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President Obama Announces Gun Control Initiatives at White House (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on January 5, 2016

President Obama Unveils Executive Actions to Increase Gun Safety and Reduce Gun Violence (Photo: YouTube)
President Obama Unveils Executive Actions to Increase Gun Safety and Reduce Gun Violence (Photo: YouTube)

This morning at the White House, President Barack Obama announced the series of Executive Actions he plans to enact to increase gun safety, reduce gun violence, and help those subject to or afflicted by gun violence.  Obama deemed his actions necessary given the lack of action from Congress, even in the face of popular support for such measures as expanding background checks for gun purchases.
“Maybe we can’t save everybody, but we can save some,” Obama said in a speech in the East Room of the White House, where he was joined by survivors and families of the victims of gun violence.
Obama wiped away tears as he recalled the children killed in the 2012 Newtown, Conn., shooting rampage. He noted that tragedy didn’t translate into congressional action, even for measures that enjoy lopsided support among the American public. Legislation to expand background checks was blocked in 2013.
“The gun lobby may be able to hold Congress hostage right now, but they cannot hold America hostage,” he said.
A central feature of his actions are steps to expand the definition of who is a gun dealer, as those in the business of selling guns are currently required to perform background checks before making a sale. A big push among groups like the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has been to close loopholes on sales of guns on the Internet and at gun shows. Although the executive action would not fall short of preventing all sales of guns without background checks, Obama said that it would expand the number of people and entities who will fall under existing law. He also unveiled measures to improve the background check system.
He also talked of the need to boost research on gun violence and gun safety, and to boost funding for mental health.
Though many detractors, lobbyists and Republican politicians decried Obama’s initiatives, Obama said that his moves are “not a plot to take away” guns and that background checks are not “some slippery slope to gun confiscation.” He didn’t mention Donald Trump by name, but his reference was to some of his rhetoric.
Instead, Obama compared his actions to efforts to boost safety in cars and even toys.  “We know that there are some constraints on our freedom in order to protect innocent people,” he said.
Some of his proposals — like a $500 million investment in mental health services and budget items for 200 new ATF agents — still require congressional support.
Obama will participate on Thursday in a town hall on gun violence.  You can watch his impassioned, detailed speech in full below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IUVJCRfNS8&w=560&h=315]
article by Ted Johnson via Variety.com; additions by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

North Carolina Pastor Larry Wright Disarms Gunman During Sermon on Violence

By goodblacknews on January 4, 2016

Reverend Larry H. Wright at Heal The Land Outreach Ministries in Fayetteville (photo by Andrew Craft)
Reverend Larry Wright at Heal The Land Outreach Ministries in Fayetteville (photo by Andrew Craft)

A pastor’s swift thinking led to a gunman being disarmed during a New Year’s Eve prayer service at a small eastern North Carolina congregation, according to the Fayetteville Observer.
No one was injured during the shocking event that came about as Larry Wright, pastor of the Heal the Land Outreach Ministries in Fayetteville, North Carolina, was praying with about 60 parishioners as they rang in the New Year and spoke about the senseless deaths affecting our country. Suddenly, a man armed with a rifle walked into his church, writes the news outlet.
The gun was in “one hand and an ammo magazine with shiny rounds in the other,” Wright told CNN.
From CNN:

The glint made the retired Army sergeant first class recognize the weapon was real. Still, he was worried the man had one round in the gun.

“I’m the first person to see him and when I saw him, I thought it was a dummy gun, but then I saw the bullet clip in his hand and the bullets were shining,” he said.

