April 2009 Archive

The chance to live a dream, have independence and control over one’s own images, to bring cultures together, and be the...

Every day we listen to doomsday reports about the consequences of what many economists are calling the worst recession in a generation. Although most analysts contend that this financial crisis will not be as devastating as the Great Depression of the 1930s, some have named the current financial crisis ‘The Great Recession of 2008.‘ Everyone seems to agree that during 2009 the situation will get worse before it gets better and that next year may not be much better.

I’m concerned that many of America’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are becoming miseducational jokes!

When it comes to the topic of HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (Ac quired Immunodeficiency Deficiency Syndrome), there was much to celebrate on World AIDS Day last December 1, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), World AIDS Day Report.

I think I am developing a crush on America’s first lady. Michelle Obama is more compelling than her husband. He’s good, but she’s utterly fascinating.

Let’s tell the truth: We’ve fallen into forgetfulness and apathy. Though our foreparents risked all that was dear to them to open a way for us, we have relinquished the fundamental Black values that guided their lives.

Since its launch in the 1970’s, the Colorado Association of Black Professional Engineers and Scientists (CABPES) has helped more than 2,500 young people of color with education, mentorship and training in the fields of engineering, science, math and technology.

My tenure of nearly 13 years at the Rocky Mountain News ended when the newspaper ceased operation on Feb. 27, 2009 - after 149 years of existence in the Denver community.

The 10th Annual State of the Black Union, hosted by Tavis Smiley, convened in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 28, again bringing many of the best and brightest African-American thinkers together to air their concerns for the community during an all-day affair aired live on the C-Span Network. The event was divided into two different panels consisting of leading luminaries from all walks of life.

There is nothing like the men’s NCAA basketball tournament (a.k.a “March Madness”) in your typical American workplace. No event unites sports fans with non-sports fans in offices around the country quite like it. Every year, it’s practically a rite of spring to find overheated business articles lamenting lost productivity, attributable to the art of bracketology. For Las Vegas oddsmakers it rivals the Super Bowl in gambling revenue.

With a rich variety of colors, an abundance of musical performances, and visual arts exhibitions, the Goree Diaspora Festival, held from Nov. 13-16, 2008 on the Isle of Goree in Senegal, West Africa provided a glimpse of what visitors can expect when they travel to Senegal this year for the World Festival of Black Arts.

When Katia Dukes was nine, her father was arrested for killing her mother and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison. As her father was escorted from the courtroom, young Katia became another silent victim – a child with an incarcerated parent.

Live Nation presents Mile Epps at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday April 18. A special guest (TBA) will open the show. Showtime is 8 p.m. and doors open at 7 p.m.

Sickle Cell Disease is the most common single gene disorder in Black Americans, affecting approximately one in 375 persons of African ancestry. However, the disease not only affects people of African ancestry but also persons from the Mediterranean Countries, Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian Subcontinent. There are also many Spanish-speaking persons in the United States, as well as people from the Caribbean and parts of South and Central America that are affected with the disease.

For over 20 years, I have been an activist working in the movement for justice, peace and equality in African-American, women’s and other oppressed communities. It has been a rich and joyful experience that has taught me of the power inherent in the “one among many” who has to facilitate social change.

The southern African nation of Botswana may be land locked and unknown to millions of people in America, but it has set many examples on how the HIV-AIDS pandemic can be combated. The country is not only relatively stable compared to some of its neighbors that include Zimbabwe, which has sucked out all good news out of Africa, but it is also a rapidly developing economy and arguably Africa’s most successful nation.

So even though President Barack Obama has appointed Van Jones, an African American activist and founder of Green For All from Oakland, CA as the nation’s first “Green Czar,” and the First Family has plans to plant a vegetable garden on the White House lawn, I am still compelled to question the theory of an “Earth Day”...

In October 2008, the Comedy Works South opened at 5345 Landmark Place in Greenwood Village. It is a remarkable place for those who have gotten accustomed to crowded, in-your neighbor’s-lap kind of comedy clubs.

Perhaps the most anticipated event in its proud history is about to take place at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA). Radio Golf, the 10th and last of the Decalogue of plays by the late August Wilson, opened on Thursday, March 26 and runs through April 25.

Doing Biz In San Antonio

Nothing This Month – Check Back Again

Real Men Cook Kicks Off 19th Annual Father's Day Celebration Chicago -- Real Men Cook, America's premiere urban Father's Day family tradition that pays tribute to the family, will be held in 11 cities on Father’s Day, June 15

Well, it’s finally here and none too soon to enjoy the many summer events happening in the Mile High City.

Nothing This Month – Check Back Soon

Nothing This Month – Check Back Soon

Nothing This Month – Check Back Soon

Welcome to the new America. I’m not talking about a blue America or a red America. I’m talking about a 21st century America – a nation of many colors, cultures and faiths. Barack Obama’s election as the first African-American president symbolizes what we have known for some time, but often fail to acknowledge: The United States has become one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse societies on Earth...

The holiday season is here again. But amidst the hustle and bustle of gift-giving and family get-togethers, seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D should carve out time to consider whether they want to stay with their current prescription drug plan...

Nov. 5, 2008 Dear Brother Obama, You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us.You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear...

Nothing This Month – Check Back Again

More than 250,000 people gathered at Chicago's Grant Park along the Lake Michigan shoreline to celebrate the victory of Barack Obama. Following are remarks by President-Elect Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008, Chicago, IL...