Palestinian political prisoner arrested seven times
U.S. Political Prisoner listing (Jericho Movement) WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - Palestinian activists have been touring the United States during the month of April to get people in this country to understand that their government's blind support of Israel's occupation of Palestinian land denies the rights of the Palestinians. “First of all, we think that the Americans should do more than they...
Racial intimidation thrives on high school campus
CHARLENEM SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (FinalCall.com) - Their sentiments were made plain on a pole at Valencia High School April 4: “No Niggers Aloud.” Disturbed, but not surprised, a group of Black students discovered the hateful words sprawled in an area on school grounds where they commonly socialize. Despite several community meetings and years of wrangling for protection from White supremacy gangs...
Study: Religious values help to keep teens straight
, Staff Writer WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com)–Angela Jefferson is 15. She's been going to Sunday school and the 11 o'clock morning service all her life. Studies show that what she's learning may be what it takes to delay her experimentation with sex and drugs. Researchers in two studies published last month found that teens with strong religious views are less likely to...
Black marriage movement continues to grow nationwide
CHARLENEM (FinalCall.com) - Over 100 organizations across the U.S. celebrated Black Marriage Day March 27 with a host of activities, seminars and lectures. In some communities, this season finds young brides shopping for over-priced wedding gowns and accessories. However, Black Marriage Day organizers state that the scene may be otherwise for Black communities where matrimonies continue to decline. “We've gone from having...
Urban League ‘crusades’ for economic justice
National Urban League WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - National Urban League President Marc Morial is calling his membership to embark on an economic “crusade” to try again to make good on the promise of economic opportunity and prosperity for all by narrowing the gaps that exist in the American “Equality Index.” The need is clear. In measurable ways, Mr. Morial said, at...
Denouncing the draft
NoDraftNoWay.org NEW YORK (FinalCall.com) - There was a conference on military draft resistance and counter-recruiting here Apr. 16 at Public School 41 in Manhattan. On Apr. 23, there is an anti-draft meeting scheduled in Detroit. Activists with the organization “No Draft No Way” say that local organizers, in almost every state in the United States, are organizing student walkouts, pickets and...
Activists fighting return of death penalty in Puerto Rico
Court ruling encourages death row opponents (FCN, 03-22-2005) (FinalCall.com) - Activists in Puerto Rico are angry about President George Bush's attempts to bring the death penalty back after 78 years—so angry that they called for a rally in front of the federal court in Jatorey in the capital city of San Juan. “We plan to have pickets in front of the...
AIDS providers get funding reprieve
D.C. AIDS providers protest de-funding (FCN, 03-17-2005) WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - HIV/AIDS providers, stunned by the city's recent de-funding of their programs, received a reprieve with a three-month extension to continue serving patients until the city's administrative chaos is worked out. It's considered a small victory for residents of the District, which has the highest per capita HIV/AIDS infection rate in...
37 years after Dr. Martin Luther King’s murder, Black leaders discuss the time and what Black people must do
CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) - Many of the civil rights gains that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. laid his life on the line to achieve for Black people are gradually being eroded, was the lament during a panel discussion hosted at Rainbow/PUSH headquarters here April 2 to commemorate the slain leader's life. Reverend Jesse Jackson invited the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan,...
Zero tolerance: From the schoolhouse to the jailhouse
(FinalCall.com) - In Philadelphia, Penn., a 10-year-old girl was handcuffed and taken to a police station and held for eight hours because she brought a pair of scissors to school. She used the scissors to work on a school project. Even though “school officials acknowledged that the young girl was not using the scissors as a weapon or threatening...