The once-popular Black college spring break event “Freaknik” is nearing a possible return to Atlanta. “The Official Atlanta Freaknic Site” is claiming the return of the event from April 16 through April 18, but the city has not received a permit application and city officials are not convinced the event will happen. “I don’t believe […]
Author Archives: AFRO Staff
Posted inAfro Briefs
Jay-Z’s Casino Deal Questioned by Simmons and Feds
Rapper Jay-Z’s business dealings with a New York-based promotion company are under federal investigation over possible ethics violations. Aqueduct Entertainment Group was awarded a multi-million dollar contract in January to upgrade the Aqueduct Race Track and turn it into a racetrack and casino, or “racino”. It would be the only one of its kind in […]
Posted inNational News
Miss. Groups File Appeal of Dismissal of Lawsuit over Katrina Funds
Several Mississippi groups have appealed a judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the Department of Housing and Urban Development redirected funds intended for Hurricane Katrina recovery to a long-standing port project. Lawyers from Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Pepeo, the Mississippi Center for Justice and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights filed […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Nation’s Health Ranked County-by-County in New Study
According to a study released by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which ranks the nation’s health county-by-county across the country, many of the counties with the worst health conditions also have high poverty rates, and many have high Black populations. “We didn’t want this to be just a black and white analysis,” Patrick Remington, associate […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Study: Middle and Upper-class Minorities Adopting Broadband
Middle and upper-class African-Americans and Hispanics are narrowing the digital divide, according to a new study conducted by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. According to the report, 94 percent of Blacks and 98 percent of Hispanics who possess a college degree are online, and college-educated minority Americans who earn over $50,000, are […]
Posted inNational News
U.S. Mayors Urge Prompt Action on Federal Jobs Bill
A bipartisan delegation of more than 30 U.S. mayors came together on Capitol Hill on February 24 to urge lawmakers to pass a comprehensive jobs bill that will put unemployed Americans back to work and invest in Main Street metropolitan economies. According to Black PR Newswire, members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors discussed the […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
New York Governor Will Not Seek Election
After months of controversy and scathing criticism from his political colleagues, New York Gov. David Paterson announced Feb. 26 that he would not seek election later this year, according to a New York Times report. Paterson took the helm nearly two years ago when then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer was purged from office following a prostitution scandal. […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
White House Social Secretary to Step Down
White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers will step down from her post at the end of the month amid controversy surrounding the infamous White House crashers in December, according to a Washington Post report. The Post quoted unnamed White House officials who said Rogers, a friend of President Barack Obama from Chicago, will return to […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Magic Johnson No Longer Buying Famed Publishing Company
Affiliates of Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Johnson Publishing Company “were unable to reach a definitive agreement” in a business deal that would have allowed the former basketball star to own a controlling stake in the family-owned company, Journal-isms.com reported. Talks of the HIV-activist’s interest in buying the publishing company, which owns Ebony and Jet magazines, […]
Posted inNational News
Entertainer Tyler Perry was a big winner at this year’s NAACP Image Awards.
Affiliates of Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Johnson Publishing Company “were unable to reach a definitive agreement” in a business deal that would have allowed the former basketball star to own a controlling stake in the family-owned company, Journal-isms.com reported. Talks of the HIV-activist’s interest in buying the publishing company, which owns Ebony and Jet magazines, […]
Posted inBooks
The Denzel Principle: Why Black Women Can’t Find Good Black Men
“What do black women want? The truth? They are looking for Denzel Washington. They have been so thoroughly brainwashed, that black women don’t know what a good black man even looks like… The brothers out there know exactly I’m talking about. Every time you turn around sisters say they just want a good black man, […]
Posted inNational News
53-Year-Old Man Crashes Aircraft into Texas IRS Building
A Texas man flew his small plane into an Austin federal office building on February 18 in an apparent suicide attack on offices of the Internal Revenue Service located inside. Two people were killed and two hospitalized after Joseph Stack, 53, flew his Piper Cherokee PA-28 into the seven-story office building. The office contains an […]