From The Atlanta Post

Two similar, and very telling, stories about Black students and how reverse integration would be beneficial to their academic achievement were published this week. Recently, the Oakland school district in California released data on the achievement of its black male students as part of its African-American male achievement initiative. The data showed a population which is missing more than 18 days of school on average and lagging gravely behind white males in English and Math. What was most interesting about this report, published in San Jose Mercury News for one, is the remarks left by a few of the commenters, which included:

Gee Yu: “The difference with the schools then and now is that we had black teachers in our schools. … We hired local teachers from the local colleges who had roots in the community…”

Football Watcher: “Put more African-American men in the classroom as teachers! In my 11 years, I almost never had any problem with African-American boys. I was an example of what they could be if they put their minds to it. We would have conversations at lunch and in between classes where I asked real questions like, “What do you want to do after you graduate (and not the song and dance about UC and A-G requirements)?”

Read the rest at The Atlanta Post.

by Steven Barboza, The Atlanta Post

The Nobel Prize was established by the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist, engineer and armament manufacturer who invented dynamite.  He established the prize reportedly because a French newspaper erroneously published his obituary in 1888, calling him the “merchant of death” and saying, “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.” Upon reading his own obit, he wanted to change how the world would remember him, so he decided to leave the bulk of his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes.  He wanted them to be awarded annually to those who confer the “greatest benefit to mankind” without distinction of nationality.

So who was overlooked? Certainly the 12 black winners of the Nobel Prize deserved to be recognized for their world-class work and their impact on humanity. But 12 blacks out of 813 laureates? That’s less than 1.5% of all winners.

Here are a few black people who perhaps were overlooked by Nobel juries.

David Blackwell: Nobel Prize in Mathematics

The son of a railroad worker with a fourth grade education, David Blackwell is considered the greatest of all African American mathematicians and among the world’s preeminent statisticians of all time.

See who else is on the list at The Atlanta Post.

By Brittany Hutson, The Atlanta Post

For a while now, the relevance of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) has been called into question. But with the recent news that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal wants to explore the possibility of merging two neighboring New Orleans universities, the historically black Southern University of New Orleans with the predominantly white University of New Orleans, the future of HBCUs becomes even more troublesome.

Jindal is calling for the merger to be considered in a streamlining study due March 1 by the Board of Regents. According to Jindal, the two universities have been struggling to fill classrooms and graduate students, so the merger would be a vehicle to raise graduation rates. Currently, SUNO has a 5% graduation rate while UNO has a slightly better graduation rate of 22%. Two-thirds in the state House and Senate would have to favor consolidation for the merger to occur.

Of course, this proposal has caused a political circus.

Read more at The Atlanta Post.

By  Charing Ball, contributor, The Atlanta Post

I know this subject is a little touchy but I’m going to ask it anyway: what is it with America’s obsession with fried chicken and black people?

I ask this after getting into a debate not too long ago via Facebook about whether or not black folks should eat stereotypical foods, such as fried chicken and watermelon, out in mixed company.  The person that I was chatting with said that he was so fearful of being stereotyped for his dietary preference that he had totally eliminated every food group that is associated with the black palette.  That means no macaroni and cheese, collard greens, sweet potato pie and definitely no fried chicken and watermelon.

I thought that this was ridiculous if not teetering on the line of paranoia.  Who cares what folks think about what you eat?  But apparently some black folks do care, so much so that they have worked themselves into a tizzy over Flavor Flav, the legendary hype man for the 80s radical rap group Public Enemy, and his new fried chicken business venture.

Read the rest at The Atlanta Post.

By Brittany Hutson, The Atlanta Post

U.S. companies are loosing out by neglecting a rather attractive and overlooked consumer: American Muslims.

There is an estimate number of six to eight million Muslims in this country that possess an annual spending power between $170 and $200 billion. It is believed that two-thirds of Muslim households make more than $50,000 a year and a quarter earn over $100,000. Miles Young, chief executive officer of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, an international advertising, marketing and public relations agency, said in a speech at this past December’s second annual American Muslim Consumer Conference that Muslims are the best-educated religious group in America and over 40% have bachelors’ degrees. Clearly, this is a consumer that companies cannot afford to not attract.

Read the rest at The Atlanta Post.

Taal & Antoinette Martin in front of their restaurant in China called Mexican Kitchen.

By Steven Barboza, The Atlanta Post

Within approximately a decade, China has accelerated its urban infrastructure development by creating futuristic skyscrapers and sleek, high-speed trains, resulting in the belief by many that the country has surpassed the United States in economic dominance. In fact, nearly half of Americans (47 percent) think China is the world’s leading economic power, according to a Pew survey.

It’s no surprise then that African Americans have begun to head East in search of entrepreneurial and employment opportunities. After all, the unemployment rate for blacks in the U.S. is 15.8 percent, nearly twice the rate of whites at 8.6 percent. China may have billions of people, but its unemployment rate is only 4 percent, and the demands of modernization can equate to employment if you’ve got the talent needed and the courage to make the move.

