|
|
Top news stories personally selected by the publishers for their relevance to the Black American community.
-
Prosecutors at the human rights trial of former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor alleged Thursday that Christian televangelist Pat Robertson had lobbied the White House on Taylor's behalf in return for a gold mining contract.
American televangelist Pat Robertson arrives for the funeral of the Rev. Jerry Falwell at Thomas...  American televangelist Pat Robertson arrives for the funeral of the Rev. Jerry Falwell at Thomas Road Baptist Church in this May 2007 file photo in Lynchburg, Va. Prosecutors at the human rights trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor allege that Robertson tried to help Taylor improve his image in Washington. The controversial pastor and former Republican presidential contender met with then-President George W. Bush on Taylor's behalf, prosecutors charged during cross-examination of Taylor in a Dutch courtroom, allegedly in return for a contract to mine gold in southeast Liberia -- a contract they say that Taylor had no legal right to grant.
Lead Prosecutor Brenda Hollis questioned Taylor about how he may have skirted the Liberian legislature in order to get Robertson his gold mining contracts.
"Mr. Taylor, even the legislature in place in 1999 actually refused to ratify this agreement you had with Pat Robertson. Isn't that correct?" asked Hollis.
Taylor answered: "There was contention about different issues, yes."
And so you just went around the legislature. Isn't that right, Mr. Taylor?
"I don't know if we went around them. I would disagree with you," replied Taylor.
Robertson made widely publicized public statements in support of Charles Taylor in 2003. However, Chris Roslan, a spokesman for Robertson, denied to ABC News that Robertson ever discussed Taylor with Bush.
But on the stand, Taylor answered, "That is correct," when asked if he had previously indicated that Robertson had met with Bush, and when asked if Robertson had volunteered to speak with high administration officials on his behalf.
Taylor is being tried in the Netherlands by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, an independent judicial body under the auspices of the United Nations that receives a third of its funding from the U.S.
The gold deal went through in June 1999, with Robertson allegedly pumping $15 million dollars into the project.
Hollis asserted that much of the money went straight into Taylor's pockets, which Taylor denied.
Robertson's company, of which he was president and sole director, was called Freedom Gold, Ltd. The agreement gave the Liberian government 10 percent equity interest in the company and Liberians could purchase at least 15 percent of the shares after the exploration period.
Roslan, Robertson's spokesman, said Freedom Gold's arrangement was similar to many American companies doing business in Africa at the time.
"This concession was granted by the Liberian government to promote economic activity and alleviate the suffering of the people of Liberia following a terrible civil war," said Roslan, who denied any quid pro quo for granting the concession, and said that Robertson saw this as a way to help the suffering people of Liberia.
Freedom Gold is not currently operating and has never commercially produced any gold, according to Roslan.
Robertson: Haiti Made a Pact with the Devil
Robertson most recently grabbed headlines for saying that the people of Haiti had "swor[n] a pact to the devil," which resulted in the recent devastating earthquake that killed tens of thousands.
Taylor's defense team declined a request for comment from ABC News.
Taylor is charged with masterminding the atrocities, such as mass rape and amputation of civilians, in Sierra Leone (which shares a border with Liberia) in order to take advantage of the country's vast natural resources, including diamonds.
Taylor is currently on the stand for cross-examination. Prosecutors told ABC News that Friday will be Taylor's last day on the stand.
Over the course of the two-year long trial, Taylor has grabbed headlines by firing his first attorney and converting to Judaism. United Nations officials decided that for security reasons it would be safer to try Taylor at the International Criminal Court in the Hague rather than in Sierra Leone where the atrocities occurred.
Prosecutors have accused Taylor, who served as Liberia's president from 1997 to 2003, of ordering his subordinates to murder and mutilate civilians, cut off their limbs, use women and girls as sex slaves, abduct adults and children, and force them to perform labor or become fighters to further his economic and political ambitions in the region. Taylor has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Defense attorney Griffiths has previously blasted the War Crimes Tribunal as "racist," and a tool of American foreign policy.
In October, former lead prosecutor Stephen Rapp told ABC News that illegal diamond money was a major motivation for Taylor's rape of his neighboring Sierra Leone: "It's [Sierra Leone's} rich diamond fields which financed the continued conflict, and according to our evidence, was part of the motivation for Taylor in going in there and carrying out a conflict that ranged across the 1990s with an increased level of atrocity against the civilian population."
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
ABCNEWS.GO.COM
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/pat-robertsons-gold-deal-african-dictator/story?id=9749341&page=2
|
-
The "book of life": Henry Louis Gates Jr., right, walks Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert through his Irish ancestry. | |
To identify who we are, we have to examine who — and where — we are from. That's the core premise of PBS' Faces of America With Henry Louis Gates, Jr., premiering Wednesday (8 ET/PT, times may vary).
The four-part series is the celebrity-centric follow-up to Gates' critically acclaimed look at black ancestry, 2006's African American Lives, and its 2008 sequel.
This time, the Harvard professor was spurred to examine the roots of a broader cross section of Americans after receiving a letter from a woman of Russian Jewish decent, an undertaking that later crystallized during a dinner conversation with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, French-born son of Chinese immigrants.
"I took the Noah's Ark approach this time," says Gates.
His 12 subjects — who each receive a "book of life" exploring relatives' extended histories — are Ma, poet Elizabeth Alexander, author Louise Erdrich, celebrity chef Mario Batali, writer Malcolm Gladwell, director Mike Nichols, Jordan's Queen Noor, Dr. Mehmet Oz, TV personality Stephen Colbert, Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi and actors Meryl Streep and Eva Longoria.
