United States

Across Black America
Oct 6 2011

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.


Arkansas
Eleven-year-old Demias Jimerson, a sixth-grade student from Malvern, Ark., has emerged as such a dominant running back that the Wilson Intermediate Football League has reinstated a bylaw called the “Madre Hill rule,” which bars him from scoring a touchdown if he has already scored three times and his team has a lead of 14 points or more. The rule is named after former University of Arkansas star and Oakland Raider Madre Hill, who, like Jimerson, played youth football in the Malvern area. Hill proved so adept at getting the ball into the end zone that the league devised the rule to try and keep scores from getting too out of hand. Now it has brought the same statute back for Jimerson, saying that the rule isn’t meant to punish him, but rather to ensure that the other 21 players on the field stay involved. The rule is only applicable to fifth- and sixth-graders so Jimerson, who has been known to score seven touchdowns in a single game, will not be under restriction next year when he advances to the seventh grade.


California
Actors Hill Harper and Harry Lennix have teamed with Pathways to Your Future to host the 15th anniversary Frontline Soldiers Awards breakfast on Oct. 15 at the Proud Bird restaurant in Los Angeles. For more than 20 years Pathways to Your Future has been on the front line providing comprehensive health, education and human supportive services to Los Angeles County foster and homeless youth. This year, proceeds from the breakfast will go toward providing permanent supportive housing for transitional age homeless youth, ages 18-24. Pathways is inducting 17 people who have made remarkable contributions over the years to the community into the Frontline Soldiers Hall of Fame. Among them are Congresswoman Maxine Waters; Assemblyman Steve Bradford; Ted Watkins, CEO of the WLCAC; Marqueece Dawson of the Community Coalition; Percell Keeling & Apryl Sims, owners of Simply Wholesome Health Food Store and Restaurant, and several others. The community is invited to attend the breakfast, support the efforts of the organization and meet and greet other local leaders. For more information regarding the purchase of tickets, sponsorship opportunities or to make a donation, visit the website www.ptyf.org.


Georgia
The Medicare Diabetes Screening Project, in collaboration with the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Area Agency on Aging, and the Metro Atlanta YMCA launched a diabetes scholarship to enroll 200 adults, ages 65 or older, with prediabetes who are overweight in the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program. The National Institutes of Health Diabetes Prevention Program research has shown that programs that help individuals lose a moderate amount of weight and increase their physical activity can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 71 percent among older adults. In Georgia, approximately 794,000 older adults, or 72 percent of those 65 or older, have diabetes or prediabetes. In this Atlanta-based initiative, locally known as the Get a Jump on Diabetes campaign, Medicare-aged residents are eligible to participate in the program at Metro Atlanta YMCAs at no cost, thanks to scholarships provided by Novo Nordisk. In a classroom setting, a trained lifestyle coach helps older adults learn about improved eating habits, ways to increase physical activity and other changes that can lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

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Across Black America
Sep 29 2011

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 
California
Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA) will hold a free concert with the internationally recognized and acclaimed Complexions Contemporary Ballet at the Rave Theater on the grounds of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall on Friday at 7 p.m. The informal presentation of Complexions’ new work was being developed at DADA during the month, along with Resident Director Rasta Thomas and the DADA Ensemble. Co-founders Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, Ballet Master Jae Man Joo and 13 other Complexions company members from Italy, Korea, Cuba, Canada, the United States and Republic of Georgia will offer master, open, adult classes and end with a free concert for the Los Angeles community. Rhoden and Richardson were most recently guest choreographers during the current season of the hit Fox dance series, “So You Think You Can Dance.”
 
District of Columbia
Dr. Thomas Frieden, Centers for Disease Control director, joined leading medical/public health experts at the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) news conference recently to call on all Americans to get vaccinated against influenza. Dr. Winston Price of the National Medical Association addressed the importance and unique risks of influenza and pneumococcal disease among the African American population. “Just two years ago, an influenza pandemic swept the globe, causing hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths in the United States alone, including the deaths of an estimated 1,280 children and young adults. Since then, we’ve made significant strides in immunizing Americans, and we’re now seeing positive shifts in the public’s understanding of the impact influenza can have,” said Frieden.
 
Georgia
A memorial service for Troy Anthony Davis will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30, at the New Life Apostolic Temple, 2120 West Bay St., Savannah, Ga., 31415. The service is open to the public. Davis was executed by the state of Georgia on Sept. 21, 2011. A funeral service, planned as a “Celebration of Life,” is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, at Jonesville Baptist Church, 5201 Montgomery St., Savannah, Ga. The service will be open to the public, but media cameras will not be permitted in the church. Efforts are under way to make a single-source feed from inside available at the site. Sidney A. Jones and Campbell Funeral Services, 124 West Park Ave., Savannah, Ga., 31401-6439, will handle flower memorials. In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to the I Am Troy Davis Fund, Capitol City Bank, P.O. Box 2105, Savannah, GA 31407. 
 

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

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Across Black America
Sep 22 2011

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

 

California
Home of Chicken and Waffles, a favorite Oakland-based soul food restaurant since 2004, has expanded its reach by opening a sister location in Walnut Creek. Restaurateur Derreck B. Johnson opened the eatery to a very warm and enthusiastic reception from the community. “We have enjoyed tremendous support from the residents of Walnut Creek. I am thrilled that our menu has translated so well, evident by the overwhelming and steady turnout we’ve maintained since we opened,” said Johnson. The original Home of Chicken and Waffles is one of the most popular restaurants in Oakland, offering an extensive Southern food menu that ranges from waffles served with fried chicken to honey brown sugar yams and old-fashioned southern greens. The Oakland location is a melting pot of culture and diversity with regular patrons, including Eric Benet, Lalah Hathaway, Lamar Odom, Stephen Curry and Oakland Raider’s Head Coach Hugh Jackson. During football season, popular radio station Live 105 broadcasts shows from inside the restaurant after every Raiders home game.
 

