Terri Schlichenmeyer
Jun 25 2009

by Mary B. Morrison and Noire

Maybe you go way back to grade school or before, or maybe you met on the job three years ago.
She’s got your passwords and you’ve got her favorite shoes in your closet. You’ve swapped homework, advice, and secrets. And when things are rough, your girls are in speed-dial and they’ll come running.

In the new book Maneater, featuring novellas by Mary B. Morrison and Noire, you’ll see that men may come and men may go but if they cross a sistah, they’d best be running, too.

Jun 19 2009

Lee A. Daniels

Right now, as you read this article, history is being made.

For the first time ever, an African American candidate is campaigning for President and whites are widely supporting him.

One of the country’s most popular and powerful television personalities is Black and a peek at her studio audience reveals a good number of white faces. Several major corporations are headed by Black CEOs who lead employees of all races. Mainstream media is giddy about a “color-blind” America.

Jun 18 2009

by L. Divine

Ever since you were old enough to know, it’s been your one dream: Wheels.

Four of ‘em, and freedom.

If you had your own car, there’d be no more taking the bus. No more sweating a walk across town, no more begging a ride or embarrassment of calling your parents. If you had your own wheels, life would be sweet.

Jun 12 2009

Karen Siplin

Meeting the family.

It’s a simple event, really, but it’s the cause of about 14 tons of anxiety in every new relationship. Will his mother like you? Will your Significant Other’s father approve of your becoming the Other Half?

Would you fall in love with someone your family and friends didn’t like? In the new novel “Whiskey Road” (c.2008, Washington Square Press, $13.00 / $15.50 Canada, 277 pages) by Karen Siplin, Caleb falls for Jimi Anne, despite nearly an entire towns’ worth of disapproval.

Jun 5 2009

Rose Rock with Valerie Graham

Little brats.

Those two words best describe so many kids you know, and it’s not right. Sure, your kids aren’t angels but they aren’t completely rotten, either. Still, you wonder how some parents do it. How do they raise successful, well-balanced, polite, wonderful children in today’s world?

Jun 4 2009

by J. Patrick Lewis and Beth Zappitello, illustrated by Tim Bowers

What do you do when you’ve lost something and you need to find it quick?

The first thing you probably do is holler for your Mom. She usually knows where everything is.

Then you start looking in your room, beneath your bed, in your closet, in your toybox, under the table, between the sofa cushions and anywhere you think you might have lost whatever it is you’re looking for. Eventually, you find it in the perfect hiding place for things like that.

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.