On Aug. 28, 1963, 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial, sounding the rallying cry of “jobs and freedom.” It was the largest non-violent demonstration for civil rights that the nation had ever witnessed. Exactly 50 years later, the Library of Congress will present an exhibition, “A Day Like No Other: Commemorating the […]
Author Archives: Zenitha Prince
Special to the AFRO
Posted inAfro Briefs
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Attacks Loan Modification Scams
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County, Calif., against a network of for-profit loan modification companies on behalf of eight California homeowners. The lawsuit filed in state court reflects a battle against a troubling trend: Just as the housing bubble prompted predatory lenders to foist subprime […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Anthony Weiner Enters NYC Mayor’s Race Two Years after Congressional Disgrace
Two years after a sexting scandal forced him to resign his House seat, former congressman Anthony Weiner launched a campaign to run for New York mayor with a video announcement posted to YouTube May 21. Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after he tweeted lewd photos of himself to women and lied about it, claiming […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Frederick Douglass Statue Cleared for Capitol Visitor Center Site
(Updated May 26, 22013) After a long battle, the District of Columbia will finally have representation among the statuary on Capitol Hill. The House voted May 21 authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the unveiling of the District’s statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, a former resident, on June 19. […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Report: Coppin In Dire Straits
Coppin State University is ailing but its dire state can be reversed, according to a recent report to the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. The study, conducted by a committee created after former President Reginald Avery departed recently, concluded that the school is plagued by gross mismanagement, lack of financial accountability, inefficiency and […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Minn. Law Forbids Would-Be Employers to Ask About Criminal History
Advocacy groups are praising a new Minnesota law that prohibits employers from asking job applicants about criminal backgrounds in the initial stages of the hiring process. Gov. Mark Dayton signed the statute on May 13, making Minnesota the third state in the nation to “ban the box” on public and private employment forms asking about […]
Posted inHealth
New Mobile Apps Help Women of Color Prevent and Fight Cancer
(Updated 5/18/2013) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced the winners of the Reducing Cancer Among Women of Color Challenge, a first-of-its-kind effort to address health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities with the development of mobile device applications to help women of color prevent and fight cancer. The winning apps were […]
Posted inHealth
Advocates Outraged Over $21 Billion Cut to Food Stamps Program
Congressional leaders and anti-hunger advocates expressed outrage over a U.S. House committee’s passage of a bill which includes a $21 billion slash in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program. The bill, formally known as the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, passed out of committee […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Prostitution Ring Busted in N.J. Senior Citizen Complex
Authorities have arrested three people on allegations that they used cocaine and operated a prostitution ring out of a senior citizen housing complex in Englewood, N.J. In late April, authorities arrested and charged 75-year-old James Parham and 66-year-old Cheryl Chaney with possessing drug paraphernalia and maintaining a drug nuisance at the Vincente Tibbs Senior Citizen […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Sony Settles Suit Filed by Lawyer for Gospel Artists
Sony BMG Music Entertainment has settled a lawsuit filed in 2005 by attorney James J. Walker of Walker and Associates, a Black-owned, Atlanta-based law firm that represents gospel artists. After almost a decade of litigation, the settlement is a major win in the battle for the rights of urban artists, the attorney said. Walker said […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Diversion Programs Offer Youth a Second Chance
Diversion programs for youth offenders are blooming within area jurisdictions and are having a positive impact on the criminal justice system and on society, some officials and other experts said. “Diversion as an alternative to detention is a concept that has been around for 40 years, and it came about as the result of evidence […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Gang Members Indicted in Howard County, Md for Drugs, Racketeering
A federal grand jury has indicted 18 alleged members of the Bloods gang on racketeering charges and five others face drug charges in Howard County. The indictment was made public May 8 when 15 of the defendants were arrested. Five others were already in police custody, including one that is being housed at the Chesapeake […]
