Soledad smacks down Grassley for linking assault weapons to ‘black-on-black violence’ | The Raw Story

Soledad smacks down Grassley for linking assault weapons to ‘black-on-black violence’ | The Raw Story: CNN host Soledad O’Brien on Thursday scolded Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and told him he should know better than to try to link assault weapons to “black violence on blacks” because most recent mass killings had been carried out by white men.

Following National Rifle Association chief Wayne LaPierre’s Wednesday testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he opposed universal background checks at gun shows, O’Brien asked Grassley why not support something that seemed like an obvious part of the solution.

Grassley argued that universal background checks would burden people trying to buy a gun on Sunday.

Affirmative Action Bans Impact Minority Enrollment in Postgraduate STEM Fields - Higher Education

Affirmative Action Bans Impact Minority Enrollment in Postgraduate STEM Fields - Higher Education: While economic interests rely on increased enrollment in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, the thrust toward minorities pursuing technical degrees—particularly postgraduate degrees—has become an even larger priority. However, the voter-bans on affirmative action may prevent the rise of a diverse STEM field, according to a recent study.

After the U.S. Supreme Court case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, researchers published an influx of data, pointing to the declining enrollment number of minorities at graduate schools where affirmative action is banned. Amid such data, the number of minority students present in postgraduate education was even lower at schools with bans. The study, only focusing on subjects including natural sciences, engineering and social sciences, found a 2 percent decrease in minority enrollment within each subject.

Scholar’s Analysis Details Rapid Growth of Latinos in K-12, College Populations - Higher Education

Scholar’s Analysis Details Rapid Growth of Latinos in K-12, College Populations - Higher Education: Between 2010 and 2011, a surge in the population of 18- to 24-year-old Latino students attending U.S. colleges resulted in Hispanics becoming the largest minority group enrolled at four-year institutions.



In a College Board webinar entitled “Education Demographics with a Latino Focus” on Tuesday, Dr. Mark Hugo Lopez, the associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center research organization, analyzed the 2010-2011 surge and other demographic trends to paint a picture of the overall growth of Latinos in American education and society. The presentation was drawn from three recent reports released by the Washington-based research center, which had documented “statistical portraits of Hispanics in the U.S., technology use among Hispanics, and unauthorized immigrants and the impact of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)” executive order.

Acting White Theory: Black Academic Achievement Based on Other Factors

Acting White Theory: Black Academic Achievement Based on Other Factors: Do black students purposefully underachieve because they attribute being smart to "acting white"? For more than a decade, academics, policymakers and cultural critics have publicly chided black children for having an anti-intellectual attitude, based on the "Acting White Theory."

The Acting White Theory originated in the 1980s with Dr. John Ogbu's ethnographic research and is commonly used to explain present-day "achievement gaps" between black and white students. Today the Acting White Theory has its own Wikipedia entry and was mentioned by then-Sen. Barack Obama in 2004, when he said, "Children can't achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white."

The Acting White Theory seems to have particular cachet among flatulent black people who feel a certain disdain toward the less refined (pejoratively "ghetto") aspects of the black community. Many of them have been called "sellouts," which reinforces a key tenet of the Acting White Theory. Other scholars, such as Edward Rhymes and Michael Eric Dyson, push back against the theory. In his book Acting White?

Drop the I-Word. Don't call people "illegals." Sign the Pledge.

Drop the I-Word. Don't call people "illegals." Sign the Pledge.: Drop the I-Word is a public education campaign powered by immigrants and diverse communities across the country that value human dignity and are working to eradicate the dehumanizing slur "illegals" from everyday use and public discourse. The i-word opens the door to racial profiling and violence and prevents truthful, respectful debate on immigration. No human being is "illegal."

Two offensive names that need to be changed - The Washington Post

Two offensive names that need to be changed - The Washington Post: Washington Redskins, meet Negro Mountain.
One is the name of our hometown football team; the other a mountain ridge that stretches from Western Maryland into Pennsylvania. One name is patently offensive to a large majority of Native Americans; the other name overwhelmingly rejected by African Americans.

After decades of fighting separately to change each name, perhaps the time has come for African American and Native American leaders to take a unified stand against this common problem. No name rooted in systemic efforts to dehumanize can be accepted as a so-called honorific by any of us.

When lobbying to change the name of the mountain begins in the Maryland General Assembly and debate over a resolution to change the name starts in the Pennsylvania legislature, Native Americans should lend their support. And when the National Museum of the American Indian holds a conference Feb. 7 on the name “Redskins,” enlightened African Americans should show up in solidarity.

Black History Month | Literacy Calendar | Reading Rockets

Black History Month | Literacy Calendar | Reading Rockets: February is Black History Month and an ideal time to learn about and recognize the contributions and history of African Americans. We've gathered some great resources you can share with students in February or any day.

 

Black History Month - The Origins of Black History Month

Black History Month - The Origins of Black History Month: What we now call Black History Month originated in 1926, founded by Carter G Woodson as Negro History Week. The month of February was selected in deference to Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln who were both born in that month.

Carter G Woodson

The son of a slave, Carter G Woodson was born in New Canton, Virginia on December 19, 1875. He began high school at the age of 20 and then proceeded to study at Berea College, the University of Chicago, the Sorbonne, and Harvard University, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1912. Carter G Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 to train Black historians and to collect, preserve, and publish documents on Black life and Black people. He also founded the Journal of Negro History (1916), Associated Publishers (1922), and the Negro Bulletin (1937). Woodson spent his life working to educate all people about the vast contributions made by Black men and women throughout history. Mr. Woodson died on April 3, 1950 and Black History Month is his legacy.

Smithsonian Education - Heritage Month Event Calendar

Smithsonian Education - Heritage Month Event Calendar

'Learning Community' Nebraska Program Brings Diversity To Some Highly Segregated Public Schools

'Learning Community' Nebraska Program Brings Diversity To Some Highly Segregated Public Schools: OMAHA, Neb. -- Fifth-grader Alyx has trouble naming the "absolute coolest" thing about Wilson Focus School, part of an innovative educational model called the Learning Community that provides students opportunities to attend diverse schools in highly segregated areas.

Alyx says it's not just the snakes and other reptiles, not just the "totally amazing and beautiful" Australian blue-tongued skink caged in her classroom. It's not just her teacher, Mr. Mitchell, "who is so great, who is the best." And it's not just her friend Nolan who is "funny and kind." But Alyx, who is white and lives in the suburbs, and Nolan, who is African American and lives in Omaha, agree that one of the "coolest" things is as Alyx says, "There are kids from all over. Everywhere."

Well, not quite everywhere. But unlike the typical school in this highly segregated region, or the typical school in many still-segregated communities across the country, Wilson Focus School reaches across two counties to bring together students from a mix of racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds. Yet, even with its well-documented successes, the Learning Community is being threatened by public officials who question the value of the diversity it brings.

Top Conservatives Run PAC That Funded White Nationalists | Mother Jones

Top Conservatives Run PAC That Funded White Nationalists | Mother Jones: Two prominent conservative movement officials who hold leadership positions for several right-wing groups—Ron Robinson and James B. Taylor—run a political action committee that donated thousands of dollars to a white nationalist organization, according to public records. And for several years Taylor was vice president of another white nationalist organization.

Robinson and Taylor are each board members of Young America's Foundation (YAF), which cofounded the annual Conservative Political Action Conference and runs the conservative youth group Young Americans for Freedom. (YAF owns and manages the Ronald Reagan Ranch, trains conservative journalists, and calls itself "the principle outreach organization of the Conservative Movement.") And Robinson, YAF's president, is on the board of two other conservative groups: Citizens United, which brought the landmark Supreme Court case of the same name, and the American Conservative Union, which operates CPAC.

