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Report: Black and Latino High School Dropout Rates Hit Record Low

By goodblacknews on October 4, 2014

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wmr6cszqfjenlvhk7egajl45y0cqrfq6eo9zxedb7ry0ca5ep7dr7qlasq4fhsch Here’s some good news you probably won’t read a lot about: Black and Latino students have cut their dropout rates by more than half over the past ten years. Black students have nearly closed the gap with white students with just 8% leaving high school last year.
According to a new Pew Research Center report, these declines have driven the lowest U.S. dropout rate ever recorded, with just 7% of 18- to 24-year-olds leaving school in the last year. Read more from Pew.

This good news raises a lot of interesting questions, namely, why is it so underreported and why does the media put so much attention on the failings of Black youth instead of investigating what interventions have driven the increase in high school graduation.

article by Donovan X. Ramsey via newsone.com

General Nathaniel James, 79, Dedicates Life to Raising Profile of WWI Heroes, The Harlem Hellfighters

By goodblacknews on October 3, 2014

Maj. Gen. Nathaniel James in front of a mural dedicated to the 369th Regiment. To General James, who joined the New York Army National Guard at 17, his most important job has been promoting the Harlem Hellfighters. (OZIER MUHAMMAD / THE NEW YORK TIMES)

By the beginning of September, the corner office on the second floor of the 369th Regiment Armory in Harlem was nearly empty. Squares of dust outlined where framed pictures once hung. Only a desk remained, with Maj. Gen. Nathaniel James, 79, sitting behind it.

General James has considered the armory at 142nd Street and Fifth Avenue his second home for more than 60 years. Before he retired, his military career in the New York Army National Guard had spanned from private, corporal, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, major and lieutenant colonel. To him, though, his most important job had been as president of the Harlem Hellfighters Historical Society.
Now, the armory, built in 1933, is being closed for renovations. Its occupants have had to find temporary space elsewhere. General James and everything belonging to the historical society had to be out by Wednesday.
In 1959, General James learned about a room in the armory where artifacts of the Harlem Hellfighters — a black unit that fought under French command in World War I — were gathering dust. He put the items on display every New Year’s Day for a few hours.
“We cleaned everything and had an open house for everybody in the unit,” he said. “When I joined there was no written history,” said General James, who joined the New York Army National Guard when he was 17.
General James’s family moved north in 1939, fleeing racism in Branchville, S.C., where he was born. “My family moved to Harlem and we’ve never left,” General James said. He married and had four children, who called him General instead of Dad.
“We got up in the mornings to work out with him, and we made sure we got up early enough to get to school on time,” said one of his sons, Nathaniel James Jr., 52. “O dark thirty is O dark thirty, no exceptions,” he added.
General James decided that the Hellfighters artifacts should be more widely seen, and the history of black soldiers should be more widely known, after watching a biographical movie about Gen. George S. Patton, which, he noticed, made no mention of a black unit that he knew had been under Patton’s command.
And his children, he said, were noticing gaps in what they were taught at school. “They started seeing history wasn’t proper,” he said.
Mr. James remembers looking in his history books for the stories of the black soldiers his father had told him about. He could not find much. “I asked my teacher about it, and she said the only history they have is about the Buffalo Soldiers,” he said.
Members of the James family decided to take matters into their own hands. General James’s sons held parties in the mess hall and in the auditorium of the armory, taking donations. The general’s wife, Mary, and his daughter, Rosalyn, organized dinners, fashion shows and Mother’s Day events. “We used to D.J. when they had parties here,” said Courtney Dixon, 52, a neighbor.