"I want people to realize in spite of our apparent differences, we're all descended from the same trunk of the family tree," says Gates, who achieved some unwelcome notoriety in 2009 after he was arrested during a confrontation at his home by Cambridge, Mass., officer James Crowley. Charges were later dropped, but the incident, and its racial overtones, led to an uneasy White House garden beer summit where the pair joined President Obama and Vice President Biden.
For Faces, genealogists tracked historical records and scientists sampled DNA for genotyping that uncovered some startling discoveries, says executive producer Barak Goodman.
The on-camera reactions are often priceless. Streep giddily learns that her relatives were among Pennsylvania's founders and acquired their land holdings honorably. Previously, she quips, "all of our family stories had to deal with the people who screwed up."
Erdrich's sixth great-grandfather helped found Detroit. "The love of cars runs through that side of the family," she says.
Nichols, long skeptical of family claims that he was related to Albert Einstein, learns that there's not only a connection with the famed scientist, but through DNA testing, a connection with Streep as well. "Totally amazing," Nichols tells Gates.
DNA tests show that Gates and Gladwell also are related, and that Colbert, an Irish Catholic, has bloodlines connected to a German Lutheran. Desperate Housewives star Longoria discovers she's the descendant of Spaniards who settled in North America before the Pilgrims' arrival in the early 1600s.
Yamaguchi learns about her relatives' struggles and a Japanese-American grandfather who won a battlefield commission and praise from superiors during World War II. "It felt like such a gift to be given information about what your ancestors' lives were like, their struggles and their successes — it makes you appreciate the opportunities you've had," Yamaguchi says in an interview.
Alexander, Yale University's African American Studies department head who composed Praise Song for the Day for President Obama's inauguration, learns that her 37th great-grandfather was Charlemagne, first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
"With most African Americans, there's no such thing as racial purity," Alexander says in an interview. "But to have Charlemagne on one side of the family and a slave on another was probably the biggest surprise."
Gates says another ancestry series is possible. And as for Crowley, Gates says they've become close since last summer's incident. "Jim and I have a really good relationship," Gates says.
The two may also share some Irish lineage. "I asked him, for fun, to be (DNA) tested," Gates says. "I would be honored to be his cousin."
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
USATODAY.COM
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2010-01-20-sexcov20_CV_N.htm?obref=obinsite
|
-
The Justice Department has notified the White House that a settlement is near for black farmers discriminated against by the United States Department of Agriculture. The plaintiffs in this case 80 to 90 thousand black farmers. The issue dates back to the late 1990's and the Clinton administration.
President Obama's 2011 budget proposal includes 1.2 billion dollars in settlement monies for the black agrarians. If approved by congress, it would mark the second time federal funds were allocated for the discrimination award for black farmers in a presidential budget proposal. In the past, President George W. Bush proposed the monies, but, congress cut the farmers hoped for compensation. Rob Nabors, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget says, "The President [Obama] put forward a proposal last year; and, it is continued in this year's budget where we have a proposed settlement of approximately 1.2 billion dollars. The Department of Justice is currently negotiating the settlement.
"It is about ensuring Justice is done. It is important in this situation," contends Robert Gibbs White House Press Secretary.
John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association contends, "It has been very frustrating for the black farmers. He is hopeful this latest settlement offer, makes it into the black farmers hands after years of promises.
"Nearly 80 to 90 thousand black farmers are waiting for justice and they are getting older everyday and they are dying everyday", says Boyd.
In 1999, 14 thousand black farmers were awarded a settlement from the original lawsuit. Boyd reminds that those farmers received "62,500 a piece totaling over a billion dollars." Farmers who did not know about that initial suit were able to file claims against the United States Department of Agriculture. Now, tens of thousands of black farmers are possibly in line for the federal monies to correct the wrongs by the Agriculture Department.
Boyd contends, "Not all those are going to get their money. Those farmers who are eligible will get there money. Those who are not, will get closure."
Boyd says, the issues originated from a "lawsuit in 97 [1997] for discrimination in farm lending programs and subsidies (farm service agency USDA). The National Black Farmers Association allowed for late file lawsuits in 2008." He also believes the only way farmers will get their overdue settlement monies is if President Obama and the Democrats in Congress fight for the budget item approval.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/april-d-ryan/justice-department-conten_b_450376.html
|
-
First lady Michelle Obama and her daughters Sasha and Malia, left, read Christmas stories to...
Michelle Obama has earned accolades for making healthy living and eliminating childhood obesity a priority as first lady. But when it came down to personalizing the issue in relation to her daughters, the remarks touched a nerve with some, and praise from others.
The first lady made the issue of healthy eating personal last week at an event in Alexandria, Va., where she kicked off a campaign addressing the issue of childhood obesity.
"We went to our pediatrician all the time," Obama said. "I thought my kids were perfect -- they are and always will be -- but he [the doctor] warned that he was concerned that something was getting off balance."
"I didn't see the changes. And that's also part of the problem, or part of the challenge. It's often hard to see changes in your own kids when you're living with them day in and day out," she added. "But we often simply don't realize that those kids are our kids, and our kids could be in danger of becoming obese. We always think that only happens to someone else's kid -- and I was in that position."
Obama said the doctor suggested she first look at her daughters' body mass index (BMI). The minor changes she subsequently made in their daily habits, Obama said, made all the difference.