A Special Tribute to the Unsung Heroes and Heroines of College Sports - Higher Education

A Special Tribute to the Unsung Heroes and Heroines of College Sports - Higher Education: Many are familiar with the work of organizations such as Black Coaches and Administrators and the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, which serve as policing organizations to monitor the NCAA’s commitment to diversity in hiring as well as athletic programs’ commitment to academics, respectively. But rarely is the time taken to salute the unsung heroes and heroines of college sports, who, day in and day out, busy themselves with opening the doors through which others metaphorically run, dribble, catch and score on their way to glory, fame and acclaim.

Often, these behind-the-scenes icons are not seeking applause and accolades. Any who stand witness to the positive changes, including unprecedented new opportunities on the diversity front, sincerely appreciate their invaluable contributions to collegiate athletics. Their stellar examples serve as inspiration for the tenacity and fortitude that will be needed in the battles that lie ahead.

Join us as we salute these impactful sports figures who have advocated for and led the charge toward diversity and who have left positive and indelible marks on the world of college sports.

Prince George’s Co. school lets Muslim students out of class to pray

Prince George’s Co. school lets Muslim students out of class to pray: The growing number of Muslim students seeking accommodations to practice their religion in public schools has stirred debate about the long-contentious issue of prayer in America’s public institutions.

But a Prince George’s County high school principal believes she has found a way to accommodate Muslim students: She gives those with parental permission and high grades a pass out of class every day to pray.

At Parkdale High School, about 10 Muslim students get out of class for about eight minutes each day to pray together on campus, said Principal Cheryl J. Logan. Another student is working hard to raise his grades so he too can join the group of students, who belong to the school’s chapter of the Muslim Students’ Association, she said.

Longtime Baltimore City Del. Hattie Harrison dies at 84 - baltimoresun.com

Longtime Baltimore City Del. Hattie Harrison dies at 84 - baltimoresun.com: Del. Hattie Harrison, the longest-serving current member of the House of Delegates, died Monday night, House Speaker Michael E. Busch announced. She was 84.

Harrison, a Democrat who represented East Baltimore's 45th District since 1973, served until recently as chairman of the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee. She was the first African-American woman to chair a legislative committee in Maryland, holding that position 33 years until being named chairman emeritus this year.

The cause of death was not available Monday night.

Born in Lancaster, S.C, Harrison attended Baltimore public schools and was a graduate of Antioch College. Busch's office said she was a school teacher for much of her life.

Harris-Perry: Schools targeted for closure have ‘predominantly minority kids’ | The Raw Story

Harris-Perry: Schools targeted for closure have ‘predominantly minority kids’ | The Raw Story: On Melissa Harris-Perry on Sunday, she and a panel of journalists and advocates discussed the closure of underperforming schools in the country.

Harris-Perry said that there were discussions of closing “17 in NYC, 37 in Philadelphia, 15 in Washington, D.C., and possibly as many as 15 or more in Chicago.”

“The catch?” she asked. “The vast majority of them are filled with children who are predominantly minority kids and from low-income families.”


On Tuesday, “students, parents, and advocacy representatives from 18 major cities are taking their case to the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. Their argument: those who decide which schools to close are unfairly targeting poor and mostly African American schools. And that constitutes a civil rights violation.”

Zakiyah Ansari, advocacy director for Alliance for Quality Education, called it an “epidemic.”
The coalition wants a national moratorium on school closings and colocations, to meet with President Obama to discuss the issue, and to develop a solution for a “sustainable success model” that goes “against the grain of everything that’s happening in education reform.”

Dartmouth’s unresearched swipes at AP - Class Struggle - The Washington Post

Dartmouth’s unresearched swipes at AP - Class Struggle - The Washington Post: Most college professors rightly consider themselves part of an elite. They have doctorates. They have tenure. They’re special.

Few professors objected when the College Board’s Advanced Placement program began in 1955. It granted college credit for good grades on college-level courses taught only at elite high schools such as Exeter, Bronx Science and New Trier. Many professors’ views of AP have diminished now that the program is in more than 60 percent of U.S. high schools, including many where most of the students are low-income and low-achieving.

College professors tell me they don’t believe AP teachers can match the erudition and depth of published experts in their fields, like themselves. When I point out that many of the high school teachers they are complaining about have more experience and more demonstrated success teaching introductory college courses to teenagers than they do, they change the subject.

New MOOC Expands Civil Rights Instruction - Higher Education

New MOOC Expands Civil Rights Instruction - Higher Education: Civil rights historian and award-winning author Taylor Branch is on a mission to make the Civil Rights Movement more prominent in higher education—and he’s teaching a new MOOC on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to do it.

“I’m hoping the Internet technology will open (courses) up at a cheaper cost for students from all over the place to have access to this history,” said Branch, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the newly-released “The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement.”

The 190-page book—a “guided distillation” of Branch’s longer trilogy on the King years—is the basis of a new course Branch is teaching this semester at the University of Baltimore through a small-group honors seminar that is also being offered on a trial basis as a MOOC, or Massive Open Online Course.

'American Idol' Racism? 9 Black Ex-Contestants Plan To Sue Fox Show For Prejudice (REPORT)

'American Idol' Racism? 9 Black Ex-Contestants Plan To Sue Fox Show For Prejudice (REPORT): Nine black, former "American Idol" contestants have reportedly accused the Fox series of racism and are planning to sue.

TMZ obtained a letter submitted to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by New York attorney James Freeman, requesting permission to sue Fox and the show on behalf of his nine clients. In the letter, Freeman claims there is a racist pattern in the "Idol" disqualification process.

Freeman alleges that only nine "Idol" contestants had been publicly disqualified since the show debuted in 2002, and all happened to be black. He claims the show enacted a "cruel and inhumane" scheme, which included background checks and arrest inquiries, to humiliate the contestants on live TV and perpetuate "destructive stereotypes" that made his clients appear to be "violent criminals, liars and sexual deviants."

Efren Marquez & Jeffrey Aguilar, Latino Gang Members, Arrested For Alleged Hate Crimes

Efren Marquez & Jeffrey Aguilar, Latino Gang Members, Arrested For Alleged Hate Crimes: Three Latino men have been arrested in suspicion of a terrifying hate crime committed against an African-American family. The suspects allegedly brought 15 to 20 gang members to surround the house, telling the family that it couldn't live in the predominantly Latino neighborhood.

Jeffrey Aguilar, 19, Efren Marquez, 21, and a teenage juvenile were arrested on Jan. 24 for committing the alleged hate crime in Compton, Los Angeles, according to the LA Sheriff's Department.

Shortly after an African-American family moved onto 154th Street, one of the male family members, while walking home on Dec. 31, was approached by four Latino men in an SUV.

Vernon Dobson, civil rights leader - baltimoresun.com

Vernon Dobson, civil rights leader - baltimoresun.com: The Rev. Vernon Dobson, a Baptist minister and civil rights leader died Saturday of complications of a stroke. He was 89.

As a leading figure in Baltimore's civil rights movement, Mr. Dobson lived a life molded by the struggle for equality — a struggle he continued into his last years — and as a pastor who believed that the church should play an important part in the fight.

Campaigning took a hold on Mr. Dobson's life early on. Talking to The Baltimore Sun in 1998, he described demonstrating against segregation as a young child with his mother in the 1930s.

"My mother fired the fuel of dissent in me," he said. "Every Saturday morning, a group of women would go to Pennsylvania Avenue to protest. And sometimes they would take us with them."