Instead of an altercation, the man asked the church to pray for him. Then a deacon and three others hugged the man, the site reports.  He then apologized to them, saying “he intended to do something terrible that night. But the Lord spoke to him,” writes the news outlet.
Via the Observer:
Wright stepped down quickly from the pulpit when he saw the man, who appeared to be in his late 20s.  The man continued moving toward the front of the church, pointing the rifle into the air.  The two met, near the front of the sanctuary.  “Can I help you?’’ the pastor asked the man.
Wright, who is a 57-year-old retired soldier, said the man’s answer determined his next action.  “If he was belligerent, I was going to tackle him,” said Wright, who is 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds.
But the stranger was calm, and Wright took the weapon from him. He then patted him down, and the pastor summoned four strong deacons to embrace the disarmed man, in an effort to make him feel welcome.
Wright then prayed for the man, who fell to his knees and began crying.
The man was then invited to sit on the front pew, and Wright resumed the Watch Night service. During the altar call at the conclusion, the man came forward and asked for salvation.
Someone had called 911, and before the service had ended, police had arrived. But Wright said he asked the police to remain outside.  “I didn’t want to interrupt the service,” said the two-term councilman, whose church members call him Bishop Wright.
Police Department spokesman Lt. David McLaurin said the incident was noted as a “Call for Service.’’ Notes regarding the call, McLaurin said, indicated the man was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center at his request as a voluntary commitment.
This was truly a holiday miracle. Who could forget what happened over the summer at Emanuel AME in Charleston, South Carolina when a stranger asked to join a prayer group?
Wright said he never got the man’s last name before he was escorted away, but he hopes to contact him again.  “I want to follow up with him and see that he’s getting the help and resources he needs,” Wright said.
article by Andrew Barksdale via fayobserver.com; additions from newsone.com

2 Chainz’s ‘Dabbin’ Santa’ Sweaters Make $2 Million, Help Him Give Back to Those in Need Via T.R.U. Foundation

By goodblacknews on January 1, 2016

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2 Chainz (photo via clutchmagonline.com)

According to Forbes, 2 Chainz conquered Christmas with his timely and super cute “Dabbin’ Santa” sweaters. While the rapper has been toying with merchandising ideas for years, he finally found a hit when “the dab” (a dance) found its way into primetime courtesy of NFL star Cam Newton.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySilAPr6fW4&w=560&h=315]
“I don’t want people to think this was an overnight success. We’ve been trying with a bunch of designs for a couple years now. This is just timing meets opportunity,” he explained. “There’s the whole dab thing, and Atlanta’s always been somewhere that actually moves the culture a little bit. We have been the backbone of hip-hop for the past couple years. So with dabbing coming out of Atlanta, it just began to grow legs and start moving on its own.”
The sweaters became wildly popular and grossed around $2 million in revenues for 2 Chainz and his team. Instead of spending the profits on frivolous things, the Atlanta native decided to help others.
“I had a numerous amount of celebrities helping with the shirt. It was on the NFL, it was on TNT, it was on Good Morning America, it’s on ESPN. So I could not continue receiving those blessings without giving back at the end of the day,” he said.
2C380-SantaDab-Black_t3q74u
A large slice of the profits went into 2 Chainz’s T.R.U. Foundation, which is “dedicated to promoting balanced, respectful and enriched relationships and aim to create life changing moments and help build a positive outcome for our young generation.”
Because of the “Dabbin’ Santa” craze 2 Chainz’s organization was able to pay the rent for one family for an entire year, and donate a minivan to another. The move not only benefitted the families in need, but also helped 2 Chainz as well.
“For us, it’s about putting it together independently, with nobody really being the boss. We’re creating our own way to give back, to do something for people,” he told Forbes. “We’ll trickle down to the kids and lead by example. Like I say, actions speak louder than words. We could have spent this money on possessions, but giving a family that needs it will actually go further for them and for me.”
article via clutchmagonline.com

Federal Court Awards Robert Smith $2.4M for Enduring Five Years of Racial, Sexual Harassment from Co-Workers

By goodblacknews on December 30, 2015

Rosebud Farms (photo via eurweb.com)
Rosebud Farms (photo via eurweb.com)

