Providing the right resources for SFUSD’s black students | Careers & Education | San Francisco | San Francisco Examiner

Providing the right resources for SFUSD’s black students | Careers & Education | San Francisco | San Francisco Examiner: Even though school days are the most special days, this Saturday is also pretty special. I will be gathering at the San Francisco Main Library with our black students and their families to celebrate the new school year.

Joining us will be Mayor Ed Lee and the president of the Alliance of Black Educators, Emily Wade-Thompson — and dozens of community organizations and partners — for the San Francisco Unified School District’s African-American Family Breakfast and Resource Fair.

There will be good food and, of course, information on academic and recreational resources for our students. Through a partnership with cable company Comcast, we will raffle off free laptop computers and give away free school supplies to the first 200 families in attendance.

Transportation is provided from the Bayview (ask your child’s principal for details) and of course we hope to see families from across The City.

Black Students Raise Hands in Solidarity with Slain Mo. Teen | News | The Harvard Crimson

Black Students Raise Hands in Solidarity with Slain Mo. Teen | News | The Harvard Crimson: Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 10

Ferguson Demonstration
George J Lok

Nearly 200 black men and women from across the University posed with their hands up for a group photograph on the steps of Widener Library Sunday evening, entering a national conversation spurred by a police officer’s killing of an unarmed black teenager three weeks ago in Ferguson, Missouri.

Organizers framed the photograph as a critique not only of the shooting of the teenager, Michael Brown, but also of efforts by the media and other observers to question his character and to defend Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who shot Brown on Aug. 9.

"Black bodies in America have consistently had to prove their humanity," Fadhal A. Moore '15, one of the event’s organizers, said as the students came together on the library steps. “Michael Brown was a human being with inalienable rights, just like we all are.”

Organizers said that they hope the photo receives national attention, but only because they believe the exposure will raise awareness of issues of race and identity that have surrounded the controversy and subsequent protests.

Interim supt. wants to make sure Latino students are included | wivb.com

Interim supt. wants to make sure Latino students are included | wivb.com: BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – For the first time, public schools in the U.S. are expected to have more minority students than white students.

Latino children are the fastest growing population in Buffalo Public Schools. Some community leaders say they hope schools will adapt to the changing population.

The new interim superintendent met with the Latino community Monday to see how they can better serve its students.

Donald Ogilvie said, “My solution is to take the ones who are not among the 12, those priority schools, and redouble our efforts to make sure that we have schools that make a difference in the lives of kids and then give it enough time to work.”

Currently there are around 6,000 Latino students in Buffalo schools. Their graduation, drop-out, and attendance rates are the lowest in the district.

In 2013 the drop-out rate for Latino students was 32 percent. The graduation rate was 44 percent.

Graduation rates for black and Hispanic students at minority-serving institutions Journalist's Resource: Research for Reporting, from Harvard Shorenstein Center

Graduation rates for black and Hispanic students at minority-serving institutions Journalist's Resource: Research for Reporting, from Harvard Shorenstein Center: The United States is home to 106 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), institutions created to educate black students in the eras of slavery and Jim Crow. Most HBCUs continue to serve majority-black student bodies although they are open to applicants of all races. In addition to HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) represent another category of minority-serving institution. HSIs, which number in the hundreds, have student bodies that are at least 25% Latino and typically serve low-income students.

Minority-serving institutions often fare poorly on measures of student outcomes. For example, on the Forbes list of the “25 Colleges with the Worst Return On Investment,” 7 of the 25 schools listed are HBCUs. Additionally, a report from the University of Pennsylvania found that only 30% of students at HBCUs graduated in six years, well below the average of 55% for students of all races and slightly below the average of 37.5% for black students at all U.S. colleges. A white paper from the College Board reports that the average six-year graduation rate for students at HSIs was 35% in 2008 compared to a national average of 40% for Latino students at all colleges.

