By Kara Thompson, Special to the AFRO Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) residents who also have a disability are experiencing financial hardships at a rate much higher than what the federal poverty data reports. According to a new report from United Way of Central Maryland and United for ALICE, only 16 percent of Maryland […]
Category: Afro Briefs
Posted inBaltimore News
Maryland Food Bank report: one-third of Marylanders are facing food insecurity
By Kara Thompson, Special to the AFRO The Maryland Food Bank released a special report on July 14 regarding food insecurity in Maryland, and how residents experience food hardships. The goal of this report is to look at data from a variety of resources to see how factors such as housing and wages have an […]
Posted inNational News
Freedom Riders from 1961 honored
By Ariama C. Long, Report for America Corps Member This year marks the 61st anniversary of the 1961 Freedom rides through the segregated South, aimed at dismantling the Jim Crow system looming over the transportation industry at the time. Freedom Riders risked life and limb protesting illegal and often violent racial segregation throughout the South. […]
Posted inNational News
Biden promotes assault weapon ban in message to National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO D.C. Editor President Joseph R. Biden kicked off a campaign to ban assault weapons on America’s streets in an address to Black law enforcement officers this week. “We send you out to do your jobs on the streets flooded with weapons of war,” Biden said. “If you can’t support banning weapons […]
Posted inMusic
U.S. soprano, offended by Blackface, pulls out of Italy opera
By Frances De’Milio, The Associated Press Soprano Angel Blue said that she won’t perform in an opera in Italy this month because Blackface was used in the staging of a different work this summer on the same stage. The U.S. singer posted a note on her angeljoyblue Instagram page saying she will be bowing out […]
Posted inHealth
Quick help for suicidal thoughts and other mental health emergencies will soon be as easy as 9-8-8
By Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline went live on July. It’s designed to be as easy to remember and use as 911, but instead of a dispatcher sending police, firefighters or paramedics, 988 will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. The federal government has […]
Posted inWord In Black
PrEP has protected folks from HIV for 10 years, why aren’t Black people accessing it?
By Alexa Spencer, Word in Black When PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) was released onto the market a decade ago, it was one of the greatest medical advances in the history of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) — and it still is. If used properly, the prescription medicine can reduce a person’s chances of contracting HIV from sex […]
Posted inHealth
Tips for Black male self care -beating the odds of premature death in America
By Reginald Williams, Special to the AFRO A.Z. Matthews learned that he had stage 3 cancer. Then he committed suicide. He was 29. Shawn Byers was enjoying an evening at his girlfriend’s house. Following dinner, Shawn fell ill. He asked his girlfriend to call 9-1-1. Shortly after EMS arrived, Byers died. He was 54. Ricky […]
Posted inNational News
U.S. Supreme Court set to review affirmative action this fall—what does that mean for college admissions?
By Ayodele Ayoola, AFRO Editorial Intern The United States Supreme Court recently ended its session in late June with its landmark ruling to overturn Roe V. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. In January, the court agreed to decide whether race-conscious admissions programs, or affirmative action, are lawful, and many are wondering if this […]
Posted inHealth
Monkeypox cases rise, leaders want more vaccines
by Houston Public Media The city of Houston and Harris County are asking the White House for more Monkeypox vaccines as the number of cases in the Houston area rises to 57. In a Monday press conference, Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said that as of now there are 47 cases […]
Posted inHBCU
Morgan alum invested as first African-American president of Pittsburgh Technical College
By Tinashe Chingarande, Special to the AFRO Harvey-Smith began her role in 2019 Pittsburgh Technical College made history in June as it inaugurated its first ever Black president. Morgan State University alum, Alicia Harvey-Smith, Ph.D., assumed her role in 2019 but challenges onset by the COVID-19 pandemic delayed her inauguration until this year. Alicia Harvey-Smith, […]
Posted inNational News
Texas school shooter left trail of ominous warning signs
By Bernard Condon, The Associated Press The Uvalde, Texas, gunman gave off so many warning signs that he was obsessed with violence and notoriety in the months leading up to the attack that teens who knew him began calling him “school shooter.” He was once bullied as a fourth-grader in one of the same classrooms […]