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"If these girls were White with blonde hair and blue eyes, would we have forgotten them so quickly?" - Phillip Jackson
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#Bring Back Our Girls
This Is What Has Happened In The 5 Months Since
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This photo taken from
video by Nigeria's Boko Haram terrorist network, Monday, May 12, 2014,
shows the alleged missing girls abducted from the northeastern town of
Chibok. (AP Photo) | AP
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On the night
of April 14, 2014, hundreds of schoolgirls at the Chibok boarding school
in northeastern Nigeria awoke to the sound of gunfire. They saw men in
camouflage approaching and thought soldiers were coming to save them
from a militant attack, according to survivors' accounts.
Instead, more than 270 of the schoolgirls
found themselves in the clutches of the Islamist militant group Boko
Haram. Their abduction sparked global outrage and a huge campaign
calling for their rescue, partly propelled by the hashtag
#BringBackOurGirls.
Sunday marks five months since the girls were kidnapped. Here's what has happened since. Not one student has been rescued
In the first days after the abduction, 57 of the girls managed to escape from their captors. But not one has escaped or been rescued since then. Even though they were reportedly located months ago.
In May, a Nigerian military official claimed he knew where the girls were being held. A month later, U.S. surveillance planes also spotted a group that officials believed to be the girls.
When other countries did start to help, they didn't get very far. The U.S. sent 80 troops in late May to coordinate an aerial search from neighboring Chad. Canada, France, Israel and the U.K. also sent special forces to Nigeria. But six weeks later, the Pentagon press secretary announced
that the U.S. mission would be scaled back, saying: "We don't have any
better idea today than we did before about where these girls are."
Residents in Chibok face the unrelenting threat of an attack by militants. In June, a Boko Haram offensive on nearby villages crept within three miles of the town where the girls were kidnapped.
Click Here to ask the U.S. Department of State to #Bring Back Our Girls. Two minutes of your time can help #Bring Back Our Girls!
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In California,
Marching with a purpose
Millions Fathers March lacks numbers, but promotes agenda of child safety
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(Photos by Gary McCarthy/Los Angeles Wave)
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By Erick Johnson
October 2, 2014
Passers-by in vehicles
honked to show their support, while patrons of businesses along the
route came to their doors to cheer on those who marched and chanted "A
million fathers with one mind, talking care of our kids on the
frontline," in support of the event aimed at getting more men from inner
cities involved in their children's lives.
"We came here today to
celebrate responsible fathers and to show the people that fathers in our
neighborhoods actually love their children," said the Rev. Brian
Wilson, executive director of the nonprofit HOOP (Holistic Offerings
& Opportunities for People) Foundation, which co-sponsored the event
along with Street Positive.
An example of one father on
hand was 36-year-old Derian Jones, who marched alongside his wife,
while pushing along his youngest of four in a stroller. The Los Angeles
born and raised Jones pointed to his own upbringing and the strong
relationship he had with his father growing up as motivation to keep him
on the right path.
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Californian women support Million Father March 2014
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"Growing up I played
baseball, so my father always made sure that Saturdays were our time to
play baseball or go to a game," Jones said. "He wasn't able to finish
college before he started a family so when I went to college, he went
back to college to finish."
Jones became a father at 24.
Community-based
organizations like the Inglewood Teen Center and Concerned Black Men of
Los Angeles were on hand to spread the word about the mentoring
programs they provide to those in the community lacking a positive male
role model in their lives.
Having the sixth annual
Million Father March held at Amino Inglewood Charter High School on
Manchester Boulevard was something Principal Philip A. Parker saw as a
definite positive in terms of helping to create more successful
students.
"We reached out to become
the home base for this event because one thing we know is that when
parents are more involved, students are more successful," Parker said.
"We want fathers to feel like they are welcome to participate in their
children's education. It doesn't just have to be the mothers."
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Did
The Fountain Hills, Arizona School Board Fire This Teacher Because She
Told Some Students to "Shut Up" When They Were Calling Another Student
"Nigger"?
The
Fountain Hills Unified School District board decided to fire Pam
Aister, a teacher of 24 years, after being accused of telling a group of
students to shut up after they taunted another student with racist
slurs.
The board said that they
could not substantiate claims of racially motivated ullying, yet decided
to fire Aister based on the unsubstantiated claims of 4th grade
students.
This decision is
ridiculous, over the top, and logically offensive. The "crime" in
question is telling a group of students to "shut up" and the punishment
is loss of career leaving a long time and well respected teacher and her
elderly mother with no source of income? This decision is cruel and a
wildly inappropriate disciplinary action.
