Stanley O. Williford
OW Editor
Jun 16 2011

Future doctor doing fine at Harvard

When Christian Strong was 15, his mother posted a note on the refrigerator professing that he would be a lawyer, doctor or judge, and that he would go Harvard University.

The note proved prophetic. Christian, now 22, is a third-year student at Harvard Medical School, the second youngest medical student in his class.

Jun 16 2011

Businessman-turned-artist

There is something intriguing about Charles Bibbs’ silent, self-absorbed images that make you wonder what they are thinking as they go about their duties—some gloriously attired in such intricately patterned apparel that they could only be one of a kind.

Jun 16 2011

He’s almost been done in, but data show that families are hurting without him

“… I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence—both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill.”
    —President Barack Obama, Father’s Day 2009

Jun 9 2011

No graduation from burning

Our small group of family and friends reveled in the graduation ceremonies, knowing that the last of me and my wife’s four children was getting his degree. Men’s heads and the women’s shoulders were bare, and we took little notice that we were doing a slow roast in the hot sun. 

May 26 2011

Bill would aid women, minority, disabled veterans businesses

If you want to see how quickly a bill in Sacramento can change, submit one to the California Assembly, stand back and see what happens.

Consider the case of Assembly Bill 53, a measure that could benefit minorities, disabled veterans and women.

You’d think piranha has gotten hold of the bill.

May 26 2011

CPUC’s Simon, others will also be feted at awards dinner

Earl “Skip” Cooper, president of the Black Business Association, is high on the Anschutz Entertainment Group and, ipso facto, Timothy J. Leiweke, its president and CEO.

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.”