By Judith Burkhardt St. Ignatius Catholic Community The main mission of the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons complex at Oak Ridge, Tenn., is to ensure the safety of this country. One of the two business entities that provide security to the Y-12 complex is Bechtel Corporation, a favorite of former Vice President Dick Cheney. Yet a month ago, in the early morning of July 28, Sister Megan Rice, a 82-year-old Roman Cathol ...

Special to the NNPA from the Tri-State Defender Support for voter identification laws is strongest among Americans who harbor negative sentiments toward African Americans, according to a new National Agenda Opinion Poll by the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication. Voter ID laws require individuals to show government-issued identification when they vote. The survey findings support rec ...

By Marcus Wright Special to the Michigan Citizen DETROIT — Gregory Anderson cannot paint, but he makes paintings last forever. He and his fiancé, Toyia Lee, own Last Forever Paintings, a channel for artists who are not business savvy. Anderson said he encounters a large number of artists who have talent but lack business and promotional skills. “That’s why Toyia and I started this business,” Anderson said. ...

By Puakea Olaisha Anderson Special to the Michigan Citizen ROYAL OAK — Families and friends gathered to show off classic cars, years of hard work and domestic auto pride at this year’s Woodward Dream Cruise Aug. 18. The Woodward Dream Cruise, which stretches from Pontiac to just north of Eight Mile Road, began 18 years ago as a fundraiser to restore a Ferndale soccer field. Today, car lovers from London, Ri ...

The Educational Achievement Authority of Michigan, the new statewide district created to “turn around” the 5 percent lowest-performing schools in the state, is beginning to hold meetings to promote itself. Will you or would you send your child to an EAA school? It doesn’t really matter what it’s called — DPS, charter, EAA, whatever. I want children to have the best educational experience possible. I’m a pro ...

By Minsu Longiaru There’s an old, fiendishly catchy Sesame Street song that has been going through my head recently that goes: “Everybody eats, / everybody eats / Meat and fish and cereal / Carrots, peas and beets / Everybody knows / That everyone he meets / Likes to eat / How do we know it’s so? ‘Cause everybody, everybody eats.” While we would all like a world in which everybody eats a healthy diet, a rec ...

By Rev. Dr. William Barber, II The following is an excerpt of the Reverend’s speech. In the testimony circle of my faith tradition the saints often declare, “If we ever needed the Lord, we sure do need him now.” I want to, in the tradition of the hip hop tradition, sample from that faith tradition and say, if we ever needed to vote we sure do need to vote now. For us the right to vote is not just a constitu ...

By Shea Howell Special to the Michigan Citizen The elected Detroit Public Schools (DPS) Board moved swiftly to regain academic control of our schools. Under Public Act 4 (PA4) the elected school board was stripped of all financial and academic power, but it continued to meet in public settings and to discuss issues. As a result, the elected board was able to address urgent questions facing it. Their actions ...

By Walter Smith The response from the Obama campaign managers to NNPA Chairman Cloves Campbell was, “The audience your newspapers reach is not the demographic of the campaign.” What a ridiculous posture to take in regards to the Black Press, the father of progress of Black Americans. The U.S. Black Press is 185 years old this year. It began in 1827 when John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish started Freedom’s Jou ...

In balance with nature? Published • Sun, Aug 26, 2012 Segregation and sustainability in Detroit By Gregg Newsom This is the latest in a series of columns discussing the Environmental Justice Principles drafted and adopted by delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit held Oct. 24-27, 1991. Environmental Justice Principle No. 12 “affirms the need for urban and rural ecolo ...