By Victor Kerney

The news is not good for LGBT teens. A study: Shared Differences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students of Color in Our Nation’s Schools found that LGBT kids of color are experiencing overt prejudice and considerable negative peer pressure.

More than four out of five students within each racial/ethnic group, reported verbal harassment in school because of sexual orientation; about two-thirds reported harassment because of gender expression.   At least a third of each group reported physical violence in school because of sexual orientation.

More than half of African American, Latino, Asian and multiracial students  reported verbal harassment in school based on their race or ethnicity.  Native American students were less likely than other students to report experiencing racially motivated verbal harassment. The study found that about a quarter of African American/Black and Asian/Pacific Islander students have missed class or days of school in the prior month because they felt unsafe. Latino, Native American, and multiracial students were even more likely to be absent for safety reasons – about a third or more skipped class at least once or missed at least one day of school in the prior month for safety reasons. Native American students experienced particularly high levels of victimization because of their religion, with more than half reporting the highest levels of verbal harassment, and a quarter experienced physical violence.

It's scary to see our youth going through the same mess we went through . The harrasment, violence and abuse needs to stop. Change must come for next generation's sake.

Studies Weekly /Woogi World "Every Kid Votes" Election Predicts BARACK OBAMA The Clear Winner

Salt Lake City, UT -  Studies Weekly®, publisher of "textbooks" in newspaper and magazine format used by millions of elementary students and Woogi World the online virtual world for children 6-12 dedicated to engaging children in character-building adventures, have completed their first-ever national kids' education and voting adventure, and have tallied the votes. Almost one million children participated from all 50 states in the US.

In the Studies Weekly/Woogi World "Every Kid Votes" program, Democrat Barack Obama won the presidential election by a vote of 473919 to 333092 over Republican John McCain.


 

Children between the ages of 6-12 were given the opportunity to learn about both candidates, and our voting rights and responsibilities, before the actual vote today. "This is a significant sampling of children's opinions across the country. We had high student participation in all 50 states in the country" said Ed Rickers, President of Studies Weekly. "In other student elections - such as the Scholastic News Election Poll that was open to kids from grades 1-12, the voter turnout was less dramatic. That poll had approximately 250,000 kids vote by paper or online ballot. The voter turnout in the "Every Kid Votes" election was dramatically higher - with only grades K-6 participating."

"This is the first in an ongoing effort to create a habit of voting in children - a habit that can last a lifetime," said Children's Way Foundation CEO, Scott Dow. "Although this is an historic election, we want children to recognize the importance of voting at every opportunity. We believe as children come to understand that getting involved - standing up to be counted, is the foundation on which this country and all democracies are founded, they'll seize that opportunity!"

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(New York, NY)-At what has become the "in" place for fundraising events, N Boutique, on 116th Street in Harlem, hosted a fundraiser " Groove, Give and Get" on June 11 for the Chuck Allen Scholarship Fund to benefit the St. Philips Episcopal Church and the Democracy Preparatory Charter School.

As a memorial to his untiring work, not only in the New Haven communities where he was an alderman and special assistant to the mayor, but in the Harlem area where he lived, Chuck Allen, III was honored and remembered at the fundraiser.

Paying homage to his partner for nine years, Tod Roulette, said that it was interesting that with Allen's death in February 2008 a lot of the work that he [Allen] had committed himself to is now coming to fruition.

"When I walk pass on 137th Street and I see the building he was instrumental in raising funds for, the people moving in and the school moving in July and will begin to formerly occupy the space with the beginning of the new school year in September, I feel close to tears as I remember how devoted he was to seeing it all completed," said Roulette.

Hosting the fundraiser was actor, writer, songwriter and educator Cornelius Jones, Jr., who for six years was a member of the cast of the on stage performance of the Lion King on Broadway, and who performed two selections from his upcoming performance "Flag Boy," which he said is autobiographical solo play that was written and is done by him.

"I'm just helping to bring more diversity to the work that Chuck was involved in," said Jones. "I'm not a politician, but I do a lot of work on humanitarian issues and I'm an advocate for gay issues."

When the time had arrived for Jones to perform selections from his upcoming show, he turned to the crowd of guests and suggested that because of the R-rated material in his performance and the age of the students, they were asked to go to the lower level until it was over. In his performance, Jones recounted in a dramatization a snippet of his first gay experience with his close friend, Danny, who had stayed over at his house and with whom he shared a bed.