Education Dept. Clarifies Law on Disabled Students’ Access to Sports - NYTimes.com

Education Dept. Clarifies Law on Disabled Students’ Access to Sports - NYTimes.com: The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights clarified legal obligations Friday for school districts in providing access to sports for students with disabilities.

The guidance concerns Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a law that deals with the rights of disabled people who participate in activities that receive federal dollars.

A school district “is required to provide a qualified student with a disability an opportunity to benefit from the school district’s program equal to that of students without disabilities,” according to the Education Department.

Advocates for disabled athletes, some of whom have pressed legal claims against state athletic associations in recent years, praised the clarification of rules and said that as a result, participation for disabled athletes could rise.

Maryland State Police must turn over racial profiling complaints to NAACP - baltimoresun.com

Maryland State Police must turn over racial profiling complaints to NAACP - baltimoresun.com: The state's top court has ruled that the State Police must give the NAACP access to internal affairs files on racial profiling complaints.

The civil rights group requested the documents under the Maryland Public Information Act but the police denied the request, saying the records were protected personnel files. The state's top court rejected that argument, agreeing with a Baltimore County court that if the identifying information is redacted the information could be shared.

Gerald Stansbury, the president of the Maryland branch of the NAACP, said the ruling by the Maryland Court of Appeals will help keep the police accountable.

"It's important because it lets us know that when these kinds of complaints are filed that they are taken seriously," he said.

The State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stansbury said the redactions will not be a problem because the NAACP has enough of its own information on the complaints to fill in the blanks.

The Original Slave Colony: Barbados and Andrea Stuart’s ‘Sugar in the Blood’ - The Daily Beast

The Original Slave Colony: Barbados and Andrea Stuart’s ‘Sugar in the Blood’ - The Daily Beast: On the face of it, what happened in the tiny island of Barbados 400 years ago seems irrelevant to Americans today. Even now, the island matters to Americans for perhaps one reason: the weather—it’s a popular tourist getaway. But in her exceptional new book, Sugar in the Blood: A Family’s Story of Slavery and Empire, Andrea Stuart insists Barbados, with its long history of slavery, matters more than we know.

“I wanted to take slavery out of its niche,” she said. “It’s not a black story, it’s not a white story. I want to remind people that this story belongs to us all.” Slavery and its legacy—race—still shape our world. But more specifically, the creation of Barbados, the British empire’s earliest, most profitable settlement in the New World, provided the blueprint for all its future slave colonies: South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, you name it.

In Court, N.A.A.C.P. Adds Voice Against Bloomberg’s Soda Ban - NYTimes.com

In Court, N.A.A.C.P. Adds Voice Against Bloomberg’s Soda Ban - NYTimes.com: As the American soft-drink industry argued its case in court on Wednesday against Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s restrictions on sugary drink sizes, a prominent local group stood by its side: the New York chapter of the N.A.A.C.P.

The obesity rate for African-Americans in New York City is higher than the city average, and city health department officials say minority neighborhoods would be among the key beneficiaries of a rule that would limit the sale of super-size, calorie-laden beverages. 

But the N.A.A.C.P. has close ties to big soft-drink companies, particularly Coca-Cola, whose longtime Atlanta law firm, King & Spalding, wrote the amicus brief filed by the civil rights group in support of a lawsuit aimed at blocking Mr. Bloomberg’s soda rules, which are set to take effect in March. 

Coca-Cola has also donated tens of thousands of dollars to a health education program, Project HELP, developed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The brief describes that program, but not the financial contributions of the beverage company. The brief was filed jointly with another organization, the Hispanic Federation, whose former president, Lillian Rodríguez López, recently took a job at Coca-Cola.

Idle No More Brings Native Voices, Tribal Education to the Forefront - Higher Education

Idle No More Brings Native Voices, Tribal Education to the Forefront - Higher Education: Like many Natives and our allies across our Grandmother Earth, Unci Maka, I have joined the Idle No More movement, attending round dance gatherings, praying for Chief Theresa Spence and her supporters, sharing the stories I hear and read and perusing news and opinion pieces. Like many indigenous people, I am acutely aware that our voices in the mainstream of American, Canadian and Central and South American societies are often unheard, and that we appear silent when in fact our voices are singing out with stories of our lives. Defining this movement is our responsibility. Each of us should learn about this movement and find our own place in it. We can add our voices to songs of our relatives and allies across the earth.

The new calendar year can be a time of renewal and recommitment for many — but for most Native people, our annual calendar is seasonal or ceremonial, related to the changes of our Grandmother Earth or the rituals of our people. For me, the year goes from summer to summer, from the time of sun dances to the next sun dances. I know that measuring time in this manner comes from my identity. We may adopt the calendar year and New Year celebrations, but we find our renewal as tribal people in the seasons and rituals of our people.

With Focus on Diversity, Jackson State to Open Satellite Campus - Higher Education

With Focus on Diversity, Jackson State to Open Satellite Campus - Higher Education: In a move expected to increase its student diversity, Jackson State University, one of three historically Black universities in Mississippi, will open a satellite campus in a predominantly White city. The school says the expansion, which is partly aimed at helping the university fulfill a court-mandated desegregation order, is set for campus space in the nearby city of Madison, Miss. and classes may begin as early as this summer.

Last week, the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) trustee board agreed to a 10-year, $1.518 million lease agreement on behalf of Jackson State University (JSU) for 8,600 square feet at an office complex on Galleria Parkway in Madison. The location provides JSU “greater potential to increase other race enrollment, thus allowing the university to come closer to attaining its 10 percent Ayers minority enrollment status,” according to an IHL report.

“Diversity is part of our DNA. We would hope that we would get a diverse population there [in Madison],” says Eric Stringfellow, the JSU director of communications.

Hans Massaquoi dies at 87; wrote of growing up black in Nazi Germany - latimes.com

Hans Massaquoi dies at 87; wrote of growing up black in Nazi Germany - latimes.com: Hans Massaquoi, a former managing editor of Ebony magazine who wrote a distinctive memoir about his unusual childhood growing up black in Nazi Germany, died in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday, his 87th birthday.

He had been hospitalized over the Christmas holidays, said his son, Hans J. Massaquoi Jr.

Inspired by the late Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," Massaquoi decided to share his experience of being "both an insider in Nazi Germany and, paradoxically, an endangered outsider." His autobiography, "Destined to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany," was published in the U.S. in 1999, followed by a German translation.

National high school graduation rates at a four-decade high - The Washington Post

National high school graduation rates at a four-decade high - The Washington Post: The percentage of students at public high schools who graduate on time has reached its highest level in nearly 40 years, according to the most recent federal government estimates released Tuesday.

Based on data collected from the states for the Class of 2010, the National Center for Education Statistics estimated that 78 percent of students across the country earned a diploma within four years of starting high school. The graduation rate was last at that level in 1974, officials said.

Students in Maryland and Virginia had higher graduation rates than the national average — 82.2 percent and 81.2 percent, respectively.

The District had a lower graduation rate than all but one state, with 59.9 percent of its students graduating on time. But it is not unusual for major cities to experience a higher dropout rate and lower graduation rate than states. One study found the graduation rate for the Class of 2005 in the nation’s 50 largest cities was 53 percent, compared with 71 percent in the suburbs.

Georgia police investigating KKK recruitment flyers left before MLK Day | The Raw Story

Georgia police investigating KKK recruitment flyers left before MLK Day | The Raw Story: The Newton County Sheriff’s Department in Georgia is investigating flyers that North Carolina’s Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) say were distributed in as many as nine states on the East Coast to “counteract Martin Luther King’s birthday.”

“They need to get a life, really,” Georgia resident Hadiyah Abdul-Mateen, who received one of the flyers even though she is black, told WGCL. “I hope it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that President Obama was re-elected.”

