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For the last three months, I've spent my Google Hangout work meetings wearing a Yankees cap. Despite being a born-and-bred New Yorker, I am not a Yankees fan at all. [...]

Black inventors' paths to securing a patent in the United States have historically been jammed with obstacles. Before the abolition of slavery, the United States Patent and Trademark Office excluded [...]

Saturday is Cinco de Mayo, a day often mistaken in the United States for Mexico's Independence Day. In fact, the holiday had its origin more than 50 years after the [...]

This article reports that African American women diagnosed with breast cancer have shorter life spans than white women, according to a new study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association." The study included nine hundred African American and white women with breast cancer at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. Breast cancer is the most common cancer for American women. The new study targets health problems unrelated to breast cancer for the disparities in survival rates. Most notably, diabetes and high blood pressure accounted for most of the deaths.

An interview with Claudi E. Cabrera is presented who focuses on ways to attract readers by internet search engines. He said that search is important and something that the journalists should have a solid understanding of things. He also said that Chartbeat, Slack and Google Docs are the tools being used in the line of work.

The article reports that New York City Councilmember Leroy Comrie is coming up with a resolution for a moratorium on the use of the word "N" during Black History Month. The resolution encourages New Yorkers of all races and ages to cut the word from their vocabulary. Comrie says that the resolution will spark a dialogue in all communities and begin to move the society, especially the entertainment culture, toward a place where the use of the 'N' word is unacceptable in any context.

The article presents information related to New York City's Councilmen Leroy Connie and David Yassky's plan to introduce a legislation concerning levying higher fines against those who peddle counterfeit goods ranging from clothes, movies, and music. Moreover, the legislation will allow the Department of Consumer Affairs' inspectors to seize goods and issue tickets at their own discretion.

The article presents information about Kermit Eady, the founder of the Black United Fund of New York. According to Eady, if a man is not economically empowered, he cannot be considered as empowered at all. The Black United Fund of New York, since its setting up 25 years ago, has accumulated assets worth over $100 million. Its goal is to help needy African Americans.

The article presents information on "Million Father March," a program launched by the Chicago, Illinois-based Black Star Project, a Black family advocacy group. The program pleads fathers, stepfathers, foster fathers and grandfathers of all races to spare some time out of their morning and walk their children to their first day of school. The first march occurred in 2004 and 25 cities participated and in 2005, 83 cities joined the program.

The article reports on anti-hate group rallies against institutional racism, sexism, and homophobia at Columbia University (CU) in New York. Six hate crimes on the university's campus in 2005-2006 has spurred the coalitions second rally since 2004, when three racist incidents took place on campus, including a publication of a cartoon denigrating Black History Month in a university-funded student paper, and an anti-affirmative action bake sale. Hundreds of students have mobilized to show their outrage that hate crimes can happen on CU campus and the administration can't get its act together to respond.

The article reports that over 200 Harlemites packed the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, New York City, last week to voice their opinions on the issues surrounding their community. The Harlem town hall meeting was hosted by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. The issues of the evening revolved around quality of life, affordable housing, land use, and education. Many Harlem residents started off the forum with the most popular topic in impoverished neighborhoods, affordable housing, "Luxury condos are being built all over Harlem, but for who, cause we can't afford them," said one East Harlem native. The town hall meeting brought together the old and young of Harlem and helped everyone hear what issues are affecting the different sectors of the community.

The article reports that the Atlantic Yards project, proposed by developer Forest City Ratner Cos., Bruce Ratner's development company, has struck the first ever legally binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) negotiated in New York State. The CBA agreement signed by the developer and community groups earlier this year contractually obligates twenty percent of construction contract dollars to go to minority owned firms and ten percent to women owned firms. Reverend Herbert Daughtry of the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance believes the agreement will lead to bigger and better things in the community.

The article criticizes excessive prison phone charges in New York City that penalize families of prisoners. More than 80 percent of the State's prisoners come from poor New York City neighborhoods. At two-thirds of the prison facilities located three hours or more from New York City, phone calls are the only means of keeping in touch. New York's prison system has the highest kickbacks to the state and charges among the highest rates in America. MCI takes as low as $5 per month from general public. However, for a family member to speak with a loved one in a Department of Corrections facility, the prisoner must call collect at 16 cents per minute after a $3 surcharge. The average prison phone call is billed at 19 minutes, costing just over $6 and adding up to monthly phone bills dose to $400. This constitutes a markup of more than 630 percent.

