Category: Afro Briefs

A man has filed a restraining order against actor Columbus Short, claiming the “Stomp the Yard” star broke his jaw in a February fight. The order requires Short to keep 100 yards away from Jason Hill. According to BlackAmericaWeb.com, Hill told authorities that he was beaten so badly by Short that he had to undergo […]

A discrimination lawsuit filed against a popular Atlanta restaurant by two customers, a former NBA player and a prominent local lawyer may soon go to trial. Former NBA all-star Joe Barry Carroll and Atlanta lawyer Joseph Shaw say they were escorted out of the Tavern at Phipps restaurant in August 2006 for refusing to give […]

African-American employees at a Turner Industries plant in Paris, Texas were the subject of racial discrimination and were targeted by management if they complained, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said on April 14. According to an EEOC letter, Black employees at the plant “were subjected to unwelcome racial slurs, comments and intimidation, racial graffiti, nooses […]

First lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, arrived in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 12. The two touched ground at 10: 40 a.m., after taking a helicopter tour of the country’s capital where more than 1 million people are still homeless. Obama and Biden’s visit came one day after […]

In its 161-year history, an African-American student has never claimed the coveted valedictorian title at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. However, Katie Washington, a biological sciences major from Gary, Ind., has made history at the school and was recently named the 2010 University of Notre Dame valedictorian, according to the school’s Web site. […]

According to the Star Ledger, dozens of men joined Trenton, N.J. Mayor Doug Palmer and media mogul Russell Simmons in an unplanned march April 10 in a troubled neighborhood where police believe a 7-year-old girl was gang-raped. The march took place after a rally organized to promote discussion about among young people in urban neighborhoods. […]

The alleged killers of a recently engaged Jersey City, N.J. couple have been apprehended, according to The Associated Press. Darmelia Lawrence and Latonia Bellamy were arrested April 9 in connection with the college sweethearts’ murder. The two women, who are both 19, were arrested on charges of armed robbery and murder. A third suspect, Shiquan […]

According to The Associated Press, three Seattle police officers have been cleared in a 2004 incident involving use of a stun gun on a pregnant African-American woman. A federal appeals court ruled April 9 that the officers, Steven Daman, Juan Ornelas and Donald Jones, had the right to use the stun gun on Malaika Brooks […]

College enrollment among African-American males lags behind that of Black women, and graduation rates for Black men are the lowest of any ethnic group, according to the “Annual Status Report on Minorities in Higher Education,” a study released by the American Council on Education.? Similar studies released last year suggest that as Black males drop […]

Many Blacks still see owning a home as a primary way to achieve the American dream. But a majority of Blacks believe that this dream is currently unattainable and will only be harder to achieve in the future, according to a Fannie Mae survey. According to BlackAmericaweb.com, nearly 62 percent of African-Americans surveyed said they […]

While the number of U.S. births fell in 2008, the birth rate among women in their 40s continued to rise. According to the Associated Press, the birth rate for women in their early 40s rose a surprising 4 percent over the previous year, reaching the highest mark since 1967. The rate for women in their […]

The European Union (EU) on April 7 pulled its election observers from Darfur amid security concerns. Sudan is on the cusp of its first multi-party elections in 24 years, but the election is being marred by boycotts from opposition forces who say it will be nothing more than a farce and that conflict will continue […]