The racist flyer received by Abdul-Mateen urged her to join the Klan because “Our Aryan Heritage, Our American Culture, Our Christian Religion, Our White Homelands” were under attack by the so-called Zionist Occupied Government (ZOG).

Tribal Colleges in NM Seek Scholarship Eligibility - Higher Education

Tribal Colleges in NM Seek Scholarship Eligibility - Higher Education: Tribal colleges in New Mexico want their students to have the same eligibility for the state’s lottery scholarships as students attending state colleges and universities.

Tribal colleges also want the same so-called “dual credit” reimbursements that other public higher education institutions get from the state for courses that count for both high school and college credit.

Presidents of three of the schools are seeking legislative action to approve both changes, the Albuquerque Journal ( http://bit.ly/UOhegX) reported.

Bob Martin, president of the Institute of American Indian Arts, said many students who want to stay home and attend tribal colleges end up going to state institutions instead for lottery scholarship eligibility.

A lottery scholarship pays for 100 percent of tuition for eight semesters for students who keep a minimum 2.5 grade point average.

Despite Great Strides, HBCUs and NCAA-Recognized Athletic Conferences Face Challenges - Higher Education

Despite Great Strides, HBCUs and NCAA-Recognized Athletic Conferences Face Challenges - Higher Education: In 1912, nine college administrators gathered on the campus of Hampton Institute to discuss collegiate athletics at Black institutions of higher learning. The result of this meeting was the formation of the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the first athletic conference designated for Black collegiate sports.

A century later, the CIAA (now the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association) is still around and is one of four NCAA-recognized conferences made up completely or predominantly of historically Black colleges and universities. The others include: the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, formed in 1913; the Southwestern Athletic Conference, formed in 1920; and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, formed in 1970.

At the time, the formation of an athletic league composed specifically of institutions designed for African-Americans made sense, if only as an extension of the logic that formed HBCUs in the first place. African-Americans were shunned from all of mainstream American life in the early part of the 20th century. And in the South, where the majority of Black colleges and universities were located, the Black community may as well have been on another planet.

Group Finds Texas Admissions Policy Does Not Lead to Increased Diversity - Higher Education

Group Finds Texas Admissions Policy Does Not Lead to Increased Diversity - Higher Education: The Texas law that guarantees admission into a public university for students who graduate in the top ten percent of their high school class “lives up to some of the expectations of its proponents,” but there is little evidence that the law leads to notable increases in diversity.

That is one of the key findings of a new study released this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research, or NBER.

The study, titled Tracing the Effects of Guaranteed Admission Through the College Process: Evidence from a Policy Discontinuity in the Texas 10% Plan, also found little evidence that the law leads to “mismatched” students from relatively weak high schools crowding out more “deserving” students from higher quality high schools.

“The policy may increase diversity — versus having no policy — and does not seem to be bringing students to campus who then struggle and fail out of school,” one of the study’s authors, Jason Fletcher, associate professor of health policy at Yale University, told Diverse.

HBCUs Increase International Presence by Hosting 1,000 Brazilian Students - Higher Education

HBCUs Increase International Presence by Hosting 1,000 Brazilian Students - Higher Education: In order to support the partnership between the United States and Brazil, referred to as the Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination (JAPER), the Brazilian government has agreed to send approximately 1,000 students to several of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities. As a result, selected HBCUs are preparing efforts to accommodate an average of 30 to 50 students to be admitted into each selected school for the 2013 fall semester.

Brazil, a country that shares a similar historical past to the United States as a hub for transported African slaves, relies heavily on affirmative action within the education system. Facing many of the same social and economic disparities that minorities in the United States endure, the Brazilian government established the JAPER agreement in 2008 to initiate an interagency that would share resources between commercial, economic and educational efforts. Along with the JAPER agreement was the formation of the HBCU-Brazilian alliance, which recognized the social and economic challenges for Afro-Brazilian students.

Sherrilyn Ifill is to be head of NAACP’s legal defense and educational fund - The Washington Post

Sherrilyn Ifill is to be head of NAACP’s legal defense and educational fund - The Washington Post: The presence of Thurgood Marshall is almost palpable as Sherrilyn Ifill surveys the stately wood paneling, the brown leather chairs in this classroom at the University of Maryland law school. Ifill has been a law professor at the Baltimore campus for 20 years — an achievement made possible by the late Supreme Court justice’s work.

As a young lawyer, Marshall, who lived just blocks away, sued the law school for denying entry to students of color. He prevailed, paving the way for generations of African American lawyers such as Ifill.

On Tuesday, soon after the first black president was sworn in for a second time on the holiday set aside for remembrance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Ifill walked further along the path paved by Marshall, taking the reins of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). Marshall founded and led LDF to landmark court victories against school segregation and other forms of racial discrimination.

DNA study traces ancestry of Native Americans to Beijing | The Raw Story

DNA study traces ancestry of Native Americans to Beijing | The Raw Story: Present-day Asians and Native Americans are descended from a group of people who were already in China 40,000 years ago, according to an analysis of fossil DNA published this week.

The genetic analysis showed that the early modern humans in Beijing had already diverged genetically from the ancestors of modern-day Europeans.

The researchers took nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from a leg bone found in the Tianyuan Cave in China in 2003.

Using this, they reconstructed the genetic profile of the leg’s owner, a person who lived at a very interesting time in the history of modern humans, the researchers said in a statement Monday.

“This individual lived during an important evolutionary transition when early modern humans, who shared certain features with earlier forms such as Neanderthals, were replacing Neanderthals and Denisovans, who later became extinct,” said lead author Svante Paabo, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

10 Things You May Not Have Known About Martin Luther King Jr.

10 Things You May Not Have Known About Martin Luther King Jr.: Today is a historic day! As we celebrate the second-term of the country's first black president, we simultaneously remember the incredible life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

There's no doubt that we know a lot about the legendary Civil Rights icon, but there are indeed some facts that have slipped under the radar. In honor of Martin Luther King Day, we've rounded up 10 facts you may not have known about the iconic figure.

MLK Day 2013: Nation To Honor Martin Luther King Jr. As Obama Is Inaugurated

MLK Day 2013: Nation To Honor Martin Luther King Jr. As Obama Is Inaugurated: The nation was honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday – the same day it celebrated the inauguration of the first black president to his second term.

A quirk in the calendar pushed President Barack Obama's public swearing-in in Washington onto the national holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader.

In Atlanta, an annual commemorative service was held at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached. The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference was the keynote speaker, marking the first time a Latino leader served in the role.

Latin American women face widespread violence: study | The Raw Story

Latin American women face widespread violence: study | The Raw Story: More than half of Bolivian women have suffered domestic violence, according to a report out Thursday that found such abuse widespread in Latin America, with partners usually the perpetrators.

In seven of the 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries surveyed by the Pan American Health Organization, more than one in four women reported having experienced such brutality in their lifetimes.

At 17 percent, women in the Dominican Republic reported the lowest level of domestic violence. It was followed by its neighbor Haiti, the poorest country in the region, with 19 percent.

Deferred Action Granted To More Than 150,000 Undocumented Immigrants

Deferred Action Granted To More Than 150,000 Undocumented Immigrants: The Obama administration has granted deferred action to 154,404 young undocumented immigrants, including more than 50,000 in the past month, according to data released on Friday by the Department of Homeland Security.

President Barack Obama announced in June 2012 that his administration would stop deporting some undocumented young people and instead grant them temporary work authorization and two years reprieve from deportation, a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

DHS began accepting applications Aug. 15, when thousands turned out to workshops across the country to learn how to apply, out of an estimated 1.4 million people who could be eligible for the program. As of Thursday, 407,899 undocumented young people had applied for deferred action, and 13,366 had been rejected.

