Category: Afro Briefs

No triskaidekaphobia – fear of the number 13 – only smiles, cheers and applause during today’s mid-year graduation exercises at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. UMES awarded 335 degrees, including 274 to undergraduates who heard an uplifting message from a long-time friend and political ally of former President Bill Clinton. Richard L. Mays Sr., […]

The editors were sitting around the other day contemplating holiday gifts we’d been given, things we’d purchased for loved ones and the state of the current economy. In keeping with that, we came up with a list of gifts that we believe will show the recipient lots of love without breaking the giver’s bank account. […]

‘Twas a week before Christmas and all around the AFRO, All the editors were scurrying to get the paper ready to go. The stories had been edited and sent to Production with care, With hopes that fresh printed copies soon would be there. The reporters were working their next stories with care, In hopes that […]

As the Dec. 27 deadline is looming for all who want health coverage, effective Jan. 1, 2014, the Maryland health officials and its team of certified navigators are stepping up their efforts to reach those still in need of insurance. Navigators are persons trained and certified by the state to help consumers enroll in extended […]

(Miami Gardens, FL) – One day after the Florida State Conference of NAACP branches and its Miami-Dade County Branch asked Attorney General Eric Holder to direct the Justice Department to review the practice of intimidation by officers of the Miami Gardens Police Department against African American residents, Miami Gardens Police Chief Matthew Boyd resigned amid […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama loved Barbie dolls as a girl. She now prefers Christmas without snow, after living most of her life in Chicago. She isn’t sure how she’ll celebrate her 50th birthday in about a month but says “it might involve some dancing.” Revelations from a new interview with a glossy magazine? Guess […]

Middle-class Blacks are using credit to help cover their basic living expenses, according to a report from the NAACP and public policy research organization, Demos. In the recession’s aftermath, 79 percent of middle-class African-American households carry credit card debt. “Everybody needs credit but it should be a tool to help your economic life” said study […]

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Michelle J. Howard was recently nominated by President Obama to be elevated to the rank of admiral. Howard would become the first woman—Black or White—to receive the fourth star. Her nomination requires Senate approval. Howard, 53, currently serves as deputy chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans & Strategy. If confirmed, […]

QUNU, South Africa (NNPA)—With a rich mixture of ceremonial military pomp and ancient tribal customs, Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president, was buried here Dec. 15 in the village of his youth, culminating 10 days of national mourning. Mandela died on Dec. 5 at age 95. The Nobel Prize-winner, in accordance with his […]

Two historical Black universities saw their collegiate accreditations recently removed from probationary status. Florida A&M University was placed on probationary status one year ago in the wake of the hazing death of a member of its marching band. But the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) removed that designation Dec. 10, saying the school […]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida school board has decided to end a decades-long controversy and rename a high school now named for a Confederate general and honorary Ku Klux Klan leader that some historical records say ordered the execution of hundreds of black Union soldiers. The Duval County School Board said it was following […]