Blackinformant.com – African-American culture, news commentary, politics

"Defying the age-old tradition of older students putting younger ones in their place, a group of two dozen students at Jones High School hope to succeed where the state and most school districts have failed - in overcoming generations of underachievement among African-American males. Willy is the chairman of Florida's first Minority Achievement Committee or MAC. Modeled after a 15-year-old effort at Shaker Heights High School near Cleveland, the group assigns ...More

Here is just one example of a non-profit that is financially accountable and has opened its book for the public to see. They have been in existence since 1971, so they bring some serious experience to the post tsunami area in Asia. Here is a little about them: ----------------- Food for the Hungry 1224 E Washington St Phoenix, AZ 85034-1102 Date Joined: 2/1/1980 Providing emergency relief to save victims of famine and war, and ...More

Like you, I cannot tell you the amount of times I have heard this statement accompanied by the sad pictures of sickly children from various impoverished countries. We are told that just our spare change can make a world of difference in the life of a child. I have always wondered how much of this spare change actually make it to its intended destination: The poor and suffering. In a ...More

The Washington Post provides a excerpt of Mr. Egeland's initial press conference where he accuses rich nations being too stingy in their response to the countries affected by the recent tsunami: Despite his claim of being "misinterpreted," a review of the transcript of Mr. Egeland's initial press briefing confirms that he asked reporters at the United Nations why Western countries are "so stingy" and specifically cited the United States as an ...More

"The 35-year-old now holds the distinction of becoming Boynton Beach's first African-American female sergeant, but she wants people to look beyond the label and laughs about the number of times people have commented on it. "It really doesn't matter if they hired a green Martian if a person is able to do the job and is the best person for the job," said the six-year police officer. Cannon said that's what she ...More

The bad news regarding the Tsunami keeps coming in. I just cannot bring myself to write about anything else today. 60,000 lives lost is not just another issue. This makes me wonder why most black media has treated this as an afterthought. BET finds itself bypassing the real news of this situation and gravitating towards the "America is stingy" remark made by someone in the U.N. ...More

I happened to come across this press release this morning and all I could do was shake my head. Here is a small excerpt: "Keeping Kwanzaa Sacred is Paramount to Keeping Christ in Christmas" The non-profit organization, the African American Holiday Association (AAHA) stands in solidarity with Christian efforts waged to keep the name of Christ in pageants and holiday parades in order to keep the spirituality of Christmas from falling deeper ...More

Jesse Lee Peterson, a man that I have mixed views recently voiced his opposition to the African-American holiday known as Kwanzaa. Before I get into his take on this issue, I must first take the time to say that most blacks in this country do not even celebrate this holiday. Here is a brief history of the founder of Kwanzaa, Ron N. Everett (a.k.a Ron Karenga): Short ...More

If you do not know by now, Reggie White, husband, father, the current NFL all-time sack leader, entrepreneur, community leader, minister, died yesterday of unknown causes. This was a particular blow to me because I remember Reggie best earlier in his career with the Philadelphia Eagles when he first got the nickname of "Minister of Defense" for not only being outspoken about his faith, but for being an ...More

As we enter into this season of giving, this website (http://www.ministrywatch.org) will assist those who give to religious charities. It gives a full rundown of revenues, effectiveness, etc. relating to that ministry. They even include a “watchlist” of ministries to avoid giving donations. This site is related to my upcoming posting entitled: “For the price of a cup of coffee…”. Stay tuned! More

For any aspiring filmmakers out there, this is a good place to make connections!! The San Francisco Black Film Festival announces the call for entries for the 7th Annual San Francisco Black Film Festival, June 8-12, 2005. - February 1, 2005 (Early) - March 1, 2005 (Final) Go to website: www.sfbff.org More

BOOKER RISING COMMENTARY: Bill Cosby's Libertarian Side "Most importantly, Cosby puts his money where his mouth is. Not other people's money. He isn’t sitting on the sidelines talking theory, but doing nothing. Cosby has donated more than $20 million in scholarships for promising but low-income black students to attend college. He regularly forgoes his $150,000+-per-speech fee to raise funds so low-income high schools can acquire better equipment and teachers." (more...) BOOKER ...More

Student Nets $100,000 in Scholarships Internet search paid off for Xavier freshman "I knew that if I wasn't able to pay for school with grants or scholarships, I was not going to be able to go to college," said Price, who is majoring in business administration at the New Orleans institution. "...Every time I got tired, I would just think of my dream to go to college and that this was my way ...More