Black Students

Mar 14 2013

From a world-class to a lower-class education

After spending eight years in the state Legislature, I can tell you that here in Sacramento, there’s no shortage of good intentions. But what we are lacking is a track record of good results.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Mar 14 2013

Practical Politics

President Obama’s White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, the only Executive Order signed by the president to focus specifically on African Americans, got a new executive director two days ago—David C. Johns, a former educational staffer for the U.S. Senate. The aim of the initiative is to seek out “evidence-based best practices anywhere in the U.S.

Feb 25 2013

Highest school dropout rate among all races

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—By the second grade, African American students in Los Angeles County demonstrate significant learning gaps that only widen with age and lead to the highest school dropout rate among all races, according to a new report released today.

Feb 7 2013

Dazzling them with science

Girls do do science, and the women from the Spelman College robotics team brought their Spelbots to Washington Preparatory High School last Friday to strut their stuff. Above from left, Micaela Hunter, Tyler Davis, Re’Kieya Ward, Ronique Young and Daria Jordan, discuss what it’s like to be the first all-female, all African American team to qualify and compete in international robotics competitions in places like Japan.

Jan 24 2013

Organization aims to 5,000 students in college

The Black College Expo will return to Los Angeles celebrating 14 years of helping more than 375,000 students get into college and giving away more than $500,000 in scholarships. The expo will take place on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with a celebrity-hosted entertainment segment from 3-5 p.m., which includes a scholarship presentation, high school and fraternity step show, and a surprise artist performance to culminate the day’s event.

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.