How one principal is trying to get more black men into the classroom

Educators and policy wonks of many stripes pretty much agree that U.S. classrooms need more minority teachers.

But how to make that happen?

One Philadelphia principal is trying to do his part by launching a new organization that aims to bring together Philly’s black male educators and provide them with professional support to thrive in their jobs. The group, called The Fellowship, also wants to become a hub for the recruitment and retention of black men in education.

Black men account for just two percent of the nation’s teaching workforce.

“We want to be able to affect policy as well as practice,” said Sharif El-Mekki, the principal of Mastery Charter School’s Shoemaker campus in southwest Philadelphia, not far from where El-Mekki grew up.

Read more: How one principal is trying to get more black men into the classroom

Jeb Bush: "Free stuff" not part of his outreach to black voters

Like Mitt Romney before him a clueless Jeb Bush went there. During a Republican dinner in South Carolina he said "free stuff" won't be part of his plan to appeal to black voters. Now because he was clueless he does not realize he insulted millions of black voters. Now in fairness he was responding to a question and did also say that offering a message of hope could attract black voters, but the damage has already been done. Watch his comments below.

Freddie Gray: Baltimore Police unit that investigates use-of-force allegations dismantled

The special investigative unit created by former Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts last year to probe shootings by officers and deaths in police custody — including Freddie Gray's — has been overhauled by Batts' successor, who has replaced all of the team's members and given it a new name.

Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis has replaced the Force Investigation Team (FIT) with the Special Investigations Response Team, or SIRT, swapping one Department of Justice review model for another.

Davis said "recent examples have demonstrated [that] the BPD is capable of policing itself when matters arise that directly impact public trust and confidence."

"Our capacity to investigate police-involved shootings, in-custody deaths, and other critical incidents relies heavily on the SIRT team and the quality of their objective investigations," he said in a statement.

The Force Investigation Team, or FIT, was modeled on a unit developed by Justice officials and put in place in Las Vegas. Batts brought it to Baltimore last year as a way to improve use-of-force investigations amid widespread allegations of police abuse and misconduct.

The department promised to post its FIT investigations online — a first-of-its-kind idea that was short-lived.

The criteria for triggering an investigation by FIT were vague, and reports were posted online for only nine of the team's more than 30 investigations in 2014. The links to those reports disappeared from the FIT website this year without explanation, and no more have been posted.

Read more: Police unit at center of Freddie Gray review, use-of-force investigations dismantled

Study: Blacks not likely to support Black Republican candidates

Party undermines race among African-American voters; a new study finds, signaling a potentially hard sell for the Republican Party within this voting bloc. And it’s a problem that would likely not be solved by merely promoting Black Republican candidates for office.

“There are some very successful African-American Republicans, but those folks don’t attract African-American votes,” said the study’s author, David Niven, a University of Cincinnati professor of political science. “Party matters so much more than race.”

After the 2012 presidential elections in which Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama soundly trounced GOP contender Mitt Romney contributed by an historically large turnout among African-American voters, the GOP conducted a self-analysis and sought ways to stake a larger claim within the Black and Latino communities. Among those approaches was advancing Black candidates such as U.S. Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah.

Niven tested the efficacy of that approach in 28 heavily Black micro-precincts in Ohio’s Franklin County during the 2014 mid-term elections, during which two Black candidates ran for county offices: Clarence Mingo, the incumbent county auditor, and Rita McNeil Danish, who ran for an open seat on the county common pleas court.

The researcher mailed flyers containing a photo of the candidate and the office they sought to every household with a registered voter. But, one mailer, sent to a specific group, included the headline, “Endorsed by the Republican Party” while the other did not. A third subgroup acting as a control group received no mailer.

The results demonstrated that Black voters are more likely to vote for Black candidates—unless they know that those candidates are Republican, Niven concluded.

“Simply knowing the candidate was African-American did almost nothing for Republicans,” said Niven. “If voters knew the candidates were Republican, they finished below the top of the ticket. If voters didn’t know the candidates were Republican, they outperformed the top of the ticket.”

The University of Cincinnati researcher concluded that GOP outreach to minority voters are hampered by the party’s stance on issues such as immigration, civil rights and other issues important to these communities—a conclusion supported by Black leaders and political experts in previous AFRO reporting. And, too often, Niven added, Black Republicans reflect their party’s sometimes-myopic or dismissive views.

“The kind of African-American Republicans who have advanced to high office seem disconnected or even dismissive of African-American issues and concerns,” said Niven. “The bottom line is: For Republicans, it would help if they have some Colin Powell-style Republicans running for office and not [divisive former Ohio Secretary of State] Ken Blackwell or Mia Love.”

[SOURCE]

Ta-Nehisi Coates to author 'Black Panther' Marvel comic

The author of Marvel's "Black Panther" comic book series has been unmasked: It's Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Coates, until now, is better known for writing incisive articles for The Atlantic magazine that dissect racism and identity in America, and as the author of the best selling book, "Between The World and Me."

But Coates, a huge Marvel fan, told the New York Times which broke the story, becoming a comic book author is a childhood dream come true.

Instead of culturally charged social issues, Coates will be chronicling the saga of T'Challa, "heir to the centuries-old ruling dynasty of the African kingdom Wakanda, and ritual leader of its Panther Clan," according to Marvel Universe Wiki.

Read more: Ta-Nehisi Coates to author 'Black Panther' Marvel comic