International Women's Day - picture of the day | Art and design | guardian.co.uk

International Women's Day - picture of the day | Art and design | guardian.co.uk: International Women's Day - picture of the day

A photographic highlight selected by the picture desk. On this day in 1917, a series of rallies held for Women's Day in Petrograd, now St Petersburg, gradually turned into a large political protest. The female workers marched to factories where 50,000 workers joined them, going on strike. By 10 March, virtually all industry had closed down and eventually the the tsarist ministers were put under arrest. Lenin arrived in Petrograd from exile in Switzerland on 3 April.

Roman Ducksworth Family Claims Department Of Justice Overlooked Evidence In 1962 Killing (EXCLUSIVE)

Roman Ducksworth Family Claims Department Of Justice Overlooked Evidence In 1962 Killing (EXCLUSIVE): Less than a year after Freedom Riders boarded buses for Mississippi and demanded enforcement of a Supreme Court ruling that outlawed segregation at bus stations, a black man was gunned down by a white police officer at a stop in Taylorsville.

U.S. Army Cpl. Roman Ducksworth, a military policeman stationed at Fort Ritchie, Md., had come home to be with his wife, Melva, who was suffering complications during her pregnancy with the couple's sixth child.

As the bus pulled in, Taylorsville, Miss., police officer William Kelly removed Ducksworth because the driver couldn't wake him, according to government records of some passengers' accounts. Others, including the NAACP, claimed the dispute was about segregated seating.

Army documents obtained by The Huffington Post said some passengers saw Ducksworth, 27, punch Kelly outside the bus. Other riders said the policeman struck first.

Slavery is a tough role, hard sell at Colonial Williamsburg - The Washington Post

Slavery is a tough role, hard sell at Colonial Williamsburg - The Washington Post: Before Erica Hubbard could portray an enslaved housekeeper, which she’ll do this weekend at Colonial Williamsburg, she first had to learn some things about life in revolutionary times — including how slaves interacted with their masters circa 1776.

These lessons are so painful that some African American actors simply can’t bear to learn them. Even as Colonial Williamsburg and other historic sites have tried to do justice to the story of slavery and attract more minority visitors, they’ve sometimes had difficulty convincing black actors to take jobs interpreting enslaved figures.

It was easy to see why as Hubbard was being schooled on slavery in 18th century Virginia one recent Sunday by two men from Colonial Williamsburg’s theatrical division.

On a soundstage in suburban Atlanta, not far from where Hubbard films the Black Entertainment Television rom-com “Let’s Stay Together,” the 34-year-old actress listened intently as the men discussed the master-servant dynamic.
“When he comes in, she just bends at the knees,” Bill Weldon said.

150 Years Later, Civil War Sailors Get Arlington Burial : The Two-Way : NPR

150 Years Later, Civil War Sailors Get Arlington Burial : The Two-Way : NPR: More than 150 years after they died when their ship sank during a storm, two Union sailors from the Civil War will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday.

The sailors' remains were discovered in 2002 during efforts to recover the 150-ton gun turret of the USS Monitor — the United States' first ironclad warship — from the site of the wreck off Cape Hatteras, N.C. The Defense Department's attempts to identify the remains over the last decade (including bone, teeth and DNA analysis) haven't been conclusive.

Still, as Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has said: "These may very well be the last Navy personnel from the Civil War to be buried at Arlington."

Tech Venture Initiative Launched on HBCU Campuses - Higher Education

Tech Venture Initiative Launched on HBCU Campuses - Higher Education: Recognizing a large gap in technological training at many historically Black colleges and universities, representatives of the HBCU community launched an effort to stream a tech-based entrepreneurship initiative at Black institutions.

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), in partnership with the White House Initiative on HBCUs, led the effort organizing the “HBCU Startup and Innovation Initiative.”

Created mainly to expose Black students to the leading practices within STEM education, this project will be used to enable tech-based commercialization on Black campuses.