NFL QB Russell Wilson, 1st Contributor to Derek Jeter’s Website, Speaks Out Against Domestic Violence

By goodblacknews on October 3, 2014

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wrote about domestic violence on Derek Jeter’s new website. (JOHN CORDES / ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson became the first contributor to Derek Jeter’s new website, The Players’ Tribune, on Thursday, using the forum to urge people to donate money to an organization that deals with the problem of domestic violence.
When Jeter started the website Wednesday he promised to offer athletes a forum to communicate with fans without the filter of the news media. He followed through quickly with an essay by Wilson, whose profile was boosted by Seattle’s Super Bowl victory in February. Wilson described himself as a “recovering bully” in the essay, and called for people to talk more openly about the problem of domestic violence.
“This issue is much bigger than N.F.L. suspensions,” Wilson wrote. “Domestic violence isn’t going to disappear tomorrow or the next day. But the more that we choose not to talk about it, the more we shy away from the issue, the more we lose.”
Wilson, 25, said that he was a bully as a child, but that he dealt with his anger issues and now believes there is no place for violence off the field.

Voter Registration in Ferguson Surges After Brown Killing and Protests

By goodblacknews on October 2, 2014

Residents during the Ferguson city council meeting on September 9, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

More than 3,000 people have registered to vote in Ferguson, Mo., since the death of Michael Brown — a surge in interest that may mean the city of 21,000 people is ready for a change.
Since a white police officer shot the unarmed black 18-year-old on Aug. 9, voter registration booths and cards have popped up alongside protests in the city and surrounding neighborhoods. The result: 4,839 people in St. Louis County have registered to vote since the shooting; 3,287 of them live in Ferguson.
The city’s population is two-thirds African American; five of its six city council members are white, as is its mayor. The St. Louis County Election Board does not record the races of eligible voters, but many believe the increase is a sign that Brown’s death has spurred renewed interest in politics and might mean more blacks will vote in the upcoming election.
“It’s a great move when people come out and register in mass like that,” said Anthony Bell, St. Louis 3rd Ward committeeman. “They are sending a signal that we want a change. It doesn’t give justice to the Michael Brown family, but it will in the future give justice to how the administration is run in a local municipality like Ferguson.”
The biggest issue on the ballot Nov. 4 will be the race for county executive of St. Louis County between Republican State Rep. Rick Stream and County Councilman Steve Stenger, a Democrat.
Bell began registering people two days after Brown was shot. He was at Canfield Green Apartments shortly after the teen was killed and watched as his body lay in the street for hours. The experience motivated him to lead a protest the next day and start registering people. He started with a clipboard and later set up a booth a few blocks from the shooting scene.
Rita Days, St. Louis County director of elections, said her office has been fielding calls from individuals and groups asking how to register people to vote. The NAACP, League of Women Voters, sororities and fraternities have taken classes. Others have picked up handfuls of registration cards to encourage people to mail in their registrations.
Registering more than 3,000 people in a month and a half is a significant accomplishment, Days said. She added that the real test will be how many people show up to the polls.
Jonathan Clarke, a writer and columnist for Politics in Color and a longtime St. Louis resident, agrees. “This represents a wake up call,” he said. “The problem so far, hasn’t been, as far as I understand, registration so much as it has been turnout.”
Days said her office, as well as interested organizations, have long stressed the importance of voting to community members. Despite many efforts though, there has been little interest in past elections. During local elections in April, just 1,484 of the 12,096 registered voters in Ferguson cast ballots.
“The apathy regarding voters is rampant in this county,” she said. “I mean if we get 10 or 15 (percent of registered voters to vote), that’s good.”
This time, demonstrators are vowing it will be different.
Community leaders plan to mobilize voters during the upcoming election and ensure that people make it to the polls, said Anthony Shahid, one of the most visible activists who has been protesting in Ferguson since Brown’s death. He hopes volunteers from other cities will help.
“We want to have a big rally,” Shahid said. “You have to get people excited to make people understand that this is history. And it is history — no different than when President Obama came into office.”
For Shahid, the election will test whether anger over Brown’s death will translate into long-term political change.
Keeping up the energy and momentum in driving people to vote is crucial, said David Kimball, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He expects groups to recruit candidates and to develop strategies to get people to the polls.
For Eric Davis, Brown’s cousin, the election could lead to needed change in local government.
“There is little to no representation of African Americans,” Davis said. “It’s basically a government that is Caucasian that is ruling over a class of African Americans. It’s almost as if it’s apartheid in some ways.”
To vote in the Nov. 4 election, a voter must be registered by Wednesday.
Anthony Gray, an attorney for Michael Brown’s family, said supporters of Michael Brown have the power to make Ferguson’s political leadership more diverse and to force officials to take into account the concerns of black residents.
“It could completely change the political landscape, the power structure, the decision making,” Gray said. “The service to the African American community would almost quadruple because they would be viewed as a credible and legitimate voting block.”
article by Yamiche Alcindor via usatoday.com

