Barack Obama

Jul 19 2012

Urban League points to possible areas of vulnerability

WASHINGTON—If Black voter turnout reverts to the level it was before Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in 2008, the nation’s first Black president will have a difficult time winning a second term in the White House, concludes a National Urban League report released Monday.

The report, “The Hidden Swing Voters: Impact of African Americans in 2012,” was written by Madura Wijewarden and Valerie Wilson of the National Urban League Policy Institute based in Washington.

Jun 21 2012

Obama policy hailed by some

Southland immigrant-rights activists hailed last Friday’s announcement of a federal policy change that will prevent the deportation and provide work permits for some undocumented immigrants who came to the country at a young age.

Jun 15 2012

Lawyer fined for frivolous litigation

The United States Supreme Court has refused to take up the appeal of a California attorney who has lost lower-court challenges to Barack Obama’s presidency based on a claim he wasn’t born in the United States.

The case originated with Rancho Santa Margarita-based attorney Orly Taitz and Ramona, Calif.-based lawyer Gary G. Kreep.

Jun 12 2012

Lawyer fined for frivolous litigation

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to take up an appeal of a California attorney who has lost lower-court challenges to Barack Obama’s presidency based on a claim he wasn’t born in the United States.

The case originated with Rancho Santa Margarita-based attorney Orly Taitz and Ramona, Calif.-based lawyer Gary G. Kreep.

Julianne Malveaux  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jun 7 2012

Aggressive action needed to spur job creation

In April, the unemployment rate was 8.1 percent. In May, it rose, just a tiny bit, to 8.2 percent. A tenth of a percentage point does not seem like a big deal. Indeed, the Department of Labor describes the unemployment rate as “essentially unchanged.” And compared to this time last year, when the rate was 9 percent, people are mostly better off.

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.