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Posts published in “Teens”

High School Crowns Transgender Student Blake Brockington Homecoming King

By goodblacknews on February 11, 2014

blake brockington
Blake Brockington, who was born a girl but identifies as a male, made history at his high school in North Carolina when he became the first transgender teen to be crowned homecoming king.  According to WCNC, Brockington was nominated by students at East Meck High School and there were 13 other students in the running.  In order to win the honor, Brockington had to participate in a fundraiser for Mothering Across Continents, an international non-profit working to build schools in South Sudan. Brockington raised $2,335.55 with the help from Time Out Youth, a local LGBT youth services agency.
From WCNC:

Brockington is no stranger to adversity.  He says he is living with foster parents because his father is unable to accept his gender identity.
His foster parent, Donald Smith, told NBC Charlotte Brockington has the perseverance to overcome the challenges he faces.  “He really is hoping that it helps those behind him going through the same challenges and struggles,” he said.
Teacher Bill Allen is the student advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance on campus.  He says East Meck is known as a school of diversity. He says Brockington’s achievement is the first step in representing what many of the students believe.
“Our young people understand we are all different. We have all races, genders and religious backgrounds. We have kids representing 30-40 languages in this school and people learn to accept each other as they are, and I think this is an example of what is going to be happening in North Carolina,” he said.

Brockington plans to attend University of North Carolina-Charlotte in the fall.
article by Yesha Callahan via clutchmagonline.com

Rwandan Teen Leonard Kwitonda Overcomes Obstacles And Will Graduate With Honors

By goodblacknews on February 11, 2014
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Leonard Kwitonda’s life definitely hasn’t been a crystal stair. In 1994, his father was killed in the Rwanda genocide and he was left with just his mother and siblings. At 12-years-old, he traveled with the Rwanda Jr. Basketball Team, but while traveling in California. with the team, his uncle was killed and his family fled to Uganda. He was told to stay in the U.S because of safety issues.
When he was just 15-years-old, not able to speak English, he took a two day ride to Kentucky from California. He’s already lived with two foster families, but that hasn’t deterred him.  Leonard excels not only academically, but is also a star athlete on the basketball team and soccer team. This year, he will graduate with honors.
Leornard says, “I think I’ve come a long way. I don’t like to think of myself as a person who has a lot of issues. There is a lot of people who have more than myself, than I have.”  Jeffersonville Coach Matt Pait says Leonard’s story is inspirational, a teen who has overcome so many obstacles and adversity and is still successful.  Pait says, “He brings a lot of energy, he’s always smiling. Immediately when he’s in the game, it’s constant energy and effort. He’s the kid who gives 100 percent at everything he does.”
Audrey Baines, his current foster mother couldn’t be more proud of Leonard. “Leonard, if you meet him once or you meet him a million times, he’s always going to have a smile on his face, something positive to say. He’s as much a part of Jeff. as anybody who has been here forever and he’s so much a part of my family, I can’t imagine not having him in my life.”
Leonard is planning to go to college and study international business.  To see video of this inspirational teen, click here.
article via clutchmagonline.com

Stephanie Brown James Founds Brown Girls Lead at Howard University

By goodblacknews on February 6, 2014

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Stephanie Brown James

In addition to being the founder of Brown Girls Lead, a seven-month leadership initiative for girls at Howard University, Stephanie Brown James also led President Obama’s outreach efforts to African Americans as the National African American Vote Director for the 2012 Obama for America Campaign.
Leading up to President Obama’s successful re-election bid in 2012, African Americans were not particularly pleased with this country’s first black commander-in-chief. Some felt he hadn’t done enough to specifically address the needs and concerns of African Americans, his most supportive constituency.
James, who previously worked as the National Field Director for the NAACP, knew she had her work cut out for her. But through her efforts, Blacks turned out in greater numbers than the 2008 election, especially in the key battleground states.
“At the end of the day, you have a choice… black people were energized because they knew how important voting was to their lives and that it made a difference,” she told the Amsterdam News.

Chicago Artist Savannah Wood Aims For Engagement, Empowerment With South Side Book Exchange (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2014

