Morehouse sophomore invents app to help students find jobs

Courtlynd “Justice” Mallory is a sophomore Business Management major from Albany, New York at Morehouse College. In August of 2016, Justice formed Mallory Integration, L.L.C. During his freshman year of college, he started his journey at Morehouse as a Chemistry major.

“I was a chemistry major and still wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do with a science degree so I began thinking about a new major and during that time I was trying to find a summer job. I tried to use one of the large job-finding sites and found it confusing.”

He says that it was this confusion that led him to create the Werk app available on the Android App Store.

“It seemed as if I would create accounts and receive tons of emails everyday but I’d still find myself to be unemployed. I finally did get a job after meeting with Human Resource workers directly and they informed me of their physical recruitment efforts despite their attempts at advertising.”

After much reflection on the issue Justice created the job finding site. He says that the app is meant for high school and college students. The big difference between the Werk App and many other mobile employment services is that, it doesn’t have ads. Justice told The Buzz that by cutting ad revenue and rejecting third party invitations the Werk App offers the only free tool with premium access for all members.

By having this in place the Werk App makes it easy to apply for jobs and internships from phones or laptops with ease. Not only is the app of benefit to its users but employers as well. Employers also get the added benefit of submitting their job listing to the most effective site on the web for the cheapest price.

To create an employer account on the Werk site, a company will pay less per year as they pay per month using the larger, less effective job sites. The Werk App currently offer job offers nationwide and their database gets larger by the day, with over 20,000 offered jobs and internships.

Justice Mallory doesn’t plan on just stopping there. It looks like he may have a future in venture capitalism. After he graduates from Morehouse, he plans to return and invest into the ideas of the students.

“Many of my peers have amazing ideas and ambitions. My hope is to come back and invest in these dreams to see that all of these incredible young men and women in the AUC have the capital needed to take the next step and pursue their projects.”

We are proud of the work that Justice Mallory is doing. To learn more about Justice and the Werk App visit http://www.werkapponline.com/

[SOURCE: HBCUBUZZ]

Black homeowners struggle as US housing market recovers

The nation's homeownership rate appears to be stabilizing as people rebound from the 2007 recession that left millions unemployed and home values underwater, according to the report by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. But it found African-Americans aren't sharing in the recovery, even as whites, Asian-Americans and Latinos slowly see gains in home-buying. The center said the disparity between whites and blacks is at its highest in 70-plus years of data.

Experts say reasons for the lower homeownership rate range from historic underemployment and low wages to a recession-related foreclosure crisis that hit black communities particularly hard. In 2004, the pinnacle of U.S. homeownership, three-quarters of whites and nearly half of blacks owned homes, according to the Harvard study.

By 2016, the African-American homeowner rate had fallen to 42.2 percent and lagged 29.7 percentage points behind whites, nearly a percentage point higher than in 2015.

Now, a lack of affordable housing and stricter lending are making it harder for first-time buyers to obtain what traditionally has been considered an essential part of the American dream and a way to build wealth.

"It has always been historically and systemically harder for blacks, and we were seeing there a little bit of progress, and now we're back at square one," said Alanna McCargo, co-director of the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute, a think-tank focused on inner-city issues that published a similar report.

An AP analysis of U.S. Census Bureau statistics shows some pockets of the Midwest and California had the lowest homeownership rates for African-Americans, while some areas of the South had the highest.

Low inventory adds to the problem, said Jeffrey Hicks, incoming president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, which was founded in 1947 to promote fair housing opportunities for minorities. The Atlanta area has only about 30,000 properties for sale through real estate agents, compared with approximately 100,000 about 13 years ago, he said.

"You had subdivisions going up everywhere in terms of newer homes," Hicks said. "We haven't seen that resurgence of new housing stock."

African-Americans snapped up homes at the peak of the housing bubble, lured by generous lending and a glut of affordable properties, housing experts say. Lenders also targeted minorities, pushing riskier subprime loans even when applicants qualified for lower-interest loans.