Latino institute emphasizes leadership, action and education | HeraldNet.com - Local news

Latino institute emphasizes leadership, action and education | HeraldNet.com - Local news: LYNNWOOD — The Latino Educational Training Institute's programs are focused on empowerment through education.Rosario Reyes, president of the Lynnwood nonprofit, said the group works largely with Latino business owners and students. The organization is run by volunteers except for one part-time paid administrative assistant funded by United Way. The institute has started three new programs or events during the past two years. One is geared toward networking for business owners and two are focused on education for Latino youth.On the business end of things, the first Latino Expo took place at Edmonds Community College on Aug. 9, featuring music, art, dance and business showcases. The event started as a fair for Latino-owned microbusinesses in 1987, Reyes said. A recent partnership with United Way and the Mexican Consulate allowed them to expand the fair and create a more extensive local expo.“It embodies everything,” Reyes said. “Family, business, health.”Along with helping current and future business owners, the Latino Educational Training Institute aims to up high school graduation rates and make college possible for Latino youth.Two years ago, the organization started a Latino Leadership Initiative, which provides scholarships and mentoring to community college students in Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties. In return, the students complete community service projects of their own geared toward helping students in middle school and high school.

Ferguson isn’t about black rage against cops. It’s white rage against progress. - The Washington Post

Ferguson isn’t about black rage against cops. It’s white rage against progress. - The Washington Post: When we look back on what happened in Ferguson, Mo., during the summer of 2014, it will be easy to think of it as yet one more episode of black rage ignited by yet another police killing of an unarmed African American male. But that has it precisely backward. What we’ve actually seen is the latest outbreak of white rage. Sure, it is cloaked in the niceties of law and order, but it is rage nonetheless.

Protests and looting naturally capture attention. But the real rage smolders in meetings where officials redraw precincts to dilute African American voting strength or seek to slash the government payrolls that have long served as sources of black employment. It goes virtually unnoticed, however, because white rage doesn’t have to take to the streets and face rubber bullets to be heard. Instead, white rage carries an aura of respectability and has access to the courts, police, legislatures and governors, who cast its efforts as noble, though they are actually driven by the most ignoble motivations.

From NY to Texas, KKK recruits with candies and fliers - CNN.com

From NY to Texas, KKK recruits with candies and fliers - CNN.com: (CNN) -- Carlos Enrique Londoño laughs at the Ku Klux Klan recruitment flier recently left on the driveway of his suburban New York home. It's unlikely the group would accept him.

"I'm Colombian and dark-skinned," said Londoño, a painter and construction worker who has lived in Hampton Bays on Long Island for 30 years.

The flier was tucked into a plastic bag along with a membership application, the address for the KKK national office in North Carolina, a list of beliefs and three Jolly Rancher candies.

The packages appear to be part of a wider recruitment effort by the Klan across the country, Ryan Lenz, senior writer for the Southern Poverty Law Center, told CNN on Saturday.

‘It just doesn’t add up’: Amid Ferguson fallout, students sound off on race in America | PBS NewsHour

‘It just doesn’t add up’: Amid Ferguson fallout, students sound off on race in America | PBS NewsHour: ERIN DEVANY: I feel like after hearing about the situation, I realized that if we have to protest the killing of unarmed youth in our nation, then we really don’t live in a free country at all.

MICHAEL BRAXTON: I shouldn’t be scared because of the color of my skin, whether you’re white, Mexican, black, Indian – we should all have the same justice. I mean, it just doesn’t add up to me.

YAHYA YUSSUF: I feel like Ferguson was like a true showing of what the nation truly feels about equality between minorities and the majorities in certain communities.

HENRY CHAVEZ: It’s definitely let me know that justice and race are still a big topic to focus on in America — that racism is still something that exists and that equality amongst races themselves isn’t fully met yet.

ANTHONY PALMER: After the events of Ferguson, I found a magazine about racial profiling from July 30 of 2001. This magazine brought to my attention that even since 2001, racial profiling has been still present and that our government is kind of ignoring what’s happening in today’s world.

A Photographer Captures The Often-Overlooked 'Aunty' Couture : Code Switch : NPR

A Photographer Captures The Often-Overlooked 'Aunty' Couture : Code Switch : NPR: "Ugh, she dresses like SUCH an aunty!" is usually not something you'd want to hear about your style, if you're South Asian.

An "aunty" or "aunty-ji" (depending on where you want to fall on the graph of respect and familiarity) is what you call a lady roughly around your mother's age. So, the family friend who has seen you grow up, your mom's co-worker, the lady next to you in the grocery line or the nosy neighbor whose questions about your love life you endure because she makes a killer biryani — they all qualify.

