By Payton Aldridge Navigating the special education system can be overwhelming for many families. There’s a lot of unfamiliar terminology, meetings filled with professionals and decisions that directly affect your child’s education. It can sometimes feel like everyone else in the room understands what’s happening – except you. But it’s important to remember that you […]
Author Archives: Special to the AFRO
Posted inAfro Briefs
Najee Seabrooks: Still teaching young people how to live three years later!
By Zayid Muhammad They were not only wearing their famous orange and black gear on this day. Some had on that gear especially made to honor their fallen friend and colleague, that red and black gear, his smiling face on the front, and a quote of his on the back that bespoke his vibrant personality […]
Posted inCommentary
Reflecting on history, power and the future of the U.S. democracy
As leaders and communities across the United States prepare to celebrate its 250th anniversary, Americans from coast to coast are questioning the fabric of a nation that appears to be torn at the seams over race and capitalism.
Posted inOPINION
The silent crisis in our community — why amyloidosis awareness matters now
Each year in March amyloidosis is recognized with an awareness month. Jonathan L. Dotson serves as executive director of Friendship That Gives, a health advocacy organization. This week, he urges the Black community to learn more about the condition, which is caused by abnormal protein deposits that damage vital organs.
Posted inOpinion
Measuring progress: Johns Hopkins, Black Baltimore and this moment
By Steven K. Ragsdale We have to say it aloud. Five Black surgeons now lead the trauma service at Johns Hopkins Hospital: Dr. Zachary Obinna Enumah, M.D., Ph.D., M.A., ninth-year resident and critical care fellowDr. Lawrence B. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., a seventh-year residentDr. Ivy Mannoh, M.D., third-year residentDr. Ifeoluwa “Ife” Shoyombo, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., […]
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: As the Old Guard of civil rights finish their march, ours must continue
By Steven Ragsdale This past weekend, thousands gathered in Alabama for the annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Celebration, retracing the famous steps across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where civil rights marchers once faced violence for demanding the right to vote. As the nation reflected on that history, many of today’s and yesterday’s activists also mourned […]
Posted inMaryland News
3 days in Annapolis: Black excellence on display in Maryland State Capitol
By Haki Ammi When many think of Annapolis, Md., they envision the state capitol, the United States Naval Academy, the Alex Haley statue and the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum. But recently, Black excellence and power took center stage in Maryland’s capital, marking a historic and vibrant convergence of culture, leadership and progress. The series of events began […]
Posted inOPINION
My tough love letter to Baltimore after my husband’s inherited generational home was temporarily lost due to a tax sale lien foreclosure
By Natasha C. Pratt-Harris I absolutely love my Baltimore. My Baltimore is gritty. We fight each other sometimes and it can be tragic but we for sure don’t let others fight us without us fighting back. I love that our Baltimore recognizes that the intra-personal fights have got to stop and found a way to […]
Posted inCommentary
Free market solutionist and community-based economic empowerment groups sound alarms on regressive housing legislation
By Troy Rolling The Maryland General Assembly and Montgomery County Council are moving forward with legislation intended to ban the algorithmic software that the housing industry uses to obtain pricing estimates on the apartments and homes they list for rent in The Old-Line State. While the legislation’s sponsors introduced the bills with the intent of […]
Posted inCommentary
Vulnerable communities left to breathe the consequences as EPA repeals endangerment finding
By Almeta Cooper Nothing brings me more joy than spending time with my beautiful five-month-old grandson. When I am with him, we are in our own special world – the board books, the stuffies, the smiles. I certainly don’t want him to see the dread I am feeling. I work in the climate sector and […]
Posted inBlack History
Autherine Lucy Foster’s courage opened doors at the University of Alabama
Autherine Lucy Foster became a civil rights pioneer when the University of Alabama rescinded her 1952 admission after learning she was Black. With legal backing from Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP, she won the right to enroll in 1956, but violent protests led to her suspension and expulsion. Decades later, the university reversed its decision, and Foster earned her master’s degree in 1991. She was later honored by Morgan State University for her role in desegregating higher education.
Posted inBlack Press
Two legacy Black newspapers close, citing financial pressures
The Richmond Free Press and Portland Skanner have shut down as leaders warn of a broader funding crisis in Black media.