District of Columbia

 

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

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Across Black America
Sep 15 2011

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.



California

Emmy Award-winning casting director and producer Robi Reed recently hosted her annual End of Summer Celebration at the private estate of Judge Greg Mathis and Linda Mathis in Beverly Hills. The star-studded Labor Day weekend party benefited Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization, The Black AIDS Institute. Actress Vanessa Williams (Showtime’s Soul Food) and actor/comedian Gary “G-Thang” Johnson were co-hosts. The annual soiree is one of the most highly-anticipated parties in Hollywood. Among the approximately 400 persons in attendance were Denzel Washington, Ron Artest, Affion Crockett, Kimberly Elise, Johnny Gill, Fonzworth Bentley, other entertainment industry insiders, politicians, business executives and community leaders. 


 


District of Columbia

The Prostate Health Education Network Inc. (PHEN) will host its 7th annual African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 22-23, at the U.S. Capitol and Washington Convention Center, respectively. The summit is free and open to the public. This year’s theme is “Saving Lives: Strategies for Eliminating the African American Prostate Cancer Disparity.” Congressman Gregory Meeks (N.Y.) will host the event as an official part of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Annual Legislative Conference. More than 30 speakers and presenters are slated to attend and will assess various efforts to help eliminate the African American prostate cancer disparity, the largest racial disparity for any type of major cancer, as well as map strategies for new activities in the fight against prostate cancer.



Actress Ella Joyce, remembered for her co-starring role of Eleanor on TV’s “Roc,” Jasmin on “My Wife & Kids,” and Det. Waller in the film “Set If Off,” captures the famous moment in the life of Rosa Parks, affectionately called “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement,” in her highly acclaimed, one-woman play “A Rose Among Thorns: a Tribute to Rosa Parks.” The show is stopping in Washington, D.C., after headlining Stage Aurora’s 4th annual Black Arts Festival in Jacksonville, Fla., last July. Four shows will be presented by The Essential Theatre in Washington, D.C. Performances will be located at Under Croft Theatre Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, Sept. 21-24. Shows are already being scheduled through Black History Month 2012.



Georgia

Girls Who Rule the World Mentoring Weekend is a three-day, two-night program designed by Marjorie Harvey, president of the Steve and Marjorie Harvey Foundation, to enhance the development of young girls and provide a forum to expose them to the benefits and the importance of positive self-image, responsible personal conduct, respect for self and others via educational achievement, cultural enrichment and mentoring. One hundred young women from the metro Atlanta and surrounding areas are pre-selected to attend the weekend of mentoring, Oct. 28-30. The weekend leadership is comprised of women business and community leaders who will provide wisdom and resources to help guide girls through the importance of financial literacy, balanced nutrition, proper etiquette, self-esteem and professional and educational development. The goal of the Girls Who Rule the World Mentoring Weekend is to empower young women to pursue excellence in every area of their lives.

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California

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Across Black America
Sep 7 2011

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
The California State Legislature recently passed a bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Davis, to end so-called prison-based gerrymandering in California, and Assembly Member Mike Davis sponsored the bill. This legislation will help bring California’s redistricting process in line with basic principles of democracy, and will serve as a model for other states in the effort to count incarcerated populations correctly in the next round of redistricting. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund consulted on drafting the legislation and advocated its adoption. During the current redistricting cycle, California counted prisoners where they are incarcerated, a practice known as “prison-based gerrymandering.” Prison-based gerrymandering artificially inflates population numbers, especially in outlying areas where most prisons are located—and thus, political influence—in those districts at the expense of mostly urban districts, where most inmates typically come from. With approximately 140,000 incarcerated persons in California, the proper counting of individuals is critical to ensuring fair representation throughout the state.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League’s (LAPPL) Eagle and Badge Foundation, which provides funding to families of Los Angeles police officers and children in the communities they serve, recently held its 10th anniversary gala honoring the new Los Angeles Lakers Coach Mike Brown at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live. Also honored were Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, and the Los Angeles Lakers. TheVoice finalist Frenchie Davis performed at the event.

District of Columbia
Registration for the 29th annual Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week conference, which will bring business leaders and top minority business owners to Washington this month, is now open. The MED Week conference, hosted jointly by the Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency takes place Sept. 27-30, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. This year’s MED theme is “Emerging Industries & Markets: A Blueprint for Success,” and its focus will be on helping minority-owned small businesses expand their operations and establish a presence in the global marketplace while helping them weather the current economic climate. The conference also will include sessions on high-speed rail construction projects, public utilities and green business.

Illinois
The National Black MBA Association Entrepreneurial Institute, an all-day series of business development workshops and breakthrough training sessions, will be held Wednesday, Oct. 5, during the association’s 33rd annual conference and exposition, taking place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The Entrepreneurial Institute was created to help aspiring, newly established, and seasoned business owners jump-start growth, collaborate with fellow entrepreneurs and generate new ideas. Designed to encourage and support entrepreneurship among Black professionals, the institute is divided into three tracks—Start-up, Growth, and Social—tailored specifically to address the unique needs of each entrepreneur and the different phases of their business.

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California

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Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”

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