The first lady's comments have stirred up the Web and medical world, and have drawn both criticism and praise. Some say Obama should not have personalized the issue and brought up her daughters. Even if it is for the greater public good, critics say, it does not bode well for their self-image. Others say the first lady used that example only to connect to Americans who may find themselves in a similar position.
The first lady's office would not comment on the criticism.
Behavior Change vs. Weight Change
Some charge that Obama's comments may be perceived as a focus on weight and dieting, which sends the wrong message to the public. The first lady should be discussing behavioral change, not weight loss, said Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh, an eating disorder activist and executive director of Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Disorder (F.E.A.S.T.).
"We've confused health and weight in a way that's very confusing for children and very confusing for parents," Lyster-Mensh said. "When we speak publicly about putting our children on a diet, we start to get into weight stigma and confusing the message to families."
The focus on obesity, Lyster-Mensh said, turns this into an issue of appearances, which does not bode well for children, especially girls.
"There is simply no reason to be pushing children into weight reduction diets and that's the message parents out there get," Lyster-Mensh said. "Dieting is a gateway drug to eating disorders for those with a biological predisposition to eating disorders."
President Obama is also guilty of talking about his daughters' weight. In an interview with Parents magazine in November 2008, the president said, "A couple of years ago -- you'd never know it by looking at her now -- Malia was getting a little chubby."
The president then spoke about what he and the first lady did to balance their daughters' diet, and the impact "was so significant that the next time we visited our pediatrician he was amazed."
Even then, critics panned the president for commenting on the weight of Sasha, who is now 8 years old.
Some say parents talking about their daughters' weight can have a harmful impact on young girls.
"One of the things I've noticed is that a lot of girls develop an eating disorder because they don't want criticism from their parents," said Jeanne Sager, a reporter who blogs on parenting Web site babble.com, and who, herself, suffered from an eating disorder.
"I don't think Mrs. Obama was trying to do anything harmful to her children," said Sager, but talking so openly about her daughters "makes it more or less open season" for criticism on their weight, whether they are overweight or skinny.
"Considering the disgusting things said about a teenaged Chelsea Clinton during her father's presidency -- when no one was actively discussing her body -- what does this sort of public attention do to a tween? And what greater good does it really serve for Mrs. Obama to be talking about her kids' struggle with weight?" Sager questioned in her blog.
Lyster-Mensh says the Obamas should continue to talk about healthy eating and behavior but cut out the focus on weight and especially refrain from talking about their daughters' weights.
"As a public figure, I think Mrs. Obama wanted people to be able to relate to her experiences and I'm sure she was unaware... that some of those messages could be taken in an unhealthy way," Lyster-Mensh said. "I am not a critic of the Obamas' approach to healthy behavior with their kids. I am concerned about weight-based language because it's demonstrably, scientifically not helpful."
Doctors say behavioral changes are key to guiding children to a healthy life.
"Weight is just a marker for behavior. Losing a particular amount of weight does not work well for kids," said Dr. Goutham Rao, clinical director of the Center for Pediatric Weight Management and Wellness at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and author of "Child Obesity: A Parent's Guide to a Fit, Trim and Healthy Child. "
Despite the criticism against the Obamas for using their children as an example, supporters of the first lady's remarks say her intention was exactly to convey the message that critics have seized.
"The fact that she made this public, about her own... modest changes she made was exactly that -- That this is a public conversation about what we're all doing," said Dr. Judith Palfrey, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who was present at the event last week. "It's like a neighborhood conversation except that it's national, about how we live."
Palfrey shot down criticism that this kind of rhetoric sends the wrong message to the first daughters or that it breeds eating disorders.
"I just thought it was wonderful, a living example of all of us sharing with each other how we can live healthy lives," Palfrey said. "I didn't see it in any way doing anything except how we balance all the stresses in our lives."
Rao said giving a personal example helps convey the message better to others.
"I think it's completely appropriate she raised it and personalized it so that other mothers and fathers can relate to it," Rao said.
He added that the first lady raised an important issue by pointing out how her pediatrician went about informing her. Talking about the BMI "opens the door for discussion," Rao said.
Childhood obesity is a major issue facing the United States. It is a serious medical condition that impacts close to one-third of all children in the country. That means one in three children in the United States is overweight or obese. Blacks have a 51 percent higher prevalence of obesity, and Hispanics have a 21 percent higher obesity prevalence compared with whites, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The first lady has made fighting childhood obesity one of her key priorities. She inaugurated the famous vegetable garden at the White House and has encouraged sports and other healthy activities among kids.
Experts say parents play a huge role in guiding their kids to a healthy lifestyle, which includes encouraging physical activity, eating healthy foods, and consuming less fast food.
"Lately, there has been indication that levels have leveled off, which is encouraging," Rao said. "We're starting to turn the corner."
Palfrey said it is important to convey the right message that it's not about weight but about living a balanced life.
"We're really talking about walking a wide space between too little and too much. I think that's the message that we want to get out that too much is not good and too little is not good," she said. "We want to avoid the two extremes."
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
ABCNEWS.GO.COM
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Health/michelle-obamas-obesity-comments-bringing-malia-sasha-wrong/story?id=9751138&page=3
|
-
Jerry Rice always finishes his route. He did it forever as a 49ers wide receiver, and again in his brief time with the Raiders. It helped make him the greatest wide receiver of all time, and arguably the greatest NFL player, period.