In response to President Obama’s call to increase minorities in STEM fields amid the lacking amount of tech-transfer programs at HBCUs, the initiative will train both students and faculty on how to build a successful tech venture. Dr. Chad Womack, project lead and UNCF director of STEM education initiatives, raised his hands to “grandfather” the proposed goal.

Report: Poor College Prospects Predicted for Black Youth in LA County - Higher Education

Report: Poor College Prospects Predicted for Black Youth in LA County - Higher Education: A report by the Oakland-based Education Trust–West organization documenting the educational status of African-American youth in Los Angeles County has painted a dismal picture of the college readiness and college completion prospects for a cohort that makes up one-third of all Black K-12 students in California.

Among the findings in At a Crossroads: A Comprehensive Picture of How African-American Youth Fare in Los Angeles County Schools, African-American students are much less likely to take the rigorous college prep courses required for admission to California public universities. Released last week, the study, which overall revealed mostly poor outcomes for its subjects, predicts that just one of every 20 African-American kindergartners will graduate from a four-year university if current conditions fail to improve.

The report amasses data on academic achievement, suspensions and the psychological conditions of 135,000 Black students in 81 public school districts in LA County. In addition, the report analyzes special education identification rates and health and wellness data collected in the California Healthy Kids Survey. It also pinpoints data in a number of school districts where Black students are faring well on certain outcomes, including academic performance, graduation rates, suspension rates and health and wellness indicators.

Diversity Officers Say Foundation Must Be Laid Early - Higher Education

Diversity Officers Say Foundation Must Be Laid Early - Higher Education: WASHINGTON — Roderick Carey and Laura Yee say diversity must be taught daily and understood in order to serve all students in elementary and secondary schools.

The doctoral students at the University of Maryland work with future teachers and often see challenges in the classrooms.

“We see a lot of White teachers, especially in elementary schools, but they are from monolingual, suburban communities with limited exposure to other environments,” Yee said Tuesday. “Their experience will be less relevant to a more diverse environment and schools are becoming so much more diverse. I’m not looking to blame anyone. Our hope is these teachers come to the schools with some [diversity] experience than none at all.”

Yee and Carey spoke about this topic during the seventh annual National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) conference.

Various sessions were held to promote, celebrate and encourage diversity at all institutions of higher learning. The attendees acknowledged with state and federal budget cuts, the problem of being able to enhance current programs and incorporate new ones in the curriculum looms.

Experts Say Diversity Officer Candidates Need to Think Strategically - Higher Education

Experts Say Diversity Officer Candidates Need to Think Strategically - Higher Education: If you hope to land a job as chief diversity officer at an institution of higher learning, don’t expect to impress the search committee strictly with your passion for boosting diversity on campus.

Instead, be able to discuss what the contemporary research says about best practices in the field and how those findings shape your view of the work at hand.

“In today’s context right now of higher education, anyone who’s going for a position like that has to have some sort of philosophy lens that’s forming their thinking around this topic,” said Sharon Fries-Britt, associate professor of higher education at the University of Maryland at College Park.

“There’s no excuse for someone to come through at that level and not have been thinking about diversity, even if not thinking about it directly,” said Fries-Britt, who chaired a search committee for her institution’s chief diversity officer, or CDO.

2013 Franklin Award Recipients Recall His Legacy - Higher Education

2013 Franklin Award Recipients Recall His Legacy - Higher Education: WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dr. John T. Casteen III, Dr. Mary Hatwood Futrell and Dr. William Julius Wilson shared the spotlight as winners of the 2013 Dr. John Hope Franklin Awards on Monday night, as well as their memories of the legendary historian, writer, educator and humanitarian.

Casteen is best known for his 20-year tenure as the president of the University of Virginia, during which time the school’s enrollment of women, minority and economically disadvantaged students increased dramatically. According to Casteen, Franklin’s knowledge and commitment to the school influenced his approach to leading the university.

“I, on two occasions, sat next to Dr. John Hope Franklin in which he was chairing the selection of Woodrow Wilson fellows, but I spent the day sitting next to Dr. Franklin, handing him and filing papers,” said Casteen at the reception hosted by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, creator of the award. “It was a lesson and a combination of brilliance and humility to watch him talking about the prospects of opportunity that these young people faced.”

