Features
- Created on 08 May 2013
Five CAU Student-Athletes Receive Arthur Ashe Jr. Honor
Five Clark Atlanta University student-athletes were named 2013 Arthur Ashe Jr., Sports Scholars by 'Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Magazine': Nekesha Whitaker, Kelvin Tanner, Brionne Bachus, Kailyn Blackmon, and Kasey Dawson.
Inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.'s commitment to education and his love for tennis, Diverse Magazine established the Sports Scholars Awards to honor undergraduate African-American student-athletes who are community leaders and have excelled academically and athletically at their respective colleges and universities.
Whitaker, one of the featured student-athletes, is a graduating senior wth a 3.73 GPA in Criminal Justice and the 2013 Georgia Peach of an Athlete top female honoree. With a wealth of community service initiatives including her involvement with CAU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), she paces her workload as a member of the women's cross-country and track and field teams.
Dawson, a graduating senior and Psychology major and Bachus, a rising senior and Accounting major, are both women's tennis student-athletes who boast a 3.78 and 3.76 cumulative GPA, respectively. Blackmon, a junior Psycology major, claims a 3.74 GPA while Tanner, CAU's male Peach of an Athlete nominee, excels with a 3.55 GPA in Computer Information Systems.
These student-athletes are among others at NCAA DI, DII and DIII member institutions to receive this recognition.
(Photo: Clark Atlanta cross country athlete Nekesha Whitaker.)
- Created on 08 May 2013
Couple Gets Most of $1 Million Reward in Christopher Dorner Case
(CNN) -- The couple who called police after being held hostage in Big Bear, California, by rogue ex-Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner will get a majority of the $1 million reward for information that led authorities to him.
Karen Reynolds and her husband, Jim, called 911 on February 12 to report that Dorner had tied them up and stolen their car.
They will receive 80% of the reward, put up by the city of Los Angeles with help from other jurisdictions, groups, and private donors.
A panel of three judges awarded 15% to the Daniel McGowan, who discovered Dorner's burning truck near the ski resort town, and 5% to R. Lee McDaniel, who spotted Dorner on February 7 and informed police.
The panel said nine other people who filed claims were not entitled to any reward money.
The manhunt for Dorner ended when Dorner was cornered and died in the San Bernardino Mountains, about 100 miles east of the city where he once had been a police officer.
The 33-year-old former Navy officer holed up in a cabin after a shootout with law enforcement.
The renegade cop killed four people and wounded three others as part of a vendetta against his former comrades before apparently taking his own life.
- Created on 06 May 2013
Cynthia McKinney Autobiography Details Congress Challenges
Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) has written an autobiography titled "Ain't Nothing Like Freedom" that is now available from Clarity Press, and in e-book format on Amazon.com.
The book is described by Amazon.com as follows:
"Detailing her six terms in the House of Representatives, this memoir by the United States congresswoman for Georgia's fourth district reveals the woman behind the engaging political career. Best known for her vote in Congress against the Iraq war, a stance which she has continued to hold, she has also stirred controversy over legislation to dismantle corruption in Washington and elsewhere.
Describing the personal history that has informed her convictions, the congresswoman points to her pioneering parents, her own pursuit of the best possible education, her experiences as a community organizer, and her juggling act as a mother and a working woman."
McKinney writes about her work on redistricting while in the Georgia Legislature; her lesser known work on human rights and international relations issues, especially involving Africa, while in U.S. Congress, her work assisting constituents with cases involving the federal government, and on a wide variety of issues of federal policy.
The stories attempt to illustrate the machinations of a system that she believes seems to be stacked against progressive change and potential agents of such change.
For example, McKinney writes about the rules of the U.S. Congress -- how seniority is allocated, how decisions are made regarding what Congressional hearings will be held, who gets to invite witnesses or ask questions at these hearings, what bills come up for a vote -- that constrain what a lone progressive member of Congress can accomplish beyond simply their roll call vote.
She also writes about the tricks "the powers that be" use to dodge Congressional oversight, and how she responded: by being so well-prepared, she writes, that her questions would be framed well enough not to be evaded.
The book includes pages of photographs, letters, and other archival materials, as well as excerpted speeches, in addition to narrative text.
McKinney writes that she is still hoping to write her dissertation and complete her Ph.D. and that she continues to look for ways to be involved in the struggle for social justice. Her son, Coy McKinney, recently received his J.D. from the University of the District of Columbia.
- Created on 07 May 2013
Lauryn Hill Sentenced To 3 Months In Prison
Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill was sentenced Monday to three months in prison and an additional three months in home confinement for failing to pay taxes on about $1 million in earnings.
Hill, a 37-year-old South Orange, N.J., resident, pleaded guilty last year in the case.
During a forceful statement to the judge Monday, Hill explained
...
- Created on 03 May 2013
Fiesta Atlanta at Centennial Park on Cinco de Mayo
Atlanta will pulse to a Latin beat this weekend for Fiesta Atlanta, a Cinco de Mayo explosion which celebrates the culture, achievements and experiences of people with a Mexican background, who live in the United States.
The event, which officially commemorates the anniversary of an early victory by Mexican forces over French forces in the Battle of Pubela on May 5, 1862, has morphed in the U.S. into an opportunity to promote Mexican services and goods, including food, drinks and music.
Centered at Centennial Olympic Park, the 7th annual Fiesta Atlanta will feature international, national and local recording artists, mariachi music and Mexican folk dancing on two stages;
a morning 5K Run/Walk; youth soccer clinics and sponsor displays with free product samples, arts and crafts and authentic international foods.
For more information on the family friendly day-long event, visit www.fiestaatlanta.com.
