- Creates two new grant programs focused on reducing racial health disparities in maternal health:
- Implicit Bias Training Grants: Addresses implicit bias—bias in judgement or behavior resulting from implicit attitudes and stereotypes—by establishing competitive grants directed to medical schools, nursing schools, and other health professionals training programs to support implicit bias training. Priority is given for training in obstetrics and gynecology.
- Pregnancy Medical Home Demonstration Project: Establishes a demonstration project to assist up to 10 states with implementing and sustaining pregnancy medical home (PMH) programs to incentivize maternal health care providers to deliver integrated health care services to pregnant women and new mothers and reduce adverse maternal health outcomes, maternal deaths, and racial health disparities in maternal mortality and morbidity.
- Directs the National Academy of Medicine to study and make recommendations for incorporating bias recognition in clinical skills testing for U.S. medical schools.
African American news blog that features news that may get little or no coverage in the mainstream media
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Sen. Harris Introduces Bill Aimed at Reducing Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Simone Biles wins every gold medal at U.S. Championships

Simone Biles, in the second meet of her comeback, won her record fifth U.S. all-around title and swept the four apparatus titles, combining scores from Friday and Sunday at TD Garden.
She never thought it would be possible, but she also wants to work on pre-meet nerves, consistency and confidence.
“I’d give it a B-plus,” Biles told Andrea Joyce on NBC.
The four-time Rio Olympic gold medalist became the first woman to win all five golds at the national gymnastics championships since Dominique Dawes in 1994.
She won the all-around by 6.55 points over 2017 World all-around champion Morgan Hurd, the largest margin since the perfect-10 system was thrown out in 2006. That gap is larger than that separating Hurd from the 11th-place gymnast.
“I knew I was capable of [scoring this well], but I kind of thought I was going to be a nervous wreck and maybe fall apart,” said Biles, who wore a teal mint leotard in part to stand with fellow Larry Nassar sexual-abuse survivors (teal ribbons were worn at NCAA meets in the winter and spring). “Going into these events, I know I kept telling my family like I don’t know if I’m going to be able to calm myself down the way I did before and handle the nerves, but so far, so good.”
Monday, August 20, 2018
Black Shreveport Louisiana Mayoral Candidate Threatened With Lynching
Caddo Parish Commissioner Steven Jackson said Wednesday that he was threatened anonymously with lynching if he did not drop out of the race for Shreveport mayor. He said he reported the threat online to state police.
Trooper Glenn Younger, a state police spokesman in Bossier City, said his agency received Jackson's report Thursday morning. He said that state police and the FBI would handle the investigation, with the FBI taking the lead.
Jackson, in a news conference Wednesday, said someone placed an envelope containing a sheet of paper with a threatening message at the Jackson family home on Ashton Street.
A copy of the sheet, which Jackson provided, depicts Jackson's face crudely placed on top of a head in a noose. The word "Rope" appears at the bottom.
These type-written words then appear below the image: "LEAVE OUR STATUE & PROPERTY ALONE & GET OUT OF THE RACE N-----."
The image mimics a famous poster promoting former President Barack Obama, although the word "Hope" on the original has been changed to "Rope."
Eric Rommal, special agent in charge for the FBI in New Orleans, said the agency is aware of "incident in Shreveport" and is contact with state and local authorities.
"If in the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal offense, the FBI is prepared to investigate," Rommal said in an email. "The FBI takes seriously all acts or threats of violence and is committed to investigating crimes that are potentially motivated by hate."
The use of the word "statue" is an apparent reference to Jackson's October vote as a parish commissioner to remove the Confederate monument that stands on the Texas Street side of the Caddo Parish Courthouse in downtown Shreveport. The commission voted 7-5 for removal.
Jackson has said he does not personally live at the Ashton Street house where the envelope and threatening message were left.
The paper does not identify who made or left it at the home. Nor did the envelope, Jackson said.
Jackson said he also received a threatening call earlier this week. The call was from an unknown number, he said.
“I’ve also received harassing calls saying ‘Get out of the race, N word, or we will release these reports on you,” he said.
Jackson said the message left at his home was evidence of a "hate crime."
He said he did not report the threatening message to the Shreveport Police Department or the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office. One reason he didn't report it to the police department, he said, is that as a candidate for mayor he has criticized Police Chief Alan Crump.
“We feel comfortable putting this either at the state or federal level. I think they have the resources best to investigate it,” Jackson said.”SPD needs to be working on the crime issue.”
Jackson added that he will not drop from the mayor's race.
"We're not afraid," said Jackson, a Democrat. "This is hate. That's what this is. And Shreveport and Caddo Parish should be about love. It should be about unity.
“To the persons who place these racist messages at our doorstep, we love you,” he said. “We want to let you know we love you.”
Jackson was elected to the Caddo Parish Commission in 2016 and is one of eight candidates for Shreveport mayor.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Newark's own Shakur Stevenson stays unbeaten

Shakur Stevenson, (8-0, 4 KOs), of Newark NJ, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, won a unanimous eight-round decision over Carlos Ruiz (16-4-2, 6 KOs), of Mexico City, in a featherweight bout.
Stevenson had won his two fights prior to Ruiz by knockout, but spent most of the bout moving laterally along the ropes, throwing just enough punches to win every round.
Ruiz followed Stevenson around but never launched an attack. Every round was the same, totally void of highlights.
After the fight, members of Stevenson's camp claimed he broke his right hand in the second round.
All three judges scored the fight for Stevenson, 80-72.New Jersey high school principal installs laundry room to fight student bullying
A high school principal in New Jersey is going above and beyond to make sure his students don't skip school out of fear of being bullied.
West Side High School Principal Akbar Cook said some students were being bullied because of their dirty clothes -- which resulted in chronic absenteeism where they would miss three to five days a month. Cook kicked the football team out of their locker room to install washers and dryers for students to do their laundry.