Category: Afro Briefs

ColorOfChange.org, the community activist group that successfully urged dozens of advertisers to pull away from Glenn Beck’s FOX news show, recently announced a new initiative directed at discouraging public establishments across the country from airing FNC. The campaign, dubbed “Turn off Fox,” attempts to expose what the group’s leaders call, “divisive rhetoric and dishonest smear […]

William P. Foster, the former Florida A&M University (FAMU) band leader dubbed the “Dean of America’s Band Directors,” died Aug. 28 at 91. Foster was noted for creating the FAMU Marching “100” and developing the “high step” performance style now used at high schools and colleges across the nation. James H. Ammons, the school’s president, […]

Rep. Kendrick Meek (Fla.) will be the Democratic candidate to face Republican Marco Rubio and Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida’s Senate race this November. Meek won the Democratic party’s nomination with 54 percent of the vote Aug. 24 by defeating Jeff Greene. Greene, a wealthy real estate investor, reportedly spent $30 million in his campaign […]

In an attempt to protect minority voters and their power in elections, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) have partnered to create The Impact of Redistricting in Your Community: a Guide to Redistricting. According to the three organizations, the […]

Demetrius D. Shelton was named 68th president of the National Bar Association (NBA) at the organization’s annual convention Aug. 12. In his inaugural address, Shelton stated that one of his goals was to “expand the pipeline into the legal field” for minorities. “We will build up the pool of leaders, future Supreme Court nominees and […]

Authorities may be able to predict crimes before they happen with the assistance of new software that, developers say, could help reduce the occurrence of murder and other crimes, ABCNews.com reported. The crime prediction software currently is in limited use in Philadelphia and Baltimore and is being tested in D.C.. If it proves to be […]

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in an effort to increase the success rate of criminal cases, is considering the possible use of Ebonics experts to bring things into perspective. According to the Associated Press, federal authorities are considering hiring nine people for the DEA’s Atlanta office who are fluent in Ebonics, African American vernacular English, […]

A woman in Apex, N.C. found an unwelcomed surprise at the bottom of her Domino’s Pizza receipt reports WRAL.com. Carla Robinson said she ordered two pizzas from the national chain eatery on Aug. 20. After her delivery was made, her 10-year-old niece pointed out the phrase “N word” and “Don’t Tip” was printed at the […]

The Hudson Valley chapter of The Links, a national service organization of African American women, has made a commitment to adopt an impoverished school in South Africa reports The Journal News. Under the banner of their “Education Across Miles” initiative, the organization donated backpacks, books and other needed school items to over 300 students at […]

After Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) deemed rapper Wyclef Jean ineligible to run for the nation’s presidency, it seemed his political journey had been thwarted. Furthermore, Jean released a statement on his blog saying, “I respectfully accept the committee’s final decision, and I urge my supporters to do the same.” But only days later, Jean […]

Typically a staple food in many Americans’ diets, eggs have come under fire after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pointed to two Iowa-based producers as the root of a nationwide salmonella outbreak. On Aug. 18, Wright County Eggs recalled products from all five of its farms and 380 million eggs. Recently, Hillandale Farms […]

Emmy Award-winning CBS News correspondent Harold Dow, recognized for his Sept. 11 and O.J. Simpson murder trial coverage, died Aug. 21 in New Jersey. He was 62. According to CBS network spokeswoman Louise Bashi, Dow, a Saddle River, N.J., resident, died suddenly but it is not clear if he’d been at home. “CBS News is […]