Julianne Malveaux
OW Contributing Columnist

 Julianne Malveaux, Ph.D., is president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.

Jan 12 2012

The reality if different for Blacks

The unemployment rate is falling for the third month in a row, and in December about 200,000 private sector jobs were created. The monthly unemployment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that unemployment has declined by six-tenths of a percentage point since August. Already, some economists are saying we can expect another decline next month.

Jan 5 2012

Sparks may fly when the House returns

Most Americans have been enjoying the holiday haze since House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) folded and allowed the two-month extension of unemployment insurance and the Social Security tax cut, and other key matters to go through.

Indeed, if the French take the month of August off by law, we almost do the same in the period between Christmas and New Year. Except for retail establishments that support the great American pastime– shopping–few businesses got substantive work done in the last week.

Dec 22 2011

Florida A&M University hazing death

Most parents of college students look forward to December, when their students come home for the holidays. Some are so excited to see their offspring home that they actually come to their colleges to pick them up. Others prepare special treats and goodies as an antidote to the oft-complained-about cafeteria food.

Robert and Pam Champion won’t have that opportunity. Their son, Robert, died on Nov. 19. His death has been ruled a homicide, and he is allegedly the victim of hazing.

Dec 15 2011

Mitt Romney bet Rick Perry $10,000

If you needed evidence that Republicans are out of touch with America, look no further than recent exchanges among candidates. Mitt Romney bet Rick Perry $10,000 about something in his book.

Dec 8 2011

Bullying and its consequences

I hope you watched “Extreme Home Makeover" on Dec. 2, as I did. For me it was an opportunity of pride, as Bennett student Dominique Walker was featured with her family, on a trip to Los Angeles and a home upgrade. Why? Because her family remained in pain because their 11-year-old son and brother killed himself after vicious bullying.

Dec 1 2011

Rousing success for retailers

First of all, I never understood why they called it “Black” Friday. I never saw any red, black and green adorning the shopping mall sales.

Yes, I know that theoretically this is the day that puts stores in the black, out of the red they’ve been managing all year. Nearly 40 percent of jewelry sales happen between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and other sales are up in the weeks that end the year. But I’m enough of a nationalist to resent the day after Thanksgiving being called “black” for commercial purposes.

Across Black America

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

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”