Author: Carma Henry

     Rose Brown, a former graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, filed a federal lawsuit against the school on Tuesday for claims of racial discrimination and retaliation. Brown, who is a Black woman, says she was forced to leave her graduate program after she filed a complaint with the university’s compliance office about patterns of discriminatory and hostile treatment.

     Later that day, his puzzlement morphed into deep concern bordering on panic after a follow-up email from Sarasota County officials notified him that his company’s 21 properties had been sold in a bulk transfer. His lawyer found that someone he did not know had filed paperwork with Florida’s Division of Corporations, removing the officials at the decade-old business he and his mother owned, Glenco Properties Group Corp., and installing a new chief executive, he said.

     Miami’s Historic Overtown Hosted the 7th Annual Urban Film Festival (UFF) through a jam-packed three-day weekend of educational programs, screenings, and networking social events September 2nd-4th. The weekend of events took place in a corner conglomerate of venues that provided an exclusive “Urban District” feel— Red Rooster’s Upper Deck Nightclub where all of the Networking Mixers were Hosted; and The Overtown Performing Arts Center, The Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater, Center for Black Innovation, and Dorsey Library where screenings, Masterclasses, and Panel Discussions were hosted. 

     Mable John, the first woman signed to Berry Gordy’s Tamla Records label and a former Raelett with Ray Charles, passed away on August 25, 2022, at her home in the Los Angeles area. She was 91 years old. In the late 1960s, John also recorded southern soul classics such as her 1966 million-seller, “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” for Stax Records. She also co-starred as Bertha Mae in Oscar nominated director John Sayle’s 2007 film, “The Honey Dripper”, which also starred Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, and Stacy Keach.

      The Labor Day weekend was ignited by the energy of nearly 40,000 fans at the Hard Rock Stadium, Sunday September 4th. The football game between Florida A&M (FAMU) Rattlers and Jackson State (JSU) Tigers was the culmination of a power packed weekend of social, educational, and economic impact, brought about by the 2022 Orange Blossom Classic.

     According to a news release, the Community Affordable Loan Solution aims to help eligible individuals and families obtain an affordable loan to purchase a home.

     President Joe Biden’s recent student debt cancellation announcement elicited a diverse range of reactions– some congratulatory, others critical, and still others that seem unsure what to make of the unprecedented multi-billion-dollar effort.

     Today, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) long-term trend scores in reading and math were released — the first national assessment of student learning trends during the pandemic. And the results are dire — math performance fell for the first time in the history of the long-term trend assessments; and in reading, scores saw the biggest drop in 30 years. This is an urgent reminder that education leaders must double down on and fully fund efforts to accelerate student learning.

Lynda Roberts fought back tears when she accomplished a milestone in the 69-year history of a local international service organization, becoming the first Black woman president of the Aventura/North Miami Beach Lions Club.

      The Freedmen’s Bureau was created in 1865 during the Lincoln administration, by an act of Congress called the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill. Britanica.com, documents that the Freedmen’s Bureau, formally known as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, was meant to give aid to over 4 million former slaves. They provided aid for food, housing, oversight, education, health care, and employment contracts with  landowners. This was a planned step to integrate ex slaves into society.