U.S.-Mexico Border Journalism Project Continues To Train Hispanics in Writing and Reporting

U.S.-Mexico Border Journalism Project Continues To Train Hispanics in Writing and Reporting: ...As an aspiring multimedia journalist, Perez was thrust from the classroom and into the larger El Paso community covering the sometimes violent, always exciting life of people on both sides of the United States-Mexico border.

“I really liked the fact that it (Borderzine) gave students the opportunity to go out there and write about what they had been learning,” says Perez, 33, now a staff reporter for the Statesman-Journal, the daily newspaper in Salem, Ore.

With an initial $15,000 seed grant from the Ford Foundation and soon afterward a four-year $400,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Borderzine is approaching its fifth anniversary with much to celebrate about its efforts to train aspiring Hispanic journalists using the populations on both sides of the nation’s 2,000-mile border with Mexico as its practical classroom.

Oakland Schools Expanding Free-Meal Programs - NYTimes.com

Oakland Schools Expanding Free-Meal Programs - NYTimes.com: On a recent Saturday morning, some 60 teachers and nurses from the Oakland Unified School District gathered at Tilden Education Complex for a daylong seminar on nutrition education.

...Recent figures from the United States Census Bureau revealed that Alameda County has a higher percentage of residents living in poverty than any of the other eight counties in the Bay Area. The county has high unemployment and low family incomes, and nearly 70 percent of students in the Oakland school district now qualify for free or reduced-priced meals at school.

California Measure Allows Tuition Aid for Illegal Immigrants - NYTimes.com

California Measure Allows Tuition Aid for Illegal Immigrants - NYTimes.com: SACRAMENTO (AP) — Illegal immigrants can now apply for state-financed scholarships and aid at state universities after Gov. Jerry Brown announced Saturday that he had signed the second half of a legislative package focused on such students.

The bill is the second half of the California Dream Act. Mr. Brown signed the first half of the package in July, which approved private scholarships and loans for students who are illegal immigrants.

Under current law, illegal immigrant students who have graduated from a California high school and can prove they are on the path to legalize their immigration status can pay resident tuition rates. The bill would allow these students to also apply for state aid.

Celebrating Desmond Tutu at 80 - CNN.com

Celebrating Desmond Tutu at 80 - CNN.com: Nobel laureate and peace activist Desmond Tutu celebrated his 80th birthday on Friday. The retired Anglican archbishop from South Africa was a key member of his country's anti-apartheid movement and has campaigned to fight AIDS, poverty and racism.

Chicago Program Aims to Create More Black and Hispanic Teachers - NYTimes.com

Chicago Program Aims to Create More Black and Hispanic Teachers - NYTimes.com: The gap between the number of minority teachers in Chicago’s public schools and minority student enrollment has widened over the last decade, but one school is working to change that by preparing the next generation of teachers.

At Wells Community Academy High School, where the racial breakdown of students is almost evenly split between African-Americans and Hispanics, more than 60 students are participating in a teacher training program that gets them to the front of the classroom years before most aspiring teachers.

Students enrolled in the Chicago Urban Teacher Academy at Wells participate in a four-year curriculum — in partnership with National Louis University — designed to focus on best practices in teaching. One day a week students work in classrooms at one of three nearby elementary schools — Peabody, Talcott or Moos. As soon as November, first-year students start conducting lessons, and will continue to do so throughout the four years.

Is Michelle Obama's 'Let's Move' Campaign Benefiting Black Children?

Is Michelle Obama's 'Let's Move' Campaign Benefiting Black Children?: With all eyes on POTUS and his long-awaited jobs speech, first-lady Michelle Obama's campaign against childhood obesity could be easily overlooked. A team of researchers from the University of Michigan have been keeping a close eye on the program, however, evaluating how on target it is in meeting its 2030 goal: to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity and return the country to it's pre-1970s rate of 5 percent.

In a recent University of Michigan study, published online in Obesity Journal, researchers evaluated the balance of prevention and treatment required to achieve The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity's goal.

Nearly half of African-American youth report pressure to have sex: survey | LifeSiteNews.com

Nearly half of African-American youth report pressure to have sex: survey | LifeSiteNews.com: A new survey of African-American youth has found that almost half report considerable pressure to have sex. The results, which were derived from the answers of 1,500 youth ages 13-21, will be featured in the October issue of ESSENCE magazine, out on newsstands today.

“I was elated that Essence, a secular Black magazine, choose to even run the story along with the data,” said the founder of BlackGenocide.org Rev. Clenard Childress Jr. “The multiple images and lyrics and instruction [young African-Americans’] minds are exposed to can only result in ill advised sexual behavior.”

