By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black While at the library making copies one day in 2018, Gregory Hill looked up and saw a sign that read “Adult Literacy Center: Read, Learn Help.” At 65 years old, he thought his chances of fulfilling his lifelong dream of learning to read and write were “pretty slim.” That […]
Category: Word In Black
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Mason Makes Money Fund allows children the opportunity to be entrepreneurs
By Kara Thompson, Special to the AFRO When Candace Okin was laid off from her job in 2019, it was a hard financial time for her. But she wanted to make sure she rose to the occasion to the best of her ability, in order to be a role model for her son. Through this […]
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The Decision Project educates and dispels organ donation myths among the black community
By Mylika Scatliffe, AFRO Women’s Health Writer Ieesha Johnson wants to empower the Black community to make informed choices and decisions about organ donation. Maryland has more than 2,500 people waiting for organ donations– and 44 percent of them are Black. In 2016 she discovered that while only 9 percent of the Baltimore residents in […]
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#WordinBlack: Paving the way for Black entrepreneurs in esports
By Jodi B. Jiles, Word in Black African Americans may enjoy playing games and buying games and consoles, but we are not necessarily represented in the industry as developers, event coordinators or chief marketing officers. Esposure CEO Danny Martin is an exception. In 2017, he founded the global esports technology company with an education to […]
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Fighting monkeypox, sexual health clinics are underfunded and ill-equipped
By Liz Szabo and Lauren Weber, By Kaiser Permanente for Word in Black Clinics that treat sexually transmitted diseases — already struggling to contain an explosive increase in infections such as syphilis and gonorrhea — now find themselves on the front lines in the nation’s fight to control the rapidly growing monkeypox outbreak. After decades […]
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#WordinBlack: Access to tobacco products, including vapes, and proximity of retailers pose challenge for youth
By Bree Tomlinson and Amyah Davis, Youthcast Media Group™ East of Baltimore in Essex, Md., middle and high school kids gather after school around a small corner store one block away from Kenwood High School and Stemmers Run Middle School. Underneath the store sign, a banner highlights some of the staples for sale within – […]
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PrEP has protected folks from HIV for 10 years, why aren’t Black people accessing it?
By Alexa Spencer, Word in Black When PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) was released onto the market a decade ago, it was one of the greatest medical advances in the history of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) — and it still is. If used properly, the prescription medicine can reduce a person’s chances of contracting HIV from sex […]
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#WordinBlack: Black parents are more involved in their children’s education than ever
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black School buses stopped running, classrooms turned virtual, and the traditional education system turned upside down. In the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the days of parents and guardians sending kids off to school and not reuniting until dinnertime were over. Instead, many families were holed up inside, 24 […]
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#WordinBlack: What happens to Black kids when record numbers of teachers quit?
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives, but there’s one that has taken an incredibly dramatic hit: schooling. First, there was the shift to virtual learning, which had its own ups and downs. Then came the debates over how soon students should return to in-person learning, […]
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#WordinBlack: Should Black parents trust schools to teach their kids how to read?
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black Between summer camp, family vacations, and partaking in some well-deserved rest and relaxation, reading is often not at the top of students’ list of summer priorities. But it should be. Though reading achievements have improved in nearly every grade level since Spring 2021, they still aren’t quite reaching pre-pandemic […]
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How much health insurers pay for almost everything is about to go public
By Julie Appleby, Word in Black Consumers, employers, and just about everyone else interested in health care prices will soon get an unprecedented look at what insurers pay for care, perhaps helping answer a question that has long dogged those who buy insurance: Are we getting the best deal we can? As of July 1, […]
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#WordinBlack: Black educators are being ‘Rapidly Pushed’ out of the classroom
By Camika Royal, for Word in Black Amidst battles over various school reforms throughout the nation, urban educators strive to meet students’, families’, and communities’ extensive needs despite having the fewest resources. Disparate impacts of school reforms have been stratified by race. No segment of educators has experienced the intersection of school reform policy pressures, […]