By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black School buses stopped running, classrooms turned virtual, and the traditional education system turned upside down. In the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the days of parents and guardians sending kids off to school and not reuniting until dinnertime were over. Instead, many families were holed up inside, 24 […]
Category: Afro Briefs
Posted inWord In Black
#WordinBlack: What happens to Black kids when record numbers of teachers quit?
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives, but there’s one that has taken an incredibly dramatic hit: schooling. First, there was the shift to virtual learning, which had its own ups and downs. Then came the debates over how soon students should return to in-person learning, […]
Posted inWord In Black
#WordinBlack: Should Black parents trust schools to teach their kids how to read?
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black Between summer camp, family vacations, and partaking in some well-deserved rest and relaxation, reading is often not at the top of students’ list of summer priorities. But it should be. Though reading achievements have improved in nearly every grade level since Spring 2021, they still aren’t quite reaching pre-pandemic […]
Posted inHealth
Why walking might be the key to Black women’s health
by Alexa Spencer, for Word in Black When Black women walk, things change. That’s the belief of GirlTrek, a non-profit organization transforming lives through walking. The organization’s mission is unique: to reclaim their health and bodies as Black women and fight systems that enable poor health — and it’s working. Over one million GirlTrekkers have […]
Posted inHealth
How much health insurers pay for almost everything is about to go public
By Julie Appleby, Word in Black Consumers, employers, and just about everyone else interested in health care prices will soon get an unprecedented look at what insurers pay for care, perhaps helping answer a question that has long dogged those who buy insurance: Are we getting the best deal we can? As of July 1, […]
Posted inWord In Black
#WordinBlack: Black educators are being ‘Rapidly Pushed’ out of the classroom
By Camika Royal, for Word in Black Amidst battles over various school reforms throughout the nation, urban educators strive to meet students’, families’, and communities’ extensive needs despite having the fewest resources. Disparate impacts of school reforms have been stratified by race. No segment of educators has experienced the intersection of school reform policy pressures, […]
Posted inWord In Black
Here’s what Charter enrollment numbers tell about Black students
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black During the pandemic, we’ve seen an exodus of teachers from public schools, but it turns out educators aren’t the only ones ditching traditional K-12 education institutions. In the first year of the pandemic, there was a 3 percent drop in public school enrollment, bringing the number of students in […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Election Day: Where are the souls of Black folk in Prince George’s County?
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO D.C. Editor Election Day in Prince George’s County Maryland is a major affair. The County is Maryland’s second most populous county with close to a million residents (967,201) and counting. Prince George’s County is also the largest predominantly Black county in Maryland, with close to 60 percent of the population reporting […]
Posted inNational News
WACs and WAVEs: Black women in WWII
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer When we consider African-American achievement in the military names we think of General Benjamin O. Davis, the Tuskegee Airmen, and General Colin Powell. For decades there have been efforts to uncover and highlight the amazing feats of Buffalo Soldiers, Black World War II veterans and heroes of Vietnam. […]
Posted inNational News
Majestically she stands
Dear NCNW Members, All two million of us should be beaming with untold pride as our renowned Founder, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, stands majestically, exuding power and an invitational presence, in the Capitol of the United States of America!!! What an unprecedented glorious week in American history this has been!!! If the world did not […]
Posted in!Front Page
Elected officials aim to give reparations to Black World War II vets and families left out of G.I. Bill benefits
By AFRO Staff Americans have long revered their soldiers and veterans for their service, but the record is clear- American society did not afford Black soldiers or their families the same liberties and benefits. Though some Black soldiers were able to sustain after their return from the warfront, many were unjustly discriminated against or assaulted […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Family of man hurt in police van seeks civil rights charges
By Pat Eaton-Robb, The Associated Press The family of a Black man in Connecticut, paralyzed when a police van without seatbelts braked suddenly, asked federal authorities July 8 to file civil rights charges against the officers involved. The driver was taking Randy Cox, 36, to a police station in New Haven, Connecticut, on June 19 […]