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By Jotham Sederstrom

When Albert Smith strode up to the podium at Medgar Evers College's graduation ceremony last weekend in white gladiator boots and Gucci sunglasses, the whole school cheered.

That's because after four long years of grappling with homophobic slurs from fellow students, Smith became the school's first member of an openly gay club to graduate - an unusual achievement at Medgar Evers College.

Edgar Evers Graduate Albert Smith (l.) and Lamont Joseph, both active in the Life Club, the Crown Heights college's first gay pride club. Smith graduated last Saturday; Joseph still attends.

"I made a mark for myself and the college, too," said Smith, 29, who lives in Flatbush. "It was the greatest feeling in the world to know I had so many supporters."

Smith's popularity at Medgar Evers didn't happen overnight - nor did support for the Life Club, the first school-sanctioned gay and lesbian awareness group in the college's 38-year history.

Comprised mainly of Caribbean-American and black students, the college is rampantly homophobic, said Smith and other openly gay students at Medgar Evers.

Club President Lamont Joseph, 22, helped create the group three years ago, but the club was only sanctioned in July.

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Medgar Evers College (MEC) is a college campus (offering baccalaureate and associate degrees) of The City University of New York.

Medgar Evers College has the distinction of being the youngest of the four-year senior colleges in The City University of New York. The current enrollment is 5,600 students.

MEC was founded in 1970 through cooperation from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn. MEC is named after Medgar Wiley Evers, a Mississippi-born black civil rights activist who, while serving in World War II, became disenchanted by the knowledge that he was fighting for freedom halfway around the world while he and other American blacks endured segregation and other forms of racism. He later helped secure many social and political advances for African-Americans, including helping the first black student, James Meredith, attend the previously-whites-only University of Mississippi in 1962. Evers was assassinated on June 12, 1963.

MEC is divided into four schools: The School of Business; The School of Professional and Community Development; The School of Liberal Arts and Education; and The School of Science, Health, and Technology. The College also operates several external programs and associated centers such as Male Development and Empowerment Center, Center for Women's Development, Center for Black Literature, and The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy.

Source: Wikipedia

A Proud Tradition of Producing Outstanding Leaders

Although times change, Morehouse’s mission remains steadfast: to produce academically superior, morally conscious leaders for the conditions and issues of today, whether “today” is post-Civil War or turn of the new millennium.

Martin Luther King Jr. led the country through one of its most transforming civic movements; David Satcher resuscitated the issues of health care disparity and access; Maynard Jackson taught the world the value of diversity and equal access as the first African American mayor of Atlanta; Donn Clenendon scored in the history annals and was part of a miracle when he was named a World Series MVP; and Shelton “Spike” Lee continues to challenge how the world views blacks in life with critically acclaimed films.

All helped changed the world. All are Morehouse men.

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By Michelle D. Anderson -- Black College Wire

While the nation may soon be witnessing the induction of its first non-white president, Morehouse College has honored its first white valedictorian in the school’s 141-year history.

Joshua Packwood

Joshua Packwood, an economics major from Kansas City, Mo. was honored May 18 for graduating with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He is one of the few non-Black students to attend the nation’s only predominately black and all-male institution of higher learning.

As the first white valedictorian since Morehouse’s establishment, Packwood’s achievement has been discussed a great deal on several blogs and news Web sites.

Packwood recently appeared on the nationally syndicated radio and television programs including the Tom Joyner Morning Show, National Public Radio and the CBS Early Show.

When asked if he expected all of the media attention, Packwood said “Absolutely not.”

“It’s been very surreal,” Packwood told Black College Wire in a phone interview.

During the interview Packwood shared one of his favorite memories—“Spirit Night,” which was held during new student orientation. Packwood recalled marching in rain towards Frank L. Forbes Arena with his Morehouse brothers “about 800 strong.”

During that night, Packwood learned chants, songs, and engaged in other Morehouse-exclusive rituals in his alma mater’s largest sporting facility.

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By Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times

ATLANTA -- Michael Brewer, a senior at Morehouse College, was strolling purposefully around this storied campus on a hot spring day, his heavy frame dripping sweat, his hands clutching a small stack of fliers.