While the stereotype makes aunties famous only for food and unsolicited advice, their style — like this salwar-kurta and sneakers combo, a staple — has not always been in the spotlight. Until now.

How 'Sassy' Came To Mean Something Both Sweet And Sour : Code Switch : NPR

How 'Sassy' Came To Mean Something Both Sweet And Sour : Code Switch : NPR: In our semi-regular Word Watch feature, we take a look at a word or phrase that's caught our attention, whether for its history, usage, etymology, or just because it has an interesting story.

I'm sometimes described as "sassy," and when that happens I choose to take it as a compliment. I always think of Sarah "Sassy" Vaughan's spirit, verve and "sass."

You see, "sassy" started out as "saucy," according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which defines it as:

"Impudent, saucy, 'cheeky.'"
"Outspoken, provocative."
"Conceited, pretentious."
"Self-assured, spirited, bold."
"Vigorous, lively."
"Stylish, 'chic'."

I always assume the part that begins with "self-assured" and ends with "chic" is what people are saying about me. ::blinks innocently::

Native American Artists Reclaim Images That Represent Them : Code Switch : NPR

Native American Artists Reclaim Images That Represent Them : Code Switch : NPR: There's been a lot of discussion about the name of a certain Washington football team — with lawsuits arguing that it is disparaging, and media outlets choosing not to use it in their content.

But while the debates around the language are raging, the logo — also a part of the trademark lawsuit — remains emblazoned on hats, T-shirts, and picnic blankets around the capital.

The logo has been the team's brand ambassador for a long time and this team isn't the only sports team to use Native American imagery. It's also not something that is exclusive to sports teams; caricatures and motifs depicting indigenous people have long been used to sell stuff — cigars for one, but also things like chewing gum and butter.

Marchers in D.C., Ferguson, nationwide call for justice 3 weeks after Michael Brown shooting | WJLA.com

Marchers in D.C., Ferguson, nationwide call for justice 3 weeks after Michael Brown shooting | WJLA.com: FERGUSON, Mo. (AP/WJLA) - Hundreds converged on Ferguson on Saturday to march for Michael Brown, the unarmed black 18-year-old who was shot and killed by a white police officer three weeks ago to the day. His death stoked national discourse about police tactics and race, which the rally's organizers pledged to continue. 

In Washington, D.C., marchers started at Union Station and planned to "disrupt business as usual" and shut down H Street NE on a busy Saturday night, organizers said.

Protesters across the country have marched and called for reforms to law enforcement agencies, including demilitarization, police review boards and body cameras.

In the past week, protesters have also demonstrated at the White House, the Justice Department, and in other neighborhoods.

Solve this math problem: The gender gap - LA Times

Solve this math problem: The gender gap - LA Times: Earlier this month, Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman in history to win a Fields Medal — "math's Nobel Prize." This is a cause for celebration, but also for reflection.

Things are definitely better than they once were for women in mathematics. In the late 18th century, Sophie Germain, who made significant contributions to number theory despite having no formal schooling, had to use a male pseudonym initially to get the attention of renowned scholars Joseph-Louis Lagrange and Carl Friedrich Gauss, who later mentored her.

Sonia Kovalevsky, a 19th century Russian mathematician now known for her work in mathematical analysis, was only allowed to audit university courses because she was a woman. Ultimately, she earned her doctorate through the private tutoring of a mentor who recognized her talent.

China complains SAT may impose American values on its best students - LA Times

China complains SAT may impose American values on its best students - LA Times: Chinese students have shown an insatiable appetite for attending U.S. colleges — last year alone, more than 235,000 were enrolled at American institutions of higher education. But now, some in China are grousing that the SAT may impose American values on its best and brightest, who in preparation for the exam might be studying the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights instead of “The Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung.”

“Including content from America's founding documents in a revised U.S. college entry exam has drawn attention in China, with worries the materials may impose the American values system on students,” China’s official New China News Agency said last week.

