Monthly Archives: July 2008

Of all immigrant African youth living in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs, Somalis are more likely to end up in jail.

Ushahidi.com’s success in using citizens on the ground to provide reports on violence has made the technology a tool that may be used situations similar to Kenya’s post-election mayhem.

The Brooklyn United Methodist Church (BUMC) launched a massive campaign in June to raise HIV/AIDS awareness among Liberians residing in Minnesota.

Just like it does every time there is a crisis in the developing world, the U.N. Security Council is contemplating a resolution. If the international community – as member countries like to call themselves – succeeds, Zimbabweans might be rewarded with S/RES/1821 (2008) at whenever the Council meets for its 5917th time.

CHICAGO – From the outside, parking garage attendant Kobina Azhir looks like an American-born Black man. But Azhir, a Ghanaian seaman who came to the city 22 years ago, is one of 23,000 African immigrants living in metropolitan Chicago.

Although it may take years for complaints against Minneapolis police officers to be resolved, and only a few result in any disciplinary action or victim compensation, city officials and civil rights activists encourage immigrants to file formal complaints.

When Mary resettled in the United States after leaving her African home because of war, she had to learn about the new culture. She found a job working in a nursing home, moved into an apartment and registered her son for school. She learned about American food and grocery stores, and began making friends. But Mary still faces new and unfamiliar situations in her new home.

MINNEAPOLIS – Congressman Keith Ellison called on recent graduates from Lincoln International High School to use their “lifelong and education skills to rejuvenate this country.”

MINNEAPOLIS – The agenda for the recently held African Women in the Diaspora Conference included lectures on gender issues, human rights issues with regard to sex and labor human trafficking, and widowhood.  But perhaps the most often discussed topic was the practice of female genital cutting.

The serious hatin’ on Barack Obama is in full force among racists in cyberspace and has spread to countless computers in homes across America.

ATLANTA – Small bells trilled in her wake. Her sisal skirts bristled softly in the stifling air as she made her way to the front. Small trinkets around her ankles marked her footsteps as her bare feet landed on the carpet. A half-smiling red and brown mask lay on her head. On reaching the dimmed makeshift stage, she reached for the microphone. Having competed in the pageant for the last two years, contestant number three was hoping that the third time was the charm.