African American Community

Karen Bass  |   OW Guest Columnist
Jul 21 2011

Hope, hard work ahead for South Sudan

Earlier this month we witnessed a momentous and rare event—the birth of a new nation—when the Republic of South Sudan became an independent country after a long and bloody struggle in the heart of Africa. The Sudanese war spanned some 20 years and took 2 million innocent lives as the government in Khartoum sought to repress the ethnic and religious Christian minority in the south.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jul 14 2011

Claim latest visualization decimates Black representation

The African American Redistricting Collaborative (AARC) will hold a press conference today at 10 a.m. at the California African America Museum in Exposition Park to discuss the latest developments in redrawing legislative boundaries. The AARC’s press advisory notes that it “... is convening a press conference to declare the African American community’s refusal to accept any reduction in political representation.”

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jul 14 2011

Practical Politics

On August 28, 2011, a day chosen to celebrate the 48th anniversary of Dr. King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech on the Washington Mall, another major milestone will occur. For the first time in American history, a centerpiece construction of a permanent stone and bronze monument will be erected in the nation’s capital for an African American who was not a former American president.

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jul 14 2011

Between the Lines

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ordered the state of California to address its prison overcrowding problem. As a quick fix nearly 30,000 low-level (nonviolent) offenders will be released in the next few months—nearly 12,000 in Los Angeles County—so the county has a few perplexing dilemmas:

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jul 7 2011

Changes are a ‘mistake’

According to a new visualization pre-map published last weekend by the California Redistricting Commission, (CRC), South Los Angeles and Malibu have enough in common that they should be lumped together into one voting district.

That bombshell was released last weekend on the web site www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov, and has the African American community reeling and fuming.

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.