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyMplbQkEg0&w=560&h=315]
CHICAGO — If Baltimore native and Chicago transplant Savannah Wood has one regret, it’s that she didn’t take enough time to read all the books she said surrounded her as a youngster.  Though the Chicago-based artist and Rebuild Foundation instructor said she was surrounded by incredible books, she laments that she didn’t stumble upon a book like Richard Wright’s 1940 novel Native Son, which she said she received as part of a book exchange while she was studying abroad in France as a student of the University of Southern California. Reading Native Son, which tells the story of a 20-year-old Chicago man feeling alienated like an expat in his own country, was an experience, she told The Huffington Post, that resonated deeply.  “That was the beginning of my being interested in black literature as a reflection of black life, the positive imagery in black lit,” Wood said in a recent interview. “I want to share that with other people.”
Last week, Wood launched an Indiegogo fundraising campaign for Black Ink Book Exchange, an initiative that will eventually become “not quite a library and not quite a bookstore” focused on works written by and about those from the African Diaspora and located inside the University of Chicago’s Arts Incubator in the city’s Washington Park neighborhood.  Wood told HuffPost she was inspired to launch the pop-up exchange after working with renowned Chicago artist Theaster Gates to create a library focused on the works of black authors for a private client. With the Black Ink Book Exchange, she hopes to take that idea and make it publicly accessible in a way that serves as a focal point for the predominately black neighborhood to engage with the arts. She plans to open the space by spring and, during the summertime, move it to other locations on Chicago’s South Side.
books
“I’m hoping to really activate the space and give people a place they can feel they can take some ownership of,” Wood said. “It’s not just to be looked at, but handled.”
Part of the interactivity Wood is aiming for entails the offering of free creative writing and crafting workshops taught in the space by guest artists. Money donated to the project’s $6,000 fundraising goal will go toward paying the artists a stipend for their services, in addition to purchasing books to supplement donated books, furniture and covering administrative costs.
“You can get hands on and make things here too,” Wood said of what makes the exchange different from a traditional library or bookstore. “I’ve been making things my whole life and I think it’s an empowering skill to have to produce something and put it out into the world.”
Visit the Black Ink Book Exchange’s Indiegogo page for additional information about donating funds or books toward the project.
article by Joseph Erbentraut via huffingtonpost.com

Apply Now! Here Are The Top Black History Month Scholarships

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2014

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Great news for students! For Black History Month many companies — through their foundations — have announced scholarship programs. Dallas Weekly recently highlighted the top 10. Act fast–the deadlines are in February.  Here are five of the newspaper’s choices for the college-goer in your life to consider:
1) The Frito-Lay “Create to Celebrate” Black History Month Art Contest: Do you have artistic talent? Show it off here by submitting an original piece of art. The piece, which can be in any medium (video, song, photo, sculpture, painting, etc), must celebrate African-American achievement.
2) The Coca-Cola Pay It Forward Scholarship Program: This program offers once-in-a-lifetime apprenticeship experiences to African-American youth.
3) The RBC Black History Month Student Essay Competition: This Royal Bank of Canada scholarship is strictly for Canadian students. Applicants must write a 750-words or less essay on how black Canadians have contributed toward the heritage of Canada.
4) The 100 Black Men of America Future Leader Scholarship Program: Based on academic achievement and community service, this scholarship is open to high school seniors along with college freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
5)  The Jerry Bartow Scholarship Fund: The Black Executive Exchange Program awards three scholarships each year for HBCU  undergraduate students majoring in business, engineering, technology, or education.
To find other 2014 scholarships, click here.
See more at: http://madamenoire.com/345755/apply-now-top-black-history-month-scholarships/#sthash.l9t3x37S.dpuf

Mayor Bill de Blasio Says New York City Will Settle Suits on Stop-and-Frisk Tactics

By goodblacknews on January 31, 2014

Mayor Bill de Blasio with members of the Explorers youth program Thursday after announcing the stop-and-frisk case settlement. Joshua Bright for The New York Times

New York City will settle its long-running legal battle over the Police Department’s practice of stopping, questioning and often frisking people on the street — a divisive issue at the heart of the mayoral race last year — by agreeing to reforms that a judge ordered in August, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday.

In making the announcement, which he said he hoped would end a turbulent chapter in the city’s racial history, Mr. de Blasio offered a sweeping repudiation of the aggressive policing practices that had been a hallmark of his predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg, but that had stoked anger and resentment in many black and Latino neighborhoods. He essentially reversed the course set by Mr. Bloomberg, whose administration had appealed the judge’s ruling.

“We’re here today to turn the page on one of the most divisive problems in our city,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference. “We believe in ending the overuse of stop-and-frisk that has unfairly targeted young African-American and Latino men.”

The judge, Shira A. Scheindlin of Federal District Court in Manhattan, found that the department’s stop-and-frisk tactics were unconstitutional, and that it had resorted to “a policy of indirect racial profiling.” At the height of the program, in the first quarter of 2012, the police stopped people — mostly black and Latino men — on more than 200,000 occasions. A vast majority of those stopped were found to have done nothing wrong.

Judge Scheindlin had ordered the appointment of a monitor to develop, in consultation with the parties, widespread reforms of the department’s “policies, training, supervision, monitoring and discipline regarding stop-and-frisk.” That process will go forward as part of the agreement.