Oprah Winfrey's "The Life You Want" Tour Inspires Thousands

By goodblacknews on October 1, 2014

Iyanla Vanzant and Oprah Winfrey. Photo Courtesy of Harpo Studios, Inc. / George Burns. — Iyanla Vanzant and Oprah Winfrey. (Photo Courtesy of Harpo Studios, Inc. /George Burns)

Empowering. Enlightening. Magical. These three words only begin to describe this past weekend’s two-day event hosted by Oprah Winfrey.

Thousands of ticket-holders witnessed Winfrey’s wisdom during the icon’s official ‘Life You Want Weekend.’ Winfrey and her team of trailblazers took their wit on the road as they traveled nationwide for an unprecedented eight-city arena tour.
Friday and Saturday, Oprah took over Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center. People packed the stadium to embark on a journey of self-discovery, motivation and empowerment.
With the help of her popular panel of leaders — which includes Iyanla Vanzant — Oprah led the crowd through a remarkable series of events all aiming to help individuals discover their best selves.
During both days, attendees were invited to walk through the wonder of O Town – an interactive pop-up town square bustling with activities ranging from self-pampering beauty stations to networking opportunities with inspiring entrepreneurs.
Each guest was also given a special wristband programmed to dazzle with colors during each rousing segment, making the experience even more magical.
But it was Oprah’s personal speech Friday night that delivered the most noteworthy moments. She was welcomed by a spectacular, roaring greeting from the crowd as she graced the stage in a flattering, floor-length purple gown and led her legion of fans through lessons of struggle, revelation and triumph.
Oprah told listeners the story of her own journey to success — sharing personal anecdotes, photos and videos that resonated with gusto, even to those already familiar with her tale.
“I’m a huge fan of Oprah, so I knew her story already,” one attendee, Arleener Hall admitted to theGrio. “ I knew where she came from, I know everything about her, but just to be in her presence and hear her say it was even more amazing to me.”
In the videos, viewers saw a young and ambitious Oprah early in her years as a career professional yet well on her way to living a life she wanted. She was becoming a master of her own fate.

Attorney General Eric Holder Announces $124 Million Community Police Hiring Grant

By goodblacknews on September 30, 2014

Attorney General Eric Holder (pictured) announced on Monday a $124 million hiring grant in the latest of the Justice Department’s goal to improve the quality of police forces nationwide. Alongside Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Director Ron Davis, the pair enacted the grant in support of strengthening community policing.The grant will fund around 950 officers at 215 law enforcement agencies across the nation. The grant money is especially focused on three key areas: increasing community policing; bolstering crime reduction; and increasing public safety.
Both Holder and Davis issued statements regarding the grant, detailing the finer points and emphasizing its grand goal of supporting officers already in place in these communities as well as new hires by way of securing salary and crime reduction efforts.
From Attorney General Holder:

“These targeted investments will help to address acute needs – such as high rates of violent crime – funding 75 percent of the salary and benefits of every newly-hired or re-hired officer for three full years,” said Attorney General Holder. “The impact of this critical support will extend far beyond the creation and preservation of law enforcement jobs. It will strengthen relationships between these officers and the communities they serve, improve public safety and keep law enforcement officers on the beat.”

From Director Davis:

“The COPS Office is pleased to assist local law enforcement agencies throughout the country in addressing their most critical public safety issues,” said Director Davis. “Funding from this year’s program will allow many cities and counties to focus newly sworn personnel on issues related to violent crime, property crime and school safety.”