Sequestration Means Fewer Classes, Faculty at Tribal Schools - Higher Education

Sequestration Means Fewer Classes, Faculty at Tribal Schools - Higher Education: Unless the stalemate over sequestration is resolved, July 1 will commence a dreary fiscal year for the nation’s tribal colleges and universities, according to school administrators and advocates. The 37 schools, which depend heavily on federal funds, are anticipating stringent cuts to programs, faculty and student services. For example:

• Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency, Mont., could lose $400,000 to $500,000 of its funding, according to school president David Yarlott. That means no summer session, laying off up to six faculty members and instituting a two-week furlough for roughly half the school’s 74 employees.

• Sitting Bull College on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, which straddles North and South Dakota, could lose almost $1 million. College president Laurel Vermillion expects to freeze salaries and ask employees to contribute 50 percent to health insurance. As a last resort, the school would increase tuition. Full-time students pay $1,800 per semester.

• Ilisagvik College in Barrow, Alaska could lose $355,000. The school may have to lay off tutors and learning center staff, while cutting other student services. “It would be a real disaster if we were to lose these funds,” college president Pearl Brower said in a press release.

• Tribal colleges and universities are public institutions that are chartered and operated by federally recognized tribes or the federal government. A majority of students and board members must be American Indian citizens.

Oberlin College and the Popular Fables of Hate and Ignorance - Higher Education

Oberlin College and the Popular Fables of Hate and Ignorance - Higher Education: Oberlin College administrators suspended classes “and all non-essential activities” on Monday in response to a series of “hate-related incidents.” In an academy where these incidents have become so normal that cynicism has immobilized and drastic action is seen as hopelessly ineffective, it was refreshing to hear about this announced “Day of Solidarity.”

“We hope today will allow the entire community — students, faculty and staff — to make a strong statement about the values that we cherish here at Oberlin: inclusion, respect for others and a strong and abiding faith in the worth of every individual,” read a college statement. “Indeed, the strength of Oberlin comes from our belief that diversity and openness enriches us all and enhances the educational mission at its core.”

What Became of Harlem's Fontenelle Family? - NYTimes.com

What Became of Harlem's Fontenelle Family? - NYTimes.com: In March 1968, Gordon Parks published a portrait of an African-American child with disheveled clothes in Life magazine. His lips were swollen and cracked from eating plaster, in a futile attempt to ward off hunger. His eyes were plaintive and haunting.

Richard Fontenelle was too young to understand, but he and his family became the faces of urban poverty for millions of Americans. The photo essay Mr. Parks produced — “A Harlem Family,” which is now on exhibit at the Studio Museum in Harlem — changed Mr. Fontenelle’s life, and the lives of every member of his family, forever. It sparked in him a desire to succeed, and a lifelong friendship with Mr. Parks.

Three days after the show opened, Mr. Fontenelle died of heart attack. He was 48 years old.

Yet his was a life of triumph savored: Of the eight Fontenelle children who appeared in “A Harlem Family,” he was the only one who lived past his 30th birthday and built a stable family life. He gave much of the credit for his success to his mother and to Mr. Parks, who became a father figure to him.

Oberlin Cancels Classes Following Latest Hate Incident, KKK Outfit

Oberlin Cancels Classes Following Latest Hate Incident, KKK Outfit: Oberlin College canceled classes Monday to hold a "Day of Solidarity" following a month of hateful vandalism and the latest report of a person spotted on campus wearing a Ku Klux Klan-style outfit.

Throughout February, multiple acts of vandalism on the Ohio campus have targeted the black, Jewish and LGBT communities with hate speech, the Oberlin Review reports.

Black History Month posters were defaced with the N-word, a note found at the LGBTQ Community Coordinator called it the "Nigger + Faggot Center," and someone wrote “Nigger Oven” in an elevator, among other incidents according to the Review. On several occasions, swastikas were drawn, the Cleveland Jewish News reports. 