Black Children Consume Sugary Drinks More Than White Peers, Study Shows

Black Children Consume Sugary Drinks More Than White Peers, Study Shows: Jan 18 (Reuters) - Black children and teens in the United States are almost twice as likely as their white peers to consume more than 500 calories a day of sugary beverages, according to a study that covered tens of thousands of people.

The results, which appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, also found a three-fold surge in the overall number of teens drinking sugar-spiked sports energy drinks.

The study comes of the heels of last year's passage of a landmark New York City ban on restaurant, concession and other venue sales of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces (473 ml)

"Some groups may be more at risk for soda, others may be more at risk for fruit drinks, all of which ... have the same sugar base that contributes to obesity and disease," said study co-author Lisa Powell, of the University of Illinois at Chicago Health Policy Center.

Black children, the study found, are more than twice as likely as whites on any given day to consume fruit drinks containing little actual fruit. Fruit juices, for example, range from 100 percent actual fruit juice to those with as little as 10 percent fruit juice and plenty of added sugars.

Baldwin-Woodville High School Student Suspended For Giving Noose, KKK Symbols To Peer

Baldwin-Woodville High School Student Suspended For Giving Noose, KKK Symbols To Peer: A student has been suspended from Baldwin-Woodville High School in Baldwin, Wis., for giving a small noose and KKK symbols to a classmate during an art class.

The male freshman placed the items, believed to be a macrame noose and miniature hat, on the desk of a female peer, who is one of three black students in the school of 450, the Star Tribune reports.

Principal Eric Russell told the paper the boy said his actions were meant to be a joke. But the girl and her family didn't find the prank funny. The 15-year-old's foster parents say they have been working to adopt her amid racist harassment.

"She has been experiencing racial comments since joining our family her eighth-grade year," foster mother Sarah Hitzeman told the Tribune. "Her freshman year stared out with students calling her 'Big Mocha' and making fun of her hair and breasts.'"

Washburn High School Students Hung Dark-Skinned Baby Doll, Posted Pictures Online

Washburn High School Students Hung Dark-Skinned Baby Doll, Posted Pictures Online: Minneapolis Public Schools officials say they are "deeply disturbed by an incident of racial intolerance" in which four students hung a dark-skinned baby doll by its neck with a piece of string at school last week.

The act was captured on Washburn High School surveillance cameras, but also documented by the students themselves. Images were then posted to social media sites.

Washburn Principal Carol Markham-Cousins notified parents of the incident n a letter to parents Wednesday, noting that she took "immediate action." The four students have been disciplined, though school officials have declined to release specific details. WCCO reports that one student has been expelled.

James Hood Dead: Man Who Defied Racial Segregation At University Of Alabama Dies At Age 70

James Hood Dead: Man Who Defied Racial Segregation At University Of Alabama Dies At Age 70: MONTGOMERY, Ala. — One of the first black students who enrolled at the University of Alabama a half century ago in defiance of racial segregation has died. James Hood of Gadsden was 70.

Officials at Adams-Buggs Funeral Home in Gadsden said they are handling arrangements for Hood, who died Thursday.

Then-Alabama Gov. George Wallace made his infamous "stand in the schoolhouse door" in a failed effort to prevent Hood and Vivian Malone from registering for classes at the university in 1963.

Hood and Malone were accompanied by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach when they were confronted by Wallace as they attempted to enter the university's Foster Auditorium to register for classes and pay fees.

Civil War hero Robert Smalls seized the opportunity to be free - The Washington Post

Civil War hero Robert Smalls seized the opportunity to be free - The Washington Post: He sat at the conference table next to Frederick Douglass as they tried to convince President Abraham Lincoln that African Americans should be allowed to fight for their own freedom. He served five terms in Congress. He ran a newspaper and helped found a state Republican Party.

But first, he had to win his freedom. 

To do that, he conceived a plan that struck a blow against the Confederacy so significant that he was heralded across the nation. Carrying out his mission required bravery, intelligence and precision timing — attributes that many whites at that time thought blacks didn’t possess.

Robert Smalls proved them wrong and changed history in the doing.

Problem Solver: Dr. Ivory A. Toldson - Higher Education

Problem Solver: Dr. Ivory A. Toldson - Higher Education: Dr. Ivory A. Toldson wasn’t a proficient reader as a youth, but he recalls that he worked hard to strengthen this deficiency.

Toldson also began challenging stereotypes against Blacks and offering solutions to improve not only the Black community, but society as a whole.

Today, Toldson is a tenured professor at Howard University, as well as a researcher, lecturer, author, writer and editor on the achievements made in the Black community.

Known as a certified “myth buster,” Toldson has written and published hundreds of articles and has spoken about the state of education for Blacks in national media outlets.

One of his main projects is the “Breaking Barriers” series that focuses on high school Black males achieving academic success, which consists of four reports published beginning in 2008, with the fourth coming out this year.The reports analyze academic success through personal, social, environmental and school-related factors, highlight how the juvenile justice system intersects with the public school system, “(challenge) the status quo” in the school system and focus on college and career readiness.

Report: National Pool of High School Graduates to Shrink, Grow More Diverse - Higher Education

Report: National Pool of High School Graduates to Shrink, Grow More Diverse - Higher Education: With a predicted decline in the number of U.S. students attending and completing high school over the next several years, the nation’s colleges and universities can expect to recruit among a smaller yet a decidedly more diverse pool of students, according to a new report.

In “Knocking at the Door: A Projection of High School Graduates,” the latest annual report by the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE), it is projected that the number of Asian American/Pacific Islander and Latino public high school graduates will markedly increase over the next several years, while coinciding with decreases among Blacks and Whites attending and completing high school. By 2020, however, minorities will make up 45 percent of U.S. public high school graduates, up from 38 percent in 2009.

“There have been two overarching story lines in the report,” which is in its eighth edition, according to Dr. Brian T. Prescott, the WICHE director of policy research and a report co-author.

Solving Kathy Mabry's Murder: Brutal 15-Year-Old Crime Highlights Decades-Long Mississippi Scandal

Solving Kathy Mabry's Murder: Brutal 15-Year-Old Crime Highlights Decades-Long Mississippi Scandal: BELZONI, Miss. -- J.D. "Bubba" Roseman, the first black sheriff of Humphreys County, is a convivial man. In his office and in casual conversations on the street in this town of 2,200, he engages people quickly and easily, inquiring about a son on the football team, a niece in college or a grandmother in the hospital. He talks loud and fast, always smiling, and works a deep, infectious laugh into just about every conversation.

But when Roseman, 57, talks about Kathy Mabry, the mirth drains from his face. His brow straightens. He speaks softly. He pauses from time to time to swallow the catch that latches onto his words, and his eyes sometimes well up. It's an unexpected thing from a stout man wearing a gun.

Mabry was murdered here in 1997 at the age of 39. This part of America once produced murder ballads about brutal crimes like this one -- blues greats like Pinetop Perkins, Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson have all called Humphreys County home.

Low Bono Life: Dr. Luz E. Herrera - Higher Education

Low Bono Life: Dr. Luz E. Herrera - Higher Education: As a young girl in the 1970s, Luz Herrera accompanied her parents to flea markets, where they sold Mexican foodstuffs. There, she sometimes overheard other working-class vendors discussing their legal problems.

Those childhood experiences have germinated into Herrera’s twin mission as a law professor, and before that, a community lawyer in a solo practice — access to justice and entrepreneurialism.

The assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, has emerged as a national leader on extending “low bono” legal services to working-class people who cannot afford to pay customary rates and don’t qualify for free legal aid because they earn too much.

Study Links Segregation and Lung Cancer Deaths in Blacks - NYTimes.com

Study Links Segregation and Lung Cancer Deaths in Blacks - NYTimes.com: African-Americans who live in highly segregated counties are considerably more likely to die from lung cancer than those in counties that are less segregated, a new study has found.

The study was the first to look at segregation as a factor in lung cancer mortality. Its authors said they could not fully explain why it worsens the odds of survival for African-Americans, but hypothesized that blacks in more segregated areas may be less likely to have health insurance or access to health care and specialty doctors. It is also possible that lower levels of education mean they are less likely to seek care early, when medical treatment could make a big difference. Racial bias in the health care system might also be a factor.

“If you want to learn about someone’s health, follow him home,” said Dr. Awori J. Hayanga, a heart and lung surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who was the lead author of the study.

Call for Nominations: Know a Creative Science or Math Teacher? | PBS NewsHour

Call for Nominations: Know a Creative Science or Math Teacher? | PBS NewsHour: NewsHour is launching a new series highlighting science and math teachers, kindergarten through high school, across the country who are using innovative teaching methods in the classroom.

Each month, we'll publish an original video feature of a teacher who uses creativity in the classroom in order to inspire their students.

Do you know an inventive elementary school or high school teacher who's inspiring students with creative learning lessons? Nominate them here and they could be featured in our online coverage. Please contact Rebecca Jacobson if you have any questions at rjacobson@newshour.org.

AP Source: Duncan to Stay at Education Department - Higher Education

AP Source: Duncan to Stay at Education Department - Higher Education: WASHINGTON — An Education Department official says Secretary Arne Duncan will remain in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet into a second term.

The official disclosed the decision Monday on the condition of anonymity because a public announcement has not been made.

Duncan, a former head of Chicago public schools, was widely expected to stick around. He is a former college basketball player who often joins Obama on the court.

During his first term, Duncan put in place the Race to the Top program that encouraged schools to compete for education dollars. Duncan’s department also gave most states exemptions to the No Child Left Behind law when it became clear that they would not be able to meet the requirement that all students be proficient at grade level in math and reading by 2014.

Study: Parental Support Sends Down College GPA - Higher Education

Study: Parental Support Sends Down College GPA - Higher Education: Parents who are footing more of the college tuition bill for their children give them a better chance of graduating. But a surprising new study finds they may not be doing them any favors in another area as generous financial support appears to lead to lower grades.

The study, published in this month’s American Sociological Review, suggests students with some of their own “skin in the game” may work harder, and that students with parents picking up more of the tab are free to take on a more active social and extracurricular life. That may be fun and even worthwhile, but comes at a cost to GPA.

“It allows for a lot of other activities in college that aren’t academic,” said author Laura Hamilton of the University of California, Merced. “Participation in the social scene is expensive money to hang out, drink.” But “the more you have all these extras, the more you can get dragged into the party scene, and that will drag down your GPA.”

A Passion from the Philippines: Dr. Ethel Nicdao - Higher Education

A Passion from the Philippines: Dr. Ethel Nicdao - Higher Education: Dr. Ethel Nicdao was a late bloomer when it came to choosing her field. In her junior year at the University of California, Davis, she took a seminar taught by Dr. Debora Paterniti, who was on Nicdao’s dissertation committee at the University of New Mexico years later.

“It exposed me to this very exciting field that I honestly didn’t know existed. I didn’t realize there were other ways to look at medicine and health,” says Nicdao, an associate professor at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Her work in medical sociology includes the study of health disparities, mental health, physician and patient interactions, access and delivery of health care services, quality of care and chronic illness. Her research explores low-income rural communities and focuses on Asian-Americans, who researchers say are insufficiently studied by the social sciences.

Her research is connected to her “lived experience,” says Nicdao, whose family immigrated to San Francisco from the Philippines when she was 8 years old.

Junot Diaz is finalist for short story prize

Junot Diaz is finalist for short story prize: NEW YORK — Junot (JOO'-noh) Diaz's "This Is How You Lose Her" is among three finalists for a $20,000 prize for short story collections.

Other nominees announced Tuesday for the Story Prize are Dan Chaon's (shawnz) "Stay Awake" and Claire Vaye Watkins' "Battleborn." The winner will be announced March 13.

Diaz's book was a nominee last fall for the National Book Award.

Organizers of the Story Prize, established in 2004, also announced a new award: the Story Prize Spotlight Award for collections "worthy of additional attention." This year's winner, Krys Lee for "Drifting House," will receive $1,000.

Pakistan, India Incidents Underscore Need to Confront Violence Against Women - Higher Education

Pakistan, India Incidents Underscore Need to Confront Violence Against Women - Higher Education: Gang rapes, acid throwing, honor killings, domestic violence, dowry deaths, human trafficking, and the fear of being captured by religious extremists are just some of the fears that women in South Asia encounter daily.

In a 2011 poll by the Thompson Reuters Foundation, India (4th) and Pakistan (3rd) were ranked the most dangerous countries in the world for women to be born in, along with Congo (2nd), and Afghanistan (1st). Reuters asked 213 experts from five continents to rank the world’s nations on their overall perception of danger as well as six high-risk categories: “health threats, sexual violence, non-sexual violence, harmful practices rooted in culture, tradition and/or religion, lack of access to economic resources and human trafficking.”

In One School, Students Are Divided by Gifted Label — and Race - NYTimes.com

In One School, Students Are Divided by Gifted Label — and Race - NYTimes.com: ...There are 652 students enrolled at P.S. 163 this year, from prekindergarten through fifth grade. Roughly 63 percent of them are black and Hispanic; whites make up 27 percent; and Asians account for 6 percent.

This reflects the flavor of the neighborhood, and roughly matches the New York City school system’s overall demographics.

Yet in P.S. 163’s gifted classes, the racial dynamics of the neighborhood, the school itself and the school system are turned upside down.

Of the 205 children enrolled in the nine gifted classes, 97, or 47 percent, are white; another 31 of the students, or 15 percent, are Asian. And a combined 65 students, or 32 percent, are black and Hispanic.

Sentencing set for gang leader, son in attacks on blacks in Azusa - latimes.com

Sentencing set for gang leader, son in attacks on blacks in Azusa - latimes.com: A leader of the Azusa 13 street gang and his son are scheduled to be sentenced Monday in federal court after pleading guilty to conspiring to attack blacks and force them to leave the city.

Santiago Rios faces a maximum of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess. His son, Louie Rios, faces up to 20 years in prison.

The Rioses and 49 other Azusa gang members were arrested in 2011 and charged with a conspiracy to “cleanse” Azusa of its black residents, according to prosecutors.

All 51 members of the gang arrested in that case have been convicted. Only 10, including the Rioses, remain to be sentenced, said Reema El-Amamy, the federal prosecutor in the case.

Santiago Rios was a reputed Azusa 13 “keyholder” -- a shotcaller anointed by the Mexican Mafia prison gang to tax drug dealers, sell drugs himself and funnel the proceeds to Mafia members, according to a federal plea agreement.

In that position, he implemented an Azusa 13 policy dating to 1992 of targeting and harassing black people in Azusa, according to the agreement. The push to attack blacks was allegedly instigated by Ruben Rodriguez, a Mexican Mafia member from Azusa who has since died.

6th Miss. man pleads guilty in attacks on blacks | theGrio

6th Miss. man pleads guilty in attacks on blacks | theGrio: JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A sixth man has pleaded guilty in connection with racially motivated attacks by young whites against blacks in Jackson.

