IMPACT ON POLITICAL & CURRENT AFFAIRS

African Immigrants Caught Between Worlds

They range from surgeons and scholars to illiterate refugees from some of the world's worst hellholes -- a dizzyingly varied stream of African immigrants to the United States. More than 1 million strong and growing, they are enlivening America's cities and altering how the nation confronts its racial identity.
Some nurture dreams of returning to Africa for good one day. But many are casting their lot permanently in America, trying to assimilate even as they and their children struggle to learn where they fit in a country where black-white relations are a perpetual work-in-progress.


 

FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR KEVIN PARKER

Senator Parker urges Senate to pass bill empowering New Yorkers on public assistance.

Brooklyn, NY – Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) today urged the state Senate to take up important legislation he proposed (S2478) that would allow New Yorkers on public assistance to use college course work to satisfy employment requirements. "The idea of public assistance is to give people in need a helping hand until they can support themselves and their families," said Senator Parker. "In other words, it’s a temporary solution. Obtaining a college education in order to get a decent job is essential in breaking the cycle of poverty and getting off public assistance for good. Yet, New York’s social services law does not allow college course work to fulfill work activity required for recipients."

Aids Walk Caribbean 2007

"Refocusing on a Vision for a Better Health Future." That was the theme of the 7th Annual Aids Walk Caribbean which took off from at the junction of Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, June 16, 2007.

This year the event attracted a large number of supporters who were addressed by Ms Dawn Stewart and a representative of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. The gathering was called upon to take a proactive role in their health and that of their communities, regarding HIV/AIDS as it was observed that according to the CDC, "people of color, especially blacks, now account for a greater proportion of new HIV/AIDS cases reported. A close examination of AIDS cases in America over the past decade reveals that HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among African Americans (which includes Caribbean Americans) between the ages of 25-44 years and the third leading cause of death of Latinos between the ages of 25-44 years. In the region a total of 300,000 people are currently living with HIV including 30,000 who became affected in 2005. The Aids Walk Caribbean Team shared out condoms and literature on HIV/Aids along the route as a means of further encouraging safe sex and sensitizing the wider community.

‘The Truth Behind Dr. Walter Rodney's Death’

New Book Reveals That Rodney Was Not Assassinated and Exposes Corruption Within the Working People Alliance (WPA)

LONG ISLAND, N.Y., June 19, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- It has been more than twenty-five years since Dr. Walter Rodney, a prominent historian and politician of Guyana, died in a mysterious explosion. While the public believes his death was a planned assassination, authors William Gregory Smith and Anne R. Wagner dispute such findings and together began their quest to prove that Rodney was not assassinated. This is the message behind their compelling new book, Assassination Cry of a Failed Revolution: The Truth About Dr. Walter Rodney's Death, released by Xlibris.
 

Lucky 13 for the Anne Blue Scholarship

The Blue family again celebrated the life of their beloved daughter; the late Anne E. C. Blue with the 13th Annual Dinner Dance which is the sole source of funding for The Friends of Anne Blue Scholarship Fund, established in 1993 and held around the time of Anne’s birthday. To date, scholarships and contributions have been made annually to students in Guyana who excel at various exams. The fortunate CXC winner gets G$250,000; $75,000 is awarded to the most outstanding 2nd year law student at UG; the top student at St. Gabriel’s with the best performance at the Common Entrance Exam receives $20,000 and the most outstanding performance at the 'O' Level by a Bishops’ High School student receives $30,000. Winners are selected irrespective of race or religion, and are chosen in the interest of development, education, and the promoting of academic excellence and community service.