Monday, July 30, 2018

US Rep. John Lewis released from hospital with 'clean bill of health'

After a health scare, civil rights icon and US Rep. John Lewis of Georgia was released from the hospital Sunday evening with a "clean bill of health," his spokeswoman said.

"All tests have been completed," Brenda Jones said in a statement. "He thanks everyone who shared their thoughts, prayers and concerns during his stay."

Lewis became ill Saturday on a flight to Atlanta, CNN affiliate WSB-TV reported, quoting unnamed sources.

Lewis, 78, has represented Georgia's 5th Congressional District, which includes much of Atlanta, since first being elected in 1986.

[SOURCE: CNN]

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Lebron James "I Promise" school to open on July 30, 2018

Feel free to criticize Lebron James, the NBA superstar about his game or going from team to team, but one thing you can't do is criticize Lebron James the MAN and the ACTIVIST! Other people talk "stuff," Mr. James does "stuff" to help black and brown underprivileged children succeed in life. You can't be mad at that.

LeBron James expects Monday to be one of the greatest moments of his life as his LeBron James Family Foundation and the Akron (Ohio) Public Schools launch a new elementary school for at-risk children in his hometown.

The I Promise School is the culmination of nearly a decade of work by James' foundation, with its focus on educating children from challenging situations or backgrounds. The school will begin with two grades, third and fourth, with plans to expand in the coming years.

James' life was turned around between fourth and fifth grade, when he had perfect attendance, thanks to the intervention of the Walker family. In 1993, the Walkers took James in and encouraged his education at a city school in Akron.

James is now trying to act in that role by donating millions to the project and securing support from corporate and educational sponsors.

The I Promise School has a longer school day and longer school year. More than 40 staff members will attempt to accelerate the development of children who qualify for the program based on performance and socioeconomic factors.

For those who complete the program, which has been operating for years, James has arranged for free tuition to the University of Akron starting in 2021. He has also created a program for parents of the at-risk children to return to complete their high school educations and has planned an institute to help prepare high-school-age students for college.

In all, James and his foundation leaders hope that more than 1,200 children will pass through the program and into college by 2029.

[SOURCE: ESPN]

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Tuskegee Airman who went missing during World War II identified 73 years later

The Defense Department announced Friday that it has accounted for the first of more than two dozen black aviators known as Tuskegee Airman who went missing in action during World War II.

Capt. Lawrence Dickson, a fighter pilot who had trained at the Tuskegee Army Flying School, was 24 when he went down over Austria on Dec. 23, 1944, while on a mission.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) had been investigating the possibility that human remains and other items found at a crash site in Austria this past summer were Dickson's.

On Friday morning, the DPAA informed his daughter, Marla Andrews, 76, of East Orange, New Jersey, that the remains were those of her father.

"I feel great!" she said in a telephone interview. "I really do feel a relief . . . I had a good crying jag."

Dickson is probably the first missing Tuskegee Airman found since the end of World War II, the DPAA has said.

The heroic pilot was among the more than 900 black pilots who were trained at the segregated Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama during the war.

He was on his 68th mission and had already been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for meritorious service.

There were 27 Tuskegee Airmen missing from the war. Now there are 26.

Read more: Tuskegee Airman who went missing during World War II identified 73 years later

Friday, July 27, 2018

Will you be buying Omarosa's book on her time in the White House?

By George L. Cook III African American Reports

It was a foregone conclusion that ousted Assistant to the President, Omarosa Manigault would write a book about her brief time in the Trump White House. Well, that book, 'Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House' is set to be released August 14, 2018.

Here's the book's blurb from Amazon:

The former Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison in the Trump White House provides a jaw-dropping look into the corruption and controversy of the current administration.

Few have been a member of Donald Trump’s inner orbit longer than Omarosa Manigault Newman. Their relationship has spanned fifteen years—through four television shows, a presidential campaign, and a year by his side in the most chaotic, outrageous White House in history. But that relationship has come to a decisive and definitive end, and Omarosa is finally ready to share her side of the story in this explosive, jaw-dropping account.

A stunning tell-all and takedown from a strong, intelligent woman who took every name and number, Unhinged is a must-read for any concerned citizen.

Now, the book will probably sell very well, but I won't be one of those buying it. I can't in any way support this woman who would sell out the entire African American community and was only in the whole thing for a title, and the money that would come after she served in Trump's administration. I want to read the book, but I won't be paying for it and enriching Omarosa, maybe I'll get it at the local library, borrow someone else's copy, or wait for the Lifetime movie.

Will you buy the book?

All-black team makes history with D.C. Little League championship victory

The Mamie Johnson Little League team has made history. It just became the first all-African American team to win the D.C. Little League championship in the league's 31-year history, CBS Washington, D.C., affiliate WUSA reports.

The youth baseball team is now advancing to the regional tournament in Bristol, Connecticut, after beating Capitol Hill Little League 14-7 in the title game on Tuesday.

The Mamie Johnson Little League team is only the second all-African American team to compete in the championship game.

The team was created in 2015, and named after Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, a Washington, D.C., resident who was the first female pitcher in the Negro Leagues.

The team, made up of mostly 12- and 13-year-olds, celebrated their big win on the field after the game -- but not for long. By Wednesday, they were already back at their home base, the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, practicing for next month's regional tournament.

Read more: All-black team makes history with D.C. Little League championship victory