In Orange County, New York one correctional facility is taking a unique approach to preparing inmates to reenter society as productive citizens. The Otisville, N.Y correctional facility sponsors the John Jay Prison to College Pipeline Program, directed and founded by Baz Dreisinger, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The program offers […]
Author Archives: Jonathan Hunter
AFRO Staff Writer
Posted inBaltimore News
Turning Point Clinic: A Life Changer for 11 Years
In 2003, the Rev. Milton Williams of New Life Evangelical Baptist Church saw that his church members were in dire need of help beyond the pulpit. “Very humbly, I was preaching with all my heart to people in the church pews and I was giving them my best and they would leave my church and […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Town Hall Meeting: Protecting Our HBCUs
A town hall meeting on the plight of the state’s HBCUs and their future was the site of much discussion, May 13, at Coppin State University in Baltimore. State Del. Aisha N. Braveboy, attorney John C. Brittain, State Sen. Joan Carter Conway, Dr. John Organ, attorney A. Dwight Pettit, Dr. Earl S. Richardson and Mr. […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Zumiez Reopens Columbia Mall Store Four Months after Fatal Shootings
Zumiez, a Columbia Mall skateboard and snowboard apparel store, has reopened nearly four months after it was the scene of a double homicide of two mall employees during an apparent shooting rampage. The store has been closed since Jan. 25 when, police said, Tyler Johnson 25, and Briana Benlolo 21, were killed by Darion Aguilar, […]
Posted inBaltimore News
‘Safe Streets’ Programs Aimed at Curbing Violence in Park Heights Area
Baltimore City, a town notorious for crime and high homicide rates, has initiated a unique program geared toward mediating conflicts. The Park Heights Safe Streets program is the newest of the four Safe Streets program in Baltimore City. Since February 2013, the Park Heights location has been carrying out the program’s motto “Stop Shooting. Start […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Photo of Willow Smith Reclining in Bed with Shirtless Actor Raises Eyebrows
A new image of Willow Smith, the 13-year-old daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, has made her parents the target of parenting criticism for a photo of the teen star lying in bed with 20-year-old actor Moises Arias. A black and white photo posted May 6 on Instagram shows Smith fully clothed in a […]
Posted inBaltimore News
I Am O’KAH Teaches Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship
Aisha DaCosta lost her sister Kahdine Ann DaCosta in 2004 to breast cancer. Kahdine Ann DaCosta was the first in the family to go to college and had a great friendly spirit. “Kahdine was one of those people that when she came into a room she lit it up. She was one of those vibrant […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Detroit Student Agrees to Debate Affirmative Action Foe
Brooke Kimbrough’s rejection by the University of Michigan (U-M) for a slot in next year’s freshman class has brought out the fight in the 17-year-old Detroit student. She has accepted a challenge to publicly debate race-based college admissions with a seasoned veteran of the matter, Jennifer Gratz, the founder and CEO of the anti-affirmative-action XIV […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Baseball Great Hank Aaron Draws Fire for Comments on Republicans
Hank Aaron received hate mail as he closed in on and eventually broke Babe Ruth’s homerun record in 1974. Forty years later, the baseball great has drawn a new round of controversy for recent racially-charged remarks. In a recent USA Today interview, Aaron, 80, now a senior vice president of the Atlanta Braves, seemed to […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Harvard University Accepts Largest-Ever Percentage of Black Students
Prestigious Harvard University made history this spring when it accepted the largest percentage of Black students to its freshman class in school history, capping with a series of notable individual achievements by Black students targeting Ivy League institutions. According to The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, Black students comprised nearly 12 percent of those […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Lent is a Season of Preparation for Resurrection
With Easter approaching many individuals from different religious backgrounds have different views of the Lenten season that begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with Palm Sunday, excluding Sundays. It is the 40 day preparation period before Easter where people repent and change their lifestyles to honor God. The Rev. William Banks, a bible scholar and […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Eastside Organizations Demand Change in Housing Agenda
Donald Gresham, a medical technician, never imagined he would be homeless. Gresham, who helped people for a living, needed help himself. He lived on the third floor of a building in very undesirable living conditions where the winters were brutally cold. Gresham said “I learned how if you go to bed at a certain time […]