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Buffalo Soldiers of U.S. Armed Forces Honored by CA State Senate at Capitol Ceremony & Reception

By goodblacknews on June 12, 2016
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Buffalo Soldiers representative with CA State Senator Tony Mendoza (photo courtesy http://sd32.senate.ca.gov)

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Sacramento – To celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Buffalo Soldiers, an historic group of African American service members, California State Senator Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) and State Senator Isadore Hall III (D–Compton), Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, hosted a reception on June 6th in the State Capitol and presented Senate Concurrent Resolution 128, which recognizes the Soldiers for their unique contributions to the United States and its military.

“I am honored to recognize the great accomplishments and service of the Buffalo Soldiers. These men made history by breaking barriers and serving our country with honor and distinction during war and peacetime under tremendously challenging circumstances,” said Senator Tony Mendoza.

The Buffalo Soldiers were established on July 28, 1866 by an Act of Congress. It was officially known as the 9th and 10th Calvary regiment and was comprised of former slaves, free men, and black Civil War soldiers. The Buffalo Soldiers were the first African Americans to serve in the United States Army during peacetime.

Oprah Winfrey Makes $1 Million Donation to Aid Homeless Women in Washington D.C.

By goodblacknews on June 11, 2016

Photo
Oprah Winfrey makes $1 million donation to help DC homeless women at N Street Village (photo via fox5dc.com)

article by Matt Ackland and staff via fox5dc.com
The gift was unexpected, but so welcomed. It happened on Thursday at N Street Village’s Empowerment Luncheon. The organization helps women in need through housing and employment as well as helping those battling drug addiction or are encountering health issues.
They only wanted to hear Oprah Winfrey’s inspirational words, but they got so much more.
“I thank you N Street for seeing, hearing and knowing that every life matters, every woman matters,” Winfrey said.
Linda Rush introduced Winfrey at the luncheon. For years, Rush was addicted to crack and involved in prostitution.  “My mom dropped me off. She walked me in here,” said Rush.
At one time before finding N Street Village, Rush wanted to reach out to Winfrey.  “Twenty years ago, I wanted to write her a letter and ask her to help me into a program,” Rush told FOX 5. “The people I was getting high with, they were like, ‘Oh, she don’t have time for you.’”
Two decades later, Rush told Winfrey that story and how N Street Village helped turn her life around.
“Before I introduced her, I said that now she can see for herself how things turned out,” Rush said. “She said, ‘I see.’ And that felt – I can’t even describe that feeling.”
“N Street Village has been a vital part of Washington D.C. for over 40 years now,” said Schroeder Stribling, executive director for N Street Village.
It has four locations across the city helping homeless women get their lives back on track. Stribling said Winfrey’s gift brought her to tears.  “I went up and I kind of couldn’t help myself, but hang on her for a while and cry,” Stribling said.
 
To read more, go to: http://www.fox5dc.com/news/156895468-story

Poet, Author and Professor Elizabeth Alexander Named to Pulitzer Prize Board

By goodblacknews on June 1, 2016

American poet Elizabeth Alexander speaks during an event in the State Dining Room at the White House on April 17, 2015, in Washington, D.C. First lady Michelle Obama hosted the event in celebration of National Poetry Month.
American poet Elizabeth Alexander (photo via Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

article by Stephen A. Crockett Jr. via theroot.com

Acclaimed poet, author and professor Elizabeth Alexander has been elected to the Pulitzer Prize board.

Alexander wrote and delivered her poem “Praise Song for the Day” for President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry American Sublime and a 2016 Pulitzer finalist for her memoir, The Light of the World, according to the announcement on the Pulitzer website.
Alexander has taught at several schools, including the University of Chicago, New York University and Smith College, and was part of the faculty at Yale University for 15 years; she also served as chair of Yale’s department of African-American studies. Alexander was recently named the Wun Tsun Tam Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and is the director of creativity and free expression at the Ford Foundation.
As a member of the 19-person board, Alexander will help decide the winners of the Pulitzer Prizes in in journalism, books, drama and music each April. She will serve a three-year term on the Pulitzer Prize board, on which members serve a maximum of nine years.
Learn more about Alexander here.

1st Ever Detroit Startup Week Helps Black Business Entrepreneurs and Hopefuls

By goodblacknews on May 29, 2016
The first annual Detroit Startup Week, powered by Chase, kicked off in May featuring over 100 events with some 2,500 participants attending free activities over the course of five days. Detroit’s inaugural Startup Week is expected to be largest first-year event in the global brand’s six-year history.

