At Risk Youth

May 9 2013

Closures for it and seven others start in June

A rally focused on keeping Kenyon Juvenile Justice Center open will be held today at 10 a.m. at the center, 7625 S. Central Ave., Los Angeles.

Community members and workers rallying to save Kenyon say a plan by the presiding judge of L.A. County to shut down the South Los Angeles center and seven others would be a disservice to poor youth of color and their parents.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
May 9 2013

High levels of suspensions and special education placement to be targeted

Nearly 500 people turned out Saturday for a town hall discussion on the status of Black children in California’s public education and system.

The event, sponsored by Congresswoman Karen Bass, D-Calif., was held at Audubon Middle School in the Crenshaw District and drew people ranging from high school students attending local campuses, to former school district superintendents, to educational professionals, to parents to concerned community stakeholders.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Feb 7 2013

More than 75,000 youth and families served

The Girls Club of Los Angeles is a nonprofit agency that meets the needs of underprivileged and at-risk children, youth and their families living in South Los Angeles. The organization is an advocate and community change agent working to provide children, youth and families with the skills to overcome the challenges they face.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jan 17 2013

Strengthening low-income and vulnerable working families

Founded in 1978 by educator and activist Bea Gold, Pathways was an early leader in promoting child care programs that are inclusive of children with special needs. Today, Pathways is the single largest nonprofit resource for child care and early education services for low-income working families with young children in Los Angeles.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Dec 20 2012

Sports nonprofit teaches new school kids old values

The Falcons Youth and Family Service organization (FYFS) is a natural progression of the Southern California Falcons Youth Football and Cheer Program. In the spring of 2005 Keith and Karen Johnson formed the Southern California Falcons a youth football and cheer organization. The goal of the program was to use sports as a vehicle to introduce and reinforce the concept of strong character, positive values, personal responsibility, social responsibility and academic excellence.

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.