Category: Afro Briefs

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Gunmen kidnapped three Nigerian journalists and a driver traveling through the country’s oil-rich, but volatile southern delta, a colleague said July 12, the latest troubling sign of insecurity in the West African nation. The reporters had just left a conference in Akwa Ibom state Sunday when a speeding car filled with […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Olympic and world 100-meter champion Shelly-Ann Fraser has been provisionally suspended by the IAAF after a positive test for a painkiller she claims she took to alleviate a toothache. The president of Fraser’s track club, Bruce James, said the Jamaican sprinter tested positive for oxycodone at the Diamond League meet May […]

Alvin M. Greene, South Carolina’s new Democratic nominee for Senate, paid his candidate filing fee from his own pocket, state law enforcement officials said last Friday. The unemployed military veteran had come under investigation pertaining to his ability to pay the $10,440 filing fee in his surprisingly successful campaign. Though he did no campaigning and […]

As the city of Cleveland removes all traces of “King James” mania – posters, billboards, jerseys – civil rights legend Jesse Jackson has come to the 25-year-old basketball star’s defense. In a statement, Jackson spoke harshly about Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, comparing him to a “slave master.” In a statement posted on the Cavaliers’ […]

According to blackvoices.com, over 20 African-American leaders in California are calling for the resignation of Alice Huffman, president of NAACP’s California State Conference, after she announced her support of efforts to legalize marijuana in the state. Among those allegedly calling for her resignation is Bishop Ron Allen, a member of the International Faith-Based Coalition, who […]

The North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus Foundation recently presented participating North Carolina Historically Black Colleges and Universities with a symbolic check for $110,000 during the closing ceremonies of the 2010 NCLBCF Education Scholarship Weekend, according to a press release. This year’s two-day conference and fundraising event was one of the most successful in the program’s […]

President Barack Obama, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke recently announced a new nationwide broadband project that will bring jobs and other economic opportunities to rural communities and Native American tribal lands. According to the grantees, the 66 new Recovery Act broadband projects will create over 5,000 jobs and benefit over 685,000 […]

After a battle with pancreatic cancer, famed gospel singer and leading faith figure Bishop Walter L. Hawkins died at 61, according to BET.com. Hawkins’ career spanned more than 30 years and he released more than 14 albums since 1975 as a solo artist and with his family ensemble. Some of the singer’s most memorable songs […]

Somali insurgents are protesting a recent decision to increase African Union troops in towns controlled by an Islamic militant group. Al-Shabab is the militant group that controls the towns of Lower Jubba, Hiran, Gedo, Middle Shabelle and towns in the country’s bay regions. It is upset that East African countries have sent 2,000 more troops […]

Eastpointe, Mich. residents are determined to put up a united front despite apparent arson and a racist letter delivered to several residents. They say whoever is trying to scare them should know it’s not working. “I’m not afraid,” 60-year-old Wesley Lawson, who received two copies of the racist letter, told the Detroit News. “They will […]

An autistic teenager from Virginia is in prison for allegedly assaulting a sheriff deputy in Stafford County, Va. on May 24. But his mother Lisa Alexander said her son has Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, and she hopes he can be sent home to await his preliminary hearing on July 30. “The jail is […]

African Americans may now expect to see more Black shows on television in the future, as Comcast recently announced that it would commit at least $20 million to a fund for minority-owned media ventures. According to Joseph W. Waz Jr., senior vice president, External Affairs and Public Policy Counsel, Comcast Corp., the cable company also […]