Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
California
Three Harvard Law School alumni recently launched The M.B.A. Series, a new collaborative mentoring and training program to support African American youth. The M.B.A. Series (M.B.A. stands for Motivated Brilliant Achievers) is a multi-platform series that provides youth, ages 8 to 18-plus, with leading edge, inspirational and motivational advice and counsel bolstered by specific hard skills and technical skills development in leadership. The M.B.A. Series is a collaborative effort between three Harvard Law School alumni and their respective nonprofit foundations: Hill Harper, founder of MANifest Your Destiny; Raye Mitchell, founder of G.U.R.L.S. Rock Global Leadership Training Program; and Lisa Jones Johnson, founder of The Micro Learning Centers of America Inc., which has launched a unique approach to elementary education targeting African American boys K-5.
District of Columbia
This year’s Democratic and Republican national conventions will feature screenings of “Won’t Back Down,” a new major studio motion picture to be released on Sept. 28. The screenings will be hosted by StudentsFirst, a bipartisan national grassroots education reform movement, and partners at both conventions. The screening at the Democratic National Convention will be co-hosted by Democrats for Education Reform and Parent Revolution. The screening at the Republican National Convention will be co-hosted by the Foundation for Excellence in Education. The film tells a story of two mothers who will stop at nothing to transform their children’s failing inner-city school. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions featuring the director and co-writer, Daniel Barnz; the film’s producer, Mark Johnson, as well as StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee.
Florida
When the Florida Coalition on Black Civic Participation (FCBCP) originally planned and hosted their 2012 Healthy, Wealthy & Wise Mini-Expo and Black Men’s Round Table (BMR) in Miami, Fla., the organizers were unsure what to expect. But the gathering of Black men that included NBA Hall of Famer, Isaiah Thomas; actor and producer, Charles S. Dutton (“Rock”); Dade County Circuit Judge Daryl Traywick; and Miami Police homicide detective and cast member of “48 Hours,” Detective Ervans Ford, proved to be so powerful that the singular occasion has spawned the announcement of the FCBCP Black Men’s Roundtable Statewide Tour. Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Orlando will be among the first stops. A springboard of the popular National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) “Black Women’s Roundtable Health Wealthy & Wise National Tour,” BMR will now address and focus on the concerns and issues of Black men. With the goal to uplift, educate and empower Black men and youth, the BMR tour will continue to provide important information related to health and wellness and stimulate honest discussions about issues relevant to Black men all in a mini-expo environment.
