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Obama Pushes "College Promise" Plan for Free Community College

By goodblacknews on September 10, 2015
Obama
President Barack Obama speaks at Macomb Community College, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, in Warren, Mich. Obama announces new steps to expand apprenticeships and a push to make community college free for responsible students. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

WARREN, Mich. (AP) — Unable to have his way with Congress, President Barack Obama reached back to his roots as a community organizer and sought Wednesday to spark a national movement in support of his idea for free community college.
Congress has shown next-to-no interest in Obama’s $60 billion community college proposal, so he’s taking his case to the people.  “It’s an idea whose time has come,” Obama told an audience at Macomb Community College. “It’s an idea that makes sense.”
Obama said six states and communities have created programs similar to what he proposed during his State of the Union address earlier this year, including one announced by Milwaukee on Wednesday. Lawmakers in more than 10 other states have introduced legislation providing for free community college, he said.
Getting an education is the best investment anyone can make for their and the country’s future, Obama said.  “Education has always been the secret sauce, the secret to America’s success,” he said.
Obama announced that a new, independent “college promise” advisory board will work with various organizations to build momentum for the idea by highlighting programs that already provide free community college, and recruiting more states and communities to do likewise. It will be headed by a woman who Obama said is his “favorite community college instructor,” Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, and former Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer, a Republican.
Biden, who teaches English at a community college near Washington, D.C., traveled to Michigan with the president.  “It’s important that you give your friends, your families, your classmates, a heads-up to join the movement to make two years of community college free because education is the key to America’s future,” she said while introducing Obama.
Obama also announced $175 million in Labor Department grants to help create 34,000 apprenticeship slots around the country.

Siblings Lauren Conner, 11, Ashleigh Conner, 10, & Christian Conner, 9, Play Classical Music in Subway to Raise Money for Homeless

By goodblacknews on September 10, 2015

Meet the Seriously Talented Young Siblings Who Play Classical Music in the Subway to Raise Money for the Homeless| Music, Good Deeds, Music News, Real People Stories
(From left) Lauren, 11, Ashleigh, 10 and Christian Conner, 9  (Photo via people.com)

Lauren, Ashleigh and Christian Conner have been studying music since they were toddlers. Violinists and a cellist, the trio of siblings has long had a heart for music.  But when they moved to New York from New Jersey last year and saw the number of homeless people in the city’s streets, they realized they had a heart for much more.
“I saw [the homeless people] on the street and I felt sad for them,” Christian, 9, tells PEOPLE.
The three moved from Sussex County in October with their parents, Zenobia and Keith Conner. Zenobia says that from the moment the family got to the city, Christian wanted to help.
She tells PEOPLE that the young cellist would repeatedly ask her for money to give to the less fortunate and, after awhile, she said, “If you want to give some money to the homeless, then go out there and play your cello.”
And play he did. Christian and his sisters, 10-year-old Ashleigh and 11-year-old Lauren (both violinists), decided to take to the Fulton Street subway station to play music with hopes of raising enough money to give to the less fortunate.  To see video of these amazing siblings busking, click here.

Meet the Seriously Talented Young Siblings Who Play Classical Music in the Subway to Raise Money for the Homeless| Music, Good Deeds, Music News, Real People Stories
Talented Young Conner Siblings Who Play Classical Music in the Subway to Raise Money for the Homeless (photo via people.com)

Last week, the three siblings set up their music stands in a corner of the bustling station. Ashleigh tells PEOPLE that on their first day, they played for two hours and raised a little more than $240. The three play works by composers like Beethoven, Bach and Karl Jenkins as onlookers in the station watch in amazement.

Toyota Awards $75,000 Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Fellows Scholarships to Black Engineering and Business Students

By goodblacknews on September 9, 2015
Toyota Invests In Future Engineers and Business Leaders by Providing First-Ever $75,000 Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Fellows Scholarship, Summer Co-Op Internship Program and Mentorship Pairing (PRNewsFoto/Toyota)
Toyota Invests In Future Engineers and Business Leaders by Providing First-Ever $75,000 Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Fellows Scholarship, Summer Co-Op Internship Program and Mentorship Pairing (PRNewsFoto/Toyota)

Toyota is partnering with Rainbow PUSH Excel to provide $75,000 scholarships to 10 deserving engineering and business college students through the Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Fellows Scholarships. In addition to the scholarships, Toyota is offering these students the opportunity to work at one of their facilities across North America to gain valuable real-world experience, as well as be paired with mentors from Toyota management to help guide them through the next three years of college.