 

Openly gay senior Michael Brewer, right, leads a candlelight vigil at Morehouse College honoring victims of homophobia. The historically black all-male school was once regularly listed by the Princeton Review as among the top 20 homophobic campuses, but according to Brewer, “the tide is definitely changing.” Photo: Jessica McGowan

"No more hate," the fliers read, in a stylish typeface. "No more discrimination. No more."

"What's up, brother?" Brewer said in a lilting, cheerful voice as he approached a fellow student in a dark business suit. "Take one of these, if you will."

The young man gave the flier a glance. It was promoting what was perhaps the most ambitious week of gay rights events in the history of Morehouse, the only historically black all-male school in America.

"What the hell is this?" he said under his breath. He laughed and threw it in the trash.

But Brewer had already moved, unfazed, into the lobby of WheelerHall, where he was taping up posters. The events had been his idea, and he knew they wouldn't go over well with everyone.

"Morehouse is like this enclave where Stonewall never happened," Brewer said, referring to the 1969 New York protest that galvanized the gay rights movement. "It just doesn't exist in this realm of reality."

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ORGANIZATION OF BLACK AIRLINE PILOTS (OBAP) ACE (Aviation Career Education) CAMP for teens ages 14-18 sponsored by DELTA AIRLINES

Do you know of any young person that may want to attend a free one (1) week camp during the summer? If yes, please read below for details.

This summer the Organization of Black Airline Pilots (OBAP) will hold two (2) ACE Camps sponsored by Delta Air Lines. The purpose of each one-week program is to introduce interested youth to the world of aviation by exposing them to the many challenging  careers and opportunities which the aviation industry has to offer.

Please take the time to read the brochure/application and pass it along to anyone that you know who may be interested. The age range is for boys and girls between 14 -18 years old.

Here's the website with more info and pictures
http://www.obap.org/Programs/programs-ace-camps.asp

The official application is at: http://www.obap.org/Programs/docs/2008_Ace_Camp_Application.pdf

Founded in 1856, Wilberforce University can trace its origin to a period of history before the Civil War, when the Ohio Underground Railroad was established as a means of escape for all those blacks who sought their freedom in the North from the yoke of slavery, one of the destination points of this railroad became Wilberforce University. As the Underground Railroad provided a route from physical bondage, the University was formed to provide an intellectual Mecca and refuge from slavery's first rule: ignorance.

Wilberforce University, the nation's oldest private, historically black university, was named to honor the great 18th century abolitionist, William Wilberforce. Early in 1856, the Methodist Episcopal Church purchased property for the new institution at Tawawa Springs, near Xenia, Ohio. The school met with early success until the Civil War when enrollment and financial support dwindled. 

The original Wilberforce closed its doors in 1862. In March of the following year, Bishop Daniel A. Payne of the African Methodist Episcopal Church negotiated to purchase the University's facilities. Payne, a member of the original 1856 corporation, secured the cooperation of John G. Mitchell, principal of the Eastern District Public School of Cincinnati, Ohio and James A. Shorter, pastor of the A.M.E. Church of Zanesville, Ohio. The property was soon turned over to them as agents of the church.

The University was newly incorporated on July 10, 1863. In 1887 the State of Ohio began to fund the University by establishing a combined normal and industrial department. This department later became the University's sister institution, Central State University. Wilberforce also spawned another institution, Payne Theological Seminary. It was founded in 1891 as an outgrowth of the Theological Department at Wilberforce University.

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Barely six months after the end of the Civil War, and just two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, three men — John Ogden, the Reverend Erastus Milo Cravath, and the Reverend Edward P. Smith — established the Fisk School in Nashville, named in honor of General Clinton B. Fisk of the Tennessee Freedmen's Bureau, who provided the new institution with facilities in former Union Army barracks near the present site of Nashville's Union Station. In these facilities Fisk convened its first classes on January 9, 1866. The first students ranged in age from seven to seventy, but shared common experiences of slavery and poverty — and an extraordinary thirst for learning.

The work of Fisk's founders was sponsored by the American Missionary Association — later part of the United Church of Christ, with which Fisk retains an affiliation today. Ogden, Cravath, and Smith, along with others in their movement, shared a dream of an educational institution that would be open to all, regardless of race, and that would measure itself by "the highest standards, not of Negro education, but of American education at its best." Their dream was incorporated as Fisk University on August 22, 1867.