American Girl Moves Past Slavery, Introduces New African-American Doll

American Girl Moves Past Slavery, Introduces New African-American Doll: If you're familiar with the American Girl franchise, then you certainly know "Addy Walker," the single African-American character in the company's Historic Collection, and a former slave. Albeit educational, Addy's story -- of escaping slavery and looking for her father and brother who’ve been sold away -- is interesting entertainment for the eight-and-over set American Girl created it for.

Their latest character, Cecile Rey, "a bold, confident girl from a well-to-do African-American family," tells a different story. In a series of six books, set in 1850s New Orleans, Cecile Rey and her friend, Marie-Grace Gardner, form what American Girl calls "a unique bond through their shared love of music," and go on to help their community during the yellow fever epidemic that sweeps through New Orleans in 1853.

Early To Sleep, Early To Rise Lowers Obesity Risk For Kids: Study

Early To Sleep, Early To Rise Lowers Obesity Risk For Kids: Study: We already know that kids who don't get enough sleep are at a higher risk of putting on extra weight -- but a new study suggests that the time you go to bed and wake up could also make a difference.

A study of 2,200 Australian children and teens ages 9 to 16 shows that kids who go to bed late and wake up late have a 1.5 times higher risk of being obese than kids who go to bed early and wake up early.

However, researchers did note that the kids who slept late got the same amount of sleep in total as the kids who slept early, meaning that "the timing of the sleep is even more important," said study researcher Carol Maher, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow with the University of South Australia.

Perry’s Hunting Camp Puts Focus on U.S. Map’s Race-Based Names - NYTimes.com

Perry’s Hunting Camp Puts Focus on U.S. Map’s Race-Based Names - NYTimes.com: The onetime name of Gov. Rick Perry’s Texas hunting camp is currently the most famous example of an egregious race-based place name, but it is not the only one.

Consider Runaway Negro Creek, which flows near a state park outside Savannah, Ga. The name is printed on nautical charts, but park rangers find it so uncomfortable to use, they try to avoid saying it.
It is one of several hundred places that have the word “Negro” in their names and still exist on government maps and in the local vernacular in dozens of states.

They are vestiges of racial attitudes that not that long ago made it acceptable to label a piece of property once leased by Gov. Rick Perry’s family as Niggerhead, which had been painted in block letters on a large rock at the entrance to the rural northern Texas hunting camp. The word was once so common it was used as a brand name for everyday items like soap, canned shrimp and tobacco.

VCU Launches Project on Massive Resistance

VCU Launches Project on Massive Resistance: Virginia Commonwealth University is launching an oral-history project that explores the Massive Resistance policy in Virginia during the 1950s and ‘60s.

The project will record the stories of hundreds of schoolchildren denied an education by the closure of the state's public schools in defiance of the Supreme Court's order to desegregate.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/oQtZxR) that the university is teaming up with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Commission to track down former students from five localities that closed their schools. The commission oversaw Virginia's observance of the 50th anniversary of the public school closings.

White House Black College Leader Urges Development of HBCU Online Programs

White House Black College Leader Urges Development of HBCU Online Programs: WASHINGTON, D.C. — HBCUs and the online learning community need to become “more married” to reach more African-American students and reverse the United States’ continual slippage from its former position as the most degreed nation in the world.

That was the heart of the message delivered Thursday by Dr. John Wilson, executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“We need a quality-based game-changer, and online education can help,” Wilson told an audience of about 50 during his keynote speech at the 2011 United States Distance Learning Association Public Policy Forum.

Wilson noted that of the 105 HBCUs throughout the nation, fewer than 20 have online degree programs.

NHL diversity: An idea that needs to be heard - The Washington Post

NHL diversity: An idea that needs to be heard - The Washington Post: An idiot fan tossed a banana peel at a black player during an NHL preseason game a couple of weeks ago and, well, that’s hockey. When it comes to the sport that opened its regular season Thursday night, the playing surface isn’t the only thing that’s all white. Why would a racist act surprise anyone in a culture that doesn’t care about diversity?

Those were the prevailing thoughts in some corners after the incident in London, Ontario, involving Wayne Simmonds, but the truth is that’s not today’s NHL. The league embraces inclusiveness, and actually has for some time. It wants more color throughout its ranks.

Nobel Peace Prize: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee And Tawakkul Karman Awarded

Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, left; Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, center; and Tawakul Karman of Yemen, right, were recognized for their nonviolent activism.

 Nobel Peace Prize: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee And Tawakkul Karman Awarded: The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to three women "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work".

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee And Tawakkul Karman all received the honour, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday.

Johnson-Sirleaf, the Liberian president, is Africa's first democratically elected female president. The Nobel committee said she had "contributed to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women."

Leymah Gbowee was recognised for mobilising and organising women "across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women's participation in elections".

And Tawakkul Karman, the woman said to be leading pro-democracy protests in Yemen, was given the award for playing "a leading part in the struggle for women's rights and for democracy and peace" in her country..