“The scholarship recipients were selected from hundreds of applicants,” Simon Nagata, chief administrative officer, Toyota North America, noted in a statement. “Toyota is proud to recognize and invest in the outstanding academic achievements of these 10 scholars. The commitment to community service and personal excellence of these future leaders is truly inspiring, and we are excited to be a part of their journey.”
With STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) professional jobs going unfilled, Toyota is preparing to fill the pipeline with qualified candidates. The scholarships were awarded to college students who are majoring in either STEM or business academics, states Toyota.
Students also had to demonstrate participation in community service and a financial need. The $25,000 scholarship is renewable each year for a maximum three-year period. In order to receive the award each year, the students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 throughout the school year.

LeBron James Expands Educational Program to Help Akron, Ohio, Adults Obtain GED Diplomas

By goodblacknews on September 8, 2015
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LeBron James (ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES)

LeBron James realizes that it’s not just young teens in Akron, Ohio, who need a shot at an education, but also adults who haven’t graduated from high school with a diploma.

Last month, James announced that his LeBron James Family Foundation would provide $41 million to cover tuition at the University of Akron for 1,100 Ohio high school graduates.
Well, now James is making sure he helps those who may be the parents of some of those kids receiving the free college education. According to Cleveland.com, as part of a partnership with Project Learn of Summit County, which helps adults get their GED certificates, parents of the children enrolled in the LeBron James Family Foundation’s scholastic-mentorship program can get financial and emotional support to obtain high school equivalency credentials and learn other life skills.
Adults in the program will receive an inspirational letter from James, Hewlett-Packard laptops they can keep if they finish the classes and free bus passes and parking to attend class.
“We are so excited about the I Promise, Too program because a huge part of our foundation’s work [with children] centers around parent involvement,” Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, said in a news release. “This is an opportunity to help our parents make strides in their own academic careers so they are better equipped to help our students keep their educational promises. We can’t reach our students without their parents’ support, so this program is monumental for our families and their futures.”
article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com

Freddie Gray’s Family to Receive $6.4 Million Settlement From Baltimore

By goodblacknews on September 8, 2015
The settlement, which stemmed from a civil lawsuit filed by the family after Gray’s unlawful arrest and death in April, is said to be one of the largest in police brutality suits since 2011. According to the Sun, the settlement is “larger than the total of more than 120 other lawsuits brought against the police department for alleged brutality,” in years. The plan is scheduled to be approved by the city’s spending panel on Wednesday, the office of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake confirmed.

“The proposed settlement agreement going before the Board of Estimates should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial,” the mayor said in a statement. “This settlement is being proposed solely because it is in the best interest of the city, and avoids costly and protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal and potentially cost taxpayers many millions more in damages.”

Unrest erupted after Gray’s funeral as human rights groups, protesters, activists, and residents of Baltimore City piled into the streets to call for reform of police practices and justice for the young man. Six officers involved in the arrest and transport of Gray have pled not guilty to a range of charges that include assault, false imprisonment, and even murder. A pre-trial motions hearing this week will determine if the six individual trials will be moved out of Baltimore.
From the Baltimore Sun:

The city is accepting all civil liability in Gray’s arrest and death, but does not acknowledge any wrongdoing by the police, according to a statement from Rawlings-Blake’s administration.
The mayor’s office declined to answer questions about the settlement, including why it was brought to the spending panel before any lawsuit was filed.
Under the proposed settlement, the city would pay $2.8 million during the current fiscal year and $3.6 million in next year, the city said. By entering into a settlement, the city would avoid a public lawsuit that could have played out in court. In such city settlements, a clause has stated that both sides cannot talk publicly about the case.

An attorney representing the Gray family has declined to comment on the settlement.
article by Christina Coleman via newsone.com

CULTURE: West Indian American Day Parade Comes Together One Costume at a Time

By goodblacknews on September 7, 2015
Karen Maynard putting the finishing touches on a headdress for Monday’s parade. (Credit: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times) 

Reisha Maynard-Holder meticulously cut patterns for a collar out of foam rubber as a fan whirred in the sweltering heat. Next, she turned her attention to feathers, attaching them to the collars one at a time with a glue gun. It was another grueling evening in a monthslong effort to create some of the most elaborate and spectacular costumes seen on the streets of New York.

“These are our summers,” said Mrs. Maynard-Holder, one of hundreds of people who prepare the costumes worn in the West Indian American Day Parade, scheduled for Monday morning. More than 5,000 people were expected to take part in the parade, a tradition known as “playing mas.” And, over a million people are expected to gather on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn for the event, which celebrates Caribbean culture with food and music. But the real stars of the parade are the bright array of costumes, visually stunning concoctions of feathers and beads, with headdresses often rising several feet in the air.

