By Jazelle Hunt, Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) — The day before she died, Maya Angelou telephoned Ebony magazine headquarters in Chicago to tell new editor-in-chief Mitzi Miller that she was proud of her. They barely knew each other. Miller knew Angelou mostly through her writings.“She spoke to me for 10 minutes, so generously and complimentary […]

By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent  WASHINGTON (NNPA) — Despite the disproportionate impact of poverty found in African American communities, only one of President Barack Obama’s “Promise Zones,” is majority-Black, according to a new report.A recent report by the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan research and educational institute, offered recommendations on the role the […]

By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) – The growing racial wealth gap – $200 in median wealth for Blacks in 2011 and $23,000 for Whites – threatens national economic security in the United States, according to a recent report by the Center for Global Policy Solutions.“When it comes to the racial gap in […]

By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent  WASHINGTON (NNPA) – More than 60 percent of Black students could receive greater financial aid for college through the Pell grant program, if they were enrolled full-time, according to a new report by the National Urban League.The report, which focused on the profile of a typical Black student and […]

By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent  WASHINGTON (NNPA) —Blacks with college degrees continue to fare worse than college-educated Whites in the labor market, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).The report titled, “The Class of 2014: The Weak Economy Is Idling Too Many Young Graduates,” looked at the job prospects for […]

By Farangis Abdurazokzoda  WASHINGTON (IPS)  —  Honoring the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Friday emphasized progress in advancing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons, but a new report on criminalization of LBGT people suggests that there is still a long way to go.“Today of […]

By Chanelle Ignant, Richmond Pulse via New America Media Special to the NNPA It’s a Thursday evening at Richmond High School, and the hallways of this normally bustling campus have fallen quiet. Behind closed doors in the school library, a small group of African American parents, community members and school administrators are huddled in a […]

By Freddie Allen, NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) —Since 1973, more than 300 innocent defendants have been sentenced to death, largely because Blacks are overrepresented among murder convictions and among those who are wrongfully condemned to die, according to a recent report.“The size of the group of innocent people sent to death surprised me, said […]

By Michelle Tullo WASHINGTON (IPS)  — Innocent people will be executed in the United States if the country’s capital punishment system is not reformed, warns a new report.These reforms include improving the use of forensic science, taping confessions, and providing better trained counsel to defendants. These suggestions were among 39 recommendations released Wednesday in a […]

By Jazelle Hunt, Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) — The relationship between melanin and vitamin D — the nutrient that sunlight provides — may explain why African American, Caribbean, and men of African ancestry have the highest rates of prostate cancer than anyone in the world, according to a new study.The study by a team of […]