Rice wouldn't pull up short Saturday, not now that he's been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was going to answer the question about his legendary work ethic, no matter how many times he had to pinch the bridge of his nose and sniffle through his red-eyed tears.
"It's something my parents instilled in me," Rice said before choking up, thinking of his deceased father who taught him to catch bricks, picturing his mother who welcomed anybody into their Crawford, Miss., home and made them dinner.
"It was just hard work. Hard work and an appreciation for the game, and I love this game. It means everything to me."
Rice only wishes his dad, Joe Nathan Rice, could be here today to see him be elected as a first-ballot member of the Hall's class of 2010.
Up on the stage, Rice could still picture his father, dressed in his dirty brick mason's work clothes, tossing bricks up to his teenage son on the second-floor scaffold.
After all these years, these are still the stories Rice loves to tell. Not just what he did in the NFL. The catches are too many to single out, the moments too blurred together to pick a favorite.
Rice likes to talk about how he got here. It always starts with the apprenticeship he served under his father in the humid Mississippi summers. His father would toss hot, sharp-edged bricks to Rice, who either caught them or paid for them out of his share.
So went the rough refining process for today's polished superstar.
"My father just taught me hard work and to just go out there and put the time in," Rice said. "He taught me discipline and also about responsibility. I just wanted to carry that work ethic on when I went to San Francisco."
First, Rice had to apply it to a football field. He played sandlot ball as a kid, a Cowboys fan pretending he was Drew Pearson. All this was "just a dream" to Rice. He didn't even go out for football until his sophomore year in high school.
This, too, is a favorite story of his.
"I was a nerd in high school," Rice said. "I had huge hands and I was always walking around with my hands in my pocket. I was playing hooky one day and the principal, Mr. Wicks, walked up behind me and scared me. I took off running.
"He thought, 'Oh my God, this guy can run really fast. I think he should go out for the football team.' He whipped me good, then sent me to the football coach."
"When I went out there, I noticed I had the talent, but I was so far behind the other players. I thought maybe if I work at this, maybe I can be good at it."
Maybe, huh? Rice has more catches, receiving yards and touchdowns than anyone in the history of the game.
He'd run hills in the offseason with Roger Craig, he'd run wind sprints at the team facility days after winning a Super Bowl when no one else was around.
"He outworked the work-ethic guys," Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young put it Saturday.
Joe Nathan wouldn't have taught it any other way. Rice knows it. That is why he still cries thinking about the road from Mississippi to Canton, Ohio, where former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo will present him for enshrinement Aug. 7.
"I got very emotional, because all of a sudden I thought about my dad and him not being here today," Rice said. "I think everything just hit me, what my parents instilled in me about hard work and respecting people. It became real."
PST COMMENTS BELOW:
SFGATE.COM
|
-
|
|
Landrieu lost an earlier bid to unseat Nagin in 2006 |
New Orleans has elected its first white mayor in 32 years, ushering in hopes of a new era in a city still trying to rebuild five years after Hurricane Katrina.
Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu was elected Saturday to replace outgoing Mayor Ray Nagin, an African-American who led the city during the hurricane, but saw his popularity plunge over the slow pace of reconstruction.
"The people of New Orleans did a very extraordinary thing... striking a blow for unity," Landrieu said after his nearest rival businessman Troy Henry conceded defeat.
Landrieu, a Democrat, becomes the city's first white mayor since his father "Moon" Landrieu left the office in 1978. The city is 61 percent black.
Landrieu lost an earlier bid to unseat Nagin in 2006. Nagin could not run for re-election because of the term limits.
With all the votes counted, Landrieu led with a commanding 66.5 percent of the vote. "To all my opponents, I understand how it feels to lose. It happened to me twice before," Landrieu said.
His closest competitor, businessman Henry, a black Democrat with extensive corporate experience, finished with only 12.8 percent of the vote.
Another important rival, millionaire businessman John Georges, conceded defeat when he was running in third place less than an hour after the polls closed.
Landrieu beat out 10 other candidates in the quest to replace Nagin, the much-maligned city leader during the killer storm of August 29, 2005 who has also governed during the often-spotty recovery.
"I wasn't extremely happy with any of the candidates, but at least the change will be good. I love it here. There's no place like it," said Kellen Smith, 27, a voter who moved to New Orleans from Atlanta three years ago.
She was adorned with strings of Carnival beads being thrown from floats on the day the Big Easy also officially ushered in the start of the parade season ahead of Mardi Gras on February 16.
Thomas Overton, 32, stood on a nearby street corner waving a campaign sign toward voters and revelers alike as the floats went by.
"This is my first New Orleans election and my first Carnival parade," said Overton, a native of the midwestern city of St. Louis. "It's the luck of the draw that I got this corner."
Overton said he moved here for a construction job several years after Katrina flooded most of the city, killing nearly 1,000 people.
The city's population is estimated at 335,000, or 80 percent of pre-Katrina levels. But tens of thousands of New Orleanians have not returned permanently since the storm.
A local named Ralph Ampey propped up a giant red sign for a city council candidate, as masked float riders showered cheering crowds with beads, doubloons and toys.
"Everybody feels like they have to have hope," Ampey said of the election. "Whatever they lost in the storm -- homes, furniture, property -- they hope they can get again."
The new mayor must manage billions of dollars in tardy federal reconstruction aid and a balanced, but depleted, city treasury. Moreover, city hall and the police department are rife with scandals.
Violent crime remains high, and according to the state treasurer is keeping potential investors away from the still-rebuilding city.
