(Akiit.com) As the product of a single-parent home, I always have mixed feelings when Father’s Day rolls around. What could I understand about the importance of fathers when my own formative years were shaped by the absence of one? Much has been written about the negative effects of fatherlessness on ...
(Akiit.com) It seems that Africa is once again becoming important. There has been a subtle shift in focus on issues concerning Africa. From the genocide in Darfur, to South Africa’s triumphs and struggles as it builds a new country free of the burdens of apartheid, to cracking down on the ...
(Akiit.com) A beleaguered Knoxville, Tennessee police chief Sterling Owen, IV was emphatic in his stern remarks at a press conference in mid-May. There was absolutely no evidence Owen said that the murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom were racially motivated. The chief had to be forceful and direct in ...
(Akiit.com) Toledo, OHIO TODAY, my grandson graduates from high school. Erik is a black male, and the family is proud of him. College is an option for Erik, but he is particularly interested in the construction trades. Great, I told him the other day. “And when you become wealthy,” I ...
Crime | The tragic shooting of South Side honor student Blair Holt stems from ‘a combustible blend of cultural and racial baggage’ (Akiit.com) Chicago – The senseless and heartbreaking murder of Blair Holt 10 days ago drew community rage and made headline news only because Holt was an exemplary honor ...
(Akiit.com) With all the talk about Hip Hop activism, I have to ask, “Where is women’s activism within Hip Hop?” From my vantage point, what the recent Don Imus affair brought painfully to light is that generally, Black women within Hip Hop are to be ogled in music videos, insulted ...
(Akiit.com) I lured my sons into the garage to help me look for some long lost document with the promise of buried treasure. We never found the document I was looking for. However, while sorting through some of my father’s old papers that were mixed up with mine, I came ...
(Akiit.com) Cleveland – The achievement gap separating black boys from just about everyone else springs from a powerful, anti-education culture rising in the black community, a local black think tank argues in a new report. Parents who undervalue education, and a mass media that peppers youth with the quick, shallow ...
(Akiit.com) The applause was loud and sustained virtually every moment that Yolanda King was on stage performing her one-woman theatrical performance. The audience beamed with love, joy and most importantly appreciation for her. This writer did too as I sat spellbound in the first row of the Los Angeles church ...
Group Proposes Mentors, Single-Sex Classrooms (Akiit.com) Maryland – A new report by a statewide task force that paints a grim picture of how African American male students are faring in Maryland’s public schools and universities recommends strengthening mentor programs, encouraging more black men to be teachers and providing more academic ...
(Akiit.com) Savannah, GA Responsibility and achievement, not violence, are the mark of a true man. “A new life started when I started going to Savannah Technical College. Everything is so positive, fresh and great.” John Weldon, as told to his teacher Geveryl Robinson, on March 19. On May 1, 2007, ...
Stop the killing — before we lose yet another young life (Akiit.com) What are we to do now? That question nagged me every time I thought about the family of Blair Holt. Blair was the 16-year-old Julian High School junior who was killed Thursday when a 16-year-old gang member opened ...