After Ferguson, Race Deserves More Attention, Not Less - NYTimes.com

After Ferguson, Race Deserves More Attention, Not Less - NYTimes.com: MANY white Americans say they are fed up with the coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. A plurality of whites in a recent Pew survey said that the issue of race is getting more attention than it deserves.

Bill O’Reilly of Fox News reflected that weariness, saying: “All you hear is grievance, grievance, grievance, money, money, money.”

Indeed, a 2011 study by scholars at Harvard and Tufts found that whites, on average, believed that anti-white racism was a bigger problem than anti-black racism.

Yes, you read that right!

Copper thieves vandalize Rosa Parks' Montgomery home

Copper thieves vandalize Rosa Parks' Montgomery home: MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Copper thieves struck the apartment complex where Rosa Parks lived when she made civil rights history, and authorities are seeking the public's help in catching those responsible.

Parks' former apartment, unit 634, was one of many in the Cleveland Court Housing Community heavily damaged in thieves' hunt for copper pipes and tubing over the weekend.

The Montgomery Housing Authority, which oversees Cleveland Court, reported extensive interior damage Monday night to kitchens and bathrooms in 11 of the buildings on Rosa Parks Avenue.

The Invisible Quality of Whiteness in Our Schools - Higher Education

The Invisible Quality of Whiteness in Our Schools - Higher Education: Much has been made about recent Census reports highlighting the fact that White students are no longer the numeric majority in U.S. public schools. Awareness of these changes is important, but statistics on students’ racial demographics tell only part of the story. Interviews with educators at a Southern California high school where more than 80 percent of the students are Asian Americans or Latinas/os reveal that how, even when Whites are a small percentage of students, whiteness still dominates.

As is the case in schools throughout the U.S., most of the educators at the school I refer to as SCHS are White. Three-quarters of the administrators and half of the teachers are White compared to more than 90 percent of the students who are of color. While race alone does not determine perspective, this racial gap between educators and students is glaring. It is a reflection of educational barriers, historical differences and varied immigration patterns. This gap also hinders students’ access to racially diverse role models and approaches.

Alvernia University Bets $10M on Poor City’s Kids - Higher Education

Alvernia University Bets $10M on Poor City’s Kids - Higher Education: READING, Pa. — On the second day of class at Reading Senior High School, teacher Eric Knorr directs his students’ attention to the banners hanging on the wall. Syracuse. Temple. Brown. Penn State. All of them brought back by former students who bucked the odds and went to college.

“You need to make sure you have a plan,” Knorr exhorts the class. “Because your plan will lead to a banner, OK? It will lead to an opportunity to go to college.”

Long seen as a way out of poverty, higher education eludes most students at Reading High. The public schools here are plagued by low test scores in reading, math and science; the school district has one of the highest dropout rates in the state; and, in a city where almost 60 percent of the population is Hispanic, many students’ parents speak little or no English.

Report: ‘Nothing New’ About Tensions Between Black Youth, Police - Higher Education

Report: ‘Nothing New’ About Tensions Between Black Youth, Police - Higher Education: With Americans reeling from the unrest stirred by the recent shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., a report released by the University of Chicago’s Black Youth Project finds that tensions between African-American young adults and law enforcement are a national problem and have been around for years.

The Black Youth Project (BYP), which is a program of the university’s Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture, released its “The Policing of Black Communities and Young People of Color” report late last week. The release has coincided with national polls that have documented racially-divergent attitudes Americans overall have about local police emerging in the wake of the August 9 shooting of Brown.

In Denmark, Group Helps American Students of Color Feel at Home - Higher Education

In Denmark, Group Helps American Students of Color Feel at Home - Higher Education: In a globalized world, travel is increasingly seen as a critical part of rounding one’s character, and an essential part of an undergraduate career. Yet, comparatively few students of color are going abroad. Those that do can find themselves in countries where they are a distinct minority, making the transition away from home and other familiar places even more difficult.

Denmark does not immediately come to mind when thinking of popular study abroad destinations. In fact, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE), it ranked 21st on the list of countries students flock to. Yet the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) has a uniquely sensitive approach to accommodating the minority students who do travel there. To assist their integration into Danish life, the Institute created the Diverse Identities Social Club, directed by Heather Wallerson Krog, an American-born expatriate.