Referred to as the COPS Hiring Program, the grants will be awarded to state, local, and also tribal law enforcement agencies to hire or rehire from within the communities they serve. As explained by Holder, up to 75 percent of the entry-level salaries and basic benefits of full-time officers will be funded over a period of 36 months. The local agencies must match a minimum of 25 percent local funds with the federal maximum of funding capped at $125,000 per officer.
Grant award recipients for the 2014 portion of the program were selected for plans they submitted regarding strategies, exhibiting a financial need, and the rates of violent crimes in their communities.
COPS has provided funds to more than 125,000 officers serving 13,000 national agencies to date. It has also funded several organizations over the years with more than 700,000 people receiving training via its programs. Those individuals include government leaders, community organizers, and police officials among others. The COPS program is in its 20th year, providing more than $14 billion in hiring efforts among national agencies.
Learn more about the COPS Hiring Program here.
article by D.L. Chandler via newsone.com

Black Shopping Channel CEO Cleveland Gary Signs $125 Million Deal to Expand TV Viewership

By goodblacknews on September 28, 2014

The Black Shopping Channel has announced the successful completion of a deal worth $125 million to expand TV viewership via Comcast, DirecTV, and Time Warner.

Currently, Black Shopping Channel can be seen on Dish Network. As of now, the financing structure is a combination of debt and equity in affiliation with the New York Stock Exchange bank. CEO Cleveland Gary states that, “The added $125 million to the company’s balance sheet raises the Black Shopping Channel’s market value to a $700 million dollar company and growing.”
Other sources are anticipating 200,000,000 monthly visitors by the end of 2015 for the Black Shopping Channel via their website at www.blackshoppingchannel.com.
The site enables Black business owners to own a free virtual store used to promote and advertise their products and give their business exposure to the high volume of monthly shoppers. Right now, BSC (Black Shopping Channel) is the only Urban television shopping channel that promotes products from Black and small business owners from all over the country. This channel alone is broadcast over national television, seen on DISH Network, cable, and FTA access, as well as 20,000,000 homes throughout the United States. With this new deal, more people will learn about Black-owned businesses as more small businesses and their products get more exposure.
We will be exposed to more infomercials about black products and services. So far, blackshoppingchannel.tv can be seen on 16 different network channels. If you want to learn more about how you can get your hands on Black-owned businesses, services, and products, click here at http://www.blackshoppingchannel.com/
article by Joshua D. Copeland via thereelnetwork.net

R.I.P. Author and Los Angeles Black Panther Leader Wayne Pharr

By goodblacknews on September 27, 2014

Wayne Pharr, former Black Panther who fought the Los Angeles Police in a historic gun battle in 1969, passed away on September 6, 2014 at age 64. After Pharr and his fellow Panthers defended themselves from the long violent attack by the newly formed LAPD SWAT unit, he became a political prisoner who was exonerated of attempted murder and all other serious offenses. Pharr eventually became a successful realtor in Southern California, a subject of the documentary, “41st and Central”, and most recently authored the well received autobiography, Nine Lives of A Black Panther: A Story of Survival.
In the infamous battle on December 8, 1969, a handful of young members of the Southern California Chapter of the Black Panther Party held off the Los Angeles Police Department’s new Special Weapons and Tactics squad and hundreds of other officers in a five hour firefight.
Pharr was 19 years old at the time and played a pivotal role in the battle as one of the first to repel the invasion into the Panther office by shooting the heavily armored SWAT team members with a shotgun as they entered the Black Panther office at Central Avenue and 41st Street. No one was killed or seriously injured in the battle during which thousands of rounds of ammunition were exchanged and bombs used by both sides.
Observed by hundreds of members of the community, the Black Panther Party and their supporters considered the defense of the office and the people inside a victory while the Los Angeles Police Department considered this very first use of SWAT a tactical failure. Pharr and the other Panthers were tried for attempted murder and other charges but were acquitted of all of the most serious offenses after the longest jury trial in Los Angeles history up to that time.
The battle at the Panther Party Central Avenue office was significant for several reasons. The attack came days after another police assault in Chicago left Illinois Panther leaders Fred Hampton shot dead while sleeping in his bed and Mark Clark killed at the front door attempting to fend off the attack. These attacks occurred during a nationwide war against the Black Panther Party by local police agencies in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation through the FBI’s illegal Counter Intelligence Program, also known as “Cointelpro”. This was also the debut of the paramilitary SWAT team concept which used military style training, weapons and tactics to crush Black resistance during a time of revolutionary fervor and anti-war activity by activists across the country. Historically, this battle can be seen as the birth of the movement to militarize law enforcement that has swept the country.
In the documentary, “41st & Central”, Pharr describes his feelings about the 1969 battle with the LAPD SWAT team:

“So for those five hours, I was in control of my destiny… I was my own power at that particular point and time. And I relished that, and I enjoyed that and I think about that constantly. I was free! I was a free negro… yes sir!”

Recently, Pharr wrote the following reaction to the police response to community protests against the killing of unarmed 17 year old Black youth Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri:

“Are we Americans, or are we not? If we are, then the police need to stand down, like they did in 1968 with the SDS, Students for a Democratic Society–an activist group made up of white students. With that group, instead of coming in with guns blazing, they attempted to have a dialogue with the student-activists… If we are not Americans, then we need to go to war. The continuing militarization of police forces is a reminder of my encounter in 1969, the 5-hour battle we had with the newly-formed L.A. SWAT team at 41st and Central. It becomes a matter of principle, our right to self-defense.”

article by Good Black News staff

Police Officer Raleigh Callaway Receives Kidney from Stranger After Posting Family Photo on Facebook

By goodblacknews on September 27, 2014

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It took just one photo for a stranger to reach out to a dying man, donate one of his kidneys and save the man’s life. Raleigh Callaway had stage 5 kidney failure, and his health was getting worse. His family was thinking of ways to call attention to their need for a kidney donor, so the family decided to have a photo taken together.

Unknowingly, it was a family photo where his children held on to a poster saying, “Our Daddy Needs A Kidney” that got them all the help they needed.
The photo was flashed on 11Alive shows and posted on similar websites, and among the thousands of 11Alive viewers who have expressed their support for the local policemen, one brave and generous man stood out from the rest and decided to donate his kidney.

1411593813001-donor-3 — Kidney recipient Raleigh Callaway and his donor Chris Carrol

The donor, Chris Carrol, lived in Texas, which was hundreds of miles away from the Callaways. He never knew Callaway and was a complete stranger to the family, but he felt that he really needed to help the family.
After a series of tests, it was determined that Carrol was a perfect match with Callaway, and he has since pushed to speed up the process so that Callaway can have the transplant right away. Prior to the transplant, the families had time to get to know each other and have already built a special bond among themselves.
After weeks of preparations, the transplant finally went through last Thursday, and Callaway’s wife Kirsti disclosed that doctors were thrilled with how the surgery went. She also issued another statement later on Thursday, mentioning the success of the surgery.
The response to help Callaway has been overwhelming for the family, prompting Kristi Callaway and photographer Brandy Angel to start a non-profit. Known as Callaway’s Angels, they hope that their organization can encourage people to donate and eventually link up people who need kidneys to those who want to donate.
article via thegrio.com

Ferguson Police Chief Issues Apology to Michael Brown's Family

By goodblacknews on September 26, 2014

1411654272000-GTY-453644164 — Ferguson, Mo. Police Chief Thomas Jackson (Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)

ST. LOUIS — As the parents of Michael Brown appeared Thursday in the nation’s capital to call on the Justice Department to take over the case of their 18-year-old son whom police shot in August, the chief in the St. Louis suburb where he was killed apologized to the Brown family.
Police Chief Thomas Jackson in Ferguson, Mo., issued a video apology Thursday to Brown’s parents and peaceful protesters, according to a St. Louis public-relations firm’s video.
“I’m truly sorry for the loss of your son. I’m also sorry that it took so long to remove Michael from the street,” said Jackson, dressed casually in a red polo shirt. “You have every right to be angry and upset. The time that it took involved the completion of the work of the investigators to preserve physical evidence and determine the facts, but 4½ hours was simply too long.”