Malcolm X

May 26 2011

Wife of Malcolm X

On May 28, 1936, Betty Shabazz, the then-future wife of Black liberationist leader, Malcolm X, was born. Named Betty Jean Sanders by her mother, Ollie Mae Sanders, she was the illegitimate daughter of Shelman Sandlin. According to records, her mother abused her, so authorities gave to another family.

She grew up in Detroit and was raised by foster parents, Helen Lowe and Lorenzo Don Malloy. Her parents shielded her from racism and White supremacy in her younger years, and fervently taught Black self-reliance.

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Apr 7 2011

Between the Lines

This week was supposed to be a landmark occasion in the evolution of contemporary African American thought. A new release on the life and death of an American success and race tragedy, published by Viking (Penguin Group) and written by author, columnist, scholar Manning Marable, called “Malcolm X: Life of Reinvention,” sought to refine and re-clarify the life of one of the most polarizing figures of the 20th century, El Malik Shabazz—forever to be known as simply Malcolm X.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Feb 10 2011

Practical Politics

This is either year two or year one of the Decade of the African Diaspora (DOAD), depending on how you are counting. For yours truly, and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) organization, which jointly declared the decade, it is year one. Last year, was the period of announcement and dissemination of information regarding the DOAD. Work not already begun, begins now.

Feb 10 2011

Donates collection to Schomburg Center

Special to the NNPA from the New York Carib News

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 25 2010

Our connection to the afterlife

Ancestry is a highly regarded realm of life among many of us in our domestic sectors and even abroad. Many families have a deep reverence for those who have passed on to another life beyond the clouds in heaven or a life among the spirits in a realm unseen by the human eye.

Memorials in honor of the ancestors may remain on mantels in homes, or a small token from their former life may be kept away in a relatives, and loved ones’ secret space.

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.