Category Archives: Education

Education, Society, What's Up

The New Look of Immigration: Haitians Opt for Mexico Instead of the US

Far from home, Haitians build new lives in Tijuana

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*There’s an interesting situation going on in Mexico of all places. In Tijuana, immigrants from Haiti have found a welcoming home and have set up what appears to be a small, but growing community on it’s way to sustaining itself, reports the San Diego Union:

For John Arold Lazarre, the plan was to migrate to Miami, to join his aunts, uncles and cousins there. He would build a new life in the United States and send money home to his young son and widowed mother in La Gonâve, Haiti.

Tijuana? That was never his dream.

But now a year after arriving at Mexico’s northern border, the 29-year-old migrant has no plans to move away. “I never want to go anywhere illegally again,” Lazarre said one night last week as he prepared for an overnight shift helping guide airplanes at Tijuana’s A.L.Rodríguez International Airport.

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Education, Obama/Politics, Society

The Transformation of African-American Life in 19th Century Washington

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*Have you ever wondered what kind of conditions African Americans had to endure at the start and end of the Civil War?

Did D.C. follow the lead of other states or was it the first to shift from the attitude of Emancipation? What were the ripple effects of the Reconstruction Era? All of these questions will be answered if you read on.

The Reconstruction Era of Washington D.C. had 2 transformations that have been known to be quite long-lasting. The transformations were the exponential growth of the city and the end of slavery. The Congress was being constantly told by the Abolitionists to stop slavery – especially in D.C.

Congress, on the other hand, was dominated by interests of holding on to slavery and hence wouldn’t shift from their current stand.

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Are You Serious?, Education, Health

Sickle Cell Anemia: A Primer on the Disease That Affects the Black Community

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*We’ve all heard about Sickle Cell Anemia disproportionately affecting the African American population.

Let’s take a closer look to better our understanding of it and find out how it can affect our lifestyle. The first thing to understand about this blood disorder is what it does and why is it common among our community.

What is Sickle Cell Anemia?

In this blood disorder, the red blood cells responsible for transporting oxygen all across the body are not healthy enough to travel through blood vessels. In order to go through blood vessels, the red blood cells have to be flexible and smooth but those with Sickle Cell Anemia or ‘Sicklers’ have rigid red blood cells. As a result of this, smaller blood vessels get blocked by these unhealthy blood cells. This leads to bodily pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, Anemia (that is decrease in healthy red blood cells), bacterial infection, swelling of limbs and stroke. As a person with Sickle Cell Anemia grows older, the pain becomes chronic i.e. constant.

Why Do Black Folks Have a Higher Chance of Getting It?

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Science, Society

Black Don’t Crack: The Stereotype and the Science Behind It (WATCH)

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black don't crack (mom & daughters)

*You’ve seen it in your family. You’ve seen it in celebrities like Pharrell Williams, Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba. You’ve seen it in that one photo on Twitter of the mother with her two daughters all looking the same age.

It’s quite evident that there is some truth to the quotable “Black Don’t Crack” adage. How about we take a scientific look at this? What’s the science behind us Black folks doing so well in the aging department? How can we do better?

The truth is we are melanin kings and queens. Melanin, for those not in the know, is a naturally occurring pigment in the skin that acts like sunscreen.

Damage to the skin caused by the harmful rays of the sun is the main reason why signs of aging occur. The kind of melanin found in Black folks is called eumelanin; the more we have of it, the more UV protection we get.

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Are You Serious?, Education, Society, Straight No Chaser, What's Up

National Geographic Issue ‘Planet or Plastic’ Vividly Illustrates the Dangers of Discarded Plastic (Photos)

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Image credits: John Cancalosi/ National Geographic

*We think we’re doing a good thing when we drop our used plastic in the recycle bin. And we are. But the sad thing is even with that, eventually, that plastic ends up in our drainage systems; which eventually find its way out to our landfills and oceans.

You probably see where I’m going with this, right?

National Geographic magazine has created the initiative, ‘Planet or Plastic’ — by way of its latest issue (June 2018). The pictorial offers a series of breathtaking images captured by photographers that vividly illustrate the devastating effects of tons of plastic waste in our environment each year.

The stork pictured above was freed from a plastic bag at a landfill in Spain by the photographer.

Image credits: National Geographic

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Are You Serious?, Crime, Education, Heartwarming Animal Stories, Naughty, Straight No Chaser, We Remember, What's Up

What Kind of Science Class Has Students Drowning Raccoons? This One, Apparently (Watch)

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*A teacher of an agriculture class at Forest High School in Ocala, Fla. took it upon himself to drown two raccoons and a opossum, in his classroom, in front of his students.

Actually, he asked the students to help him do it.

Officials say the raccoons had eaten one of the live chickens being raised by the students in class, so I suppose the teacher was punishing the animals in this cruel, inhumane way.

Officials say the teacher, Dewie Brewton, who is currently on paid administrative leave, took two large cages, put the raccoons inside, and then placed them inside a large garbage can. I suppose the opossum was thrown in as well, but there was no mention. He and the students then filled the can with water, using a hose. In the video below, you can see the students standing around; someone wearing gloves appears to be pushing what can be assumed is the wire cage, underwater. One of the raccoons can be seen raising its snout above water in an attempt to breathe. Continue reading →

Crime, Education, Racism, Straight No Chaser, What's Up

Middle School Teacher Gets Suspended With Pay After He Allegedly Grabs Student and Calls Him the N-Word

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*A teacher at MacWilliams Middle School in Fayetteville has been suspended (with pay) after a parent said he grabbed her son, a 7th grader, by the arm, threw accusations at him, and called him the N-word. The parent went to the school board to issue a complaint before calling ABC11 to give details of the incident.

ABC correspondent Morgan Norwood spoke to the parent who wanted her face to remain anonymous, but have her words be heard loud and clear.

“From my understanding he walked up to my son, grabbed him by his arm and told him he wanted to ‘Smash his head into a brick,’ said the mother calmly, but with a clear undercut of emotion in her voice. She continues, “…and called him the N-word. He told him that ‘It’s people like him that kept him from doing his job.'”

The mother said she knows her son was traumatized by the incident. Continue reading →

Are You Serious?, Education, Jokey Jokes, Racism, Straight No Chaser, What's Up

And She’s Out: White Woman Who Called Cops on Black Folks at BBQ Has Been ID’d

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Aww…ain’t she sweet? NOT!

*Let’s just cut to the chase and call her the Black BBQ Stalker! Maybe she thought no one would recognize her if she kept her shades on. Or better yet, maybe she didn’t think at all. She should’ve known better, yes? The woman who quickly became the laughing stock of the Internet after wasting the time of an entire police department by keeping them on the phone for two hours, and then having them show up to Oakland’s Lake Merritt because Black people were having a BBQ in the public park–whew!–has been identified.

Allegedly, she is Dr. Jennifer Schulte, and she is somehow connected with the elite Stanford University. No doubt anyone with the title “doctor” is feeling a slight shutter right now.

This Dr. Schulte, recently deleted the LinkedIn page that identified her as a “Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) focused in Chemical Engineering from Stanford.”

Therein may lie the only connection to the school.

I agree with NewsOne who wrote: “Sounds like Stanford should have taught her some lessons in humanity.” But folks are still speculating she may have a current connection with the school (They too must be shuttering). Is she faculty? And if so, they are demanding that she be fired.

I hope you won’t judge me too harshly for not giving a damn enough to research it, I only spend that kind of time on people I seriously want to know about.

This witch lost me at “You can’t BBQ here.” Continue reading →