Barack Obama

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
May 31 2012

Open season on the president

“Any man who wants to be president is either an egomaniac or crazy.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Does it disturb you that so many people hate you?” —Conservative political commentator Bill O’Reilly to Barack Obama on a Feb. 6, 2011, during a White House interview.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
May 17 2012

Practical Politics

OK, here comes a little clarity. No, I’m not talking about President Barack Obama’s soulful elucidation about gay marriage. More than enough has already been said about that—essentially a lot of sound and fury signifying emotion but little substance.

Julianne Malveaux  |   OW Contributing Columnist
May 3 2012

Average graduate owes $25,000

President Barack Obama hit a home run when he traveled to three colleges last week, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Iowa.

Lisa Olivia Fitch  |   OW Contributor
Jan 26 2012

The movie rode a jet stream of national activism

Clapping and yelling at the sights of African American heroes on the screen, viewers on the opening night for “Red Tails” did not hesitate to voice pride in the movie at a local Baldwin Hills theater.

Julianne Malveaux  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Jan 5 2012

Sparks may fly when the House returns

Most Americans have been enjoying the holiday haze since House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) folded and allowed the two-month extension of unemployment insurance and the Social Security tax cut, and other key matters to go through.

Indeed, if the French take the month of August off by law, we almost do the same in the period between Christmas and New Year. Except for retail establishments that support the great American pastime– shopping–few businesses got substantive work done in the last week.

Across Black America

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

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”