Category: Afro Briefs

(NNPA) – As Wyclef Jean continues to criticize the Haitian government for not allowing him to run for president, questions are being raised about the Haitian government’s attitude toward Haitians not living in the country.? Unlike in the United States, Haitians who aren’t living in their country at the time of an election are not […]

Four years ago, New York City police killed Nicole Paultre-Bell’s would-be husband, Sean Bell, in a haze of 50 bullets one day before the young couple’s wedding. Paultre-Bell marched alongside civil rights leaders such as Al Sharpton, who condemned Bell’s shooting because he was unarmed and did not provoke police. According to blackvoices.com, Paultre-Bell may […]

The annual Honda Battle of the Bands competition, a musical faceoff between over 40 college bands from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), has garnered the attention of The Home Depot as well, who announced they will sponsor the 2011 showcase in conjunction with Honda. Now in its ninth year, the competition is the only […]

Actress Regina King, noted for her breakout role as Brenda in popular ‘80s sitcom “227,” recently wrote an open letter to the Huffington Post about the 62nd Annual Prime Time Emmy awards. In the fiery letter, King slammed the Emmys for printing images of another Black actress with the caption, “Regina King enters the 62nd […]

Women are twice as likely to turn to the Internet to determine the causes of their minor aches and pains, according to a new survey. According to an online survey conducted by Flexcin International, makers of a joint inflammation supplement, women searched the Internet for initial research on medical issues twice as often as men. […]

Just two weeks had passed since James Jay Lee’s probation from a 2008 incident ended when he stormed Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. For nearly four hours Sept. 1, Lee held three men hostage on the first floor of the building before being shot and killed by Montgomery County, Md. Police. At about […]

Raceway Petroleum, an Atlanta-based company that oversees more than 600 RaceTrac gas stations across the country, faces a national boycott for its apparent racist treatment toward its lone Black station operator. Eric Banks, owner of the only two Black-owned RaceTrac gas stations, recently received a 90-day notice saying the company had determined Banks and his […]

A recent study has challenged the use of a new “values-added” evaluation system for teachers, under which districts across the country depend on standardized test scores to monitor teacher performance. In most instances, teachers who fail to pass muster get the boot, as in Washington, D.C. this summer where more than 200 public schools educators […]

Two men who married in Massachusetts are finding it hard to get a divorce in Texas, where gay marriages—and, apparently, divorces—are not recognized by the state. The two men, named in court documents only as J.B. and H.B., were married in September 2006 and moved to Texas in 2008. They reportedly “ceased living together” in […]

A group of celebrated Grambling State University alumni will donate $10,000 to the newly opened Eddie G. Robinson Museum in honor of the late coach and sports legend who revolutionized the school’s athletic program. The Grambling Legends, which includes the Louisiana school’s most celebrated athletes, recently held a gala reception for the 2010 class of […]

Like thousands of other African-American farmers, Dick Morgan often faced difficulties accessing federal farm loans. He was among the Black farmers angered by the U.S. Senate’s failure to approve a nearly $5 billion settlement between the Agriculture Department and minority farmers reached more than 10 years ago last month. But Morgan, 81, died in August […]

Dr. Mario G. Obledo, founder and president of the National Coalition of Hispanic Organizations and former California Secretary of Health and Welfare, died of a heart attack at his home in Sacramento, Calif., on Aug. 18. He was 78. Often deemed the “godfather of Hispanic Civil Rights,” Obledo worked to bring justice to the Latin […]