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Posts published in “Community”

African-American Chosen as Miami-Dade’s Most Senior Police Officer

By goodblacknews on February 1, 2013
J.D. Patterson, Jr.
J.D. Patterson, Jr.

MIAMI – An African-American has been selected to lead the Miami-Dade Police Department. County Mayor Carlos Gimenez made a formal announcement Friday morning during a press conference.

The new director, J.D. Patterson Jr., was one of six candidates in the running for the county’s most senior cop. He has been the department’s acting head since November.
The mayor had whittled down the applicants to six possible successors following the early retirement of director Jim Loftus last October. All of the finalists came from within the department.
Patterson, a 28-year veteran of the department, has risen through the ranks from patrolman to assistant director and now this latest post as director. The 52-year-old has overseen a variety of units including auto theft, sexual batteries, and internal affairs.

Happy Black History Month! Some Ideas on Celebrating with Kids and Family

By goodblacknews on February 1, 2013
Martin Luther King statue
Perhaps you want to share the important history of African Americans with your children, but know you need to brush up on your facts first. So where should you begin?

Define it

The best way to start teaching yourself about Black History Month is to begin with the definition. What exactly is this 28-day tribute in February? Also known as African-American History Month, Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African-Americans in U.S. history. The event used to be known as Negro History Week and was extended to a month-long observance in 1976.

Read up

50 Black WOmen Who Changed America
If your child is school-aged, he’s definitely being taught about the importance of Black History Month in his classroom. But there’s a lot you can do to reinforce the learning at home. To educate your little one — and yourself — about Black History Month, head to the library and check out one of the hundreds of books on the subject. Any of these options (and more) can start an important discussion about racial diversity between you and your child.

Obama Makes National Black History Month Proclamation

By goodblacknews on January 31, 2013
 
 “In America, we share a dream that lies at the heart of our founding: that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter how modest your beginnings or the circumstances of your birth, you can make it if you try. Yet, for many and for much of our Nation’s history, that dream has gone unfilled. For African-Americans, it was a dream denied until 150 years ago, when a great emancipator called for the end of slavery. It was a dream deferred less than 50 years ago, when a preacher spoke of justice and brotherhood from Lincoln’s memorial. This dream of equality and fairness has never come easily — but it has always been sustained by the belief that in America, change is possible. 
Today, because of that hope, coupled with the hard and painstaking labor of Americans sung and unsung, we live in a moment when the dream of equal opportunity is within reach for people of every color and creed. National African American History Month is a time to tell those stories of freedom won and honor the individuals who wrote them. We look back to the men and women who helped raise the pillars of democracy, even when the halls they built were not theirs to occupy. We trace generations of African-Americans, free and slave, who risked everything to realize their God-given rights. We listen to the echoes of speeches and struggle that made our Nation stronger, and we hear again the thousands who sat in, stood up, and called out for equal treatment under the law. And we see yesterday’s visionaries in tomorrow’s leaders, reminding us that while we have yet to reach the mountaintop, we cannot stop climbing. 
Today, Dr. King, President Lincoln, and other shapers of our American story proudly watch over our National Mall. But as we memorialize their extraordinary acts in statues and stone, let us not lose sight of the enduring truth that they were citizens first. They spoke and marched and toiled and bled shoulder-to-shoulder with ordinary people who burned with the same hope for a brighter day. That legacy is shared; that spirit is American. And just as it guided us forward 150 years ago and 50 years ago, it guides us forward today. So let us honor those who came before by striving toward their example, and let us follow in their footsteps toward the better future that is ours to claim. 
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2013 as National African American History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.”

article via bet.com

"Kid President" Offers World Delightful Pep Talk (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on January 30, 2013

kid-president
Kid President, who says on his website that he is “sponsored by Mom,” began his positive offerings last July, according to NewsOne.  Making sure he has ample time to dance in between his cathartic messages, one can only fall in love with the adorable young boy who is wise beyond his years.
In the midst of school shootings, high unemployment, divisive politics, and seemingly neverending violence in many of our communities, it is refreshing to see a young boy armed with a camera, a good heart, and loving words attempt to inspire the world…one video at a time.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o&w=560&h=315]
 

Multi-Cultural Manhattan School Teaches Youths the Value of Inclusiveness, Democracy, Justice & Freedom

By goodblacknews on January 29, 2013

Screen Shot 2013-01-29 at 5.26.20 PM

Ideal School of Manhattan administrators (l-r) Angela Bergeson, Head of School; David Byrnes, director of institutional equity, and Michelle Smith, school co-founder watch second-graders at work on a Civil Rights Museum project

A Civil Rights museum like no other is going to pop up in Manhattan later this week.  This one is meant to change the future.  Students at the Ideal School of Manhattan were busy constructing exhibits for the museum, a yearly event at the seven-year-old, independent K-to-eighth grade school.