The committee said it hoped the award would help end the suppression of women "that still occurs in many countries, and to realise the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent."

Death of Ore. teen linked to white supremacists - CBS News

Death of Ore. teen linked to white supremacists - CBS News: PORTLAND, Ore. — The paths of a teenager who called his mother daily and two white supremacists fleeing a murder scene in Washington state crossed in Western Oregon's Willamette Valley less than a week ago.

The teenager who had thoughts of joining the ministry was found dead, the victim of "homicidal violence." The two people who commandeered his car — subjects of a manhunt in the death of a Washington state woman and disappearance of her husband — threw up their hands in surrender to police on Wednesday.

An Oregon sheriff called their weeklong road trip by down the West Coast "a vicious, vile reign of terror." After days of searching on land and air, a California Highway Patrol trooper with a lingering doubt about the white sedan with Oregon plates arrested David Joseph Pedersen and his girlfriend, Holly Grigsby.

Derrick Bell, Law Professor and Racial Advocate, Dies at 80 - NYTimes.com

Derrick Bell, Law Professor and Racial Advocate, Dies at 80 - NYTimes.com: Derrick Bell, a legal scholar who worked to expose the persistence of racism in America through his books and articles and his provocative career moves — he gave up a Harvard Law School professorship to protest the school’s hiring practices — died on Wednesday in New York. He was 80.

Mr. Bell, a resident of the Upper West Side, died of carcinoid cancer at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital at 114th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, said his wife, Janet Dewart Bell.

Mr. Bell was the first tenured black professor at Harvard Law School and later the first black dean of a law school that is not historically black. But he was perhaps better known for resigning from prestigious jobs than for accepting them.

In his 20s, while working at the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, he was told to give up his membership in the N.A.A.C.P., which his superiors believed posed a conflict of interest. Instead, he quit the Justice Department, ignoring the advice of friends to try to change things from within.

Study: Worst hospitals treat larger share of poor - USATODAY.com

Study: Worst hospitals treat larger share of poor - USATODAY.com: The nation's worst hospitals treat twice the proportion of elderly black patients and poor patients than the best hospitals, and their patients are more likely to die of heart attacks and pneumonia, new research shows.

Now, these hospitals, mostly in the South, may be at higher risk of financial failure, too. That's because the nation's new health care law punishes bad care by withholding some money, says the lead author of the study published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs.

"These hospitals are going to have a much harder time in the new funding environment," said Dr. Ashish Jha of the Harvard School of Public Health, who led the study. "I worry they're going to get worse over time and possibly even fail. I worry that we're going to see a bunch of that happening over next three to five years."

Civil rights 'dean' Joseph Lowery celebrates 90th birthday – USATODAY.com

Civil rights 'dean' Joseph Lowery celebrates 90th birthday – USATODAY.com: One of the last icons of America's civil rights battles turns 90 Thursday, and hundreds of his relatives, friends and fans will celebrate with him at Atlanta Symphony Hall on Sunday.

The Rev. Joseph Lowery, "the dean of the civil rights movement," who worked with Martin Luther King, will have Happy Birthday sung to him by Stevie Wonder. Lowery will receive in-person birthday wishes from fellow legends Andrew Young, former United Nations ambassador and ex-mayor of Atlanta; Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a former Freedom Rider and an organizer of the March on Washington in 1963; and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a King lieutenant and former student organizer.

Lowery will be honored in a musical presentation, His Words — Our Gift, featuring singer Jennifer Holliday and actress Cicely Tyson.

DREAM Advocates: Guarded Optimism on New Immigration Policy

DREAM Advocates: Guarded Optimism on New Immigration Policy: A recently issued immigration directive from the Obama administration could pave the way for more undocumented students to stay in the United States but falls short of the much-discussed DREAM Act offering such youth a pathway to citizenship, experts say.

“This is a very small down payment on the DREAM Act,” says Dr. Antonio Flores, president and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. “And the DREAM Act is a small down payment on comprehensive immigration reform,” he told Diverse.

The administration in late August said it would no longer focus on undocumented students and other low-priority immigration offenders for deportation, instead choosing to focus primarily on those with criminal records. Undocumented students are largely K-12 and college students who illegally came into the U.S. as children with their parents.

Should Alabama Schools Help Catch Illegal Immigrants? - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

Should Alabama Schools Help Catch Illegal Immigrants? - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com: The decision by Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn of Federal District Court in Birmingham to uphold most provisions of the state’s far-reaching immigration enforcement law has upended Hispanic communities in Alabama. Among other measures, the ruling requires schools to ascertain the immigration status of children at registration time.

Since the announcement of the decision on Sept. 28, school officials have noticed that more Hispanic students are missing from classrooms. On Sept. 30, about 5 percent of the state's Hispanic schoolchildren -- 1,988 students -- were absent.