A Chicago federal court has awarded Robert Smith more than $2.4 million in damages for enduring five years of humiliating sexual and racial harassment at a South Side grocery store.
The Cook County Record stated that Rosebud Farm Stand was ordered to pay Smith more than $800,000 in compensatory damages and $1.6 million in punitive damages for racial and sexual harassment. Smith also named two supervisors, general manager Carlos Castaneda and assistant manager Rocky Mendoza, in the lawsuit. They were both ordered to pay damages.
Smith, who is African-American, worked as a butcher at the grocery store, claims he was subjected to abuse from his Latino co-workers. Smith said that his co-workers harassed him by grabbing his genitals, fondling his buttocks and simulating homoerotic acts.
However, the harassment was not only sexual. Smith’s attorney Joseph Longo, of Longo & Associates, said his co-workers also called him a “monkey” and told him to “go back to Africa.”
Smith filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2008, but the harassment turned violent. The Cook County Record said Smith alleged his co-workers made threatening gestures towards him and also vandalized his car. The harassment got so bad that Smith eventually quit.
Smith decided to file a lawsuit requesting unspecified damages in 2011.
Longo said other Black employees at the grocery store were also subject to harassment, but declined to come forward. He said victims of racial and sexual harassment have to report the incidents, so they can be addressed in a court of law.
“Unless people file a lawsuit or take action, harassers will continue to create a hostile working environment and harass,” Longo said in an emailed statement following the verdict. “We need more people like Mr. Smith to take a stand and fight for what is right. The jury agreed that what Rosebud did to Mr. Smith was wrong.”
Longo told The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin that Smith’s employer failed to provide a safe work environment. Eight jurors agreed with Longo’s argument.
“I think the jury wanted to send a message,” Longo said. “When you go to work, you don’t surrender your body.”
article by Manny Otiko via atlanticblackstar.com

From WIC To Whole Grain: One Woman’s Nutritional Journey is Inspiring DC To Eat Healthier

By goodblacknews on December 29, 2015
Juju Harris (photo via bright side.com)
Juju Harris (photo via bright side.com)

When Juju Harris — the current culinary educator and SNAP outreach coordinator for the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture — was a mother providing for six children on her husband’s limited paycheck and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) items, she no doubt had to get creative to make sure her family was eating healthy.

The self-proclaimed nature lover started her own garden, took her WIC products and made it happen. That meant using fresh vegetables and WIC staples like oatmeal to bake a healthier bread option. That meant learning how to grow, cook and eat produce not usually found in her neighborhood stores. And now, Harris is sharing that knowledge with mothers in the same predicament through her cookbook — The Arcadia Mobile Market Seasonal Cookbook — and by visiting some of Washington D.C.’s poorest neighborhoods in a mobile farmer’s market to spread the knowledge and fulfill a larger goal of creating a more equitable and sustainable local food system in the nation’s capitol.
For her efforts in combating both food insecurities and food deserts, Harris is being recognized by Carmax’s The Bright Side as an innovator and savior in her space.
From the BrightSideShorts.com:
Understanding the importance of nutrition, the former Peace Corp member set out to encourage families to work towards healthy options, teaching mothers how to cook with the familiar – apples, lettuce and items provided to them by WIC – and the unfamiliar – Swiss chard, squash and other unprocessed foods.
Her cookbook, The Arcadia Mobile Market Seasonal Cookbook, is available for free to shoppers who frequent the Mobile Market. Before releasing her guide to a healthy lifestyle, the homegrown hero also established a women’s nutrition and financial development program as an Agricultural Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay.
To learn more about Harris’ efforts and the Arcadia Mobile Market, click here.
article via newsone.com

Hakim's Bookstore, Philadelphia’s Oldest Black Bookstore, Garners Support to Stay Open

By goodblacknews on December 28, 2015

Yvonne Blake, current owner of Hakim's Bookstore (photo via philly.com)
Yvonne Blake, Hakim’s daughter and current owner of Hakim’s Bookstore (photo via philly.com)