Read more: Black homeowners struggle as US housing market recovers

Robert E. Lee was not a Confederate Flag supporter

There is much contention as Confederate monuments and flags on state capital grounds come down around the United States. Those who support these flags/monuments say they want them to stay in place to honor the men from the South who fought and died in the Civil War. If they want to honor these men then maybe they should remember the thoughts of one of the Confederacy's best generals, Robert E. Lee who thought the flag should no longer be flown after the war ended. Learn more in the video below.

‘True Blood’ Star Nelsan Ellis Dead At 39

Nelsan Ellis, who played sassy short-order cook Lafayette Reynolds on HBO's True Blood, has died at 39 of complications from heart failure.

His manager, Emily Gerson Saines, confirmed his death on Saturday to USA TODAY.

"He was a great talent, and his words and presence will be forever missed," she said in a statement.

While he also had roles on CBS' Elementary and worked in films like The Help, Secretariat, the James Brown biopic Get On and The Soloist, to fans of True Blood, he will always be Lafayette.

The Illinois-born actor so impressed the producers and fans of the HBO supernatural drama with his performance that the TV version of Lafayette escaped the early death the character was dealt in Charlaine Harris' books.

"A great talent gone too soon," Harris lamented on Twitter. "Such a shock."

True Blood marked Ellis' second HBO project. He also appeared in 2005's Emmy-winning Warm Springs, in which his character tended to the polio-stricken Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Kenneth Branagh).

The network issued a statement noting, "Nelsan was a long-time member of the HBO family whose groundbreaking portrayal of Lafayette will be remembered fondly within the overall legacy of True Blood. Nelsan will be dearly missed by his fans and all of us at HBO."

[SOURCE: USATODAY]

Dr. Jerome Adams nominated as new surgeon general

President Donald Trump has nominated Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Jerome Adams to serve as the next US Surgeon General.

Adams known for his previous work on substance abuse. He has garnered a reputation as a public health professional who looked to community models for fighting addiction and other scourges.

Adams is also an anesthesiologist and an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Indiana University School of Medicine and has sat on committees of various professional organizations.

He began serving as the Indiana State Health Commissioner in 2014 under then-governor Mike Pence.

Florida police say Venus Williams entered intersection lawfully before crash

Florida police said on Friday that a newly surfaced video shows that tennis star Venus Williams was acting lawfully when she drove her sports utility vehicle into an intersection before a fatal crash with another car on June 9.

Jerome Barson, 78, who was a passenger in a sedan that collided with the vehicle Williams was driving, was fatally injured. His family filed a wrongful death suit against Williams last week.

A statement from the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said a video, taken from the entrance to the gated community where Williams lives, indicates she acted lawfully in entering the intersection before the crash.

The statement said the video showed that a car not involved in the collision stalled Williams' progress, causing her to linger in the intersection. When the traffic light changed, an approaching car driven by Barson's wife, Linda, collided with Williams' vehicle.

The initial traffic report said Williams, 37, was at fault for failing to yield the right of way to Barson. But on Friday, Major Paul Rogers of the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said a fuller investigation began after Barson's death on June 22.

He said police have not made a final determination of fault in the investigation.

[SOURCE: YahooNews]

Booker asks N.J. to keep data from Trump voter fraud commission

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker asked NJ state officials to reject any request from President Donald Trump's voter fraud commission for information about New Jersey voter rolls.

He said comments by Robert Giles, director of New Jersey's division of elections, didn't go far enough.

"I am alarmed by the purpose of this commission: to look into a nonexistent problem of widespread voter fraud as a guise to collect data that is likely to be used to suppress legal voting in future elections and to provide President Trump's outlandish and laughable claim that he actually won the popular vote with some appearance of legitimacy," Booker said.

Booker (D-N.J.) earlier called Trump's campaign comments about voter fraud "a blatant lie" and the commission "a thinly veiled voter suppression effort."

His latest comments came in a letter to Dennis Robinson, serving as acting secretary of state since Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno has recused herself from all election-related issues while running for governor.

Booker acted after Giles rejected the commission's request for information that went beyond names, addresses and birth dates to include last four digits of Social Security numbers, voting history, felony convictions, military service and registrations in other states.

New Jersey was one of 46 states that rejected the request in all or in part.

