Christine Carter is the CEO of the Against All Odds Foundation, which provides educational programs and social services for at-risk youth, but she could be the organization’s charter member.
As a child, Carter says her mother, a teen prostitute, traded her out for sex in order to get drugs. Her father was also a drug addict. At 5, left alone home with her infant brother, Carter took him to school with her. That’s when she became a part of the foster care system.
When she was 7, Carter’s mother died of complications from HIV/AIDS, and she began bouncing between foster homes and relatives who lived in the rugged housing projects of Newark, New Jersey. Facing abuse and neglect, Carter describes herself as the “residue of the 1980s crack era.”
“My childhood was one that no child should endure. I was physically abused, neglected, and literally left for dead,” Carter told TheBlackManCan.
But Carter refused to let the troubles of her early life define her.
“The adversity that I faced as a child prepared me for life’s greatest challenges. Growing up as an orphan compelled me to become a social worker and give back to those most vulnerable. If it were not for my childhood, I would not be where I am, nor would there be an Against All Odds Foundation,” Carter said.
Good Black News
Homeless Kansas City man, Billy Ray Harris, who returned an engagement ring a woman accidentally dropped in to his cup last Friday, is reaping the benefits of the mantra “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
For Sarah Darling and husband Bill Krejci, simply thanking Billy Ray Harris (pictured) for holding on to their ring wasn’t enough. Nor was giving the homeless man all the money they had the day he returned it to them. So days later, they decided to step it up, starting a financial support campaign for Harris.
“My wife was interviewed, and I noticed that on some websites people were asking how they could help Billy Ray,” Krecjci told the New York Daily News. “That’s when I got the idea to start the campaign.”
Krejci went to fundraising site Give Forward and started a donation’s page for Harris, which will remain active for the next 90 days. As of Tuesday evening, the page has garnered almost $14,000. “A couple of days ago we noticed it was really starting to gain traction,” Nate St. Pierre, GiveForward’s director Of communications, told the News. “He (Krejci) put the goal at $1,000, and had no idea it would get so big.”
Darrell Wallace, Jr., driver of the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, poses with the Coors Pole award after qualifying for pole position for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East American Real TV 150 at Dover International Speedway on September 28, 2012 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Darrell Wallace Jr., is set to make history as only the fourth black driver with a full-time ride in a NASCAR series. Wallace takes the wheel for the Truck Series race Friday at Daytona International Speedway. He is signed with Joe Gibbs Racing and will drive the No. 54 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Wallace joins Wendell Scott, Willy T. Ribbs and Bill Lester as the only full-time black drivers in the 65-year history of NASCAR. Scott, one of the original pioneers, is the only black driver to win a race. Wallace, the son of a white father and black mother, openly talks of becoming the Tiger Woods of NASCAR. He wants to become a star who can transcend the sport and prove people of all colors can race.
Copyright 2013 Dan Gelston, The Associated Press via thegrio.com
One of the earliest writings of Jupiter Hammon, the first African-American poet to be published, has been found. Born into slavery in Long Island, New York, he was allowed to explore his master’s library. Hammon went on to publish his first work, “An Evening Thought,” in 1760.
Julie McCown, a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Arlington, was researching several libraries for a particular poem and found success at Manuscripts and Archives at Yale University Library in Connecticut. The poem, published in 1786, is telling of Hammon’s evolved thoughts on slavery in America, according to Cedrick May, a UTA professor.
Julie McCown, a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Arlington, was researching several libraries for a particular poem and found success at Manuscripts and Archives at Yale University Library in Connecticut. The poem, published in 1786, is telling of Hammon’s evolved thoughts on slavery in America, according to Cedrick May, a UTA professor.
Sheri Crawley’s inspiration for a day for brown skin girls came from her daughters Laila, 8, (left) and Aliya, 6 (right). Photos/Sheri Crawley (Courtesy Photo)
After relocating to a Midwest suburban neighborhood in 2010, Sheri Crawley’s noticed a change in her bubbly, energetic and confident daughter Laila. Her daughter began attending kindergarten at predominantly White school and began longing for long, blonde hair like her classmates. Crawley, who has read several studies about skin bias such as the 1940s Doll Test by Dr. Kenneth and Mamie Clark, where young Black children thought White dolls were prettier than darker skinned dolls, knew she had to curtail her daughter’s perception of her brown skin.
“We can’t pretend skin tones don’t matter in our country. Girls on an everyday basis are dealing with issues in their classrooms and even in their relationships,” said Crawley. “We have so few representations of women in a positive light. We need to have a discussion now with our children.” After praying and seeking direction from God, Crawley said she and her husband set out to create a doll for their daughters that would celebrate their appearance and heritage. The result is the Pretty Brown Girl Doll.
“As we look at the state of Black America, we are further away now than we have ever been to our culture, our ethnicity and our ancestry,” said Crawley. “It’s time to get back to the basics and really celebrate it.” Since the release of the first doll, the Crawley family has expanded Pretty Brown Girl to books-journals such as “My First Day of School” by Sherri Crawley, baby gear, Obama T-shirts, wristbands, pledge cards and curriculum-based workshops held by groups across the country.