Hakim’s Bookstore, the oldest African-American bookstore, is getting some much-needed help from the Philadelphia community.
According to owner Yvonne Blake, people who heard the news that the store, which has been family-owned-and-operated since 1959, was struggling were quick to respond. Blake said that she has been overwhelmed by all the support she received, reports Philly.com.
Blake’s story, and her store, have been pasted all over social media by everyone from locals to even Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter of the Roots, with many using the hashtag #BlackBooksMatter. But Blake said that the most important thing she has seen people do is shop at the store. Their business helps keep the store afloat.
The Early Birds, an online community dedicated to helping support black-owned business, also held a cash mob, in which they encouraged their followers to go to Blake’s store and spend at least $20.
Other people have also volunteered to help Blake run the store, since Blake is also caring for her ailing mother, and people like Temple University student Ebonee Johnson have volunteered their time to keep the doors open.
The support has been overwhelming to Blake, and she hopes it will continue past the holiday season.
“It’s like a dream I don’t want to fully embrace because I don’t want it to end,” she told Philly.com. “It’s been an eye-opener because I thought we were dead and irrelevant. I really thought our time had passed, but I realized that I was living in the past and we have to do things differently if we want to stay around.”
To help out, if you’re in the area, Hakim’s Bookstore is located at 210 S. 52nd St. Visit or call: 215-474-9495.  Check them out on Facebook. They also have a GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/HakimsBookstore
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxE4LQ-Yjcg&w=560&h=315]
article via thegrio.com

Dr. Prudence Carter Appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Berkeley

By goodblacknews on December 28, 2015

Dr. Prudence Carter (photo via ed.stanford.edu)
Dr. Prudence Carter (photo via ed.stanford.edu)

Dr. Prudence Carter was named Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, effective June 30, 2016. She currently serves as the Jacks Family Professor of Education at Stanford University. She is also the faculty director of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities and earlier she served as the co-director of the Stanford Center for Opportunity in Policy in Education.
Prior to joining the Stanford faculty in 2007, Professor Carter was an associate professor of sociology at Harvard University and a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Carter is the author of two books, Keepin’ It Real: School Success Beyond Black and White (Oxford University Press, 2005) and Stubborn Roots: Race, Culture, and Inequality in U.S. and South African Schools (Oxford University Press, 2012).
A native of Mississippi, Dr. Carter is graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she majored in applied mathematics and economics. She holds two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia University.
article via jbhe.com

Chef Quentin Love Donates Half of Food Network Winnings to Feed Chicago’s Hungry

By goodblacknews on December 27, 2015
Chef Quentin Love gives back in Chicago (photo via blackamericaweb.com)
Quentin Love, a Chicago chef and restaurateur, is a man who lives up to his name. After winning big last week on the Food Network’s “Guy’s Grocery Games Veterans Holiday Showdown,” Love donated half of his winnings to help feed the hungry in Chicago’s West Humboldt Park Neighborhood, WGN News reports.
In Chicago, 1 out of 3 people go hungry each day. On Chicago’s West Side where Love owns and operates Turkey Chop Gourmet Grill he offers a much needed solution. Every Monday between 1 and 3 p.m. Turkey Chop converts into a soup kitchen, serving free meals to people in need.
Since partnering with the Chicago Food Depository in 2014, Turkey chop has provided meals to more than 52,000 residents, many from the West Humboldt Park community – an area with a high rate of diabetes, heart disease and other food-related illnesses.
“With all of the negative things being said right now about Chicago, men in the community need to step up and take responsibility,” said Love in an interview with DNAinfo. “When you give someone a good meal, to show them love, you could be stopping them on the way to do something to hurt themselves or somebody else.”
Love, a veteran in Operation Desert Storm, represented the U.S. Marine Corps on the Food Network competition, winning $36,000 with the help of his grandmother’s macaroni and cheese recipe and a sea bass in vodka sauce.
Chef Love will donate $18,000 toward his restaurant’s soup kitchen initiative (which is part of his nonprofit, Love Foundation) and the other $18,000 to the United Service Organization to help military families in Illinois.
article by Sandria M. Washington via blackamericaweb.com

