Hispanic

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Sep 16 2010

Is it racism?

Eric Banks, allegedly the only African American owner/operator of a RaceTrac gas station, is calling for a nation-wide boycott of the company and its parent corporation, Atlanta-based Raceway Petroleum, after he received a 90-day notice informing him that his station would be offered to a new owner, because he was “no longer the right fit.”

Banks believes the decision is nothing more than the newest chapter in Raceway’s racist treatment of its Black operators.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Sep 16 2010

Third in series of community meetings

Nearly one-third of African American students (32.9 percent) and one-quarter of Hispanic pupils (23.8 percent) dropped out during the 2007-08 school year compared to 18.9 percent of youngsters overall in California.

That figure from the California Department of Education represents a four-year adjusted rate and also the first time officials say they have been able to determine a true drop-out rate.

Sep 9 2010

Enough is enough

While reading an issue of Essence recently, I was touched by an interview the magazine did with its former editor Susan L. Taylor. The topic of the interview was mentoring and why the former editor had become so passionate about the activity. One of the things that stuck out to me was when Taylor stated, “Enough is enough” after revealing that 58 percent of Black fourth graders are functionally illiterate.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Sep 2 2010

Researchers don’t know why

According to a recent study by The Nielsen Company, which analyzes the cell phone bills of more than 60,000 people in the United States each month, African Americans talk and text significantly more than other races.

On average African Americans used more than 1,300 minutes of talk time per month. Hispanics were a not-so-close second with 826 minutes; Asians/Pacific Islanders were third with 692 minutes, and last were Whites with 647 minutes of talk time per month.

Marisol Aguilar  |   OW Contributor
Aug 26 2010

Minority students narrow achievement gap

The California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) results for this year’s graduating class of 2010 show that 94.5 percent of students who were tested passed the test within a three-year period.

The CAHSEE is a statewide public high school graduation requirement that was implemented for the 2006 graduating class, which tests students on English and Mathematics.

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.