is the author of “Jamaica Fi Real.” He presented a copy of this book to Marlene Malahoo Forte, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Jamaica. The book’s presentation is a prologue to the upcoming Jamaican Diaspora Convention, which will be held between June 15 and June 17, 2012, in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Chang is a member of the Jamaican Diaspora who lived in Canada for 15 years, but who has returned home to Jamaica. The Jamaican Diaspora totals some 3.3 million people and is an important part of Jamaica’s global plans.

JAMAICAN WINS GOLD MEDAL AT UK’S CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW—05/25/12[
The Jamaican Horticultural Society received a gold medal for Plant of the Year and the Royal Horticultural Chelsea Show in the United Kingdom. The Jamaican team was greeted by Queen Elizabeth II at the special. Team members said they had hoped to take first place after winning 11 Silver Gifts Awards over the past 16 years of entries. The team comprises volunteers from the island.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS SUMMARY provided by Caribbeantopnews.com
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HUNDREDS OF FORMER SOLDIERS MARCH ON HAITIAN CAPITAL—05/19/12

TWO AMERICAN MEN ARRESTED IN HAITI AT PRO-ARMY MARCH—05/20/12

DOMINICANS CHOOSE NEW PRESIDENT—05/21/12

PRIME MINISTER OF BARBADOS PRAISES CARIBBEAN WRITERS—05/22/12

MYSTERY SURROUNDS CUBA’S UNDERSEA INTERNET CABLE—05/23/12

CONCACAF ATTEMPT TO GET BLAZER OUT OF FIFA—05/24/12
Visit Caribbeantopnews.com for the weekly Caribbean News Summary, Caribbean Events & Announcements and Caribbean Recipes.

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BUSINESS NEWS SUMMARY
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TOYOTA JAMAICA EXPANDS OPERATIONS TO MONTEGO BAY—05/19/12
Company operations will be expanded beyond Kingston to Montego Bay in August 2012, according to Tom Connor, head of the dealership of Toyota Jamaica Limited. The firm is actively recruiting administrative, technical, and sales staff, along with a branch manager, for its new 1.5-acre facility. The timing of the expansion was prompted by the moves of a competitor to the area. Eighty percent of Toyota Jamaica is owned by the Toyota Tshusho Corporation of Japan and 20 percent by Janet Panton. The firm sold 1,700 units in Jamaica in 2011, which shows that about 20 percent of its business comes from western Jamaica. The new operations will better serve this market, said Connor.

MAHARAJ WANTS AATT CONTRACTS INVESTIGATED—05/20/12
The Transport Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Devant Maharaj, would like the Integrity Commission to investigate a board member of the Airports Authority of T&T (AATT) for allegedly giving contracts to companies that he owns. The revelations were made during a media interview after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Caribbean Airlines and the University of T&T. According to Maharaj, a board member of the AATT made decisions, along with two other board members and the chairman, concerning human resource contracts. The member in question received three contracts at a cost of $4 million.

ELECTRICITY MONITORS CAN LEAD TO MORE EFFICIENT ENERGY USE—05/23/12
Solarbuzz Jamaica wants to help individuals reduce their electricity costs. The firm is ready to help consumers attain a desired level of energy used by installing an Owl Electricity Monitor. The monitor allows users to see and keep track of their energy consumption. It plugs into the break panel and shows how much electricity each appliance at a location uses. The initial cost of installation is $24,000, but in the first month, customers can see a reduction of 20 percent to 30 percent in their electricity consumption.

PAN JAMAICAN INVESTMENT TRUST BUYS SHARE OF CHUKKA CARIBBEAN—05/24/12
Pan Jamaican Investment Trust has acquired a 20 percent stake in Chukka Caribbean, a tour operator held by the Melville family. Pan Jamaican paid US$4 million for its share in the company. According to Stephen Facey, president and CEO of Pan Jam, the price was only disclosed after directors from both organizations met to discuss the issue in the corporate office in New Kingston. Pan Jam’s new investment strategy involves targeting profitable organizations that earn foreign exchange.

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CARIBBEAN TECHNOLOGY NEWS SUMMARY provided by Caribbeantopnews.com
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JN FINANCIAL SERVICES LAUNCHES NEW TYPE OF CASH MACHINE—05/19/12

LOYALTY TO BLACKBERRY DEVICES LESSENS AMONG JAMAICANS—05/20/12

FIRST ENERGY INSTITUTE OPENS IN CARIBBEAN—05/22/12

JAMAICAN NEWSPAPER GROUP TO FOCUS ON DIGITAL STRATEGY—05/23/12

 

Visit Caribbeantopnews.com for the weekly Caribbean News Summary, Caribbean Events & Announcements and Caribbean Recipes.

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ENTERTAINMENT
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BEENIE MAN APOLOGIZES TO GAY COMMUNITY—05/19/12
The Jamaican reggae artiste Beenie Man has issued an apology to the gay community for his “homophobic” lyrics. In a new video, Beenie Man says that he has nothing against anyone and that he respects every human being, regardless of their beliefs or sexual preferences. He asked the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community not to base opinions of him on song he sang 20 years ago.

FEWER JAMAICAN MUSIC ACTS INVITED TO ZIMBABWE—05/20/12
Following a number of concerts that featured Jamaican reggae and dancehall musicians, music promoters in Zimbabwe have decided to book more African acts for concerts in their nation. According to unnamed promoters, people in Zimbabwe are tired of Jamaican reggae artistes taking over the international shows. The trend was started by Bob Marley when he performed in Zimbabwe in 1980 in a concert that honored the nation’s anniversary of independence.

