Cynthia E. Griffin
Nov 22 2012

First in a series of private and public gatherings

In accordance with a settlement worked out between the city of Lancaster, The Community Action League (TCAL) and the NAACP regarding Section 8 Housing, community activists held an informal gathering Tuesday to begin discussing how to implement an agreement that will enable all parties to work together to deal with problems within the program.

Called the Community Working Group, the purpose of the organization is to identify issues of concern to residents, and then to begin to develop proposals and initiatives to work on these concerns.

Nov 22 2012

City Council expected to vote Dec. 11.

The Lancaster City Council is expected to vote on Dec. 11 on whether to appoint Cassandra D. Harvey to the council to replace Ron Smith, who was elected to the California State Assembly.

If approved, Harvey would be sworn in and take the seat that day and finish out the remainder of Smith’s term until April 2014.

She would also be the first African American woman to sit on the city’s governing body.
Harvey was nominated by Mayor R. Rex Parris.

Nov 22 2012

Grand opening planned Nov. 29

One day in March, 50-year-old Janine Betts woke up and could not move. She literally had to crawl on her belly to get help.

Initially diagnosed with fibromyalgia and arthritis, it was later discovered that the Suffolk, Va., native had degenerative disc disease.

This caused pinched nerves and the immobility.

“There were no warning signs that I was aware of,” remember Betts. “I have Crohn’s Disease so a lot of things I attributed to that.”

Nov 22 2012

She found a way to make it her own

When Dawnn Lewis saw the play “Intimate Apparel” a few years ago, she put it on her list of to-do productions. But when she was asked to read for a part in the play now on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse through Dec. 6, it was not quite what she envisioned.

“I always imagined myself playing Esther,” said Lewis of the turn-of-century New York drama. But instead of the quiet seamstress looking to find herself a mate, Lewis was asked to try on the role of Mrs. Dickinson for size, and she has found a way to make the part her own.

Nov 15 2012

Tutsi family’s strong belief undergirds survival

Before you sit down to read “Tested to the Limit: A Genocide Survivor’s Story of Pain, Resilience and Hope,” (Balboa Press, 218 pages, $15.99), make sure you are in a positive frame of mind.

This book is a grim reminder of an extremely sad chapter in the world’s history that, if you are not prepared, could definitely further depress you—the genocide committed on the Tutsi people in Rwanda.

Nov 15 2012

Two former representatives out, including Laura Richardson

With most ballots in the Nov. 6 election counted, a little analysis of the results as it relates to African Americans is in order.

Looking at the number of African Americans elected to Congress this go-round is a good starting point.
According to David Bositis, Ph.D., of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, there was a net gain of one new Black congressional member.

Voters on both the West and East coasts sent African American politicians packing.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.