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If you know of anyone between 18-28 years old, interested in the Nursing field, University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is offering FREE tuition, FREE books, a $250 monthly stipend, and guaranteed job placement as a nurse at Providence Hospital upon graduation (it's a 3 year program) with a starting salary of $40,000. The program is recruiting new students now!!

Please contact Ms. Beshon Smith (202) 266-5481 or email: Bsmith@urbanalliance.org

Princeton, USC, Penn Among Names to Attend National Gay-Friendly College Fair

Charlotte, NC (PRWEB) March 12, 2008 -- What do Princeton University, Emory University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California and University of Utah have in common? Well, they all want to recruit out lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and are a few of the colleges to be in attendance at the upcoming Campus Pride College Admission Fair on Friday, April 11 in San Diego, California.

http://www.campuspride.org/

Upcoming Gay-Friendly National College Fair this April 11 in San Diego, CA provides rare opportunity to recruit out lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. In addition, new online LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index ranks gay-friendliness of colleges and grows in national attention as more campuses find value in reaching out to this no longer invisible demographic.

"Finally, colleges are coming out of the closet and being visible in the recruitment process to seek LGBT students. Even the nations top colleges realize that being LGBT-friendly is not only in the best interest of enrolment figures but also a necessity to prepare for a smaller, more diverse student population in the future," said Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director of Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit for LGBT students and campus groups and author of The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students.

According to Windmeyer, an increasing number of colleges and universities are openly recruiting LGBT students and are doing so for the first time ever. Nearly thirty colleges have registered to date for the upcoming LGBT-friendly college fair sponsored by Campus Pride. In addition, over 150 colleges and universities are reaching out to LGBT students through the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index. The national index, the only resource of its kind, is a dynamic online tool which rates LGBT-friendliness at colleges and universities as well as sets a national benchmark for campuses to become safer, more welcoming for LGBT and ally people. Any campus may take part in the index to be listed online at anytime.

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Wiley College, in Marshall, Texas,  gained international acclaim because of its excellent debating team that defeated Harvard University’s debating team.

By James O. Maxwell

Jubilee Hall - Fisk University

It is difficult to find written in American History textbooks the great contributions that the historically black colleges have made to the well-being and leadership among blacks; in addition, black colleges have made significant contributions to the growth and development of our country as a whole. Most of the movements for the freedom and the human rights of African-American people have been led by those who were trained in part or in whole at predominantly black colleges. Even today, many of the well-known black leaders in our nation were trained in black educational institutions.

Many African-Americans and Caucasians do not know that black colleges were established as early as 1849, although some of those are not in existence today. Institutions such as Morgan State College and Rust College were established as early as 1866 by the Methodist-Episcopal Church. Fisk University was founded in the same year. Howard University was opened in 1867. Tuskegee Institute was founded with only thirty students in 1881. In 1884, Paine College was begun by the Southern Methodist-Episcopal Church. LeMoyne-Owen College and Tougaloo University were founded in 1869. Knoxville College and Bethune-Cookman College were founded in 1875, and Lane College was founded in 1882.

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By Simone Pringle

Bolanle Salaam remembers growing up and sometimes feeling insulted as an African. Salaam, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, has dealt with stereotypes her entire life.

Howard University International Pals Bolanle Salaam "A student I knew was told that he should listen to African music because it was where all music came from. He replied that he tried to listen to it, but all African music sounded like 'boom badda boom,' just random drum noises," said Salaam, a sophomore mathematics major. "I don't think I've ever been so offended in all my life. We need to cut that out. It's nonsense."

Since slavery, there has been a great divide between Africans and their American counterparts. Some African students at Howard often feel stereotyped and mistreated based on misconceptions about their nationality and ethnicity.

Having had similar experiences, junior nursing major and Liberian American Whennah Andrews said, "When I was younger, I can admit that I did feel embarrassed about being African mainly because at that stage of my life, I was really concerned about gaining social acceptance. I believe that is what some students who are first generation African American feel or felt. They feel that the opinions and standards set by their American counterparts are far more superior [to] their ethnic upbringing."

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By KAREN W. ARENSON

Yale said Monday that it would sharply increase financial aid for undergraduates, including those from families with annual incomes up to $200,000, in a bid to ease costs for a broad swath of students.