On Saturday, however, voters spoke hopefully about the city's future as they divided time between Carnival parades and polling places.
At least one polling site faced the Pontchartrain parade route near the historic St. Charles Avenue streetcar line in Uptown New Orleans.
Voters wearing Carnival beads came and went. Many cast ballots at computerized machines, bought food, drinks and outside -- beer -- to benefit school activities, then returned to watch the passing parade.
"Food, beer and voting -- all in one place -- and bathrooms," said Paul Gregory, a computer consultant and native of the city. "Hopefully, no one will be voting drunk."
"The city has nowhere to go but up," Chris Dougherty said.
Local voting official Joe Broussard said the parades had started at noon, six hours after the polls opened. "We haven't had any complaints from voters -- not yet," Broussard said.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
GOOGLE.COM
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jBlJzEIHBfuKMkN250jrdJDFkfCA
|
-
A UCLA study is one of two finding that the increasingly popular campuses skew toward racially separate student bodies. Charter advocates criticize the reports.
The growth of charter schools has promoted segregation both in California and nationwide, increasing the odds that black, Latino and white students will attend class with fewer children who look different from themselves, according to two new studies.
Charter school advocates contend that the researchers' presumptions about racial separation are out of date. They said parents -- including low-income minority parents -- are turning to charters for a quality education that traditional schools have not provided.
Charters are independently managed public schools that are exempt from some rules that govern traditional schools. About 2.5% of the nation's students attend charters -- a threefold increase over seven years. The Los Angeles Unified School District has more charters -- enrolling about 9% of district students -- than any school system in the country.
The trend toward segregation was especially notable for African American students. Nationally, 70% of black charter students attend schools where at least 90% of students are minorities. That's double the figure for traditional public schools. The typical black charter-school student attends a campus where nearly three in four students also are black, researchers with the Civil Rights Project at UCLA said Thursday.
The other researchers also focused on economic segregation, looking at private companies that manage schools, in most cases charters. The enrollments at most of these campuses exacerbated income extremes, they concluded. Charters tended to serve higher-income students or lower-income students. Charters also were likely to serve fewer disabled students and fewer English learners. This report, soon to be officially released, was developed by education policy centers at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Arizona State University.
Both research teams, using somewhat different methods and data, questioned the direction of the Obama administration, which has pushed states to authorize more charter schools as a condition for receiving funding through "Race to the Top" grants. That position has proved to be powerful leverage as states struggle with decreased funding.
"We don't want the Race to the Top to become a race to the past," said Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project, alluding to the era of enforced segregation.
Orfield's UCLA team previously documented how court decisions since 1991 had gradually eroded the halting progress in integration. Segregation remains a marker for inequality, just as it was in the 1950s, he said.
But nuances underlie the data. Locally based ICEF Public Schools grew out of an after-school and summer program in a predominantly black neighborhood. Its early families included many middle-class blacks, many of whom sent their children to parochial or other private schools. ICEF brought them into or back to public education.
Word of mouth spread, and the organization continued to serve virtually all-black enrollments -- even as Latino families increased in the neighborhood and as ICEF expanded beyond predominantly black enclaves.
Parent Kawana Midgette, a human resources specialist, considers the black enrollment a bonus at View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Middle School; it helps instill strong engagement with black culture and history, she said. But her daughter is at ICEF for the academic rigor: College is mandatory for the eighth-grader, Midgette said.
ICEF's ongoing evolution now includes two schools with Latino majorities, said founder and Chief Executive Mike Piscal. "We became a brand among African Americans as the place to go, but we want to be open to all Angelenos."
Integrating with white students, he added, is not an option in the areas he serves.
L.A. Unified also includes charters with high white enrollments; about half were traditional schools that already had high white enrollments when they became charters.
Some charter organizations serve largely low-income Latino enrollments -- in neighborhoods where nearly all students match that description. Such charter organizations as the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools have, in effect, tried to make segregation irrelevant by offering a college-prep curriculum in small classes within small schools.
The school district itself has left behind integration as a primary goal. Its school construction program, for example, is aimed at returning students to their neighborhood schools rather than their being bused elsewhere. But segregation is exacerbated in the process.
Given a school district that is 9% white, segregated by income and race, and predominantly poor, school quality has to trump hard-to-achieve integration, said L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines.
"If charter schools are doing the job for the student, and it is a better job" than the traditional school, Cortines said, "I'm not as concerned about the racial isolation."
Orfield's team isn't ready to surrender on integration. He proposes expanding magnet schools, which are special programs designed to attract diverse enrollments and thus promote desegregation. Alternatively, he said, charters should be required -- and helped -- to promote diversity.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
LATIMES.COM
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-charters5-2010feb05,0,3300930.story?track=rss
|
-
In the late ’60s Don Cornelius was growing weary of only seeing dark-skinned faces on TV in connection with news reports of urban unrest. So the Chicago reporter came up with an alternative, one that would tap into the joy and creativity of the African-American community.
When Cornelius’s brainchild, “Soul Train,’’ signed off in 2006 after 35 years on the air, it had the distinction of being the longest-running syndicated show in history and had indelibly imprinted itself on popular culture.
It may have been just another Saturday morning teen dance show - modeled on *** Clark’s “American Bandstand’’ and hosted by deep-voiced cool cat Cornelius - but like any cultural first, “Soul Train’’ was about much more than what was on the surface.
Those ripples out into the wider world are examined in the lively and absorbing new VH1 documentary “Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America,’’ airing tonight at 9:30.