"Concussion": Meet Bennet Omalu, M.D., the Real Doctor Who Took on the NFL and Changed Football Forever

By goodblacknews on December 26, 2015
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Will Smith, Dr. Bennet Omalu and “Concussion” director Peter Landesman (COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES)
Baseball may still be billed as the national pastime, but football actually surpassed it in popularity a long time ago. So for anyone born and raised in the United States, challenging the NFL is just unthinkable.
Dr. Bennet Omalu wasn’t born and raised in this country, however. Had he been, it’s doubtful that the forensic neuropathologist from Nigeria would have discovered CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a degenerative disease associated with repeated brain trauma that doesn’t show symptoms, and its connection to the NFL. He would never have felt the wrath of the NFL, either, and we wouldn’t have Concussion, which marks Will Smith’s finest performance to date.
The Root caught up with the good doctor for a one-on-one discussion about the film, his faith, his wife’s support and his status with the NFL.
The Root: When you turned down this road, did you have any idea of the magnitude of your actions?
Bennet Omalu: Remember, I grew up in Africa. Growing up as a child, I perceived America to be heaven on earth, a country that was closest to what God wants us to be as his sons and daughters. And I came from Nigeria, which is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. So when I came here, I had the study of Mike Webster and other retired football players, and I wondered: If they played this game where they had to wear a helmet, could it be they were damaging their brains without knowing it?
And so I did the autopsy on Mike Webster. I identified the disease and I most gladly took it to the NFL, believing that I had discovered something that would enhance the game. But then I got this pushback, and I discovered there was this systematic and systemic cover-up to conceal the truth. So that reawakened my faith in me, my faith in the truth.
God is the truth. The American experience and the American experiment are founded on the truth. Science was founded on the truth. My faith is founded on the truth. So you have a convergence of both science and America, my faith, coming together to this common objective or common exploit of the truth.
So it was my search for the truth, to become part of that American family, to contribute my part to a society and a country that has given me so much. Because, as the greater American family, we are one love, we are one spirit, we are one hope, we are one joy. So that was what kept me going. Because when you seek the truth, truth shall set you free.
The truth is liberating. Isn’t that what America is all about? One person at a time, one step at a time, one day at a time, we shall continue to build a greater family, if only we would start by the truth. That is what kept me going.
TR: Is the truth still leading you?

Keli L. Knight, Yondi K. Morris and Jessica Roddick Start KMR Law Group, an African-American, Female-Owned Law Firm in Chicago

By goodblacknews on December 26, 2015

KMR Law Group
KMR Law Group (photo via clutchmagonline.com)

KMR Law Group, a Chicago-based boutique law firm, was started two years ago by three African-American female lawyers, Keli L. Knight, Jessica B. Reddick and Yondi K. Morris.
And it all began with a single tweet! A frustrated Morris tweeted, “I need to start my own firm” and Knight retweeted and replied with, “Are you serious?” Morris and Knight then got together and exchanged ideas and Morris contacted Reddick, an old college friend shortly thereafter. The three women met at a café and on a napkin (a napkin!) devised a plan to make their dreams come true.
Being young in the industry they faced a few challenges, such as people assuming they did not have enough experience and others assuming they lacked professionalism because of their ages. One challenge in particular which concerned Morris was being taken seriously in a male-dominated field but this dynamic group overcame those challenges as they began to focus on the future of their business.
Knight, Morris, and Reddick are true businesswomen, working with a large array of individuals and businesses and their expansion plans for the future include establishing firms on the east and west coast.
These women have quickly become a force to be reckoned with and the story of their small, but growing empire came about is an inspiration to us all and a reminder that there is power in the tweet.
article via clutchmagonline.com