During a recent moment of reflection, I realized there are certain shared memories for every generation. One milestone in the 90’s was definitely Magic Johnson’s announcement that he was diagnosed with HIV on November 7, 1991. In the 23 years since his announcement, we have made some progress in promoting awareness of the disease but more work must be done to decrease the rate of new infections.
Category Archives: Current and Historical Events
Sensing Change: How Proposed Changes to Race and Ethnicity Questions Will Impact the 2020 Census
Does the current version of the Census Bureau’s race and ethnicity questions accurately reflect our rapidly changing population? That’s what civil rights stakeholders want to know. Each decade the Census Bureau reviews these questions to assess their impact on civil rights policies. This begs the obvious question: Why the need?
2014 Midterm Elections: You May Have Lost the Battle, But it Does Not Mean You Lost the War
Like so many others around the country on the evening of November 4, 2014, I was glued to my TV screen flipping in between the different major news networks for the results of the 2014 midterm elections. As the news networks continued making their projections on the different major races, the more anxious I became, as the outcome appeared to become less and less desirable.
Online Voting: The Wave of the Future?
It was a crisp fall day in 2008, when students all over the University of Memphis campus boarded buses heading to local voting facilities to cast their votes in a landmark, meritorious presidential election. Just 50 years earlier in 1968, students known as the Memphis State Eight, rallied and protested for voting rights on the very same campus. In 2014, students are still carpooling and bussing it to local voting facilities to have their voices echoed into a “voting realm” but the reality is, many do not feel connected to or even completely understand how elections work. It seems as if young people feel more connected to the number of likes they obtain on a social media post or the data plans of their cell phones, rather than the seeking to understand the complexity of the voting process.
If We Don’t Celebrate Our Brothers…Who Will?
Village Blogger Kerline Jules Honors South Florida’s Emerging African-American Male Business & Community Leaders While Bringing Awareness to Local Boys and Men of Color Initiatives
Roughly two years ago, after recent gun violence incident in South Florida, a local community group hosted a much needed “Stop the Gun Violence” town hall. Victims of gun violence, local elected officials, community organizers, educators, concerned citizens and local celebrities attended the standing room only town hall. As a young leader passionate about the elevation of my community, town halls for me provide a platform bringing visibility to topics and an outlet for the community to express their thoughts and concerns.
Two Faith Leaders on Youth Violence and Solutions – Part 2 of 2
“America’s schools were not designed to do what we’re
asking them to do…there has to be a collaborative effort between church,
schools and community. Kids need something different…Our kairos moment is now.” — Rev. Dr. Velma Union
Thoughtful words from a scholar and faith leader who has spent much of her life in Los Angeles as a pastor, counselor and businesswoman. Her views on how to intervene and improve young people’s lives are rooted in more than 20 years of living and working in a metropolitan environment that, despite its celebrity status, has its share of gun-related violence.
Two Faith Leaders on Youth Violence and Solutions – Part 1 of 2
“It takes a whole village to raise a child.”
African proverb
Since the death of Michael Brown, our nation has heard from diverse parts of Brown’s Ferguson, Missouri community, as well as thoughtful political and legal analysis from noted experts. I’ve reported on this incident in three previous ‘village’ reports.
44th Annual Legislative Conference – HIV/AIDS Braintrust
HIV is having a greater impact on the African-American community than on any other racial or ethnic group in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the rate of HIV infection in African Americans is eight times that of whites. Although African Americans represent only 12 percent of the overall population, the CDC reports that in 2010 they accounted for an estimated 44 percent of all HIV infections in people age 13 or older.
44th Annual Legislative Conference – Celebration of Leadership in the Fine Arts
“Through the Celebration of Leadership in the Fine Arts, the CBCF and the CBC Spouses pay homage to those whose creative bodies of work convey the rich and diverse African-American experience. CBCF is proud to support the next generation of great artists with scholarships to pursue their education and hone their crafts, ” said A. Shuanise Washington, the president and CEO of the CBCF.
44th Annual Legislative Conference Highlights – Sept. 27
In a room filled beyond capacity, attendees cried, laughed and said from the heart, “I love you.” At the My Brother’s Keeper Town Hall panelists shared stories of trial and triumph, hope, and, most importantly, the blueprint for a plan of action. As Reverend Al Sharpton says, “President Obama started the [My Brother’s Keeper] program because he wanted to open the sea of opportunity [for young men] like it was opened for him.”