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Marisol Aguilar  |   OW Contributor
Oct 7 2010

Film pushes for charter schools

“Waiting for Superman” is a documentary by Davis Guggenheim, director of “An Inconvenient Truth,” that focuses on the deteriorating public school system.

Guggenheim’s film follows five optimistic children and their families (that he selected from across the country), who hope to win the lottery—the charter school lottery that is.

Charter schools are portrayed as the possible saviors of these five children. However, there are not many available seats for all the applicants, and only a few lucky ones will win the game.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Oct 7 2010

Program assists foster youth

United Friends of the Children (UFC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bettering the lives of foster children and to supporting former foster youth in their journey to become successful, independent adults.

The group does this through its programs, advocacy efforts, and direct involvement with youth. Today the organization serves more than 1,500 current and former foster youth.

UFC was founded by Nancy M. Daly in 1979, to respond to the unmet needs of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable and underserved population–foster youth.

Jan 8 2009

Applications available online

Los Angeles, CA - Applications are now being accepted for the 10th annual Carl N. and Margaret Karcher Founders’ Scholarship program. Applicants can go online at www.carlsjr.com/promotions to apply - only during the month of January as a tribute to Carl’s Jr. founder, who died on Jan. 11, 2008, at the age of 90.

Sixty high school seniors or graduates up to 21 years old will be chosen to receive a $1,000 scholarship to the two- or four-year college or vocational school of their choice.

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.