IMPACT ON POLITICAL & CURRENT AFFAIRS

Branford Taitt to get honorary degree from Brooklyn College

by Roderick J. Broome

On Thursday, May 31, 2007, Brooklyn College (BC) will officially name one of its most illustrious alumni the Honorable Dr. Branford M. Taitt, during the morning ceremony of its Annual 82^nd Commencement Exercise on the sprawling grounds of this esteemed four-year college, the largest of the several educational institutions attached to the City University of New York (CUNY). Although thousands of immigrants from the Caribbean have graduated from Brooklyn College since 1925, and went on to lead exemplary lives in their respective chosen endeavors, only Barbadian-born diplomat-politician Branford M. Taitt was able to break the ice and have the scales tipped in his direction: thus becoming the first one ever, from that region, to have an honorary doctorate so conferred, via BC.
 

Interracial Marriages Surge Across the U.S.

The charisma king of the 2008 presidential field. The world's best golfer. The captain of the New York Yankees. Besides superstardom, Barack Obama, Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter have another common bond: Each is the child of an interracial marriage. For most of U.S. history, in most communities, such unions were taboo. It was only 40 years ago - on June 12, 1967 - that the U.S. Supreme Court  knocked down a Virginia statute barring whites from marrying nonwhites. The decision also overturned similar bans in 15 other states.
 

Judge’s ex-wife leads successful ‘Deadbeat Parents’ march

Resounding calls for justice against ‘Deadbeat Parents’ last Wednesday reverberated around a small park in front of New York’s Supreme Court in downtown Manhattan. Leading the charge and the march that had begun at Cadman Plaza in downtown Brooklyn, was outspoken Guyanese Tessa Abrams Mason, former wife of disgraced judge Reynold Mason. Other powerful and energetic wronged women from across the nation joined voices in support of the more than one million neglected children around the country.

David Blue Jr. received an award on April 29, 2007. It was a special award for this high school senior who came back from a serious setback to be graduating from Framingham High School with honors this month. David Jr. is the grandson of the prominently active Guyanese N. John and Hyacinth Blue of Brooklyn. David Jr. suffered what doctors termed a minor stroke in September, 2005. It was traced to a pinched blood vessel at the back of his neck, an injury which occurred during his school's second football game of the season. Three days after that game, he was running a high fever and his speech was slurred. David Jr. underwent an MRI which revealed he’d suffered a stroke. However he was back in school within two weeks, but he was not cleared to play for another six months.