-
How 59 Urban Kids Fared After a Rich Gift
This is an excerpt of the first in a three-part series on the fate of 59 fifth-graders who were given an extraordinary gift: the promise of a college education paid for by two wealthy businessmen. Written by Paul Schwartzman Darone Robinson and Rudolph Norris were driving home after playing basketball one afternoon, reminiscing about their…
-
First Lady's Campaign Challenge: Stay Popular
Written by Krissah Thompson As her husband’s re-election campaign amps up, Michelle Obama is in a perfect position to help, by cashing in on her broad popularity with the American public. But here’s the hitch: In order to remain popular, she can’t be seen as too political. That’s the challenge the Obama campaign faces in…
-
Black Chess Grandmaster Promotes Sport to Kids
Written by Michael Alison Chandler A good chess match can be hard to find for an international grandmaster, so Maurice Ashley has spent most of his career growing his own competition. Since becoming the first African American to win the elite title in 1999 according to the U.S. Chess Federation, the Jamaican-born New Yorker has…
-
Taraji P. Henson Talks Fame, Childhood
By Neely Tucker Things had gotten so bleak that Taraji P. Henson was reluctant to go to a Saturday-morning audition for the role that would change her career, the Oscar-nominated part of Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The garage sale she had scheduled seemed more promising. “I had wig heads with hats,…
-
The First Lady of the Black Press
Written by James McGrath Morris On the morning of July 7, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the Indian Treaty Room in the Executive Office Building, where 165 members of the overwhelmingly white and male press corps were gathered. After briefly congratulating the reporters on the media’s efforts to reduce fireworks casualties during the recent…
-
Black Pols and Obama: Conflict Over Jobs?
By Ylan Q. Mui Black lawmakers are embarking on a monthlong campaign Monday to address the staggering unemployment rate among African Americans, an issue that has become a growing source of tension between members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Obama administration. Lawmakers have met with the administration three times this year seeking support…
-
Tiger Woods May Be Struggling Financially
by Cindy Boren It was easy to snicker when a new commercial debuted in Japan earlier this month showing Tiger Woods hawking a heat rub product (insert whatever joke comes to mind here).But Woods’ latest promotional deal with Vantelin Kowa rub may be about more than a desire to build his global brand in the…
-
Economic Outlook Worsens, U.S. Adds Only 18,000 Jobs in June
Job growth came nearly to a halt in June, the federal government said Friday with surprisingly grim new data that challenge expectations that the economy is poised to bounce back from its spring lull. The disappointing report comes at a sensitive time, as President Obama and Congress engage in high-stakes negotiations over raising the legal…
-
Sade, Reluctantly Back in the Spotlight
Written by Chris Richards The conference room at the Hotel Monaco in downtown Baltimore is oppressively taupe. Taupe walls, taupe chairs, taupe tablecloths. Pull back the taupe curtains and enjoy the view: a taupe building made of taupe bricks. “It’s a bit grim in here, isn’t it?” asks Sade. Casually dressed in red denim, red…
-
Survey: On the African-American Financial Experience
By Michelle Singletary I frequently find myself in a debate with a dear friend about the slew of surveys concerning the financial behavior of African Americans. When the companies release their findings, which often show blacks lagging in savings and investment holdings, the question he’s left with is: Are the results because of race, class…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