Yale and other universities with large endowments have been under pressure from Congress to spend more and reduce charges for students. Harvard announced a similar aid expansion in December, saying the policy would cut the cost of attending college to 10 percent of income for a typical family making $120,000 to $180,000 a year.

Last week, Yale said that it would increase its annual spending from its $22.5 billion endowment, freeing up money for more aid.

The president of Yale, Richard C. Levin, said Monday in an interview, “I hope this will send a strong message to people with incomes between $45,000 and $200,000, some of whom at the high end perceive our sticker price as very daunting, that Yale does offer help at that range.”

On average, students who receive financial aid will see their charges drop in half, Mr. Levin said. A family with two children in college, $180,000 in income and $200,000 in assets will sees its Yale bill drop, to $11,650 from $22,300. Full tuition, room and board this year costs $45,000.

Students will still be expected to contribute in addition to parental payment — but the bill will drop to $2,500 next year, down from their $4,400 share of the $45,000 total. Despite other efforts to increase the aid and outreach to low- and middle-income students, Dr. Levin said, “we are still believed in many parts of the country to be inaccessible and too expensive.”

Gilbert Strang is a quiet man with a rare talent: helping others understand linear algebra. He's written a half-dozen popular college textbooks, and for years a few hundred students at the elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been privileged to take his course.

Recently, with the growth of computer science, demand to understand linear algebra has surged. But so has the number of students Strang can teach.

An MIT initiative called "OpenCourseWare" makes virtually all the school's courses available online for free - lecture notes, readings, tests and often video lectures. Strang's Math 18.06 course is among the most popular, with visitors downloading his lectures more than 1.3 million times since June alone.

Strang's classroom is the world.

In his Istanbul dormitory, Kemal Burcak Kaplan, an undergraduate at Bogazici University, downloads Strang's lectures to try to boost his grade in a class there. Outside Calcutta, graduate student Sriram Chandrasekaran uses them to brush up on matrices for his engineering courses at the elite Indian Institute of Technology.

Many "students" are college teachers themselves, like Sheraz ali Khan at a small engineering institute in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Noorali Jiwaji, at the Open University of Tanzania. They use Strang and other MIT professors as guides in designing their own classes, and direct students to MIT's courses for help.

by Kelsey Volkmann

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Creating a diverse population of nurses — beyond the stereotype of a white woman in a white uniform — builds trust among minority patients, research shows.

But in Maryland, where just 19 percent of nurses are black, universities would have to graduate an additional 550 African-American students every year for a decade before the proportion of black nurses would even come close to reflecting the race of the patients they serve.

Health care professionals hope a new nursing program at historically black Morgan State University will help alleviate the state’s nursing shortage, particularly the dearth of black nurses.

“Diversity in nursing is a really serious problem,” said Kathleen Galbraith, director of Morgan’s new nursing program. “African-Americans are extremely under-represented.”

By J. Samuel Cook-Dormoh

The word excites people on both sides of the debate, those who see it as a sacred rite of passage and those who view it as a barbaric form of torture.

Hazing incidents have occurred recently at Jackson State, Florida A&M and Southeast Missouri State universities, all involving black students. The incidents have placed the spotlight on initiation practices among the historically black fraternities and sororities that comprise the "Divine Nine" as well as some of the marching bands.

A study published in College Student Journal in 2001 found African American students have "more positive beliefs about the purpose of pledging" and are more likely to support and conform to pledging practices. According to the study, African Americans also held a significant belief that hazing processes should be intense, difficult and lengthy. The study also reported that African-American students had more positive perceptions of Greek organizations compared to white and Hispanic students.

Dr. Alvin T. Simpson, a professor of psychology at Alcorn State University and member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., agreed that African-Americans are more likely to engage in or accept hazing as a means of joining fraternities or sororities because they are looking for an identity. He also said that brutal or intense hazing rituals are rooted in the tradition of slavery.

By Kelsey Volkmann 

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - More than 1 in 4 black freshmen at Maryland's public colleges last year dropped out after their first year, the most in 17 years, a new report reveals.

“What's happening to African-American males is a tragedy, but we can't just keep talking about it being a tragedy,” said James Lyons Sr., state higher education secretary. “Working slowly to address these issues is one thing, but moving backward is another.”

About 28 percent of African-American students don’t return for a second year, according to the 2007 Performance Accountability Report for Maryland Public Colleges and Universities.