The article reports that African American business owners, civil rights leaders and lawmakers all descended upon New York City this past Sunday for the four-day Wall Street Project. The economic summit entitled "A more perfect union: The quest for equity and parity," was held to focus on key issues affecting "people of color" in the U.S., including the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast, pension funds, and the lack of access to Wall Street for people of color. The four-day summit, which ended on Wednesday, also focused on a range of economic issues resulting from Hurricane Katrina.

This article focuses on a string of assaults by African American teens on day laborers in New York City in the past few years. This past September, day laborer Leobardo Rojas was stabbed to death in Staten Island's Port Richmond neighborhood. After his death, rumors began circulating that the killers were morenos or cocolos, in reference to the African Americans who live alongside them. New York Police Department has dispatched additional police to Port Richmond to patrol and to give immigrants tips on avoiding assaults. Many Mexicans believe that African Americans attack them because they don't fear police involvement.

The article reports that Blacks are migrating back to the South. In the early 20th century, many southern Blacks left their roots for cities like Chicago in Illinois, New York City, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania and Boston in Massachusetts. Now in a dramatic shift, Blacks are returning down South for the same reasons they once left. During the 1990's, the South's Black population increased by four million, more than any other region of the U.S. While the region still struggles with vast racial divides, many young African Americans are now returning to the land that was once inhabited by their parents and grandparents.

The article reports that civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who stood up against injustice all her life, will now stand as the first Black honored in National Statuary Hall. On December 1, 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush signed a bill championed by Representative Jesse Jackson, to erect a statue of the civil rights legend in the Capitol's famed hall. The president was honoring Rosa Parks on the 50th anniversary of her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alaska, bus. Bush also lauded Parks as the catalyst for the push of Black equality and freedom.

The article reports that missed opportunities to jail criminal Alan Cameron led to the tragic events that unfolded in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn in New York City. Cameron, who shot off-duty police officer Wiener Philippe earlier in November 2005, continued his rampage when he killed Brooklyn Police Officer Dillon Stewart after a high-speed car chase. At 2:50 a.m. on November 28, 2005, Officer Stewart and his partner, Paul Lipka, began pursuing a maroon Infiniti sedan that sped past them and ran a red light on the intersection of Church and Flatbush aves. A chase ensued and the two cars ended up next to each other. Cameron then fired five shots. One of the bullets hit Stewart just above his bulletproof vest and pierced his left ventricle.

The article focuses on the renaming of the Memphis Shelby County Public Library as Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, after Hooks, who was the first African American court judge in Tennessee, and the first African American appointee to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The announcement was made October 27th at a ceremony in Memphis. At the ceremony, Hooks spoke about his family's long struggle with libraries and how it made him strive to gather as much knowledge as possible. His grandmother, Julia Britton Hooks, was kicked out of the Cossitt Library in the 1910s, and his niece, Carol Hooks Higgs, was arrested and jailed in 1960 when she and other Black students tried to use the Central Library.

The article reports that U.S. Congressman Jesse Jackson introduced a legislation in the House of Representatives for a statue honoring Rosa Parks, civil rights activist, on the U.S. Capitol's famed National Statuary Hall. The National Statuary Hall is comprised of statues donated by individual states to honor those notable in their history. The Rosa Parks Memorial Statue Act of 2005 gives the office a timetable of two years to erect the statue. Democratic senators and congress members expect the bill to be passed and the statue to be built before its two-year timetable.

This article reports on a study published in the "Santa Clara Law Review," which indicates that more men and women on California's death row are there for killing whites than any other group, despite there being more Black and Hispanic murder victims. The study, conducted by Glenn Pierce of the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University and Michael Radalet, sociology professor at the University of Colorado, centered on the race of California homicide victims in the 1990s. There were 302 California death sentences issued during that time, but the study eliminated 39 cases that involved multiple victims of different races or ethnic groups. The study also found that the race of the defendant did not contribute significantly to whether the prosecutors sought the death penalty or jurors recommended death.