Joseph Paul Dominick, 21, of Brandon pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit a hate crime. He faces up to five years in prison. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves will sentence him later.

Prosecutors say that starting about April 2011, the group drove from mostly white Rankin County into the city of Jackson, where they verbally harassed and physically assaulted blacks and later boasted about the attacks.

The attacks culminated in the death of James Craig Anderson in June 2011, which sparked the investigation. Prosecutors say Dominick did not participate in the slaying but was part of other group attacks.

Prosecutors say Dominick threw bottles and used sling shots against blacks.

Virginia teen pleads guilty to setting black church on fire | theGrio

Virginia teen pleads guilty to setting black church on fire | theGrio: On Tuesday morning a Virginia teen admitted in court to setting a church on fire that was home to a predominantly black congregation, according to WDBJ.

Jean-Claude Bridges, 18, pleaded guilty to starting a fire at the New Holy Deliverance Outreach Ministry in Axton, Virginia last May.

Bridges was 17 at the time of the incident and said that he and another male, 16, were responsible for the fire that happened on May 20 at 1:20 a.m.

According to a recent release by the Martinsville Bulletin, U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said that Bridges admitted that ”he burned down the church because of the race, color and ethnicity of its congregation. Mr. Bridges’ racial bias led him to commit the dangerous crime of arson.”

Boston’s first black police officer honored by the city for breaking barriers in 1878 | theGrio

Boston’s first black police officer honored by the city for breaking barriers in 1878 | theGrio: Sergeant Horatio J. Homer broke barriers by becoming the first African-American police officer in Boston’s history in 1878, but over the decades his legacy was largely forgotten. While serving on the force for more than 40 years, Homer made efforts that led to five additional black men becoming officers. He died in 1923 at the age of 75 after living what the Boston Globe has described as a life filled with varied activities including music, politics, and a fondness for poetry.

Yet this pioneering Renaissance man was laid to rest in a grave that remained unmarked until 2010, when a Boston police archivist and current department officer uncovered a record referring to “the first colored officer.” This finding kindled a new interest in Homer’s life.

NY Museum plans exhibit of Gordon Parks photos | theGrio

NY Museum plans exhibit of Gordon Parks photos | theGrio: ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The State Museum is marking the 100th birthday of photographer Gordon Parks with an exhibit of his works.

The show opening on Jan. 26 showcases six decades of Parks’ photographs. It will include his most famous photo, “American Gothic, Washington, D.C.,” which shows a black cleaning woman standing in front of an American flag with a broom and a mop.

State Education Commissioner John King says Parks’ work helped drive the Civil Rights movement by exposing the stark realities of life faced by many African Americans.

The State Museum display is organized by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The exhibit includes images from the Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information collections at the Library of Congress.

Alabama Schools Form Consortium to Boost Health Care Workforce Diversity - Higher Education

Alabama Schools Form Consortium to Boost Health Care Workforce Diversity - Higher Education: Late last week, university and college leaders representing more than a dozen Alabama institutions entered their respective schools into a consortium organized to increase the number of minorities in the health care professions. Known as the Alabama Alliance, the consortium includes both community colleges and historically Black institutions and is based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Medical Center.

“What we’re doing in Alabama today (to increase underrepresented minorities in health professions) will have an impact today, 10 years from now and 30 years from now,” said Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, an alliance organizer and a former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, on Friday during the meeting at which the Alabama Alliance was formally launched.

Margaret A. Brewer, first female general in Marine Corps, dies at 82 - The Washington Post

Margaret A. Brewer, first female general in Marine Corps, dies at 82 - The Washington Post: Margaret A. Brewer, 82, a retired brigadier general who was the first woman to hold the rank of general in the Marine Corps and who led the Marines’ public affairs division late in her career, died Jan. 2 at Greenspring retirement community in Springfield. She had Alzheimer’s disease.

Her death was confirmed by retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Vaught, president of the Women in Military Service for America Foundation.

Gen. Brewer joined the Marine Corps in 1952 and held a variety of roles in officer recruiting and training, personnel management, and public affairs before she was named a brigadier general in 1978.

As a colonel, she had been director of women in the Marine Corps since 1973, but her position was eliminated in 1977, as women were integrated more fully into the corps. After serving as deputy director of the information division, she was nominated to lead the division — but the director was required to be a general.

Because the Marine Corps did not allow women to be generals at the time, Gen. Brewer received her star by special appointment from President Jimmy Carter and approval of both houses of Congress. (In 1985, Gail M. Reals became the first woman promoted to general through the Marine Corps ranks.)

Speaking More Than One Language Could Prevent Alzheimer's : Shots - Health News : NPR

Speaking More Than One Language Could Prevent Alzheimer's : Shots - Health News : NPR: Not so long ago bilingualism was thought to be bad for your brain. But it looks more and more like speaking more than one language could help save you from Alzheimer's disease.

The latest evidence from the bilingualism-is-good-for-you crew comes from Brian Gold, a neuroscientist at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington. To test the idea, he had older people who grew up bilingual do an attention-switching task, a skill that typically fades with age. Earlier research has found that people bilingual since childhood are better at the high-order thinking called executive function as they age.

Gold found that his bilingual seniors were better at the task, which had them quickly sorting colors and shapes, than their monolingual peers. He then added an extra dimension by sticking the people's heads in scanners to see what was happening inside their brains. The brains of the monolingual seniors were working harder to complete the task, while the bilingual seniors' brains were much more efficient, more like those of young adults.

Tensions rising in Canada over aboriginal living conditions | The Raw Story

Tensions rising in Canada over aboriginal living conditions | The Raw Story: Canada’s governor general on Thursday invited native chiefs to meet with him amid growing tensions with aboriginal peoples over squalid living conditions on reserves.

The “ceremonial meeting” at Rideau Hall, the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II’s representative in this former British colony, is scheduled for Friday evening after planned talks between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the chiefs.

Harper previously agreed to demands for emergency talks to discuss treaty rights and ways to raise living standards on reserves after a four-week hunger strike by one northern Ontario chief put a spotlight on their plight.

Dr. Gerardo Dominguez’s Work Explores Natural Phenomena - Higher Education

Dr. Gerardo Dominguez’s Work Explores Natural Phenomena - Higher Education: Dr. Gerardo Dominguez says that one cannot ignore one’s own personality. His push to excel academically was fueled by a desire for respect, something not necessarily afforded to a poor Hispanic kid growing up in Los Angeles – except from his teachers, who as a whole, granted him respect due to his academic successes. It was a 6th-grade science teacher who nurtured his sense of wonder about the natural world.

According to Dominguez, “He taught me that science is weird and fun, and it was then that I was hooked!” In high school, he encountered only very basic quantum mechanics in an AP chemistry class. He read a textbook for fun and was eager to learn where the formula for the energy levels of hydrogen came from. The footnote about the solution to a wave equation was beyond the scope of the book and the seed for majoring in physics had been planted.

Maryland ranks No. 1 in education for fifth year in a row; Virginia ranks fourth - The Washington Post

Maryland ranks No. 1 in education for fifth year in a row; Virginia ranks fourth - The Washington Post: For the fifth year in a row, Maryland’s public school system took the top ranking in an annual study that examines state education policies and student achievement across all 50 states and the District.

Education Week gave Maryland a B-plus in its “Quality Counts 2013” assessment. Maryland was the only state to earn the grade.

Massachusetts, New York and Virginia trailed immediately behind Maryland, with overall grades of B. These four states maintained the same rankings they held in last year’s report.

Although the District is not a state, Education Week included it in the evaluation and ranked it 45th overall with a C-minus.

