African-American News

Minnijean Brown Trickey has traveled the world for almost half a century in a quest to promote racial equality, social justice and cross-cultural communication.

The House passed its $1 trillion healthcare overhaul late Saturday by the thinnest of margins, becoming the first chamber to vote on such a significant expansion of healthcare since Congress passed Medicare in 1965.

The 220-215 vote late Saturday was a victory for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama, who came to Capitol Hill to rally his fellow Democrats in the hours before the vote.

The bill includes a requirement for individuals to have health insurance and for larger businesses to provide it to their employees. It also includes a public health insurance option that is not tied to Medicare. But most of the $1.052 trillion cost of the bill comes in the form of subsidies to help low- and middle-income people purchase insurance.

Supporters called the passage a historic moment on par with the New Deal and the creation of Medicare. They said the bill will finally guarantee health coverage to nearly every American.

"This legislation will mean affordability for the middle-class, security for our seniors, and honors our responsibility to our children, adding not one dime to the deficit," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

*Oprah Winfrey has removed gospel singer BeBe Winans from her show's "karaoke challenge" until charges against him for allegedly pushing his ex-wife to the ground are resolved.

Winans appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last week to discuss the selection of contestants for the season-long challenge. He was also seen surprising some of the finalists with news they had made the cut.

Winfrey spokesman Don Halcombe said Thursday that Winans will be cut out of the karaoke segments entirely.

Winans was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault in a Feb. 13 incident, where Winans and his ex-wife Debra were allegedly arguing about their children. Winans has a court date set for Jan. 20.

As previously reported, Winfrey was criticized this week for including Winans after she had taken a strong stand against domestic violence earlier this year. She did a show on the topic when singer Chris Brown assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna. Winfrey said at the time: "Domestic violence is something that I wouldn't tolerate. Period."

Michael Jordan and his son think they are slick.

*Jordan's son, Marcus, attends the University of Central Florida (UCF). No problem there, right?

Well, in a game Wednesday, young Jordan, being the brash fellow he apparently is, decided he wanted to wear his family shoe ... Air Jordans, of course.

The only problem with that is UCF is sponsored by Adidas! As you can imagine, Adidas was not thrilled.

Read on to find out about the ensuing drama and what's about to happen next.

Maggie Thornton Renfro will be 115 in November. She is the 7th oldest in the world. Her life will be celebrated alongside her three sister, Carrie, 107, and Rosie Thornton, 103.

The House ethics committee is currently investigating seven African-American lawmakers -- more than 15 percent of the total in the House -- and privately, some black members are outraged.

(CNN) -- At least seven people are dead and between 12 and 15 wounded in shootings at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday, senior Pentagon official told CNN.

At least one person is "neutralized" in connection with the incident, and a second is "cornered," retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore told CNN, citing "unofficial, unconfirmed reports" from two sources.

On the Fort Hood Web site, the word "closed" is posted with the statement, "Effective immediately, Fort Hood is closed. Organizations/units are instructed to execute a 100 percent accountability of all personnel."

Fort Hood was asking people on post to stay away from windows, CNN affiliate KXXV said. The incident took place at the sports dome, now known as the soldier readiness area, the station reported.

FBI agents are headed to the scene to assist, said Erik Vasys, spokesman for the FBI office in San Antonio. He had no other details.

The military installation is located near Killeen, Texas. It is the Army's largest installation, Honore said.

Nearly half of all US children, including an overwhelming majority of black children, will eat meals at some point during their childhood paid for by food stamps, an indicator of poverty, a study showed Monday.

*Well, you know where this is going, right? Wow… it’s funny! That’s probably the first thing all her friends say to her when they come by.

But seriously, Playboy bunny, Nicole Narain, was interviewed by Joy Behar yesterday on her show and Narain admitted that her sex addiction has had her scared that she wouldn’t get out of bed some days.

She wants to start a new life, masturbation-free. By the way, that’s her drug of choice in her addiction. She simply can’t get enough, but now she’s learning to cope with her “disorder.”

Can you imagine if her and Eric Benet ended up in the same Anonymous group? Good grief! Just check out the interview. There’s far too much material here.

Let’s look at this seriously, shall we? In fact, click over and check out her video.

Last month, an interracial couple seeking a marriage license was turned away by a Louisiana justice of the peace on the grounds that their marriage was "mixed." The refusal was met with an eruption of criticism from civil rights groups and public officials, including Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal.

Finally bowing to mounting pressure, the justice in question, Keith Bardwell, resigned Tuesday, according to an Associated Press article.

We say good riddance.

When asked about the incident, Bardwell, a white man, admitted that he has a habit of turning away interracial couples because the children of these couples will suffer in life.

It's 2009. We have an interracial president. We are shocked that people like this justice still exist, let alone that they are allowed to hold public office.

But apparently Bardwell is not a relic of bad times passed. Rather, he is an example of the work America has left to do.

So, it is without any sense of irony that the liberal-socialist-left-wing-conspirators at the Alligator Editorial Board congratulate Republican Gov. Jindal - gasp - for his outspoken criticism of this man and his ignorant bigotry.

Jindal, an ethnic Indian born and raised in the southern state of Louisiana, likely faced some of the same bigotry that he publicly denounced in the weeks since this issue hit the headlines.

It would have been easy to stay out of the public discourse, or at the very least, make a few passing remarks about the issue. But Gov. Jindal kept the pressure on, with public statements that undoubtedly contributed to Bardwell's resignation.

Clippers owner Donald Sterling agreed to pay $2.725 million to settle allegations he discriminated against African- Americans, Hispanics and families with children at apartment buildings he controls in Los Angeles.

To Shut Up the Critics: What Obama's Done in a Year. A blow-by-blow breakdown of the young president's first year reveals that today's frustration stems not from a lack of policy so much as a lack of common ground. We already know who won't read this type of article.

Milton H. Jones, Jr., Chairman and President, 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc., and John T. Grant, Jr., CEO, along with Members of the Board of Directors are pleased to announce a contribution of $84,000 from The Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation to 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc.

Erie County Legislator Michele Iannello, D-Kenmore, has lost the support of a union less than a week before voters hit the polls to decide whether or not to give her another term.

Rock created a movie that satisfied the voyeurism of Whiteness on the issue of Black hair. It even allowed Roger Ebert, a White man, to play the role of expert. Don’t Black women have enough to put up with, without White men believing they know everything about our beauty rituals? Whiteness never seems to miss the opportunity to inform us about ourselves. Yes, Ebert knows all about relaxers because he read about them on Wikipedia.

*Folks have realllllllllllly been trying to push that race card as far as they can with President Obama being in office.

Now, the latest of many other race infractions is Whitney Islieb, a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, who thought it would be funny if she showed up to a Halloween party in black face.

Check her out with two unidentified black girls cheezin’ it up with her! Crazy right? The information is scant on what exactly went down at the party. But, surely if the black girls weren’t on top of her beating her senseless, the night probably proceeded without incident.

We've got more photos to show you, including a white dude (yes, in black face, too) at the same party who's trying to look like Dennis Rodman, we think.

Click over to access the ish.

The time is certain. At 9 a.m. each weekday they come pouring from their homes after all of the students are off the SEPTA buses and trains.

The Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired Underserved Outreach Program raises the quality of life for African-Americans who have vision loss and who have not received rehabilitative help due to a lack of awareness of the services available through CABVI.