This article presents information on eleven adopted Black children from a home in Wakeman, Ohio, where they were confined in cages as low as three feet high. No charges have been filed against the adoptive parents, Mike Gravelle and Sharon Gravelle, who are white, and denied neglect or abuse during a custody hearing. Officers were alerted to the home, when child services investigator Joe Johnson, who visited, spotted a face peering out of a cage. The county police received an anonymous complaint, said Erich Dumbech, director of the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services. The children, ranging from ages one to fourteen, had autism and fetal alcohol syndrome.

The article reports on the opening of "The Gatehouse," the new performance venue at Harlem Stage. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, Congressman Charles Rangel, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, along with New York City politicians, officials, and celebrities cut a ribbon to celebrate the grand opening. A crowd close to 300 attended the opening where the sound of African drums and the swift moves of dancers from the motherland were on display.

The article reports that demonstrators gathered outside of JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, last Saturday for a reparations rally. Two of JP Morgan Chase predecessor banks in Louisiana had taken ownership of 1,250 slaves when their loans defaulted. Aside from JP Morgan, institutions like Aetna, New York Life, AIG and FleetBoston Financial Group are also linked to slavery. The main target of reparations activists is Chase as the bank initially denied involvement in slave ownership.

The article presents information related to the Sankofa Academy which is run through the New York City Department of Education. The academy's coordinator Wayne Harris, invited African Americans and Latino males who have committed infractions to attend a suspension program to enable them to continue their education along with serving suspensions.

The article presents information about a study regarding the academic performance of white and African-American students in the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. In the study, an in-class writing assignment was designed to enhance students' sense of identity and personal integrity which reduced the achievement gap between the students by 40 percent.

The article cites a report according to which 14 out of the 17 persistently dangerous schools in New York are located in the five boroughs of New York City. The report was released by the city's Department of Education. Owing to the increased levels of violence involving students, Dewitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, New York City, installed metal detectors last year.

This article reports that the number of people taking part in the Million Father March, organized by Chicago, Illinois-based Black Star Project (BSP), increased by 100,000 participants in 2006. 120 cities participated in the event which completed its third year in 2006. BSP's goal is to re-emphasize a sense of responsibility in Black men ranging from fatherhood to advancement in school, jobs, and life.

This article reports that Louisiana school district is conducting an enquiry against a white bus driver who ordered Black kids to either sit on each other's laps or stand in the back of the bus. The allegations were brought to the attention of School Supridentent Kay Easley by Janice Williams and Iva Richmond, both Black and mothers of children who ride the bus in the small farming town of Coushatta.

The article presents information on rumors related to the discontinuance of Black Heritage stamp series by the United States Postal Service (USPS). Five years ago, a rumor permeated throughout the Internet that the United States Postal Service has ended their Black Heritage stamp series. One of the clerk at the Washington Heights post office informed that she hasn't heard anything about such rumors. To defy such rumors, she brought out a pack of Hattie McDaniel stamps along with other Black Heritage stamps.

The article reports on the plan of New York Borough President Scott Stringer to infuse its community boards with new blood and stringent procedures. His plan focused on interviewing new applicants, including current members, establishing a screening panel, and requiring all applicants and sitting members to complete a lengthy questionnaire. Three months later, Stringer has not only kept his promise, but also delivered on it. Community boards are neighborhood advisory coalitions led by volunteers appointed to two-year terms.

The article narrates the story of Ramell Stone, a 18-year-old boy, who is hit by poverty, drugs, and violence in the inner city of Harlem, New York City. Growing up in the Polo Grounds Projects in the rough and tumble Upper East Harlem, he witnessed things that children should not see at a young age--the drugs, the violence, and the money that came packaged with both of them. Stone grew up with his grandmother. His mother had him at age 15 and handed custody over to her so she could continue school. Ramell's father was nowhere to be found. At the age of 16, Stone was arrested for robbery in the second degree.

