Teenage pregnancy
Today within the US teen pregnancy is seeming to become more of the norm. It’s not uncommon to walk into a high school and see over 4 or more pregnant teens. Statistics state that nationally, nearly one million young women under the age of 20 become pregnant each year. Thus implying that close to 2,800 teens become pregnant every day.

McDuffie Riots



Every story has a beginning. For the people of Miami and Dade County the murder of former Marine Arthur McDuffie was their story beginning. The police department began an investigation of the officers involved in the murder of McDuffie. Upon their research they found a very different story than the one mentioned in the officers’ reports. After the internal inquiry was over, it became apparent that what happened to McDuffie was no accident. He had been handcuffed, pulled off his bike, and beaten severely. In an attempt to cover up their wrongdoings, the police went to great lengths to make the scene look like an accident. They drove over McDuffie’s bike with a squad car to make it look accident damaged. The gouged the road with a tire iron to look like bike tracks and threw the victims watch down a gutter. But these small acts could not cover up what they had done. The city, and especially its Black community, became outraged. Citizens marched in front of the Dade County justice building carrying a black coffin. The NAACP sent letters to the federal justice department asking them to monitor the trial. Miami’s Black residents had long complained about police brutality, but as it does in most places their voice fell on deaf ears. But the McDuffie case was different. This was no drug-peddling street thug or common ghetto criminal, this was a man who had served his country as a military police officer, worked in the white-collar world and was senselessly killed by a group of deranged police. Police who, combined, had 47 citizen complaints and 13 internal review probes in the past seven years. The combination of a sympathetic victim and extremely unsympathetic attackers made this situation especially dangerous. The situation was considered so dangerous, in fact, that Judge Nesbitt granted the defendants’ request for a change of venue to Tampa. She called the case “a time bomb I don’t want to go off in my courtroom or this community.” What the judge failed to realize, however, was that no matter where the fuse was lit, it would eventually burn all the way back to Miami.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott




The Montgomery bus boycott of, 1955-1956, was a very historical event. Two of the most remembered people of this time were Rosa Parks and Dr. King. In order, to efficiently carry out this goal, the Montgomery Improvement Association was formed, with King as their leader. From day one, the bus boycott proved to be immediately successful. Leaders had anticipated about 60% of blacks to participate in the movement, but at the end of day one it was predicted that there was nearly 100% cooperation. People had utilized other ways of transportation such as walking; using cabs, getting rides in private cars and some even rode mules. Finally on December 20, 1956 the mandate came to Montgomery. The next day King, Abernathy, and Nixon were the first to integrate the buses. The boycott was finally over.

Emmit Till’s Murder


I can remember the very first time I read the article out of JET magazine about the murder Emmit Till. The story brought tears to my eyes. I remember feeling the emotions of anger and disbelief. Emmit was accused of whistling at a white woman in the grocery store in Grenada, MS.
Later on that same day he was then kidnapped by the store owner and his brother.
He was then beaten to death and then tied to a large cotton gin fan with barbed wire and thrown into the Tallahatchie River. a month after his mutilated body was pulled out of the Tallahatchie River, his wrists broken, teeth and eyes missing, and a bullet wound in his skull. Any one with a hurt would want to know who could do such a thing to a child. Roy Byrant and J.W. Milam are the men guilty of shedding innocent blood. Neither one ever spent a night in jail in connection with the crime. They both died of cancer: Milam in 1981, Bryant in 1994.

Election Day Coverage
Our History 2008




Today is November the fourth, Election day. Who will win is the
question everyone has. It’s 8:01 pm and as of right now John McCain is in
the lead with 8 electoral votes to President Obama’s 3. It’s 8:14 pm and
President Obama has 78 electoral votes to McCain’s 34. My out look on the
election is that Obama is and will be president tomorrow morning when I
wake up. The polls have been full all day.
Young people such as myself have gone out and voted in numerous
numbers. I feel that when Obama is mentioned as president in history books;
some how we as a people of this time and generation will also be
mentioned. Personally I’m ready for the change that President Obama is
promising and also for that great feeling of hope. No matter what the
outcome of the election is, history has already been made and one thing
about history is that it is history and it can’t be changed. We as a people
must help our president to meet every goal he promised.
After the results of this years election men, women, boys, and girls all
over America will be expecting a change for the better. I’m proud to say that
I am an American and I am a young black woman that is blessed from the prayers and endurance of my ancestors to have the opportunity to see there
dreams of true freedom and equality become today’s reality. In summary we
as a nation must stay prayerful and a great big congratulation to the
president of the United States, President Obama. It’s 10:24 pm and president
Obama has 207 electoral votes to that of McCain’s 135. Have faith.