Furthermore, the lesson
being taught to students through this case is damaging. This serves only
as an example to reinforce the status quo - teaching students that
standing up against racism and bullying is ineffective and personally
damaging, and that authoritative powers will not work for justice but in
favor of those who are already in positions of power and privilege. It
also displays a lack of regard for teachers, as human beings and as
valuable members of our community.
More troubling than the
idea of a teacher (allegedly) telling a group of students to "shut up"
is the idea that we might have 9 and 10-year-olds in the community
bullying each other and using the n-word, and other racial slurs. If any
action should have been taken in this case it would have been a special
assembly in school educating students about bullying and racism.
This decision needs to be
overturned - for the sake of Pam Aister, as well as the entire
community, and perhaps most especially as a lesson to FHUSD students
about justice, appropriate punishment, and trust in authority.
1) Click Here to Sign the petition to have Ms. Aister reinstated.
2) Please call the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights at 1-800-421-3481 or email them at ocr@ed.gov and ask them to investigate this matter at Fountain Hills Unified School District,
3) Please call Fountain Hills Board President Helen Howard, at (480) 664-5000 or send her an email message at hhoward@fhusd.org to ask the Board to hire back Teacher Aister!
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Autistic Like Me:
A Father's Perspective
by Charles Jones
- A Documentary/Short Film
Premieres Wednesday, October 15, 2014
NORCROSS CULTURAL ARTS AND COMMUNITY CENTER
10 College Street, Norcross, Georgia
 Our children are being diagnosed with Autism at an alarming rate ... "Autistic Like Me: A Father's Perspective"
is a documentary/advocacy film that examines the difficult emotional
journey experienced by fathers of autistic children. Having an autistic
child turns a parent's world upside down.
Dreams are broken and
lives are changed forever. Men are especially affected because we often
do not seek out the support network needed to deal with this type of
emotional upheaval.
With an incident rate of 1 in 110, autism is
now the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States.
Experts agree that early intervention is critical for a child's
development. But the early days of parenting are also the most
stressful. It is a painful time for many who are not prepared for
"special" parenthood. Why do men specifically, have such a difficult
time coping?
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Director Charles Jones with his son
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Sharing, compassion, understanding and
sound advice are the keys to helping men be good parents and to focus on
insuring their children receive the earliest possible professional
attention. "Autistic Like Me: A Father's Perspective"
is a call to action, an attempt to reach out to all men, regardless of
whether they have an autistic child or plan to have a family in the
future. By infusing knowledge, education and awareness into our
communities, men can gain the voice we are missing. It will empower us
to take "care of business" and see that our children get the best help
possible.
Charles Jones
Director of Autistic Like Me
Click Here to view emotional trailer of Autistic Like Me
Click Here to get tickets to the Premiere of Autistic Like Me
Click Here to bring Autistic Like Me to your city or email info@autisticlikeme.net
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Join The Chicago Teachers Union
in Ferguson, Missouri
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Take the CTU Bus for Ferguson Action
CTU members will join with thousands of people from Ferguson,
St. Louis and the nation to show our strength as we stand united against
police brutality, both in Ferguson and across the country. We will
march through Downtown St. Louis and rally at Keiner Plaza sending a
message across the world: Not One More. Learn more about the march at FergusonOctober.com.
Click Here to register for Bus Transportation at $25.00 per person.
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An 11-Year-Old Author,
Reading from His Book
about the Murder of His Father.
Keith's Heart
Click Here
to hear 11-year-old Keith Whitted's amazing, powerful and
heart-wrenching story about how he and his family coped with his
father's murder in his new book,
Keith's Heart.
Click Here to purchase the book or call 773.285.9600.
The Black Star Project thanks the Board
of Directors of The Field Foundation of Illinois, the Board of
Directors of Woods Fund of Chicago, Illinois State Senator Jacqueline
Collins, Illinois State Senator Kimberly A. Lightford, Chicago Alderman
Will Burns and Melody Spann Cooper of WVON for their generous support for our parenting programs.
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In Chicago,
- With only 9% of 8th-grade Black boys reading proficiently,
- With only 39% of Black boys graduating from high school,
- With only 34% of Black male college freshmen (nationally) making it to year two and beyond,
- With only 3 out of 100 Black boys from Chicago graduating from college after 6 years,
We Teach Black Boys to Read,
to Think Critically, to Master Life Skills, and to Know Thyself, Study Thy History and Love Thy Community
Open to boys between 1st and 6th Grade,
Includes free assessment of current reading skills,
We teach to fill the deficits and to expand assets,
Blacks in Chicago no longer have a reason for
Black male children not being able to read.
Saturday University Black Male Reading Academies
Saturday,October 11, 2014, 1:15pm
at The Black Star Project
3509 South King Drive
Chicago, Illinois
For more information or to register your young man, please call 773.285.9600
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