By Tinashe Chingarande, Special to the AFRO tchingarande@afro.com and Alexis Taylor, AFRO News Editor, ataylor@afro.com NyKayla Strawder was only 15 years old when she faced the evil of gun violence on the front porch of her West Baltimore home on Aug. 6. In an instant, a bullet stole the promise of her life and every […]
Category: NEWS
Posted inNational News
What the Inflation Reduction Act could mean for homeowners considering rooftop solar
By Cathy Bussewitz, The Associated Press As the head of the nation’s largest rooftop solar installer, Mary Powell has a stake in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, which includes tax credits to make rooftop solar more affordable. But the CEO of Sunrun’s excitement about the bill’s passage goes beyond business. Powell was passionate about […]
Posted inHealth
WHO wants name change for ‘Monkeypox’ virus, calling it ‘discriminatory and stigmatizing’
By Black Press USA NNPA NEWSWIRE – The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced plans to find a new name for the viral disease informally known as ‘monkeypox,’ which the world body says is “discriminatory and stigmatizing.” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a briefing on the matter, said the virus is no longer behaving […]
Posted inWord In Black
A back-to-school letter to my daughter
By Rashaad Thomas, Word In Black News about school shootings, achievement gaps, the digital divide, COVID-19, and monkeypox inundate us daily. Watching my 7-year-old daughter walk onto her school campus for her first day of second grade makes not worrying about all that extremely difficult. My wife and I struggled with the decision to send […]
Posted inWord In Black
What Black homeschooling parents want you to know
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black When Jania Otey started researching public schools in 2008 to enroll her son, she was disappointed with her options. She started connecting with people in her church community who were homeschooling, and she and her husband decided to give it a try. “There are some really good schools out […]
Posted inWord In Black
Baltimore schools prep for a school year with COVID-19, safety and teacher shortage concerns
By Kara Thompson, Special to the AFRO As August draws to a close, back-to-school preparations are kicking into high gear. Teachers and school systems across the country are making arrangements to welcome students back to the classroom, including Baltimore County and Baltimore City. At the start of the last school year, school systems in the […]
Posted inWord In Black
School Discipline in Black and White
By Maya Pottiger, Word In Black Even in a school year derailed by a pandemic, Black students were disciplined at higher rates than white students across the country. Using statewide discipline data from the 2019-2020 school year, Word in Black analyzed which students in California, Georgia, Maryland, Texas, and Washington state were facing higher rates […]
Posted inWord In Black
Why these five diseases disproportionately affect the Black community– and how to avoid them
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer The United States is generally considered to be one of the most powerful nations in the world both economically and in terms of military power. It’s also generally known to lag behind most other developed countries when it comes to health and health care– leading to significant racial […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Kindergarten readiness- is your child prepared?
By Ama Brown, Special to the AFRO This week, the AFRO took a look at Kindergarten readiness for new students in the Baltimore City School System (BCPSS). We spoke with a few of the city’s early education teachers, Karan Greene, an early learning teacher at DaySpring Headstart’s Dukeland site, and Baltimore City Public Schools Teacher, […]
Posted inWord In Black
Prince George’s County Schools resume mask mandate as students return
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO D.C. Editor Officials in Prince George’s County have announced that students will start the 2022-2023 school year with masks on. The PGCPS website recently notified parents that masking is now required of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) students and employees. “In light of the highly contagious COVID-19 BA.5 variant, Prince […]
Posted inWord In Black
COVID-19 safety protocols priority for students heading back to D.C. schools
By Samuel Williams Jr., Special to the AFRO D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) officials are taking no chances with potential COVID-19 outbreaks as they prepare to open. DCPS used the summer ahead of the 2022-2023 school year to release important up-to-date COVID information for families through its new website, dcpsstrong.com. Families currently have access to the […]
Posted inPolitics
Biden makes good on the promise to address the country’s massive student loan debt
By Deborah Bailey, AFRO D.C. Editor Today, the Biden Administration announced a targeted student debt relief plan designed to support working- and middle-class families. Features of the plan include: Up to $20,000 in debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 […]
