Black Men Ask Obama to Include Women in Brothers Keeper Program

More than 200 African American men, ranging from a taxi driver to university professors, sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday urging him to expand his Black male initiative to include Black girls and women, saying they were “surprised and disappointed” that the president had sought to include only half of the race to tackle community-wide issues.

After praising the president for saying that addressing the needs of those left behind is as important as anything else he is undertaking, authors of the letter wrote, “So we were surprised and disappointed that your commitments express empathy to only half of our community – men and boys of color. Simply put, as Black men we cannot afford to turn away from the very sense of a shared fate that has been vital to our quest for racial equality across the course of American history.”

The letter continued, “As African Americans, and as a nation, we have to be as concerned about the experiences of single Black women who raise their kids on sub-poverty wages as we are about the disproportionate number of Black men who are incarcerated. We must care as much about Black women who are the victims of gender violence as we do about Black boys caught up in the drug trade.”

Read more: Black Men Ask Obama to Include Women in Brothers Keeper Program

Maya Angelou reading her poem "Abundant Hope" (2011)

In honor of the late Maya Angelou here is a 2011 recording of her at a ceremony honoring black women civil rights leaders reading her poem titled "Abundant Hope" in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Rest in peace Maya we love you and will miss you!

Maya Angelou explains her recent health issue.

American icon and poet Maya Angelou had to back out of a Major League Baseball Civil Rights Game ceremony due to health issues. She left a post on her Facebook page giving an explanation for not being able to attend.

On her Facebook page she posted:

Post by Maya Angelou.

While she does not give any details on what the illness was it is great to read that she is getting better each day.

George Cook AfricanAmericanReports.com

Herb Jeffries the black singing cowboy dies at the age of 100

Herb Jeffries, the first black singing cowboy of the movies, who starred in such 1930s films as Harlem on the Prairie and The Bronze Buckaroo, has died, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was 100.

Jeffries, who later became a recording star as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra, died of heart failure Sunday at West Hills (Calif.) Hospital & Medical Center, Raymond Strait, who had been working with the actor on his autobiography, told the newspaper.

Read more: Herb Jeffries, Pioneering Black Singing Cowboy of the Movies, Dies at 100

Nigerian defense chief says abducted girls located

Nigeria's military has located nearly 300 school girls abducted by Islamic extremists but fears using force to try to free them could get them killed, the country's chief of defense said Monday.

Air Marshal Alex Badeh told demonstrators supporting the much criticized military that Nigerian troops can save the girls. But he added, "we can't go and kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back."

He spoke to thousands of demonstrators who marched to Defense Ministry headquarters in Abuja, the capital. Many were brought in on buses, indicating it was an organized event.

Mp>Asked by reporters where they had found the girls, Badeh refused to elaborate.

Read more: Nigerian defense chief says abducted girls located