On Monday morning, the school's administration sent out an announcement essentially calling the reported KKK outfit the last straw:

Early this morning, there was a report of a person wearing a hood and robe resembling a KKK outfit between South and the Edmonia Lewis Center and in the vicinity of Afrikan Heritage House. This report is being investigated by both Safety and Security and the Oberlin Police Department. This event, in addition to the series of other hate-related incidents on campus, has precipitated our decision to suspend formal classes and all non-essential activities for today, Monday, March 4, 2013, and gather for a series of discussions of the challenging issues that have faced our community in recent weeks.

The Moment Race Mattered: A Haunting Childhood Memory : NPR

The Moment Race Mattered: A Haunting Childhood Memory : NPR: When Bernard Holyfield was 5 years old, he was the proud owner of a dog named Lassie, a collie who closely resembled the namesake fictional dog on television.

"And we used to always keep Lassie tied up at the house with a chain, kind of like our protector," Holyfield explains to his friend Charles Barlow, 63, for StoryCorps at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta.

Bernard grew up in the '60s in Alabama, and later Atlanta, with his younger brother Evander Holyfield, a former heavyweight boxing champ. One day, Bernard recalls, he and Evander were outside their Alabama home playing near Lassie when a white man approached them.

"He was drunk, disheveled, just reeking with alcohol — he was passing by and he stopped, and he motioned for Evander and I to come over," Bernard says.

Their parents had cautioned them about talking to strangers, so the two brothers stayed put. But the man entered their yard.

Latina Sisters Aimed High, Defying Low Expectations : NPR

Latina Sisters Aimed High, Defying Low Expectations : NPR: When Linda Hernandez was growing up in Lincoln, Neb., in the 1960s, her family was one of the few Latino families in town. And that sometimes made school life difficult, she says.

"We had to sit in the back of the class and stay after school and clean the erasers when the other kids didn't have to do that," says Linda, now 60. "But both my parents laid down the law and said, 'You had to go to school.' "

Linda and her older sister, Marta, did well academically. But the school's expectations were low. The school counselor told them not to worry about taking the SAT or ACT tests "because we were Hispanic women, [and] all we would do is have babies," Linda told StoryCorps in Albuquerque, N.M.

"So we went home and we told our parents, and my mother went in the back room and cried," Linda says. "And then that's when my brother said, 'Uh-uhn, it ain't happening.' We were very lucky that he was over 6 feet tall. So he walked us down to school and told our high school counselors, 'My sisters will take the test.' "

Many immigrants in the U.S. stop midway along the path of citizenship - The Washington Post

Many immigrants in the U.S. stop midway along the path of citizenship - The Washington Post: For 13 years, Rafael Cohen, an immigrant from Mexico, was eligible to become a citizen of the United States. But something held him back.

“I guess I felt I was maintaining more of a connection to my Mexican citizenship by remaining a green card holder than actually becoming a citizen,” said Cohen, 36, a musician who moved to the District when he was 9 and became a permanent resident in 1994.

Finally, the birth of his daughter last year persuaded him to apply. “Some of the immigration laws that are in place . . . there’s these weird situations where you can be deported as a green card holder,” he said.
As lawmakers wrangle over changes that could offer a path to citizenship to many of the estimated 11 million immigrants who are here illegally, not all immigrants who become eligible actually go through with naturalization. Often, the immigrant journey simply ends with permanent legal residency.

The imperatives of National Grammar Day - CSMonitor.com

The imperatives of National Grammar Day - CSMonitor.com: How, dear reader, will you celebrate National Grammar Day?

National Grammar Day was launched in 2008 by Martha Brockenbrough, founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, or SPOGG. It is being observed for the sixth time on March 4.

You've got to hand it to Ms. Brockenbrough for her inspired choice of date, which forms a complete sentence: March forth!

As Mignon Fogarty, of "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing" fame, puts it:

"Language is something to celebrate, and March 4 is the perfect day to do it. It's not only a date, it's an imperative: March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!"

