Across Black America

Sep 29 2011

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

California
Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA) will hold a free concert with the internationally recognized and acclaimed Complexions Contemporary Ballet at the Rave Theater on the grounds of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall on Friday at 7 p.m. The informal presentation of Complexions’ new work was being developed at DADA during the month, along with Resident Director Rasta Thomas and the DADA Ensemble. Co-founders Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, Ballet Master Jae Man Joo and 13 other Complexions company members from Italy, Korea, Cuba, Canada, the United States and Republic of Georgia will offer master, open, adult classes and end with a free concert for the Los Angeles community. Rhoden and Richardson were most recently guest choreographers during the current season of the hit Fox dance series, “So You Think You Can Dance.”

District of Columbia
Dr. Thomas Frieden, Centers for Disease Control director, joined leading medical/public health experts at the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) news conference recently to call on all Americans to get vaccinated against influenza. Dr. Winston Price of the National Medical Association addressed the importance and unique risks of influenza and pneumococcal disease among the African American population. “Just two years ago, an influenza pandemic swept the globe, causing hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths in the United States alone, including the deaths of an estimated 1,280 children and young adults. Since then, we’ve made significant strides in immunizing Americans, and we’re now seeing positive shifts in the public’s understanding of the impact influenza can have,” said Frieden.

Georgia
A memorial service for Troy Anthony Davis will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30, at the New Life Apostolic Temple, 2120 West Bay St., Savannah, Ga., 31415. The service is open to the public. Davis was executed by the state of Georgia on Sept. 21, 2011. A funeral service, planned as a “Celebration of Life,” is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, at Jonesville Baptist Church, 5201 Montgomery St., Savannah, Ga. The service will be open to the public, but media cameras will not be permitted in the church. Efforts are under way to make a single-source feed from inside available at the site. Sidney A. Jones and Campbell Funeral Services, 124 West Park Ave., Savannah, Ga., 31401-6439, will handle flower memorials. In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to the I Am Troy Davis Fund, Capitol City Bank, P.O. Box 2105, Savannah, GA 31407.

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

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Across Black America

Sep 22 2011

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

California
Home of Chicken and Waffles, a favorite Oakland-based soul food restaurant since 2004, has expanded its reach by opening a sister location in Walnut Creek. Restaurateur Derreck B. Johnson opened the eatery to a very warm and enthusiastic reception from the community. “We have enjoyed tremendous support from the residents of Walnut Creek. I am thrilled that our menu has translated so well, evident by the overwhelming and steady turnout we’ve maintained since we opened,” said Johnson. The original Home of Chicken and Waffles is one of the most popular restaurants in Oakland, offering an extensive Southern food menu that ranges from waffles served with fried chicken to honey brown sugar yams and old-fashioned southern greens. The Oakland location is a melting pot of culture and diversity with regular patrons, including Eric Benet, Lalah Hathaway, Lamar Odom, Stephen Curry and Oakland Raider’s Head Coach Hugh Jackson. During football season, popular radio station Live 105 broadcasts shows from inside the restaurant after every Raiders home game.

District of Columbia

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

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Across Black America

Sep 15 2011

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

California

Emmy Award-winning casting director and producer Robi Reed recently hosted her annual End of Summer Celebration at the private estate of Judge Greg Mathis and Linda Mathis in Beverly Hills. The star-studded Labor Day weekend party benefited Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, The Black AIDS Institute. Actress Vanessa Williams (Showtime’s Soul Food) and actor/comedian Gary “G-Thang” Johnson were co-hosts. The annual soiree is one of the most highly-anticipated parties in Hollywood. Among the approximately 400 persons in attendance were Denzel Washington, Ron Artest, Affion Crockett, Kimberly Elise, Johnny Gill, Fonzworth Bentley, other entertainment industry insiders, politicians, business executives and community leaders.

District of Columbia

The Prostate Health Education Network Inc. (PHEN) will host its 7th annual African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 22-23, at the U.S. Capitol and Washington Convention Center, respectively. The summit is free and open to the public. This year’s theme is “Saving Lives: Strategies for Eliminating the African American Prostate Cancer Disparity.” Congressman Gregory Meeks (N.Y.) will host the event as an official part of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Annual Legislative Conference. More than 30 speakers and presenters are slated to attend and will assess various efforts to help eliminate the African American prostate cancer disparity, the largest racial disparity for any type of major cancer, as well as map strategies for new activities in the fight against prostate cancer.

Actress Ella Joyce, remembered for her co-starring role of Eleanor on TV’s “Roc,” Jasmin on “My Wife & Kids,” and Det. Waller in the film “Set If Off,” captures the famous moment in the life of Rosa Parks, affectionately called “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,” in her highly acclaimed, one-woman play “A Rose Among Thorns: a Tribute to Rosa Parks.” The show is stopping in Washington, D.C., after headlining Stage Aurora’s 4th annual Black Arts Festival in Jacksonville, Fla., last July. Four shows will be presented by The Essential Theatre in Washington, D.C. Performances will be located at Under Croft Theatre Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, Sept. 21-24. Shows are already being scheduled through Black History Month 2012.