In addition to chronicling Cornelius’s early struggles and triumphs, the show lays out the ways in which “Soul Train’’ both cemented and reflected a community in flux, from the civil-rights movement to urban blight to ’80s upward mobility and beyond. Predating shows like “Good Times’’ and “The Jeffersons,’’ “Soul Train’’ brought urban black style into living rooms nationwide, advancing acceptance and causing reverberations in the arenas of fashion and choreography. And Cornelius found ways to integrate nonmusical voices like Jesse Jackson and Richard Pryor into the show as a means of community outreach.
Like most TV documentaries, “Trip’’ is a collection of archival footage and famous talking heads. (Actor Terrence Howard narrates.) But when that footage includes rarely replayed clips of James Brown strutting down the signature “Soul Train Line,’’ and the chance to hear Sly Stone and Snoop Dogg reminisce about their milestone moments, the formula gets funky.
As one of the first black men in broadcasting to own his show, Cornelius was a savvy operator. But he is candid about his own blind spots when it came to embracing newer styles of music as they emerged. He first viewed disco as a threat and hip-hop as a fad that sounded bleak and ugly. But he ultimately featured both, understanding that was what his audience wanted to hear.
The producers also cram in a plethora of fun facts, including famous names who rode the train as dancers - Rosie Perez, Fred “Rerun’’ Berry of “What’s Happening!!’’ fame, and Jeffrey Daniel, the man who taught Michael Jackson how to moonwalk. We learn that Gino Vannelli, the first white artist to perform on the show, saw his live concerts instantly integrated because of it.
As fans of R&B music - and bigger audiences -British artists like David Bowie and Elton John also clamored to appear (Bowie recalls, correctly, that his unrehearsed lip-synch of “Fame’’ was a “farce.’’ ) And even after Cornelius handed over the conductor’s keys in 1993 (successors included actor Shemar Moore) the train kept on rolling with the hottest acts.
After 90 minutes of “peace, love, and soul’’ - Cornelius’s famous sign-off catchphrase - I found myself scrambling over to YouTube for more, including Al Green’s complete wicked and wild live take on “Here I Am.’’ I already plan to resurrect the “Soul Train’’ line at my next party.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
BOSTON.COM
http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2010/02/06/vh1_takes_a_ride_on_soul_train_a_cultural_icon_of_60s_cool/
|
-
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office will file a criminal case against Dr. Conrad Murray on Monday, authorities said, capping an eight-month police investigation into Michael Jackson's death and ending days of intense speculation about when the singer's personal physician would be charged.
Official confirmation of an impending criminal prosecution in the Jackson matter came Friday in a press release in which the district attorney's office took the unusual step of announcing charges in advance. The move seemed designed to temporarily quell a media frenzy that had drawn a hundred reporters and a fleet of television trucks to a courthouse near LAX on Friday morning in anticipation of imminent charges.
The statement from prosecutors said a case pertaining to Jackson's death will be filed at that courthouse, but did not name Murray or specify the charges. Numerous sources with knowledge of the case said the cardiologist will be charged with involuntary manslaughter for administering the combination of sedatives and anesthetic blamed in the singer's June death.
Prosecutors originally planned to file the case Friday, according to law enforcement sources, who said the case was delayed after a dispute arose with Murray's defense team Thursday over the details of his surrender.
Murray, who owns a home in Nevada and works in Houston, has been staying in the Los Angeles area as he awaits charges. Through his attorney, the doctor has said he wants to turn himself in rather than be arrested and has made arrangements for surrender, including gathering his passport and meeting with bail bond companies.
But how bail should be set became a sticking point during negotiations between prosecutors and the defense, according to two law enforcement sources and Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff.
Prosecutors wanted Murray to make a formal court appearance in which a judge would evaluate the specific circumstances of the case, set the amount of bail and dictate any restrictions on his movements, according to law enforcement sources who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
Murray's lawyer said negotiations broke down because authorities insisted on "a photo op" of the physician in handcuffs.
Chernoff said Murray wanted to turn himself in at a police station and post the $25,000 bail that is the court-set standard for involuntary manslaughter charges. The bond would allow him to walk out of the police station and remain free pending a formal arraignment, Chernoff said.
He said prosecutors asked Murray to agree not to post bail at the police station so he could be taken into custody, transported to a courthouse by police and brought before a judge, the lawyer said. "I told them there is no way that I'm going to let my client sit in jail so you can have your show and parade him into court in handcuffs," Chernoff said. "That's when they pulled the plug."
A district attorney's spokeswoman disputed Chernoff's account, saying prosecutors were never interested in "a photo op" involving Murray. "That's an absolute lie," said spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. "There was never any consideration of a 'perp walk' or him being brought into a courtroom in handcuffs."
Gibbons said discussions about a defendant's terms of surrender are common.
