U.S. Justice Department

Feb 8 2013

Children forced into the sex trade

It wasn’t until relatively recently that the Los Angeles County Probation Department reviewed arrest data for prostitution and discovered that child sex abuse is no longer typically a Third World problem associated with immigrants from Mexico, Central America or Southeast Asia. In 2010, almost 200 cases of prostitution referred to the department involved American girls well under the age of 18.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Mar 22 2012

Coalition of groups to hold rally in L.A.’s Leimert Park

A grand jury will hear evidence next month in the case involving an unarmed teenager fatally shot by a White resident in a Sanford, Fla., gated community.


The decision comes after new evidence surrounding the shooting was brought to light this week. 


An attorney for the family of the 17-year-old victim, Trayvon Martin, said Martin was talking on the phone to his 16-year-old girlfriend, when the conflict between Martin and 28-year-old George Zimmerman began. 

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Apr 3 2009

Organization helps young men stay in college

A recent study on the number of Americans behind bars painted an alarming and rather bleak picture for African Americans males.

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.”