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Dr. Dorothy Height's Life To Be Celebrated During The National Black Family Reunion

By goodblacknews on September 9, 2010
The late leader of one of America’s noted Black women’s organizations will be celebrated during an event that highlights the strength and value of the African-American family.
Click on image to read full article. 
Dorothy Height, the former chair and president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) who died on April 20, will be the focus of the 25th annual National Black Family Reunion Celebration on Sat., Sept. 11 on the National Mall. The Black Family Reunion is the signature program of the NCNW — which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.  “We are planning to have a huge mega-festival that will feature a special tribute to Dr. Height,” Avis A. Jones-DeWeever, the executive director of the NCNW, said.
via todaysdrum.com

Charter School In Cleveland Gets $1 Million Gift

By goodblacknews on August 30, 2010
Cliffs Natural Resources, formerly known as Cleveland Cliffs, made the substantial investment in Village Prep, an inner-city school with 180 kindergarteners and first graders.

“This is the most phenomenal thing that has ever happened to the organization,” said Village Prep founder John Zitzner. “It really allows us to keep moving forward in the right direction, to keep expanding, to keep adding more children.”
Village Prep, which started only one year ago, has a partner middle school, Entrepreneur Preparatory School, or E-Prep, which was founded in 2006 and has 300 students.
Both are located in Tyler Village, a renovated factory at East 36th Street and Superior Avenue.
“Listen, we need educated folks as we go forward, and good team members, and this school shows everything that we need as we go foward,” said Cliffs CEO Joseph Carrabba, as he helped christen the Cliffs Natural Resources K-2 Wing at Village Prep.
“It’s the foundation of Cleveland,” he told WKYC. “The children, you can see their self confidence when they come into a room. All those leadership qualities are coming along, with everything they’ll need in life skills, and an education.”
The youngsters at Village Prep and E-Prep are held to high standards, says Zitzner. “High expectations, no excuses, very strict discipline,” he explained. “It’s just setting high standards for the kids, for their parents, for everybody. For the teachers, and then holding them accountable for that.”
E-Prep students had some of the highest state achievement test scores in Ohio in April, 2010, far outpacing the average for African-American students around the state, and mostly exceeding the average scores of other public schools.
About 95 percent of the school’s enrollment is African-American, with 82 percent coming from families under the poverty line. Both Village Prep and E-Prep are open to any student in Ohio.
“Just think about all those kids that now have a future in front of them, due to the generosity of Cliffs and other fine organizations in Cleveland,” Zitzner beamed, as he led company executives on a quick tour of the exceptional school.
Carrabba also sensed the enthusiasm his company’s sizeable contribution added to the school’s already positive atmosphere.
“You can see it,” Carrabba noted, glancing at the first graders who had just welcomed his group to the school. “It just abounds in their faces. It gives you a real thrill to see this happen right in front of you.”

Smithsonian Honors Philadelphia Hat Maker Mae Reeves

By goodblacknews on July 28, 2010
  • Taking a bow, Donna Limerick (center) and others modeling her mother's hats acknowledge Mae Reeves, top photo, at the end of the ceremony at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Thirty of Reeves' hats will become part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection.
Taking a bow, Donna Limerick (center) and others modeling her mother’s hats
Donna Limerick had always believed her mother was a pioneer.
Not many women in the 1940s had the gumption and the bank loans to start their own business. Especially not African American women. Especially not African American women who designed and made millinery in Philadelphia.
Still, Limerick didn’t want to be presumptuous. She wasn’t sure that her mother’s legacy would qualify for the Smithsonian.  A documentary producer for National Public Radio, Limerick had heard that the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture was looking for compelling stories about black families and culture. With modest expectations, she nominated her mother, Mae Reeves.
Tuesday, two of the museum’s curators attended a ceremony honoring Reeves and announced that 30 hats and several pieces of antique furniture from Mae’s Millinery shop in West Philadelphia will become part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.
“Oh, God bless you,” Reeves said, as television cameras closed in on her. She’d just been handed a softball-sized bronze model of the Liberty Bell that clanged happily in her lap.
“It’s our biggest honor,” said Melanie Johnson, city representative, apologizing that Mayor Nutter couldn’t make the event. He was in Washington for a meeting, representing the U.S. Conference of Mayors, but promised to make a personal visit upon his return.
“Oh my goodness!” Reeves said.
Now 97 and living in a retirement home in Darby, she arrived in a stylish wheelchair upholstered in teal leatherette. Her arthritic knees were covered by a black chenille blanket to match her beaded black jacket and dress. She wore a hat (of course) – one of her favorites, a cloche layered thickly in shiny black feathers with an emerald and turquoise gleam.
For more than 50 years, until 1997 when she retired at 85, Reeves ran her own store, first on South Street and later on North 60th Street. She sold to stars such as Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne and Marian Anderson; the social and political elite like Leonore Annenberg and C. Delores Tucker; and everyday women seeking audacious hats.
Midway through the ceremony, held in the auditorium of the African American Museum in Philadelphia, a short video was shown. Produced by one of her nine grandchildren, it captures Reeves in a sparky exchange with her daughter.
Having grown up in Georgia and studied millinery in Chicago, Limerick asks Reeves, “Why did you come to Philadelphia?”
“Because I knew people!” Reeves says.
by Melissa Dribben via articles.philly.com

SEED School in D.C. Shapes Scholars!