It's unclear whether the issue was resolved. In a statement, the district attorney's office said information about the arraignment would be released after Murray is charged. Involuntary manslaughter, which refers to an unlawful killing committed without malice, intent to kill or a conscious disregard for human life, carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Murray acknowledged to police that he gave Jackson an intravenous dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol shortly before his death, according to court documents. The drug is intended for use in operating rooms by trained anesthesiologists. Murray told police that the singer had a long history of using the drug to sleep and he was trying to wean Jackson from it the week he died, the documents state.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
LATIMES.COM
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jackson-death6-2010feb06,0,319714.story
|
-
Late in December of 2009, the Black Broadcasting Network (BBN) was launched on Verizon Fios TV Video On Demand (VOD). The Black owned and operated company will target the “urban” 18-34 year old demographic. The main focus of the programming on the BBN is programming that features African American and Latino artists, casts, comedians, producers, filmakers and athletes. Although your first reaction would be to question why do we need another channel that replicates what BET accomplishes on every cable system? I urge you to look a little deeper. After researching this network for a while, it reminds me of BET during the pre-Viacom days when the programming was diverse and proudly represented the African American culture. For example, there is a focus on Black College Sports combined with some Battle of the Bands, The Premier Basketball League and Ringside Boxing programming. Initially, the business, current affairs and news programming is somewhat limited, but it is expected that more programming will be added moving forward. There are plenty of independent movies as well as movies that have hit the box office. In fact, ‘Precious’ is already available for viewing on the network.
The one aspect where BBN is taking a unique and forward thinking approach is the method in which they are offering their content to people who do not have Verizon Fios. For a small fee of $3.99 per month, you can have complete access to all of the programming on BBN. Access is not limited to your desktop computer or laptop, but also includes mobile devices (click on this link on your mobile device for a preview) like an iPod, Sony PSP, iPhone and Microsoft Mobile Windows devices as well. This is definitely a wise decision which could provide a groundswell of new users who do not have (or want) access to Verizon Fios. Additonally, this could be a model follow and take note of.
There is definitely an opportunity for a new channel focused on the African American market to become a major player in television programming. Since the mid 1990’s there has been a dearth of quality African-American programming on television as a whole. The announcement of the Black Broadcast Network brings some cautious hope to the scene. The combination of their recent distribution deal with Verizon Fios as well as their mobile and web distribution strategy is a unique and promising start. Can they take advantage of the huge opportunity in front of them and eventually add-on additional distributors such as Direct TV, Time Warner Cable and Dish network? We will be watching closely to see their next move.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
BLACKWEB20.C0M
http://www.blackweb20.com/2010/02/04/will-the-black-broadcasting-network-become-relevant/
|
-
(AP) The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) released its annual congressional "report card" this week, and the civil rights group flunked nearly every Republican in Congress.
Like many advocacy groups, the NAACP evaluates members of Congress based on their voting records around a certain agenda. The NAACP has been grading Congress on what it calls the "bread and butter" civil rights agenda since 1914.
All Senate Republicans received a grade of "F" on the report card, with two exceptions: Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins who both scored 76 percent, or a "C." Republican Jim DeMint received the worst grade in the Senate, with a score of 10 percent.
By contrast, all Senate Democrats received a grade of "A," "B," or "Incomplete." A number of Democrats scored 100 percent.
Votes considered for the Senate scorecard included the confirmation of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, a vote in favor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and a vote in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the stimulus act.
On the House side, all but a handful of Republicans received an "F." Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida received the highest Republican score at 76 percent.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
CBSNEWS.COM
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/04/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6175059.shtml
|
-
After a relative lull in the number of executions Ohio carries out annually, it appears poised to sharply increase lethal injections in the months to come, possibly setting a state record for most in a year.
The state executed condemned killer Mark Brown on Thursday, the third execution in as many months and one of nine scheduled for this year.
Ohio put seven people to death in 2004, a record for the state and second in the nation behind Texas, and executed four last year. It executed two people in each of the two previous years.
Brown, 37, had been sentenced to die for killing a Youngstown store owner in a 1994 shooting that mimicked a scene from the Samuel L. Jackson movie "Menace II Society." He was pronounced dead Thursday morning from a dose of a powerful anesthetic under the state's new injection procedure, with death coming about nine minutes after the drug began flowing.
The state recently switched from a three-drug lethal-injection process, which opponents said could cause severe pain, to the one-drug system.
Though Brown had challenged the qualifications of Ohio's executioners and alleged the procedure could cause severe pain as execution team members tried to find a vein, his death was quick and almost problem-free.
Three months ago, the country had never put someone to death with just one drug. Brown's execution was Ohio's third use of the procedure, and in each case death came in just a few minutes. However, it did take executioners about 30 minutes to insert needles in the arm of condemned inmate Kenneth Biros in December before beginning his execution for killing a woman he met at a bar.
Ohio is the only one of 35 death penalty states to use one drug, though other states are watching Ohio's experience.
Brown did not give a last statement. After the dose of thiopental sodium was administered at 10:40 a.m., he blinked several times, closed and opened his eyes and swallowed once before shutting his eyes a last time. At 10:42 a.m., his chest heaved, he appeared to yawn, his chest rose and dropped slightly several more times, then he fell still.
Federal lawsuits allege Ohio's execution team isn't properly trained, but the procedure went as smoothly Thursday as any execution in recent memory. Members of the team easily inserted needles in Brown's arms in about five minutes, sticking him just once on each arm.
Relatives of the store owner Brown killed, Isam Salman, witnessed the execution.
"As sad as this may be, and it's very sad, justice has been served," sister Terri Rasul said afterward. "I just hope that this is a lesson for the young children today that they will learn not to do what Mark Brown had did to my brother."
Brown also killed a store clerk, and he received a life prison term for that. He said he shot the clerk but didn't remember shooting the store owner.
Last month, he argued unsuccessfully for a new trial, sayingwitnesses could testify that his friend shot the store owner. A judge said the witnesses weren't credible.
