The summer of 2012 in Chicago has been seen its unfortunate share of violence against school-age students and adults in neighborhoods across the city. That’s why Alderman Emma Mitts, the 37th Ward Pastor’s Alliance, community and religious leaders, other local civic organizations and the Mid-Austin Steering Committee believe it’s vitally important to offer more positive, fun-filled activities in the communi ...

Two-Time NBA Champion Isiah Thomas was Grand Marshall Parade Alderman Jason C. Ervin will hosted the 28th Ward Annual Back-to- School Parade and Picnic on Saturday, August 4th.  Two-Time NBA Champion and 12-time NBA All Star Isiah Thomas was this year’s Grand Marshall.  There was free school supplies given to 2,000 students at the picnic along with a Senior Appreciation Luncheon, both events were held in Ga ...

FIRST WORDS… As we explore this new unit for the month of August, we are fortunate to see how God promised justice to his people.  We move to one of the most noted books of the Bible – Psalm.  It is evident that God supports and maintains His people so that all of our lives can be dedicated to offering and rendering Him the praise He is due. A PRAISE FOR JUSTICE (v. 1-2) As the lesson opens, between verses ...

by Richard B. Muhammad Special to the NNPA from The Final Call Jokes about niggras, pimps, hoes, Bebe’s kids, baby mammas and baby daddies are fine but any jokes that hint at Black suffering are strictly off limits. Chris Rock is the latest Black comedian to discover that denigrating your own people brings riches, critical acclaim and praise for cutting edge and no holds barred work. Jokes about race and Am ...

Sherman Hemsley played characters known to be wise-cracking, “Weezy” loving, “honky” calling, boisterous fools which America and the entire world laughed with kindheartedly. Sherman Alexander Hemsley, Air Force veteran and actor, was born on Feb. 1, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, William Hemsley, worked at a printing press while his mother worked at various factories during the war. As a ch ...

By Freddie Allen NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Nearly 6 million former prisoners –1 million of them Black – will not be able to vote in the November presidential election because of state laws that continue to punish them even after they have completed their sentences, according to a recent report by the Sentencing Project. The report said 5.85 million citizens who were formerly incarcer ...

By James Clingman NNPA Columnist Amazingly, Black folks in this country still don’t get it.  After all we have been through and after everything we have accomplished, prior to and after integration, our relative collective economic position in America has changed very little.  In some cases we have regressed in terms of ownership of land, from some 20 million acres of land (31,000 square miles) in 1910; and ...

By Imani Evans Special to the NNPA News Service from The Dallas Examiner WASHINGTON (NNPA) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new findings that show a “dramatic decline” in risky sexual behavior among Black youth since 1991. The data, which cover 1991 to 2011, was presented by Laura Kann, Ph.D., and Kevin Fenton, M.D. at the recently concluded 2012 International AIDS Conference ...

The Healing Temple Church of God and Christ held their 24th annual “Say No to Drugs Parade” on July 28th. The parade started at the church on Chicago Avenue headed west to Central then turned north up Central to Augusta, east on Augusta toward Cicero and back to Chicago Avenue. The young people and adults were chanting things like “Stop the Violence; Save Our Children and We Want to Live.” The parade was le ...

by Kenneth Miller LA Watts Times Correspondent From Watts to South Central, Inglewood, to Hawthorne and beyond, Lakers fans are rejoicing in the acquisition of superstar big man Dwight Howard joining the storied local basketball franchise. It is one of those moments that sort of transcends your normal sports story. Not as important as the Martin Luther King assassination or the presidential election of Bara ...