Black Students Shine At Greene Scholar Programs Science Fair In California

By goodblacknews on January 28, 2014
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The Dr. Frank S. Greene Scholars Program dedicates its focus on preparing and challenging students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, also know as the STEM fields. Now in its 12th year, the Greene Scholar Programs (GSP) Science Fair, held this past weekend in San Jose, Calif., has been one of the most-dynamic events focusing on the excellence of African-American students in the Bay Area.
The San Jose Mercury News reported on the event, and spoke with several of the young participants, ranging from grades from third to 12th. One sixth-grader’s science presentation was rather impressive given his young age, and the 11-year-old raised a fine question with his experiment regarding the Tesla Motors electric car.  “As a car guy, I wondered if this small change would alter the aerodynamics of the car,” said Ayinde Olukotun, who attends Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School in Palo Alto.
Olukotun’s experiment studied the effect of the electric car manufacturers’ decision to raise the body of the Model S version of the vehicle after some reported battery fires. Olukotun compared the energy efficiency of model cars of different shapes and sizes, although he notes Tesla did the right thing in addressing the issue while possibly raising another. He says he “might e-mail” Tesla concerning his finds.
Program Director Gloria Whitaker-Daniels, who began at Dr. Frank S. Greene Scholars Program as a parent volunteer in 2001, has been heading the GSP for the last five years. With the South Bay area’s lower number of African-American residents, Ms. Whitaker-Daniels boasts that 100 percent of its students enter college and that 90 percent of them graduate.
More than 40 percent of GSP participants major in STEM fields, which reportedly is five times the national average for Black students.  Learn more about the excellent work of the Dr. Frank S. Greene Scholars Program here.
article by D.L. Chandler via newsone.com

Andrew Mupuya Builds Successful Paper Bag Company in Uganda from $14 Start

By goodblacknews on January 26, 2014
Andrew Mupuya is the founder of Uganda's first registered paper bag company. Youth Entrepreneurial Link Investments (YELI) is supplying restaurants, supermarkets and medical centers in Kampala.

Award-winning entrepreneur Andrew Mupuya was just 16 years old when he decided to take on the world.  That was back in 2008, when both of Mupuya’s parents had lost their jobs and could only afford to cover his school fees. “I had to get to meet my basic needs by myself,” remembers the Ugandan businessman. “I decided to face the world alone.”
Inadvertently, the government of Uganda came to Mupuya’s aid. At the time, officials in the country announced that they were considering a ban on plastic bags to curb environmental damage. Mupuya, who was still in secondary school, immediately saw this as an opportunity to launch a paper bag production company.  “I conducted a feasibility study, market research around retail shops, kiosks, supermarkets around Kampala and discovered there is need and potential market for paper bags.”
To start out his small operation, Mupuya figured out he needed a capital of 36,000 Ugandan shillings ($14). He raised the first $11 from selling 70 kilos of used plastic bottles he’d collected over one week. Mupuya then borrowed the remaining $3 from his school teacher and embarked on his entrepreneurial journey producing paper bags on a small scale.  Since then, the business has grown extensively and today, at the age of 21, Mupuya is the owner of Youth Entrepreneurial Link Investments (YELI), the first registered Ugandan company to make paper bags.

ASU Expels Fraternity Over MLK Day ‘Black’ Party

By goodblacknews on January 25, 2014
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(Photo posted on Twitter)
It’s officially over for Arizona State University and Tau Kappa Epsilon.  The university formally cut all ties with the frat days after it hosted an MLK Day party that played up on racial stereotypes and sparked outrage among civil rights leaders, the Arizona Republic reports.
ASU released a statement on Thursday night saying that the frat has been notified that its recognition as a chapter at the school has been permanently revoked, according to the site. This means that the 65-year-old chapter will no longer be affiliated with the university, will no longer be listed on the university website and cannot recruit members or hold meetings on university property, the Republic notes.  According to the newspaper, officials from the university are still examining the situation and deliberating how to handle the individual cases of student discipline.

Over the long holiday weekend, members of the organization thought that it would be fun to put on an MLK Day party, where the theme was to “dress black.” Photos from the event made their way onto various social media, showing attendees dressed in basketball jerseys, throwing up gang signs and holding “watermelon” cups.

Michelle Obama Gets Assist from Miami Heat Stars in "Let's Move" Promo, Dunks on LeBron James (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on January 21, 2014

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEJJFIM1m44&w=560&h=315]

Michelle Obama

The stars of the Miami Heat and head coach Erik Spoelstra joined Michelle Obama at the White House to help promote her “Let’s Move” campaign.

LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen were on hand to film a short video, encouraging viewers to eat healthy.  The group eats apples and drinks water throughout the promo, which is capped off with the first lady dunking a mini basketball into a hoop held by James.

article by Carrie Healey via thegrio.com