“The costumes are a symbol of the flair and vibrancy of the culture and demonstrate the pride of the Caribbean,” Jamell Henderson, spokesman for Karma Carnival NYC Band, said. “They are the centerpiece and main attraction.”

The “Heaven” costume. (Credit: Marlon Smart)

Making the costumes often begins a year in advance, shortly after the parade ends, with the bands — as the groups that participate are called — selecting themes in the fall and fabric samples in the spring. Fashion shows displaying prototypes are held in early summer, followed by production until Labor Day.

Defying Expectations, Mayor Ras Baraka is Praised in All Corners of Newark

By goodblacknews on September 6, 2015
Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark speaking at Occupy the City, an anti-violence rally and march, in August. (Credit: Yana Paskova for The New York Times)

They had predicted that he would be anti-business and anti-police, that Mr. Baraka, the son of Newark’s most famous black radical, would return a city dogged by a history of riots and white flight to division and disarray.

A year later, Mr. Baraka is showering attention on black and Latino neighborhoods, as he promised he would. But he is also winning praise from largely white leaders of the city’s businesses and institutions downtown. He struggles with crime — all mayors here do — but he has also championed both the Black Lives Matter movement and the police, winning praise for trying to ease their shared suspicion.

The radical now looks more like a radical pragmatist.

Newark is still stubbornly two cities: gleaming new glass towers downtown, block after block of abandoned plots and relentless poverty in its outer wards, with five killings within 36 hours this month. But for all the expectations that Mr. Baraka would divide the city, those on both sides of the spectrum say that he has so far managed to do what his predecessors could not: make both Newarks feel as if he is their mayor.

The mayor at an awards ceremony for the Newark Fire Department. (Credit: Bryan Thomas for The New York Times)

Development plans are reaching into long-ignored neighborhoods. Projects stalled for years are moving forward, and new industries are taking root: a vertical farm, an incubator space and an investment fund for technology start-ups.

Mr. Baraka closed a $93 million hole in the city budget without layoffs. In June, Gov. Chris Christie agreed to start returning the schools to local control — something the governor had denied Cory A. Booker, Mr. Baraka’s more polished predecessor. The governor had rejected Mr. Baraka’s bid for control a year ago, deeming him “kind of hostile.”

“He’s like the local boy who grew up and said, ‘I need to fix my city.’ How do you not get inspired by that? How do you not root for a guy like that?” said Joseph M. Taylor, the chief executive of Panasonic Corporation of North America, which was lured to Newark by Mr. Booker. “I didn’t think anybody could top Cory Booker, but if anybody can, it’s Mayor Baraka.”

Not everyone is on board. Some local politicians, even those who support Mr. Baraka, say the positive reception partly reflects the low expectations set during a nasty election last spring, in which outside groups spent at least $5 million trying to defeat him. They say the talent pool at City Hall is shallow, and that Mr. Baraka has surrounded himself with friends and family members — in particular, his brother, Amiri Baraka Jr., who serves as his chief of staff — who engage in a kind of street politics that have dragged Mr. Baraka into distracting feuds.

Attendees at Occupy the City, an anti-violence march. The mayor has enlisted the help of residents in trying to curb crime. (Credit: Yana Paskova for The New York Times)

The candidate Mr. Baraka defeated, Shavar Jeffries, continues to criticize the mayor’s inability to stanch crime, dismissing Mr. Baraka’s anti-violence rallies as empty gimmicks. And presuming Mr. Baraka can complete the return of schools to local control, they remain some of the nation’s most troubled and low-performing.

10-Year-Old Olivia Allen Holds "I Can Be" Conference to Teach Young Girls to Be More Confident

By goodblacknews on September 4, 2015
(Photo courtesy ANITRA ALLEN)

Olivia Allen, 10, has already taken her first steps to becoming a philanthropist.  Allen, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky, hosted a free conference for her peers on August 22 titled, “I Can Be: Girls Confidence Conference.”

“It’s important to give back,” Allen told The Huffington Post. “There are a lot of people in our community and if I help someone, they’ll help someone else… and it will be a cycle.”

About 50 girls ages 8 to 12, and their parents, attended the conference as Allen led her peers in a morning filled with workshops that touched on the physical, social and psychological challenges young girls face, mainly by tackling wavering self-esteem.

Allen said, this conference was necessary because she noticed a decline in morale among young girls in her community.

“I realize some girls’ confidence goes down when they start puberty,” Allen said, admitting that she even noticed a difference in her own at times. Because of this, she said, she wanted to do something to uplift others. 

