The national poverty rate has risen and a disproportionately larger percentage of Hispanics and Blacks suffer from poverty than Whites, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report. The report, released Sept. 16, found that, annually, the poverty rate is up to 14.3 percent in 2009 from 13.2 percent in 2008. However, the rate increased […]
Category: NEWS
Posted inNational News
Black Farmers, Lawmakers Implore Congress to Free Up Settlement Money
Some 75,000 Black farmers have grown weary of the battle they’ve waged over the past two decades for the federal government to provide them with a $1.15 billion settlement after they were routinely denied loans. But they refuse to give up. During a rally on Capitol Hill during the week of Sept. 20 led by […]
Posted inNational News
Affordable Care Act Looks to Close Hole in Health Disparities
On Sept. 23, six key provisions of the Affordable Care Act went into effect, which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said will make health disparities in minority communities start to disappear: *Young people will be allowed to stay on their parent’s plan until they turn 26 years old. This new provision does […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. Group Chides Oprah for ‘Extravagance’
A local advocacy group, which in the past has voiced its support for Oprah Winfrey to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, has now lashed out at the talk show queen who recently launched her show’s last season on TV by sending an army of super fans on a trip to Australia. The mega giveaway, geared […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Fired Child Services Workers Sue City
Alleging that Mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration wanted a different kind of workforce in place at the troubled Child and Family Services Agency, nine of its former workers recently filed a class action lawsuit charging that their terminations earlier this year were laced with race and age discrimination. “There was a pattern of dismissing primarily Black […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Capitol Heights Standoff Highlights County’s Recidivism Problem
When David E. Williams, a convicted felon, barricaded himself in a Capitol Heights home on Sept. 14, it once again highlighted a disturbing problem in Prince George’s County: What is being done with citizens re-entering society upon release from prison? According to Prince George’s County Police, the standoff ended at about 7 a.m., Sept. 15, […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Green Party Candidate Tragically Killed in Accident
Green Party candidate Natasha Pettigrew died on Sept. 21 from injuries she suffered after being hit by a car in the early morning hours of Sept. 19. Pettigrew, 30, was attempting to unseat 24-year veteran Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D). Pettigrew, in training for a triathlon, was out riding her bike early in the morning when […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Annual Youth Conference at Bowie State Sept 25.
On Sept. 25, approximately 300 students, age 12 – 18, from across the region will converge at the Center for Learning and Technology at Bowie State University for the 12th Annual Youth Leadership Conference. The event is hosted by the Lambda Gamma Gamma Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. According to the press release, the […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
DMV Launches Bike Sharing Program
Expect to see more suited cyclists whizzing through rush-hour traffic in the coming weeks. Mayor Adrian Fenty, D. C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and other local officials teamed up Monday amid a backdrop of vibrant mass of red bikes to announce the launch of Capital Bikeshare, a long-anticipated system of transportation for commuters throughout the […]
Posted inBaltimore Community, Baltimore News
Showcase Honors, Entertains Baltimore’s Grandparents
On Sept. 12, Baltimore’s most mature residents visited the Delta Community Center for “Great Blessings: A Grandparents Day Celebration” hosted by MarvaD Events. The program, hosted by ABC 2 News anchor Sherrie Johnson, included a dance performance from The Ava Fields Dancers of Cahill Recreation Center, a musical tribute from The Redeemers of Church of […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Army Reservist Buoyed by Visit Home
TV. Steak. Plumbing. Privacy. For many Americans, those items are banal conveniences, but for Army Reservist Maj. Wendi Brown, they were luxuries for which she gained a new appreciation during her eight-month stint in Kandahar, Afghanistan. “Afghanistan has taught me to appreciate how we live here in America,” she told the AFRO during a recent […]
Posted inBaltimore Community, Baltimore News
Baltimore City After-School Programs Get Financial Boost from Verizon Foundation
During the grand opening of its new office in Baltimore on Sept. 10, Child First Authority celebrated a $15,000 Verizon Foundation grant to support after-school programs for youth at various public schools in Baltimore City. “The Child First STEMulated Minds” program is a hands-on thematic curriculum targeting literacy and math instruction through STEM (science, technology, […]