[SOURCE: NJ.COM]

102 shot in Chicago during July Fourth weekend

The violence plaguing Chicago made international headlines Wednesday, after a violent and bloody Fourth of July weekend. Of the 102 people shot since Friday night, 15 have died. Police said most of the shootings happened Monday night on the South and West sides of the city.

July 4th violence in Chicago is inexcusable.

Maxine Waters: Ben Carson 'doesn't care about people in public housing'

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) ripped into Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson in a speech Saturday at the Essence Music Festival, saying Carson “doesn’t care about people in public housing.”

“[Carson] knows nothing about the mission of HUD,” Waters said in a speech at the Essence Festival in New Orleans. “He doesn’t care about people in public housing. He believes that if you are poor, it is your own fault. And he doesn’t know the difference between an immigrant and a slave.”

Waters also warned Carson that she would tough on him when he testifies before the House Committee on Financial Services, on which she is the ranking member.

“[If he] things that I am going to give him a pass, I am going to take his ass apart,” Waters said.

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

Black valedictorian forced to share honor with white student

The black valedictorian of a Mississippi high school was forced to share her graduating class's top honor with a white student who had a lower grade-point average, the woman's mother says in a federal lawsuit.

The allegation comes months after the Cleveland School District settled a 52-year-old lawsuit demanding that it desegregate its schools.

Sherry Shepard noted the settlement in the lawsuit filed last week, which alleges that her daughter, Jasmine, had to unfairly share the 2016 Cleveland High School valedictorian honors.

She further claims that Jasmine Shepard was the first black valedictorian in Cleveland High's 110-year history. The other 109 were white, Sherry Shepard alleged.

"As a result of the school official's unprecedented action of making an African-American student share the valedictorian award with a white student, the defendants discriminated against J.S.," the lawsuit says, claiming Jasmine Shepard has suffered lost opportunities, mental anguish, pain and suffering as a result of the decision.

The lawsuit targets the district, the superintendent and Cleveland High's principal and seeks unspecified monetary damages. It does not identify the valedictorians, but CNN is naming them as they both spoke to its reporters last year about the federal desegregation order.

In a Facebook post, Jasmine Shepard said she and her family have faced ugly attacks and name calling as a result of the more recent lawsuit. She included a screen grab of a message that incorporated the N-word and said, "Black lives don't mean s***!"

"You may disagree with us in this plight, but please respect us as well as others on this page. Name calling and bashing is not necessary!" Jasmine Shepard posted.

Read more: Black valedictorian forced to share honor with white student

Murderer of black teenager in road rage incident turns himself in

The man who shot and killed an 18 year old black teenager named Bianca Roberson in West Goshen Pennsylvania has turned himself into police.

David Desper, 28, faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder and reckless endangerment, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said.

Police used video footage from surveillance cameras to identify the truck and its owner. They urged the shooter to turn himself in over recent days.

Desper did so through his attorney about 2 a.m. Sunday, Hogan said.

Keith Ellison: Trump should be banned from Twitter

During an interview with TMZ, Minnesota congressman and DNC deputy chair Keith Ellison stated that he believes that Twitter should ban Trump for his abusive behavior towards others and violations of Twitter's policies. Listen to his comments below:

Police looking for white middle-aged driver who killed black teen

UPDATE: Suspect in murder of Bianca Roberson turns himself in to police.

A manhunt for the driver who shot a recent high school graduate, Bianca Roberson in the head, killing her, in an apparent road rage incident, has stretched across Pennsylvania and all the way west into Texas, investigators said Friday.

Police released a sketch of the suspect who shot Bianca Roberson in West Goshen Township Wednesday. The driver of the pickup truck is described as a medium-built, white male, 30 to 40 years old with blonde or light-colored brown hair. His vehicle is described as a small, red pickup truck with faded paint.

He remains on the loose and is considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is urged to contact the West Goshen Police Department Traffic Safety Division at 610-696-7400.

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Sketch of suspect wanted in Bianca Roberson murder.

Manhunt in Bianca Roberson road rage incident

Tuskegee Airman, Congressional Gold Medal winner George Watson dies

George Watson Sr. of Lakewood NJ, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen has died. He was 96.