(photo courtesy ANITRA ALLEN)

Allen spent this summer planning the conference mainly on her own and had financial assistance from her mother, Anitra Allen. She contacted speakers to help lead three separate workshops that focused on envisioning success, turning a passion into a business and personal health care.

The conference also featured two keynote speakers (Barbara Sexton Smith and Ashley D. Miller) who addressed confidence and pursuing your dreams. Greg Fischer, mayor of Louisville, opened the conference and commended Allen for her work in the community.

According to her mom, Allen has always had a caring spirit. She said, her daughter once told her after seeing a panhandler one day after school, “Mommy, every time I see a homeless person, I just want to raise money to buy them a house.” She suggested her daughter do something more feasible to help out her community and Allen took her advice, she said, by holding a toy drive in March where she collected more than 100 toys for Kosair Charities. One month following the toy drive, Allen organized a food drive where she fed underprivileged children in her community. 

The confidence conference was Allen’s most recent community outreach event, but she told HuffPost it wouldn’t be her last. She plans on continuing her work in the community and holding another conference for girls soon, she said. 

“The importance of having a conference like this is to show girls what they can be,” her mom told HuffPost. “I never want to tell her she can’t do anything.” 

Allen attributes much of her confidence to both her parents and her spiritual upbringing. Her career aspirations currently include everything from becoming a fashion designer, mathematician, news anchor, actress, singer and more.

“It was important to me because it was important to her,” her mom said. “Confidence is one of those things that can dictate what you decide to do and that will influence who you think you are.”

article by Taryn Finley via huffingtonpost.com

George Clinton, Sheila E. Headline Nightshift Labor Day Music Festival Benefitting Low-Income Communities in CA

By goodblacknews on September 4, 2015

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Lesa Lakin, GBN Lifestyle
Lesa Lakin, GBN Lifestyle

This Labor Day (September 7, 2015) Working Californians will hold Los Angeles’ fourth annual Nightshift concert featuring Godfather of Funk and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legend George Clinton with Parliament Funkadelic, Grammy-nominated singer and percussionist Sheila E., Jamaican reggae stars The Wailers, and the James Andrews New Orleans All Star Band.
Over 20 Southern California labor organizations, including IATSE, SEIU and Teamsters, will gather at L.A. Coliseum’s Exposition Park to celebrate and commemorate both the history and future of Labor Day. This concert will celebrate working families and labor victories made in the past year in the city of Los Angeles.
Concert performances will benefit Working Californians’ non-profit, which fosters social innovation and invests in improving low-income communities in Southern California.
Nightshift Labor Day Music Festival 2015
Exposition Park (Doors Open at 12:30pm) 700 Exposition Park Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90037
Tickets on-sale here: http://www.axs.com/events/280744/labor-day-music-festival-tickets
For more information about WCA : workingcalifornians.org.

Brothers Henry McCollum, 51, and Leon Brown, 47, Finally Compensated by North Carolina for Three Decades of Wrongful Imprisonment

By goodblacknews on September 4, 2015

Henry McCollum sits stunned as applause rings out in a Robeson County courtroom in Lumberton, N.C. Tuesday, September 2, 2014, after a judge has declared McCollum and his brother Leon Brown innocent of a brutal rape murder for which they have spent 30 years in prison. Behind him is Beverly Lake, Jr., founder of the Innocence Commission, who was vital in the process to free the men. Photo: Chuck Liddy/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT via Getty Images

Two brothers who were wrongfully imprisoned for three decades for a crime they didn’t commit just received $750,000 in compensation from the state of North Carolina—the highest-possible payout in such an instance.

Henry McCollum, 51, was present for the ceremony in which he and his half-brother Leon Brown, 47, were each awarded the maximum payout approved by state officials. Brown, however, remains in a hospital, where he’s undergoing treatment for mental health issues stemming from their imprisonment. The brothers were officially pardoned in June, which made them eligible for financial restitution.
They were released from prison a year ago after fresh DNA evidence emerged and exonerated them.  The testing was performed by the state’s Innocence Inquiry Commission, whose purpose is to investigate disputed cases.
According to their attorneys, the brothers “were scared teenagers with low IQs” who investigators manipulated and berated, feeding them details before they signed false confessions for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie in 1983. McCollum was the longest-serving inmate on the state’s death row, while Brown was convicted to life in prison. Both were attacked while serving their sentences, and Brown was repeatedly sexually assaulted by other prisoners.
The money will go into funds that will help the men and their families financially—something that has been difficult ever since the brothers’ release and subsequent difficulty readjusting to life on the outside.
article by Sameer Rao via colorlines.com