theblackbottom

I AM the youngest of 10 children in my family, and the only one born in the United States. My father was a municipal judge who fled Haiti during the Duvalier regime. He and my mother settled in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, but could not initially afford to bring over my four brothers and [...]

Emberly Vick, otherwise known as Emberly “The Writer,” admits that she passively ignored relentless urges to write for years. Still, whether explaining a concept or conceptualizing herself, she was clearly ordained to write at an early age.
Excelling in state writing tests in elementary, “TheWriter” never considered writing, not even as a hobby, until college. After [...]

Source: LA Times
“Undefeated” presents itself as a look at a single season in the life of a striving high school football team in impoverished North Memphis, Tenn., but really it’s about so much more.
Like all memorable sports documentaries — and this Oscar-nominated film is definitely one of those — “Undefeated” is [...]

Matt Vande Bunte | mvandebu@mlive.com 02/01/2012 6:45 AM
GRAND RAPIDS – After-school programs are in line for a checkup with a $765,000 grant that will focus on gathering reliable data and improving program quality.”
Grand Rapids is one of nine cities nationwide that will share $7.8 million from The Wallace Foundation in New York. Details on how [...]

Source: In These Times
John Marshall Metropolitan High School, located in Chicago’s mostly black East Garfield Park neighborhood, underwent a highly touted transformation last year when it became one of Chicago’s “turnaround” schools. Started under former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO and current Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the turnaround program picks [...]

“A Solvable Problem:
In America today, a gap in academic achievement separates kids in low-income communities from their higher-income peers. Only eight percent of students growing up in poverty graduate from college by age 24, compared to 80 percent of students in more affluent areas. This limits life options, affects families and communities, and has significant [...]

President Obama describes some of the ways his Administration is working to address challenges facing the African American community. Finally, more than likely, because of the pressure of election season the President is feeling comfortable enough to address the adverse conditions of black people in this country . I love the President and I am [...]

Source: Detroit Free Press

A crowd of movers and shakers was exiting an event at the White House during the Clinton administration. Among them was Wayne State University President Irving Reid.
As Reid was leaving, civil rights leader and Clinton adviser Vernon Jordan called out, “When you get back to Detroit, be sure to tell Arthur [...]

Source: In These Times
Black teachers in Chicago appear to be receiving pink slips at higher rates than white teachers, according to recent analysis by the Chicago Teachers Union.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education’s 2010 report card (PDF), African Americans comprise 29.6 percent of CPS teachers. But the CTU’s analysis [...]

JEANNETTE CATSOULIS, New York Times
You may never have heard of the Kashmere Stage Band, but by the end of “Thunder Soul” you will wonder why. A big-hearted, back-in-the-day tribute — and a stand-alone argument for public-school music programs — Mark Landsman’s bittersweet documentary has designs on your feet, heart and mind.
Celebrating a [...]