Head of School Angela Bergeson said the museum started out as a yearly school assembly on civil rights, but became so popular that “we decided to devote the whole morning to the museum so that families could go room to room and see all the curriculum pieces, the writing, readings and plays.”
Each grade in the school is assigned an iconic figure from the Civil Rights or non-violence movements, along with an associated word around which the students create exhibits.

Boy Scouts of America Considering Retreat From No-Gays Policy

By goodblacknews on January 28, 2013

boy-scoutsNEW YORK (AP) — The Boys Scouts of America is considering a dramatic change in its controversial policy of excluding gays as leaders and youth members.
Under the change being considered, the different religious and civic groups that sponsor Scout units would be able to decide for themselves how to address the issue — either maintaining an exclusion of gays or opening up their membership.
The announcement of the possible change came Monday after years of protests over the policy — including petition campaigns that have prompted some corporations to suspend donations to the Boy Scouts.
Under the proposed change, said BSA spokesman Deron Smith, “the Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a position to units, members, or parents.”
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com

Postal Worker Deborah Ford Retires After 44 Years with No Sick Days

By goodblacknews on January 28, 2013

[cnnvideo url=’http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2013/01/25/dnt-no-sick-days.cnn’ inline=’true’]
Deborah FordThe work ethic is alive and well in Detroit, Michigan, where postal worker Deborah Ford was honored upon her retirement for having never missed a day of work in 44 years.  Her simple message of professionalism and commitment to her job is definitely something to admire  and celebrate.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Quvenzhané Wallis Makes Cover of Entertainment Weekly

By goodblacknews on January 25, 2013

owentertainmentcover-e1359121703337
Quvenzhané Wallis, the 9-year-old Oscar nominated star of Beasts of the Southern Wild, is really enjoying her moment in the spotlight.  
She has talked about fashion with Vogue’s guru André Leon Talley. She has also appeared on NBC’s Rock Center, where she boasted that she is a “triple threat.”  
Now the pint-size star is gracing the cover of Entertainment Weekly.  Wallis made history this month when she became the young nominee in history in the lead actress Academy Award category. 
article via thegrio.com

Students With Disabilities Have Right To Play School Sports, Obama Administration Tells Schools

By goodblacknews on January 24, 2013
Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to President Obama for Disability Policy (left), with Learning Ally member Henry “Hoby” Wedler (right)
When Kareem Dale, now a special advisor to President Barack Obama, was in high school, all he wanted to do was wrestle. But as a student who was partially blind, that wasn’t easy.
Dale’s school made it possible for him to participate in the sport by creating a rule that wrestlers always needed to be touching their opponent. “It allowed me to wrestle throughout public high school,” Dale said. “That experience of wrestling gave me confidence, it made me healthier, it was really an extraordinary experience.”
But hundreds of other students with disabilities may not have had an opportunity in school sports, a 2010 Government Accountability Office report suggested. The U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights on Friday is sending school districts a 13-page guidance document that spells out the rights of students with disabilities to participate in school athletics.

Ellen and Lana Ector prove ‘Black Girls Workout Too’ with New Mother-Daughter Workout DVD

By goodblacknews on January 23, 2013
Ellen and Lana Ector

Mother and daughter fitness duo Ellen and Lana Ector. (Image: YouTube screen capture)

From Clutch Magazine: Two spunky women are seeking to break the myth about how black women interact with fitness.
Ellen and Lana Ector have transformed their popular group exercise classes into a workout tape that women can use at home. The Atlanta-based mother-and-daughter fitness duo have put together “Black Girls Workout Too”, an exercise program that pushes females to rigorously increase their heart rate while toning their entire body.
The Ectors are mission-driven with their new fitness project:
“Curves are good..in the right places! Statistics show that 4 out of 5. African-American women are overweight or obese and we have to change that!” a message on their fitness video’s website reads.
Read the rest of this story on Clutch Magazine.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PerORsDLIJg&w=560&h=315]