Georgia

Girls Who Rule the World Mentoring Weekend is a three-day, two-night program designed by Marjorie Harvey, president of the Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation, to enhance the development of young girls and provide a forum to expose them to the benefits and the importance of positive self-image, responsible personal conduct, respect for self and others via educational achievement, cultural enrichment and mentoring. One hundred young women from the metro Atlanta and surrounding areas are pre-selected to attend the weekend of mentoring, Oct. 28-30. The weekend leadership is comprised of women business and community leaders who will provide wisdom and resources to help guide girls through the importance of financial literacy, balanced nutrition, proper etiquette, self-esteem and professional and educational development. The goal of the Girls Who Rule the World Mentoring Weekend is to empower young women to pursue excellence in every area of their lives.

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

California

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Across Black America

Sep 7 2011

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

California
The California State Legislature recently passed a bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Davis, to end so-called prison-based gerrymandering in California, and Assembly Member Mike Davis sponsored the bill. This legislation will help bring California’s redistricting process in line with basic principles of democracy, and will serve as a model for other states in the effort to count incarcerated populations correctly in the next round of redistricting. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund consulted on drafting the legislation and advocated its adoption. During the current redistricting cycle, California counted prisoners where they are incarcerated, a practice known as “prison-based gerrymandering.” Prison-based gerrymandering artificially inflates population numbers, especially in outlying areas where most prisons are located—and thus, political influence—in those districts at the expense of mostly urban districts, where most inmates typically come from. With approximately 140,000 incarcerated persons in California, the proper counting of individuals is critical to ensuring fair representation throughout the state.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League’s (LAPPL) Eagle and Badge Foundation, which provides funding to families of Los Angeles police officers and children in the communities they serve, recently held its 10th anniversary gala honoring the new Los Angeles Lakers Coach Mike Brown at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live. Also honored were Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, and the Los Angeles Lakers. TheVoice finalist Frenchie Davis performed at the event.

District of Columbia
Registration for the 29th annual Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week conference, which will bring business leaders and top minority business owners to Washington this month, is now open. The MED Week conference, hosted jointly by the Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency takes place Sept. 27-30, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. This year’s MED theme is “Emerging Industries & Markets: A Blueprint for Success,” and its focus will be on helping minority-owned small businesses expand their operations and establish a presence in the global marketplace while helping them weather the current economic climate. The conference also will include sessions on high-speed rail construction projects, public utilities and green business.

Illinois
The National Black MBA Association Entrepreneurial Institute, an all-day series of business development workshops and breakthrough training sessions, will be held Wednesday, Oct. 5, during the association’s 33rd annual conference and exposition, taking place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The Entrepreneurial Institute was created to help aspiring, newly established, and seasoned business owners jump-start growth, collaborate with fellow entrepreneurs and generate new ideas. Designed to encourage and support entrepreneurship among Black professionals, the institute is divided into three tracks—Start-up, Growth, and Social—tailored specifically to address the unique needs of each entrepreneur and the different phases of their business.

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

California

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Across Black America

Sep 1 2011

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

California

Attorney Raye Mitchell left her private law firm to dedicate herself to inspire and empower young girls (8-18) to live lives of purpose, passion and power as future global leaders through The Making a New Reality Foundation, a nonprofit social entrepreneur organization. “We need to change the conversation about how we define and engage girls as leaders. Their story is not all negative statistics,” said Mitchell who strives to break down barriers to success by raising the bar of excellence for girls and particularly girls of color. On Sept. 10 the program will host its second annual San Francisco Bay Area Summit. Program topics will include financial literacy, nutrition and healthy living, along with a career and education forum. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the summit will also host a special workshop on volunteerism and service.

District of Columbia

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently launched an inter-agency task force that will begin reviewing 300,000 pending immigration cases to stop deportations of non-criminals and focus instead on high priority cases involving immigrants convicted of serious crimes.

“For the three million Afro-immigrants in the United States trying to create a better future for themselves and their families, the Obama Administration’s decision to change immigration deportation rules is an important step forward. The DHS immigration policy revisions—if carried out as proposed—will help communities of color by focusing on immigrants convicted of serious crimes or those who pose a real threat to our national security. Afro-immigrants, who face the same harsh policies as other immigrants, can continue their pursuit of the ‘American Dream’ and their path to fully contribute to our communities,” said Mary Kay Henry, SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer in a statement.

The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) have launched The Civil Rights History Project at www.loc.gov/folklife/civilrights/. The project presents the results of a nationwide inventory of oral-history interviews with participants in the Civil Rights Movement. The research identified several hundred collections held in libraries, museums, archives, universities, historical societies, and other institutions across the nation. The database will enable researchers to efficiently query the survey results and locate collections in repositories around the country, and marks the successful completion of the first phase of the Civil Rights History Project. The second phase of the project, directed by the NMAAHC, consists of new interviews with participants, focusing on their experiences that have not previously been recorded. In addition, project researchers will collect objects such as original photographs, home movies, event flyers, diaries, training-session notes, minutes from planning meetings, and even shoes and clothing worn during historic marches, mass rallies and freedom rides. Once processed and catalogued, the new materials will be made accessible to researchers at the library, NMAAHC and online through the project website.

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

California

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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.

This Week in LA

Walk-a-Thon

June 1, 2013

Across Black America