Arizona may have found a sympathetic ear in the Supreme Court, when the state argued the merits of its controversial immigration law April 25. At issue was whether federal authority outweighs state authority in the execution of four provisions of S.B. 1070 that were blocked by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. […]
Author Archives: Zenitha Prince
Special to the AFRO
Posted inAfro Briefs
Appeals Court Strikes Down Citizenship Requirement for Arizona’s Voters
A federal appeals court has rejected an element of Arizona’s controversial citizenship law, a decision civil rights advocates called a significant victory against fast-growing voter suppression efforts nationwide. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled April 17 that voter registration provisions of Arizona’s Proposition 200 violate the National Voter Registration Act […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Cities in Kansas Weigh Sexual Orientation Protections under Civil Rights Laws
Kansas has become the new battleground in the fight to expand the rights of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community as city councils in Lawrence, Hutchinson, Salina, Wichita, and Pittsburg are weighing whether to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to protected classes under the jurisdiction’s civil rights laws. Lawrence passed the ordinance […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Black Scholars Analyze: Tulsa’s Black Wall Street
No one knows for sure what happened in that fateful elevator ride in Tulsa, Okla.’s Drexel Building on May 30, 1921. All history records is that Dick Rowland, an African-American shoe shiner, stepped into the freight car where Sarah Page, a White woman, served as the operator. Perhaps he stumbled and stepped on her foot; […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C.’s Savoy Elementary School Chosen for White House Arts Initiative
A Washington, D.C. elementary school beat out a crowded field nationwide to become one of eight schools that will participate in a new White House initiative created with an eye toward improving low-performing schools via the arts. Today the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) announced that Savoy Elementary School in Southeast […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Appeals Court Nullifies Arizona Voters’ Citizenship Requirement
A U.S. appeals court has rejected an element of Arizona’s controversial citizenship law in a decision civil rights advocates are claiming as a significant victory against fast-growing voter suppression efforts nationwide. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on April 17 ruled that voter registration provisions of Arizona’s Proposition 200 violate the […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Martin Delany, An Unknown But Extraordinary 19th Century Black Man
Martin Delany was a man who made a habit of defying the odds. He was self-educated in a time when, for Blacks, being educated could mean death. He was a physician, author, business owner and military pioneer at a time when African Americans were still counted as chattel and their intelligence doubted. And beginning next […]
Posted inNational News
GOP Budget Would Deplete Food Stamp Cupboard
In a not entirely unexpected move, House Republicans are planning to raid the food stamp cupboard over the next decade to avoid depleting the Pentagon budget, which was scheduled for a 10 percent cutback. The cuts would essentially repeal increases made three years ago as part of President Obama’s economic stimulus, and would deprive a […]
Posted inNational News
Millions to Celebrate Earth Day April 22
On April 22, millions of people around the world will celebrate Earth Day, a yearly celebration of this planet and a reminder of the need to protect and conserve its resources. The annual event has done much to raise awareness about the environment, organizers say, though it’s a continuous process of education. “In 1970, when […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Black Empowerment Movement Registers Thousands of New Voters
The ranks of the nation’s voters grew by 100,000 Black voters Easter Sunday, part of a campaign spearheaded by Black clergy across the nation. The Empowerment Movement, a coalition of Black ministers from a range of Black faith groups, was created to advance the power of the African-American community in politics, education and economics using […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Harlem Renaissance Artist Elizabeth Catlett Dies at 96
Power exudes from the raised fists in the sculptures “Homage to My Young Black Sisters.” Endurance and dignity from the stark simplicity of the portrait, “Sharecropper.” In all her work, African-American sculptor and graphic artist Elizabeth Catlett celebrated the heroic strength and endurance of African-American and Mexican working-class women, elevating them in societies that often […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Detroit Saved from Financial Takeover as Mayor Admitted to Hospital
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing was admitted to an area hospital April 4 with acute pulmonary embolisms in each lung, even as his city tried to recover from its financial ills. “After arriving at Henry Ford Hospital, his condition was promptly diagnosed and treated,” said Dr. John Popovich, president and CEO of Henry Ford Hospital and […]