NationalGrammarDay.com has all kinds of fun stuff. There are free classroom materials, including a "correct the celebrity" quiz, appropriate for middle- and high-school students, in which they are asked to copy-edit such utterances as Justin Timberlake lyrics ("When you cheated girl/ My heart bleeded girl") and to "circle the errors Paris Hilton made blogging about her new shoe collection. (Hint: there are at least three!)" Or try the Monitor's tougher quiz at http://bit.ly/CSMgrammarquiz.

Bloody Sunday, Revisited - NYTimes.com

Bloody Sunday, Revisited - NYTimes.com: March 7, 1965, became known as Bloody Sunday in the annals of the civil rights struggle in America. That day, around 500 people set out to march the 54 miles from Selma, Ala., to the state capital in Montgomery in support of what would become the Voting Rights Act.

The voting rights movement was transformed into a national cause when the marchers were stopped on the Edmund Pettus Bridge as they left Selma. A state trooper told them they were “an unlawful assembly” and ordered them to disperse. When they did not, they were attacked by about 150 troopers and others who wielded billy clubs and tear gas. Fifty-eight people were treated for injuries at a local hospital, including Representative John Lewis, then 25 and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, for a skull fracture.

Two weeks later, after a federal judge ruled they had a constitutional right to march, the group set out again, under National Guard protection. It was 25,000 strong by the time the march ended on March 25 in Montgomery. That summer, the Voting Rights Act became law.

Ghosts of the Union’s black soldiers rise from Loudoun County’s past - The Washington Post

Ghosts of the Union’s black soldiers rise from Loudoun County’s past - The Washington Post:  The ghost of Dennis W. Weaver, of the 1st U.S. Colored Infantry, had to reach from his Loudoun County grave to get history’s attention.
First, it latched on to Vernon Peterson, the 81-year-old caretaker at the venerable Rock Hill Cemetery. Peterson was walking past Weaver’s tombstone one day when something stopped him cold.

“It was as if it grabbed me by the leg,” he said. The name, carved in the shape of an arch. The mysterious letters underneath. “It got to me so much I had to try to find out what it meant.”

Peterson researched Weaver’s story and told it to local historian Kevin D. Grigsby. And now the old soldier from Company D and hundreds of other black men from Loudoun who fought for freedom in the Civil War are getting their due.

Grigsby has resurrected their names and some of their stories in a book, “From Loudoun to Glory,” about the forgotten role of African Americans from the county during the war and its aftermath.

Celebrating Women's History | TIME For Kids

Celebrating Women's History | TIME For Kids: Every March, the country celebrates the accomplishments of women in American history. Even though these accomplishments go back a long way, most schools didn't start focusing on women pioneers and their achievements until recently. Today, most colleges offer classes in women's history and most schools teach kids about the many contributions women have made to our country. How did this shift come about?

International Women's Day Is Born

On March 19, 1911, a German woman named Clara Zetkin organized the very first International Women's Day. Inspired by American working women, the annual event took on the causes of peace (in an effort to end World War I) as well as women's rights. Over the years, interest in International Women's Day dwindled. It gained momentum again in the 1960s, when the women's movement caused women to wonder why they weren't included in the history books.

National Women's History Week Is Celebrated

By the 1970s, more female historians began to look back at the contributions of women in history. In 1978, a California school district started Women's History Week to promote the teaching of women's history. School officials picked the week of March 8 to include International Women's Day. It was so popular that, in 1981, Congress passed a resolution making the week a celebration for the entire country. The concept of studying women's history continued to grow in popularity. In 1987, a group of women (supported by people working in museums, schools and libraries) asked Congress to expand the celebration. That same year, Congress declared the entire month of March National Women's History Month.

National Women's History Museum
Today, schools and communities across the country celebrate the month with special lessons and activities designed to teach the ways women have helped shape the U.S. The women who have worked hard to make Women's History Month a reality would like to see women's history studied all year, not just every March. In 1996, the National Women’s History Museum was founded. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating the various historic contributions of women. The organization is working with Congress to open a permanent museum site in Washington, D.C.