This month, the Pretty Brown Girl Foundation is gearing up to launch the first International Pretty Brown Skin Day set for Feb. 23. That day is to be a day of empowerment and encouragement designed to help young girls appreciate their varying and diverse complexions and skin tones while the develop self-esteem and confidence.
“We can’t pretend skin tones don’t matter in our country. Girls on an everyday basis are dealing with issues in their classrooms and even in their relationships,” said Crawley. “We have so few representations of women in a positive light. We need to have a discussion now with our children.” After praying and seeking direction from God, Crawley said she and her husband set out to create a doll for their daughters that would celebrate their appearance and heritage. The result is the Pretty Brown Girl Doll.
“As we look at the state of Black America, we are further away now than we have ever been to our culture, our ethnicity and our ancestry,” said Crawley. “It’s time to get back to the basics and really celebrate it.” Since the release of the first doll, the Crawley family has expanded Pretty Brown Girl to books-journals such as “My First Day of School” by Sherri Crawley, baby gear, Obama T-shirts, wristbands, pledge cards and curriculum-based workshops held by groups across the country.
This month, the Pretty Brown Girl Foundation is gearing up to launch the first International Pretty Brown Skin Day set for Feb. 23. That day is to be a day of empowerment and encouragement designed to help young girls appreciate their varying and diverse complexions and skin tones while the develop self-esteem and confidence.
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials, MJ, was born on February 17, 1963 and is a six-time NBA champion as well as six-time MVP with the Chicago Bulls. He is currently the majority owner and chairman of the Charlotte Bobcats and is considered the greatest basketball player of all time. Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
To learn more about his life and career, click here and to watch him in action, click on the video below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bDKq4O8bhc&w=560&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Members of the Morehouse College 2002 graduating class sing their school song during commencement ceremonies May 19, 2002 in Atlanta. (Photo by Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images)
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — A White House official says President Barack Obama will deliver the commencement address at all-male Morehouse College in Atlanta this spring. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is among the historically black institution’s alumni. Commencement is scheduled for May 19.
Obama typically speaks each spring at a handful of college and university commencement ceremonies, including at one of the military service academies. Last year, he spoke at commencement ceremonies at all-female Barnard College in New York.
The White House official declined to speak for the record because the schedule of Obama’s commencement speeches has not been released. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported on Obama’s address at Morehouse.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press article by Darlene Superville via thegrio.com
Soon, officials from digital game creators EA Sports, Activision and many others may beat a path to the doors of the Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School, especially if the school continues to turn our prodigies like first-grader Zora Ball.
Ball has become the youngest individual to create a full version of a mobile application video game, which she unveiled last month in the University of Pennsylvania’s Bodek Lounge during the university’s “Bootstrap Expo.” Seven-year-old Ball has also become a master of the Bootstrap programming language, and when asked, Ball was able to reconfigure her application on the fly using Bootstrap.
Actress Jennifer Beals attends the 5th Annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel on February 23, 2012 in Beverly Hills
ABC will see an “L Word” reunion on its new Romeo & Juliet-esque drama pilot “Venice.” The Showtime series’ star Jennifer Beals has signed on for a lead, while creator/executive producer Ilene Chaiken has come on board as executive producer/showrunner, according to Deadline.
“Venice” is a soap about the haves and the have-nots of California’s most seductive city, Venice. It focuses on two rival families and a forbidden and dangerous romance emerging between them as they battle for control of Venice. Beals will play Lisa Carver, the elegant bohemian matriarch of the Carver family, one of the two feuding clans. McG is directing the pilot.
article via eurweb.com
Prince will play three headline shows at the Montreux Jazz Festival this July, for what will be the famous fest’s first edition since its founder Claude Nobs passed away. The master musician will perform over the three nights of July 13, 14 and 15, organizers of the Swiss music event have announced. Montreux is familiar turf for Prince. He first played at the fest in 2007 and returned in 2009, when he delivered two shows in the same evening.
Prince recently returned to the spotlight with the new track “Screwdriver,” and he was on hand at the Grammy Awards to present Gotye and Kimbra with the Record of the Year trophy. On May 19, Prince will receive the Icon Award and perform at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards.
Prince Returns with ‘Screwdriver’ Song: Listen
The Montreux Jazz Festival is entering a new era without its founder and former GM Claude Nobs, who died in January after sustaining injuries from a fall while cross-country skiing on Christmas Eve. Just months earlier, he’d stepped away from the event he created back in 1967. The 47th Montreux Jazz Festival runs from July 5-20. The full line-up will be unveiled April 18.
article by Lars Brandle via billboard.com
Prince Returns with ‘Screwdriver’ Song: Listen
The Montreux Jazz Festival is entering a new era without its founder and former GM Claude Nobs, who died in January after sustaining injuries from a fall while cross-country skiing on Christmas Eve. Just months earlier, he’d stepped away from the event he created back in 1967. The 47th Montreux Jazz Festival runs from July 5-20. The full line-up will be unveiled April 18.
article by Lars Brandle via billboard.com