Lifelong bilinguals may have more efficient brains – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs

Lifelong bilinguals may have more efficient brains – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs: Neuroscientists have been discovering mounting evidence that being fluent in more than one language protects against age-related cognitive declines. But there's still the major question: Why?

Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to get a closer look at the brains of both bilinguals and monolinguals, comparing how their activity differs during specific tasks. This new study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, expands upon previous ideas that bilinguals tend to show superior task-switching abilities compared to monolinguals. The study was led by Brian Gold of the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

VA KKK claims enrollment will triple in Obama’s second term | The Raw Story

VA KKK claims enrollment will triple in Obama’s second term | The Raw Story: Residents in Richmond, Virginia have reported seeing more recruitment flyers from the Ku Klux Klan, in part of what one Klan member told WTVR-TV is a push for a membership surge fueled by opposition to President Barack Obama.

“Since Obama’s first term our numbers have doubled,” said the hooded man, who identified himself as a “Grand Dragon,” a leader of the state network. “And now that we’re headed to a second term it’s going to triple, this is going to be the biggest resurgence of the Klan since 1915.”

Think Progress reported that hate group membership is on the rise around the country, with racial animus against Obama cited as a reason.

However, the Klansmen told the station they see their group as the “white separatist” equivalent to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples.
“Everyone thinks that we’re a hate group,” he said. “We’re not a hate group, we don’t hate anyone, and we want to see good things come to our race.”

Elite Colleges Struggle To Recruit Smart, Low-Income Kids : NPR

Elite Colleges Struggle To Recruit Smart, Low-Income Kids : NPR: Across the United States, college administrators are poring over student essays, recommendation letters and SAT scores as they select a freshman class for the fall.

If this is like most years, administrators at top schools such as Harvard and Stanford will try hard to find talented high school students from poor families in a push to increase the socioeconomic diversity on campus and to counter the growing concern that highly selective colleges cater mainly to students from privileged backgrounds.

Top schools often offer scholarships that not only include free tuition, but also free room and board for top students from poor families — meaning it can be less expensive for these students to attend Harvard than a state school or a community college, says Caroline Hoxby, an economist at Stanford who tracks these students.

How One STEM School Aims to Lower the Achievement Gap | PBS NewsHour

How One STEM School Aims to Lower the Achievement Gap | PBS NewsHour: The U.S. is suffering from a shortage of applicants in the science, technology, engineering and math fields -- or STEM. This is especially true for non-Asian minorities and low-income students, who are statistically less likely to be exposed to STEM professionals, have access to STEM education and hold STEM jobs. According to a recent study by Change the Equation, a non-profit initiative to improve STEM education in the United States, there are two job openings for every unemployed STEM professional. A 2011 report from the Department of Commerce projects that STEM jobs will grow by 17 percent by 2018, compared to 9.8 percent for non-STEM occupations.

The achievement gap between low-income and high-income students has been a persistent problem in American public education system. The problem is exacerbated as technology becomes more integral to 21st century professions, and urban American schools struggle to prepare students for this new job market.

Widow of civil rights leader to deliver inaugural invocation - First Read

Widow of civil rights leader to deliver inaugural invocation - First Read: The widow of civil rights icon Medgar Evers will deliver the invocation at President Barack Obama's second inauguration, the Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Tuesday.

Myrlie Evers-Williams, who headed the NAACP from 1995-1998, fought tenaciously for justice for her husband, the famed Mississippi activist killed in the driveway of their home in 1963. The man immediately suspected of murdering Evers was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1994, more than three decades after the crime.

"I am humbled to have been asked to deliver the invocation for the 57th inauguration of the President of the United States—especially in light of this historical time in America when we will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement,” she said in a statement. “It is indeed an exhilarating experience to have the distinct honor of representing that era."

Court strikes down NYPD’s ‘stop and frisk’ policy | The Raw Story

Court strikes down NYPD’s ‘stop and frisk’ policy | The Raw Story: In an interim order issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin, the New York Police Department is required to immediately halt its controversial “stop and frisk” policy unless officers have a specific cause to initiate a search.

The ruling comes ahead of a full trial for two lawsuits filed by blacks and Latinos living in the Bronx who say the policy makes them feel like second-class citizens.

“While it may be difficult to say when precisely to draw the line between constitutional and unconstitutional police encounters such a line exists, and the NYPD has systematically crossed it when making trespass stops outside buildings,” the judge wrote.

Perceived Factors that Contribute to Low Persistent Rates of Minority Males in Community Colleges - Higher Education

Perceived Factors that Contribute to Low Persistent Rates of Minority Males in Community Colleges - Higher Education: There is significant emphasis placed on the retention and success rate in community colleges among African-American and Hispanic males. Many are experiencing great problems in our society and within the social structure.

It is common knowledge that community colleges are growing by leaps and bounds, spurred on by the persistence of an economic downturn. Therefore, even with most colleges increasing enrollment, an emerging question is: How effective are community colleges in coping with minority males in retaining them in their institutions through graduation, specifically, by implementing several male initiatives and minority programs that links to the urban high schools: secondary and post- secondary schools?

Many African-American and Hispanic males experience academic distress in community colleges and have frequently been described in research studies as: (a) being from a low social academic background; (b) being a minimal academic achiever; and (c) possessing a general low self-concept. The fact is a large number face depressed socio-economic conditions. In contrast, a number of minority males drop out of community colleges after demonstrating average and above-average academic ability; yet, they make the decision to discontinue their education in most institutions of higher of learning.

Semester-long Exploration of Race Underway at University of Michigan - Higher Education

Semester-long Exploration of Race Underway at University of Michigan - Higher Education: Already accustomed to the national spotlight over affirmative action and diversity, the University of Michigan is tackling the issue of race in a new project.

From this month through April, the Ann Arbor-based flagship university is undertaking a campus-wide initiative known as the Understanding Race Project that will showcase a wide-ranging selection of public exhibitions, lectures, performances, symposia and other events exploring the role of race in American society. In addition, more than 130 university courses are being offered in a number of disciplines that examine race and its social impact.

The project, which is also called the Understanding Race Theme Semester, is presented by the university’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts, which has organized university-wide theme semesters in the past.

Alabama white supremacist charged for plot to blow up black and gay students | The Raw Story

Alabama white supremacist charged for plot to blow up black and gay students | The Raw Story: A 17-year-old student in Alabama was arrested last week for allegedly plotting to use dozens of homemade grenades to kill at least fellow six students and a teacher at Russell County High School.

Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor on Sunday said that Derek Shrout had been arrested after a teacher turned over a journal which indicated that his homemade grenades were just “a step or two away from being ready to explode,” according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

A Friday search of Shrout’s home turned up bomb-making materials, including dozens of tobacco cans and two large cans filled with pellets to be used as shrapnel. The two large cans were labeled “Fat Boy” and “Little Man,” a reference to the atomic bombs that the U.S. dropped on Japan during World War II.

Crisis Management: Leaders Reflect on High Presidential Turnovers at HBCUs - Higher Education

Crisis Management: Leaders Reflect on High Presidential Turnovers at HBCUs - Higher Education: So many challenges, so little time, and even fewer resources.

For many of the nation’s 105 historically Black colleges and universities, these factors have led to an unprecedented number of presidential vacancies resulting in instability and even turmoil on some of the campuses. By the end of 2012, at least 20 permanent HBCU presidencies were either vacant or recently filled.

Adding to the overall uncertainty surrounding the resignations and dismissals, an interesting phenomenon began to occur. Some presidents who had not completed their first contract terms abruptly resigned or were ousted by their governing boards. Most recently, at two public HBCUs — Alabama State in Montgomery and Morgan State in Baltimore, Md. — two popular presidents were cast aside.