SEAN PAUL UNVEILS NEW SINGLE FOR OLYMPIC GAMES—05/21/12
Sean Paul, a Grammy-winning Dancehall star, has created a new single that is designed to boost the enthusiasm of Jamaica’s athletes and fans at the 2012 summer Olympics in London. The single, “Hold On,” from Paul’s album “Tomahawk Technique,” is an Olympic anthem for Jamaican athletes in particular and international athletes generally. It speaks of the goals that Jamaican artistes have for the games and provides inspiration to people to do their best in whatever they may do.

JAMAICAN MUSIC STARS TO PERFORM AT ADIDAS JAMBOREE IN NEW YORK—05/22/12
A number of top dancehall and reggae artistes will participate in the Adidas Jamboree concert on Randall’s Island, New York, on June 9, 2012. Among them are Shabba, Shaggy, Richie Stephens, and Fay Ann Lyons. The concert will be a celebration of Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence and will occur after the yearly Adidas Grand Prix track event.

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SPORTS
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WINTER OLYMPIC HOCKEY TEAM HOPES FOR JAMAICA ENHANCED—05/19/12
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) accepted Jamaica and Qatar as its 71st and 72nd members at the organization’s Annual Congress for 2012. While not known for their cold weather, the two countries join a number of non-traditional hockey nations included in the IIHF membership. There is only one ice rink in Jamaica and just 20 players, but acceptance into the IIHF represents a first step toward larger goals. The Jamaica Olympic Ice Hockey Federation was founded in the winter of 2011.

JAMAICAN WOMEN GOLFERS COMPETE IN CARIBBEAN CLASSIC—05/20/12
Six Jamaican women will compete in the 2012 Caribbean Classic golf tournament May 24-26 in the Dominican Republic. The site of the tourney is the Casa de Campo Resort and Golf Club in La Romana. The team event includes groups of unlimited number from each member nation participating in the Caribbean Gold Association (CGA). They play 188 holes each day of the competition. The Jamaican women’s team includes Jodi Munn-Barrow, Michelle Gabay, Leiz Munn-Blakely, Rowena Coe, Shelley Hendrickson, and Celsa Nuno.

JAMAICANS IMPRESSIVE IN SHANGHAI DIAMOND LEAGUE MEET—05/21/12
Jamaicans Veronica Campbell-Brown and Novlene Williams won with impressive results in the 200 meter and 400 meter races, respectively, at the Shanghai Diamond League in China. Fellow countryman Asafa Powell achieved an easy victory in the men’s 100 meters as well, defeating Michael Rodgers on a wet and windy day. Campbell-Brown ran the 200 meters in 22.50 seconds, while Powell won his race with 10.02 seconds.

BOLT SET TO IMPROVE SEASON’S BEST TIME—05/22/12
Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprint champion, plans to improve upon his best performance in the 100 meters thus far this season when he races in his first competition in Europe before the 2012 Olympics in London. Bolt won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and clocked 9.32 seconds in a 100-meter race in Kingston, Jamaica on May 5. Bolt says he definitely wants to run the distance faster, maybe 9.7 seconds.

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Doing Whatever It Takes

The house in which Jesus was teaching was packed with people who had come from all over Capernaum to hear Him speak. It was then that the four men came. Even if they were by themselves there was no room for them because not only was the house packed, but its entrance was so jammed that “no one could get in or out” (Mark 2:2, The Message). But they were not alone; they had brought with them a man, perhaps a family member or friend, who was sick with the palsy and whom only Jesus could heal. The problem was they were not likely to receive any sympathy from those present; no one was going to let them in.

In an act of creative desperation, the friends decided there was only one way to get Jesus’ attention. The narrative continues, “When they weren’t able to get in because of the crowd, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher” (v.4). Back in the day, houses in the east were generally flat-roofed and  people engaged in social activities on them (remember David strolling on the roof of the palace when he saw Bathsheba – 2 Samuel 11:2). A trap door led from the roof into the house and it was this door that the men removed. If they could not get him in through the door, they were going to use the next best available option. They would do whatever it took to ensure Jesus was aware of the man with the palsy. After all, the fact that he had to be carried said a lot about his condition.

We are not told that the man or his friends professed faith in Jesus’ ability to heal him. In fact, up to this point no words were exchanged between them and Jesus. However, in this instance words were not necessary because their actions spoke volumes about their faith. It could not have been easy to get the man on his stretcher, which was “probably a mattress, or perhaps a mere blanket spread to lie on, so as to be easily borne” to the roof but they did it. The text tells us, “When Jesus saw their faith” and after responding to the religious leaders on some points of objection they raised, He said to the man, “Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion” (vv. 11-12, KJV).

The situation was desperate and it demanded desperate action. These men could have been easily discouraged by the crowd present but to have done so they would have missed Jesus’s miracle. Nowhere in the text are we told that anybody else was healed while He was in the house. These men knew where He was and were not prepared to allow obstacles to stop them from reaching Him. Do you have that desperate kind of faith? Is there something pressing you need that only God can provide? No, we do not have to take off roofs to reach Him but what was true then is still true today; faith moves the hand of God and without it, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to get your miracle? If so, what is stopping you from doing it?

 

CEW

 
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Posted by on May 25, 2012 in African Diaspora News, Caribbean News

 

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