“In 2005, [my husband and I] had an opportunity to come to China via a family friend who lived here for many years, and [our friend] asked if we’d like to open a new restaurant,” said Antoinette Martin, a former food writer and New York City restaurant manager.  “I thought it would be a great opportunity.”

Read more at The Atlanta Post.

By Charing Ball, The Atlanta Post

Former D.C. mayor Marion Barry will soon be receiving a new assignment from the D.C. Council: lead a panel under which he will have the power to aid ex-felons.

Stop laughing.

According to published reports, the 74-year-old lawmaker will likely lead the Committee on Aging and Community Affairs, which among other things, will give Barry the legislative power to open up employment doors, educational and housing opportunities to persons returning from prison or jail.

Barry, who served as mayor for four terms, wants to use the power of his expected new post to push legislative acts such as the Work Release Act, which would allow parole and corrections officials to release offenders on electronic, home-based monitoring devices; and the Human Rights for Ex-Offender Amendment Act, which would prohibit housing, job and educational authorities from discriminating against applicants who were “previously questioned, apprehended, taken into custody or detention, held for investigation, arrested, charged with, indicted or tried for any felony, misdemeanor, or other offense pursuant to any law enforcement or military authority other than for offenses that are sexually related

By Brittany Hutson, The Atlanta Post

Wal-Mart scored a major win for their international expansion campaign when Massmart Holdings Ltd., a South African-based retailer, accepted the retail giant’s offer to buy 51 percent of their company. Though Wal-Mart has 8,692 stores in 15 countries, including Brazil, China and India, this deal marks their first entry into the African market.

According to the Associated Press, Wal-Mart offered 148 rand (about $20) per share in a 17 billion rand (about $2 billion deal). Grant Pattison, CEO of Massmart, said Massmart will continue to operate the stores while Wal-Mart will be the main owner. Massmart runs about 290 big box, pharmacy, electronics and other stores in 14 African countries.

Read the rest at The Atlanta Post.

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who was kidnapped as an infant 23 years ago says finding her real mother “felt like a dream.”

“I’m so happy. At the same time, it’s a funny feeling because everything’s brand new. It’s like being born again,” said the woman, who was named Carlina White by her parents but was raised in Connecticut under the name Nejdra Nance.

The 19-day-old baby Carlina was kidnapped in 1987 after her worried parents took her to Harlem Hospital with a fever. A woman who was dressed as a nurse abducted the baby; no suspect was ever arrested.

Carlina’s distraught parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson, feared they would never see their daughter again.

Carlina, or Nejdra, was raised by an abusive drug addict, she told the New York Post. She said she had long suspected that she wasn’t the woman’s real daughter.

When she got pregnant herself at 16, she asked her putative mother for a birth certificate so she could get prenatal care. Her mother could not provide one.

She gave birth to a daughter who is now 6, and when she recently moved on her own to Atlanta, Ga., she decided to seek out her birth parents.

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children helped her connect the dots. Then the center contacted Joy White

“We may have found your daughter,” Joy White said the caller told her.

DNA tests confirmed that Nejdra was in fact Carlina.

Mother and daughter were reunited on Saturday; they were in a Manhattan hotel on Thursday. The Post interviewed them at the hotel on Wednesday.

“I’m sitting here and I’m in a daze, thinking, ‘Is this for real?’ I missed the last 23 years of her life. I have to take it all in, for now just take it day by day,” Joy White told the newspaper.

Carlina White said, “I just never gave up on finding my real mother. I just kept on pushing.”

Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com

By THOMAS WATKINS, The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Two students were wounded Tuesday when a gun brought to a high school accidentally discharged, a Los Angeles Unified School District spokesman said.

District spokesman Robert Alaniz’s account to KCBS-TV differed from information from local police who said three people were wounded at Gardena High School.

KTLA-TV’s news helicopter, meanwhile, showed footage of one youth in handcuffs on the campus.

Alaniz said the gun was brought to school in a backpack and went off when the student dropped it.

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Jamie Moore said two victims were transported to a hospital, one in serious condition and one in critical condition.

Numerous law enforcement agencies responded to the shooting at the campus located in the city of Los Angeles adjacent to the city of Gardena.

Gardena police Lt. Steve Prendergast said a teacher called 911 at 10:41 a.m. and Gardena officers initially responded. The investigation was being turned over to Los Angeles city and school district police.

A handful of frantic parents rushed to the school after hearing about the shooting on the news. They paced nervously as they waited behind police tapes for word from their children.

“I’ve never heard of anything like this before,” said Thomas Hill, whose 16-year-old and 18-year-old children attend the school. “You’re going to have confrontations between kids but never this.”

Armando Perez, whose 15-year-old son Richard, was in the school, said: “I just want to know what’s going on.”

A mother who was waiting to hear from her 14-year-old son, Michael, said the school has a reputation for gang violence. Lupe Contreras said she has been trying to get her son out of the school.