Caribbean

Feb 7 2013

The huge festival opens today

The 12-year-old wears neat pigtails. Her dry, black skin seems to match the barren surroundings of her village, which is void of vegetation with the exception of a few weeds and battered corn stalks that resemble plant fossils against the backdrop of a doom-colored sky.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Dec 6 2012

Representatives seem eager to learn how U.S. girls are treated

EmpowHer Institute and Environmental Charter Middle School recently hosted a delegation of 20 (19 women and one man) community activists, educators and nonprofit managers from 19 foreign countries visiting the United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

Harry C. Alford  |   OW Guest Contributor
Aug 16 2012

Beyond the Rhetoric

I was very curious when the speaking invitation arrived from the Emancipation Support Committee based in Trinidad and Tobago. They asked if I would speak at their 12th annual Trade and Investment Symposium. Mel Foote, president/CEO of the Constituency for Africa, soon contacted me and encouraged me to participate at this event, as he has been going for more than 10 years. That recommendation was enough for me, so off we (myself, two vp’s and a board member from the National Black Chamber of Commerce) went to Trinidad and Tobago. It was our maiden voyage.

Jasmyne A. Cannick  |   OW Contributor
Aug 24 2011

24 teams represent 20 countries

C. Alexander Haywood   |   OW Staff Writer
May 26 2011

The jury may still be out

“The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they’re okay, then it’s you.”— Rita Mae Brown (American Writer, b.1944)

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.