Abuse

Aug 5 2011

Documentary by the University of South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C.—Cindy Williams didn’t tell anyone about her years in the military after she returned to civilian life in 2003, including how she was gang-raped by fellow soldiers.

Williams and 30 other South Carolina female veterans have broken their silence about their experiences in the military, from the recruitment office to the battlefield, in “Soldier Girl,” a documentary by University of South Carolina (USC) speech, communication and rhetoric instructor Cathy Brookshire.

Aug 1 2011

Serious case management errors

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A dispute has arisen between Los Angeles County and state auditors who want to see records involving the deaths of children who had been under the supervision of the troubled Department of Children and Family Services.

Despite a warning from California’s state auditor that they were committing a crime, Los Angeles County supervisors have defied a subpoena for records involving the deaths, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Oct 14 2010

Is a White man the answer?

While spending some leisure time surfing the net, I recently came across an article entitled, “8 Reasons to Date a White Man” by LaShaun Williams, which was clearly directed at Black women, as an alternative choice to dating Black men.

In most cases I would just bypass this type of article, but decided to see what all the hoopla was about. The reasons, quite laughable at first glance, actually had a twinge of truth in many of them. They are as follows:

Oct 13 2010

Department had been unable to provide information

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has asked the Department of Children and Family Services to provide 20 years of data on the deaths of children with prior history with the department.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas made the proposal, saying the department had been unable to provide essential information.

"DCFS has acknowledged that record keeping, formatting issues and other problems have thus far prevented DCFS from presenting a clear, consistent statistical picture of child deaths over time,'' said Ridley-Thomas.

Aug 31 2010

Failure to follow state law

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County officials have failed to follow state law that requires them to publicly disclose child fatalities resulting from abuse or neglect, it was reported today.

The violations, described in an independent audit released Monday, involve "potentially dozens" of child fatalities, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky told the Los Angeles Times.

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.