Mr. Watson died of complications due to pneumonia on June 19. Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Calvary Lighthouse Church, just a few hundred feet away from the Watson home on East County Line Road.

During his 26 years of service in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force., he was assigned to stations in Germany, England, Turkey, Iran and McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County, his grandson Bryce Watson said.

His duties during World War II included delivering aircraft parts to the "Red Tails," the nickname for the African-American airmen responsible for flying escort for heavy bombers. His grandson said he was injured while on guard duty, but later returned to service.

After retiring, Tech Sgt. Watson managed the Greenwood Cemetery in Lakewood, his grandson said. He also made a life out of talking to schools and community groups about the Tuskegee Airmen.

Two films were made about the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, and Watson was interviewed and credited for his contribution to George Lucas' 2012 movie "Red Tails." Experts estimate that fewer than 200 of the airmen are still alive.

[SOURCE: NJ ADVANCE MEDIA]

No alcohol or drugs were at party where Jordan Edwards was shot.

No teenagers were drinking or using drugs at an April 29 party broken up by Balch Springs police, despite a 911 call that ultimately led to an officer shooting and killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.

This week’s revelation by a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, and an attorney for the boy’s family accompanied the results of Jordan’s autopsy. They say the results show the teen had no alcohol or illegal drugs in his system when he died.

Roy Oliver, the officer who shot Jordan, was later fired and arrested on a murder charge. Oliver is white, and Jordan was black.

Oliver and another officer, Tyler Gross, were inside the party watching kids carry around energy drinks and sodas. Police found no drugs or alcohol in the house except for an empty beer bottle tossed in a kitchen trash can, the law enforcement official said.

Balch Springs police had previously said there was alcohol at the party but officers didn’t cite anyone.

[SOURCE: DALLASNEWS]

"Woke" Added to Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford-English Dictionary has made one of its four annual updates for 2017, and finally decided that it’s time to get “woke.”

One of the world’s foremost authorities on the English language, the O.E.D. has added a new definition to the word “woke.” Embraced by the Black Lives Matter movement, “woke” has taken on a sociopolitical definition in recent years. As such, the O.E.D. now defines the past participle form of “woke” as:

woke, adjective: Originally: well-informed, up-to-date. Now chiefly: alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice; frequently in stay woke (often used as an exhortation).

[SOURCE]

Three Chicago officers indicted in Laquan McDonald case

Three current or former Chicago police officers were indicted Tuesday on state felony charges of conspiracy in the investigation of the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald.

Former Detective David March, and former Patrol Officer Joseph Walsh and Patrol Officer Thomas Gaffney were charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice, according to a news release from Special Prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes' office.

"The indictment makes clear that these defendants did more than merely obey an unofficial 'code of silence,' rather it alleges that they lied about what occurred to prevent independent criminal investigators from learning the truth," Holmes said.

In the 11-page indictment Van Dyke is referred to as Individual A and as a part of the conspiracy. He has been accused of official misconduct. Arraignment set for July

Gaffney, 43; March, 58; and Walsh, 48, are accused of writing incident reports that "contained important false information in an attempt to prevent or shape any criminal investigation."

Several reports referred to three officers being battered, which the the indictment says is false. Police statements that McDonald was threatening Van Dyke with his knife were also lies, the document says.

The indictment also says the officers failed to interview at least three witnesses whose versions of the events were different than those of police.

The indictment says there are other individuals that may be part of the conspiracy, but Holmes wouldn't comment on whether other officers will be indicted. She told reporters the investigation is ongoing.

The officers will be arraigned July 10.

[SOURCE: CNN]

Move to rename Harlem neighborhood sparks outrage

New York City real estate companies' attempts to rename a Harlem neighborhood "SoHa" have enraged long-time residents of the historically black enclave, who say the move erases the community's rich cultural history.

The neighborhood served as home and inspiration to generations of leading African Americans, including activists W.E.B. Du Bois and Malcolm X, who dubbed it "Seventh Heaven." Artists such as poet Langston Hughes and singers Harry Belafonte and Ella Fitzgerald also lived there.