The article reports that Dewayne Boyd, a former aide to U.S. Representative John Conyers was arrested last month in Accra, Ghana, eight months after failing to show up for sentencing on charges of defrauding sponsors and vendors of a national conference for Black farmers out of close to $162,000. The Federal Bureau of Investigation located Boyd with assistance from the U.S. Embassy in Ghana. He has been in Africa since April 12, 2005, the day he failed to appear for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland.

This article reports that hundreds of people came together in New York City this past weekend for a historic three-day tribunal indicting the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, for crimes against humanity. The event opened on Friday at the Riverside Church in Harlem, New York City, where Harry Belafonte had the stage once again to voice his opinions on the Bush administration. Recent comments from Belafonte include calling Bush a "terrorist" and comparing the Homeland Security Department to the "Nazi Gestapo." Belafonte opened the event with a riveting speech concerning the current occupation of Iraq. This past week, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both refused to support Belafonte's comments.

The article reports that Earl G. Graves Sr., founder of the journal "Black Enterprise," didn't have to stray too far to name his company's new chief executive officer. Two weeks ago, Graves Sr. promoted his son Earl "Butch" Graves Jr., who was previously president of the nation's premiere African American business magazine. Graves Sr., 70, will remain chairman and publisher of Earl G. Graves Ltd., the media company that publishes the magazine. From 1988 to 2006, "Black Enterprise" revenues increased from $20 million to $60 million.

The article reports that world-renowned singer and activist Harry Belafonte called U.S. President George W. Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" on Sunday and said millions of Americans support the socialist revolution of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias. Belafonte, a social activist all his life, is concerned about the large number of U.S. citizens who lack basic benefits despite the level of technology and economic power of the country. He pointed out that the prison population in the US is the greatest in the world and that the nation builds more prisons than schools.

The article cites a new report released by the Center for Immigration Studies which found that close to eight million people moved to the U.S. in the past five years. The report comes as the House passed a bill to limit illegal immigration by increasing border security and requiring workplace enforcement of immigration laws. Legislators left the issue of what to do with the 11 million undocumented workers in this country until next year. The House legislation includes such measures as enlisting military and local law-enforcement help in stopping illegal entrants and requiring employers to verify the legal status of their workers.

The article focuses on the views expressed by U.S. civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson at the "Diversity on Wall Street: the quest for equity and parity," summit last month in New York City. Jackson said that Wall Street has a long way to go in establishing parity for minorities. He said access to capital is the final stage after the ending of legal slavery and segregation and the winning of the right to vote in African Americans' struggle to make this a more perfect union. Jackson cited the U.S. mutual fund industry as an example.

The article cites a study conducted by researchers at the University of Oslo, which states that women who have an abortion can suffer mental distress, anxiety, guilt, and shame for years afterwards. In the study, a group of forty women who suffered a miscarriage were compared with eighty women who chose to have an abortion. The team found that women who had a miscarriage suffer more mental distress up until six months after the event than women who had an abortion. But, the women who had abortions experienced more mental distress long afterwards, at two and five years, compared with the miscarriage group.

The article reports that a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute indicates that exercising can decrease the risk of breast cancer in Black women. Numerous studies have linked physical activity to lower breast cancer risk in white women, hut the new study by the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California extends the findings to Black women. The study found that women with the highest levels of physical activity had a 20 percent decreased risk of breast cancer.

The article reports that newly elected New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine recently told the newspaper "Trenton Times" that he might appoint a woman to fill his unexpired Senate term. He then singled out State Senator Nia Gill, calling her an extraordinarily capable woman. Gill responded immediately to the possibility of being selected to the U.S. Senate. Gill, a 57-year-old attorney, is a second-term state senator who served four terms in the state assembly. She was also co-chair of Corzine's gubernatorial campaign.

The article presents an obituary for Woodrow Jones, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

The article focuses on the Linkages to Life program that raises awareness concerning organ donations among Blacks. Black people suffer higher rates of diseases that damage the liver and kidneys. The Linkages to Life program is in its fourth year, and conducted by Links Inc., the largest African American women's service organization, and Roche Pharmaceuticals. In the past, the main objective was to ask churchgoers to sign organ donor cards, but the program now hopes people will go home and educate their families on the issue.