The Ohio Parole Board rejected Brown's request for mercy last month.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
WAVE3.COM
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=11933056
|
-
Astronaut Bobby Satcher
February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada, a national observance that pays tribute to people and events that shaped the history of African Americans and Canadians. It's also a time to educate people about the accomplishments of black people and their contributions to society. Last November, two African American astronauts soared into space while reaching new heights in the U.S. Space program.
Six astronauts rocketed toward orbit and the international space station. The mission had special meaning for Dr. Robert (Bobby) Satcher and Leland Melvin. They became the first African American men to fly together on a shuttle mission.
Astronaut Bobby Satcher became the second African American to space walk. He also made NASA history, becoming the first orthopedic surgeon in space, conducting a number of medical experiments. He says the future is bright for black astronauts.
"There is still a lot of firsts for us [black astronauts] to do and hopefully we will run out of those firsts pretty quickly because it is certainly my desire that one of the legacies that I would certainly like to leave behind is bringing in more African American astronauts," said Bobby Satcher.
Mission specialist Leland Melvin controlled the robotic arm that helped Satcher and his crew during the space walks. Melvin has been an astronaut for 10 years. He says he's trying to be a role model to young African Americans.
"So many kids got see two African American men floating around in space.," said Leland Melvin. "For a long time a lot of people were not given that opportunity. There were barriers. With dedication and perseverance anyone in this country can do anything they put their mind to and there are no limits.
In the early 1980s Ronald McNair helped to lift the racial barrier at NASA's astronaut program. McNair and the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger died when the orbiter exploded shortly after liftoff. Despite the dangers, and other people's doubts, Melvin says he was determined to be an astronaut.
"I had family members, I had people in my community, that told me, 'You can't be an astronaut'," he said. " 'You don't have this. You don't have that.' And I think we do a disservice to our kids when we tell them what they can't do instead of telling them what they can do."
"Why should you be an astronaut? I would say the main reason is if you want to go into outer space," said Satcher.
Back from their recent mission, Satcher and Melvin are trying to encourage black students to think about careers in the U.S. space program. Both astronauts stress the importance of education. Satcher has an extraordinary background, with advanced degrees in chemical engineering and medicine from some of the nation's top universities. He tells teenagers the key to being an astronaut is having a solid background in math and science.
"They are around the technology everyday, they just need to understand the technology," said Melvin. "How to make it, how to build it and then they will become scientists and engineers."
Since 1983, there have been 20 black astronauts in the U.S. space program. Both Melvin and Satcher say they hope there will be many more African American space explorers inspired by what they've accomplished, not only in outer space but on Earth.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
VOANEWS.COM
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/usa/African-American-Astronauts-Seek-to-Add-New-Chapter-to-Black-History-83369097.html
|
-
The hysterectomy is one of the most invasive surgical procedures in medical practice. Imagine a technique that could do delicate post-surgery stitch work with minimized chances of complications or harm. Sounds like something a seasoned physician developed, but it's actually something a 15-year-old high school student named Tony Hansberry invented. People in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida are calling him the "next Charles Drew."
Hansberry is a student at Darnell Cookman School of Medical Arts, referred to as the first medical magnet school in the country with an integrated medical curriculum. He came under the tutelage of Bruce Nappi, the director of the University of Florida's Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research (CSESaR) in the summer of 2008. From his experience there, he developed a project that showed how to reduce surgical time for hysterectomies. It only won him second prize in his school's science fair, but it caught the attention of University of Florida physicians who invited him to present his project alongside theirs during a medical education event.
Scientists have been at a loss for years trying to figure out how to get more youth, and more youth of color into medical fields. Hansberry could be the prodigy poster child they've been waiting for. The young medical student's techniques have not been tried on human women yet, only simulated on mannequins, but the fact that a student of such a young age could devise such an intricate procedure is boggling the minds of doctors throughout Jacksonville.
There's hope that there are more Hansberrys out here. The CSESaR is partnered with Hansberry's school to provide simulation medical training and give some high school grads basic life support certification and nursing credentials. The University of Florida hopes it can be the model for medical arts magnets around the country.
The potential of what Hansberry and his young colleagues can bring to the professional medical table is evidence of what's possible with the right outreach and investments. Like Charles Drew before him, Hansberry appears destined to revolutionize the way we think about surgery.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
THEGRIOT.COM
http://www.thegrio.com/black-history/thegrios-100/thegrios-100-tony-hansberry.php
|
-
City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says it has "sunk in" that she is going to become mayor on Thursday, when Mayor Sheila Dixon resigns as part of her plea agreement.
"I try not to be overwhelmed because I have been working very hard to move the city forward since I got on the (city) council in 1995," Rawlings-Blake told WBAL NEWS in Annapolis Tuesday, where she attended Governor O'Malley's State of the State Address.
The 39-year-old council president said her leadership style would not change.
"My office changes, but I'm still the same person. I will continue to give it my all to make Baltimore better," Rawlings-Blake said.
Rawlings-Blake will take the oath of office just after noon on Thursday, three hours after Dixon enters Courthouse East to be sentence as part of her guilty plea.
On Tuesday, Rawlings-Blake also appeared before the House Judiciary Committee testifying in favor of legislation that would close what city officials say is a loophole in the state's gun laws.
The bill would give the same sentence to offenders who use long guns when they commit crimes, as offenders who use handguns.
Under current law, those who use long guns receive a lesser sentence.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
WBAL.COM
http://wbal.com/apps/news/templates/story.aspx?articleid=45104&zoneid=3
|
|
|
|