Ten learning tracks will be offered to entrepreneurs at all levels: technology, entrepreneurship 101, mobility, music, food-preneurship, art+design, civic innovation, neighborhood collaboration, social entrepreneurship, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
“Our city is unlike any other, with both ingenuity and a welcoming spirit, brilliance and grit, and opportunities abound. Detroit Startup Week is designed to glue together those opportunities, celebrate what’s already working, and lay the groundwork for what’s to come,” notes Kyle Bazzy, lead organizer.
“Entrepreneurs are playing an invaluable role in Detroit’s comeback,” adds Jennifer Piepszak, CEO of Chase Business Banking, whose firm has committed $100 million over five years to Detroit’s economic recovery. “Detroit Startup Week is a great opportunity to recognize small businesses’ importance to the city’s recovery and to ensure they gain access to the necessary resources to support and grow.”
To read more, go to: http://www.blackenterprise.com/small-business/first-ever-detroit-startup-week-helps-black-business-hopefuls/

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to Join Board of NAACP Legal Defense Fund

By goodblacknews on May 25, 2016
(Image: iStock.com/Chip Somodevilla)
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (Image: iStock.com/Chip Somodevilla)

article by Hailey Wallace via blackenterprise.com
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has announced that Eric Holder is set to join the organization’s National Board of Directors.

Appointed by President Obama in 2009, Holder was the first black attorney general of the United States. During his tenure under the Obama administration, Holder prioritized voting rights and criminal justice reform.

Holder’s connections to the Legal Defense Fund run deep. The former attorney general interned for the LDF in 1974 after his first year at Columbia Law. Last year, Holder received the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award, which the LDF calls its “highest honor.”

Current LDF President, Sherrilyn Ifill, has spoken highly of Holder. “I have been unequivocal in my admiration for Mr. Holder’s leadership. He presided over the restoration of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, launched the groundbreaking criminal justice reforms of President Obama, and confronted the challenges in Ferguson, Missouri, with tremendous sensitivity during a volatile time in our nation,” Ifill said.

In a statement announcing his appointment, the LDF praised Holder for his ‘Smart on Crime’ initiative, which called for “major changes to drug sentencing, the release of elderly prisoners and a decreased length of non-violent crime sentences, were bold measures that will continue to have a major impact on African American communities and are emblematic of LDF’s vision of justice.”

Chicago Police Escort Girls Without Fathers to ‘Daddy Daughter Dance’

By goodblacknews on May 23, 2016

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article via clutchmagonline.com

The second annual “Daddy Daughter Dance” was held in Chicago over the weekend, and the event sponsored by the Chicago Police Department proved to be a success.

The event, which was held at the South Shore Cultural Center, matched up Chicago police officers with girls who don’t have fathers in their lives. Also in attendance were officers and their own daughters.

“After last year’s event, we had several officers and the young ladies that they escorted, they kept up with one another and it really bridged a gap,” said Sgt. Kimberly Woods. “It let the girls know that officers are just people too and we dance, and we dance funny like your dads do.”

The Chicago Police Department and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives planned the dance to encourage healthy relationships between daughters and their fathers.

U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency Awards $31.5 Million in Grants

By goodblacknews on May 22, 2016

iStock_000016975025_Medium
article by Carolyn M. Brown via blackenterprise.com
New resources and funding is underway to help minority-owned firms create jobs, compete in the global economy, and grow their businesses.  This comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, awarding $31.5 million in federal funding to 21 grant recipients as part of its MBDA Business Center Program.
“For more than 40 years, MBDA has led efforts to support minority firms and provide them with the tools and technical expertise they need to excel. This is the very foundation on which this agency was founded back in 1969. It’s the core of who we are and what we represent,” said MBDA National Director Alejandra Y. Castillo. “This funding goes far beyond just the monetary aspect. This is a long-term investment in our community and in our nation.”
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Survey of Business Owners, minority-owned firms in the U.S. increased from 5.8 million in 2007 to 8 million in 2012, and employed 7.2 million people in 2012.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), is the only federal agency dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority-owned businesses. Since 2009, MBDA Business Centers have assisted minority firms with gaining access to more than $31 billion in capital and contracts, while creating and retaining nearly 142,000 jobs.
The grant recipients will join an established network of MBDA Business Centers across the United States and Puerto Rico. The recipients will receive the federal funds during a five-year period. They include:

  • Georgia Tech Research Corporation ($298,255) to operate the MBDA Business Center in Atlanta.
  • Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. ($312,750) to operate the MBDA Business Center in Chicago.
  • Dallas Fort Worth Minority Supplier Development Council ($301,675) to operate the MBDA Business Center in Dallas.
  • Michigan Minority Purchasing Council ($310,225) to operate the MBDA Business Center in Detroit.
  • Mid-South Minority Council TADP, Inc. ($285,400) to operate the MBDA Business Center in Memphis, Tenn.
  • Southern Florida Minority Supplier Development Council ($301,975) to operate the MBDA Business Center in Miami.
  • South Bronx Overall Economic Development Association ($321, 800) to operate the MBDA Business Center in New York or northern New Jersey.
  • The Enterprise Center ($304,475) to operate the MBDA Business Center in Philadelphia.
  • North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development ($294,100) to operate the MBDA Business Center in Raleigh, Charlotte, or Durham, N.C.
  • Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. ($310,550) to operate the MBDA Business Center in Washington, D.C., or Northern Virginia.

MBDA is expected to make additional announcements regarding grant winners and future grant opportunities.

Rihanna Launches Need-Based Global Scholarship Program to Help Provide U.S. College Education

By goodblacknews on May 9, 2016
Rihanna (photo via wallpaperup.com)
Rihanna (photo via wallpaperup.com)

article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com
Rihanna wants to reward students who believe in hard work. On Monday the singer announced the new Global Scholarship Program, which will assist students from various countries in attaining a college education in the U.S.
Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation will offer scholarships to residents of Barbados, Brazil, Cuba, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti and Jamaica who are eligible to attend school in the U.S. and have been accepted into an accredited four-year college or university. Through the need-based scholarship, they will have the opportunity to receive an award between $5,000 and $50,000 to go toward their tuition.
“I don’t think it’s fair that children carry the burden of financial limitations at such a young age,” Rihanna stated. “To be able to give the gift of an education is actually an honor. Higher education will help provide perspective, opportunities and learning to a group of kids who really deserve it. I am thrilled to be able to do this.”
The application process was launched Monday and continues until June 10. Fifty winners will be judged on “academic performance, demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities, work experience and a personal essay.” Applications can be submitted here, and winners will be announced in August.

College Student Rodney Smith Jr. Starts Free Lawn Service for Elderly

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2016

Rodney Smith Jr. (l) and friends (photo by Mary Chastain via breitbart.com)

article via breitbart.com
An Alabama A&M student started a free lawn service for the elderly and to teach younger kids about community service.
Rodney Smith, Jr., now runs “Raising Men Lawn Care Service” with “about 20 young men ages 7-17.” They cut lawns for the elderly, disabled, and single mothers.
It all started when he witnessed an elderly man mowing his lawn.  “It looked like he was struggling,” he said. “I was watching him and it just hit me. I could do something about it.”
Smith asked if they knew anyone who needed their lawn mowed. Friends gave him names and he wanted to mow 40 lawns by winter. He found a lawnmower on Craigslist and received it for free when he told the owner why he needed it.
Smith will receive his bachelor’s degree in computer science in May. He hopes to return to school to earn a master’s in social work.  “I want to go back and get my master’s in social work,” he explained. “All of this has made me want to do social work. I love helping people.”
Source: College Student Starts Free Lawn Service for Elderly – Breitbart

If You Were Gifted Solar Panels in Oakland, Prince Likely Paid for Them

By goodblacknews on April 25, 2016

Prince performs at the 19th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Monday, March 15, 2004, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. (photo via sfgate.com)
Prince performs at the 19th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Monday, March 15, 2004, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. (photo via sfgate.com)

article by Katie Dowd via sfgate.com
In the days since the death of music legend Prince, stories of his secret, wide-ranging philanthropy efforts are finally being told.  Two of Prince’s major charitable endeavors were centered in the Bay Area: bringing solar panels to Oakland and helping young people of color learn how to code.
In an interview with CNN, political activist Van Jones revealed that, while he was the face of environmental group Green For All, Prince was the driving force and checkbook.
“There are people who have solar panels right now on their houses in Oakland, California that don’t know Prince paid for them,” Jones said.
But that wasn’t all. Prince also helped found #YesWeCode, an initiative to help young people from “low opportunity backgrounds” learn the necessary skills for jobs in the tech sector.  “He insisted we create ‘Yes We Code,'” Jones told USA Today, “so that kids in hoodies could be mistaken for kids in Silicon Valley.”
In fact, Jones says that concerts in Oakland (and other cities) were a “cover” so he could visit and check in on charitable organizations and local community groups.
“He did not want it be known publicly, and he did not want us to say it. But I’m gonna say it because the world needs to know that it wasn’t just the music,” Jones said. “The music was just one way he tried to help the world, but he was helping every day of his life.”