By goodblacknews on June 1, 2010
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(CBS)  A few miles from the White House in southeast Washington sit some of the worst public schools in America. The students there are mostly poor, mostly black, and their test scores are low. Only one in three finish high school; of those who do go on to college, just five percent graduate.
But right in the middle of this same area is also one of the most successful and innovative public schools in the country. Started in 1998, the school is called SEED. It’s the nation’s first urban public boarding school.
Ninety one percent of the students finish high school, and 95 percent go on to college. It’s a charter school that’s getting national attention. Admission is by lottery, open to any family in the district willing to take a chance. 

Texas Twins Top Class!

By goodblacknews on May 27, 2010
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They look alike, talk alike, dress alike…and they’re best friends.

But that’s not all twins LaTonya and LaToya Harris have in common. They’re also the top two graduates of South Garland High School class of 2010.  And they’ll even give their graduation speech together as valedictorian and salutatorian.
Although their parents say they’ve been baffled by the girls since birth, they can’t help but be proud of their twin prodigies.  So what’s the plan for next year?
The girls will begin their college careers (rooming together, of course) at The University of Texas – both on full scholarships.
article via www.thegrio.com

Women of Color Form “Sisters Tri-ing” To Foster Health and Athleticism!

By goodblacknews on May 21, 2010
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When Ayana Ball-Griffe crossed the finish line of the first triathlon she’d ever run, she noticed an odd phenomenon – she was one of only two women of color running in the marathon.  That revelation left her determined to see changes and get more black women out exercising. She came up with Sisters Tri-ing – as in triathlon.
“The purpose of Sisters Tri-ing is just to really encourage women of color to get healthy and fit” says Ayana.  Weight is a “heavy” issue for African-American women and the Center for Disease Control estimates nearly 80 percent of black women are either overweight or obese.  There can be several factors which may discourage women from putting in time at the gym. Among them are cost, time management and hair…yes, hair.
“You don’t want to get your hair done at the beauty shop and turn around and go sweat it out at the gym!” says Ayana.  Ayana takes that into consideration by offering hair stylists at her non-profit. She also has healthy eating classes and two personal trainers available for the women.  Many of the 90 local members also meet weekly to push each other physically and emotionally.  As one SistersTri-ing member puts it, “For me, it helps to have the encouragement and support and know that somebody is going through the same thing you are.”
article via www.thegrio.com

Women of Color Form "Sisters Tri-ing" To Foster Health and Athleticism!

By goodblacknews on May 21, 2010
Media_http4bpblogspot_giipk
When Ayana Ball-Griffe crossed the finish line of the first triathlon she’d ever run, she noticed an odd phenomenon – she was one of only two women of color running in the marathon.  That revelation left her determined to see changes and get more black women out exercising. She came up with Sisters Tri-ing – as in triathlon.
“The purpose of Sisters Tri-ing is just to really encourage women of color to get healthy and fit” says Ayana.  Weight is a “heavy” issue for African-American women and the Center for Disease Control estimates nearly 80 percent of black women are either overweight or obese.  There can be several factors which may discourage women from putting in time at the gym. Among them are cost, time management and hair…yes, hair.
“You don’t want to get your hair done at the beauty shop and turn around and go sweat it out at the gym!” says Ayana.  Ayana takes that into consideration by offering hair stylists at her non-profit. She also has healthy eating classes and two personal trainers available for the women.  Many of the 90 local members also meet weekly to push each other physically and emotionally.  As one SistersTri-ing member puts it, “For me, it helps to have the encouragement and support and know that somebody is going through the same thing you are.”
article via www.thegrio.com

Sixty-Four Years Ago Today: Emma Clarissa Clement Named American Mother Of The Year

By goodblacknews on May 2, 2010
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When the call came through to her Louisville home last week, Emma Clarissa Clement was off at a district church conference in Springfield, Ky. Her daughter took the message. Mrs. Clement had just been elected American Mother of 1946 by the Golden Rule Foundation. Said the citation: “A mother of children who are devotedly serving their country and their people, a partner in her husband’s ministry in his lifetime, a social and community worker in her own right.”
Emma Clement, 71, widow of a bishop, could well be proud of her three daughters and four sons. All of them had graduated from Livingstone College in Salisbury, N.C., where she had been married on her own Commencement Day nearly 50 years ago. Four were now college professors—one of them a college president, another, a chaplain, just out of the Army with a major’s commission. A fifth was still overseas as a Red Cross field director in Italy. Now her children could be prouder than ever of her.
It took a little while to get the call relayed to Mrs. Clement. She had to get the news of the honor that had come to her, and to her race, at the telephone office. There is only one telephone in the Negro section of Springfield, Ky.

article originally printed May 13, 1946 in Time Magazine

Former NBA Star John Salley On Mission To Help Kids Eat Healthy!

By goodblacknews on April 25, 2010
Former NBA Star John Salley, like First Lady Michelle Obama, is on a mission to help children eat healthy and get fit.  He discusses his new cause with HLN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell here:  John Salley on CNN.

NFL Star Nnamdi Asomugha Gives Homeless Teens Hope

By goodblacknews on April 25, 2010

Oakland Raiders All-Star defensive back Nnamdi Asomugha helps at-risk and homeless teens from Oakland and Los Angeles, takes them on tour of Washington D.C. and colleges.  Please click below to see this CNN piece — it’s a Good Black News must-watch!
Video – Breaking News Videos from CNN.com