The "SoHa" name, echoing the high-priced, largely white Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo in lower Manhattan, has begun appearing in real estate listings for apartments located between 110th Street and 125th Street, and Realtor Keller Williams boasts a "SoHa Team" of agents on its website.

Keller Williams did not respond to a request for comment.

Harlem's U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat vowed to introduce a House resolution to protect Harlem from being renamed.

Espaillat said the congressional resolution he plans to introduce this week "supports imposing limitations on the ability to change the name of a neighborhood based on economic gain."

"I along with leaders and constituents of this community stand united to vigorously oppose the renaming Harlem in yet another sanctioned gentrification," he said in an email. "This is an incredibly insulting attempt to disown Harlem's longtime residents, legacy, and culture."

Jamie McShane, a spokesman for the Real Estate Board of New York, an industry association, said the group supports existing state regulations, which prohibit real estate brokers from using "a name to describe an area that would be misleading to the public."

Harlem is not the only historically black U.S. neighborhood to have its image challenged by eager real estate agents. Further north, parts of the South Bronx have been christened the "Piano District," a reference to its former instrument manufacturing base.

Read more: Move to rename Harlem neighborhood sparks outrage over erasing black history

Omarosa slams Congressional Black Caucus for ‘showboating'

Ahhh, poor little Omarosa Manigault ( or should I say Honorable Omarosa Maigault..LOL) seems upset that the Congressional black Caucus turned down an invite to meet with Trump a second time, and is having a temper tantrum. It must've hurt to come to the realization that she has about as much pull with African Americans as Trump does...LOL. George L. Cook III AfricanAmerican Reports.Com

Manigault told Fox Business Network's Charles Payne that members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Friday of "showboating" and refusing to serve their constituents, after the lawmakers refused an invitation to meet with President Trump. watch video of that segment below.

The Congressional Black Caucus was right not to meet with Trump again

Race a factor in black St. Louis cop being mistakenly shot by white cop

As black people we have all learned that there are several things you can't do while being black unless you want to be shot by the police. You know things like, walking, talking, or breathing. You can now add being a cop to that list as black police officer found out the hard way in St. Louis after being wounded by a fellow officer. And yes, the officer who shot him claimed he feared for his life although other officers at the scene had told the black cop to approach them after CONFIRMING that he was a cop. Sadly the most that may happen to this trigger happy cop is that he looses his job. SMH. George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

An off-duty black St. Louis police officer's race factored into him being mistakenly shot by a white officer who didn't recognize him after a shootout with black suspects this week, the wounded officer's lawyer contends.

The 38-year-old black officer was off duty when he heard a commotion near his home and ran toward it with his service weapon to try to help his fellow officers, police said.

St. Louis' interim police chief, Lawrence O'Toole, said the incident began when officers with an anti-crime task force followed a stolen car and were twice fired upon by its occupants. One suspect was shot in an ankle and was arrested, along with another teenager who tried to run from police, O'Toole said. A third suspect is being sought.

When the off-duty officer who lived nearby heard the commotion and arrived at the scene Wednesday night to help, two on-duty officers ordered him to the ground but then recognized him and told him to stand up and walk toward them. As he was doing so, another officer arrived and shot the off-duty officer "apparently not recognizing" him, police said.

The police department as of Saturday hadn't disclosed the names of the officers, who have been placed on routine administrative leave as the matter is investigated. Police described the black officer as an 11-year department veteran and said he was treated at a hospital and released. The officer who shot him is 36 and has been with the department more than eight years.

The black officer's lawyer, Rufus J. Tate Jr., discussed the shooting with St. Louis Fox affiliate KTVI, but the officer isn't named in that report. Tate told the station that his client identified himself to the on-duty officers at the scene and complied with their commands. The lawyer questioned the white officer's account to police that he shot the off-duty officer because he feared for his safety.

"In the police report you have so far, there is no description of a threat he received. So we have a real problem with that. But this has been a national discussion for the past two years. There is this perception that a black man is automatically feared," Tate said.

Read more: Lawyer: Race a factor in St. Louis cop being mistakenly shot