Avis Thomas-Lester Urban News Service Brunson L. Cooper dreamed of starting his own construction firm–but he had no money, no investors, and no connections. He decided to become his own rich uncle. The engineer spent 16 years working at Turner Construction, one of America’s largest builders. He always lived below his means and saved what […]
Black Farmer Fights to Kill Death Tax
by Avis Thomas Lester Urban News Service John Wesley Boyd, Jr., lives off the land raising cows and growing soybeans and corn on 400 acres he owns in rural Baskerville, Virginia. He works alongside his father, John Wesley Boyd, Sr., 75, who farms 117 acres nearby that he inherited from his own father. Together they’ve […]
On the Front Lines of the Opioid Crisis: Crime, Antidotes, Overdoses
By Avis Thomas-Lester Urban News Service Kanawha County Sheriff’s Lt. Scott Elkins gets ready for his 12-hour shift by checking his patrol car and equipment, then contacting the dispatcher to discuss the team of deputies with whom he will patrol 900 square miles until dawn. Lastly, Elkins inspects his supply of Narcan, the trade name […]
From Homelessness to Hairstylist
Early Struggles Spur Beautician to Success By Avis Thomas-Lester Urban News Service She’s taught natural hair styling in Los Angeles and hair-loss prevention in Australia. She’ll be featured in New Zealand next month at the International Association of Trichologists’ Hairdressing Conference. “I do a lot of speaking engagements, so I travel a lot,” said Johnson, […]
African Hair Braiders Fight for Economic Liberty
By Avis Thomas-Lester Urban News Service Kune Gueye came from Senegal to Nashville for a better life, but she had to overcome yards of red tape to earn her American dream. To make a living, she turned to a skill she had honed over years of practice in her homeland – braiding hair. With a […]
As Death Tax Looms, Prince’s Estate May Stay in Limbo for Years
by Avis Thomas-Lester Urban News Service How much is a vault of unreleased songs worth? What’s the value of a guitar played by a musical genius? Is Uncle Sam owed anything on a chifforobe full of rock star finery? And, what’s the going rate for a “glyph” created to protest against an artist’s record company? […]
Was it Civil Rights or a Movement?
by Avis Thomas-Lester Urban News Service They fought for integration, equal education and voter registration. There were Freedom Rides, a march on Washington and mayhem on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. There were sit-ins, brutal attacks and stands against violence. In the end, freedom was achieved – at least in part. “There is no question that […]
From Civil War To Civil Rights, Frank Smith Lives Black History
By Avis Thomas-Lester, Urban News Service The 20-year-old civil rights worker had been locked up for three weeks in Greenwood for helping blacks register to vote. “After I was released from jail, I called my mother at home in Georgia to tell her I was okay,” said Smith, 73, of Washington, D.C. “She told me […]
Foreclosure Crisis Still Hammers African-Americans
by Avis Thomas Lester, Urban News Service Willie Ann Lytle faced foreclosure on her home two days before Halloween. So she filed for bankruptcy to save it. Lytle’s parents bought the cheerful house on Addison Road in Capitol Heights, Maryland, for $10,500 in 1948. She was only 1. Her mother, Margaret, taught her to cook […]
Foreclosure Crisis Still Hammers Black Americans
By Avis Thomas Lester Urban News Service Affluence is no antidote to foreclosure. In Prince George’s County, Maryland — one of the United States’ wealthiest majority-black jurisdictions — the foreclosure crisis has hammered several solidly middle-class communities. These include Perrywood, a neighborhood of two-story homes near the county seat in Upper Marlboro; Marleigh in Bowie, […]