By Charlene Crowell Today’s increasingly competitive global economy requires and recruits those who are highly-skilled and knowledgeable. People understand and accept that higher education is a means to become employable, marketable, and competitive. It is equally true that the rising costs of higher education have now forced 44 million consumers to borrow $1.4 trillion in ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Aretha Franklin, arguably the greatest voice in music history, has died. The Queen of Soul was 76. “She will be so missed as a mother, sister, friend, cousin,” said longtime friend Roger Friedman, who also covered the Queen of Soul for decades and originally broke the story about her ...

By Dianne Anderson California wildfires are just now starting to be contained, thanks in part to the 3,400 brave inmates willing to risk their lives for $1-2 an hour for their work. That, compared to the average California firefighter base pay of about $73,000 a year. But for all their hazardous training and a hope ...

By Dianne Anderson Some kids have it all. They have parents that feed and clothe them, keep them in sports or other extracurricular activities. They have schools that support them, and parents or extended family with high school diplomas and college degrees. Some even have their masters or Ph.D.’s. Then, there’s that other group of ...

By Cash Michaels NNPA Newswire Charlottesville, Va.—To say that Charlottesville, Va. held its collective breath on August 12th – the first anniversary of the deadly “Unite the Right” white supremacist violence a year ago that tragically took the life of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old white anti-racist protestor, is an understatement. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, and ...

By Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. As teams gear up for the NFL season, President Trump is reviving his destructive and diversionary attacks aimed at turning fans against players. The league office stepped in it, by unilaterally declaring that players who do not wish to stand during the national anthem, should stay in the locker room. ...

By Julianne Malveaux When the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) holds its Annual Legislative Conference this September (Sep. 12–16), I hope there will be a tribute to one of its founders, Congressman Ron Dellums, who made his transition on July 30. Dellums was a fierce, focused fighter for justice, an anti-war activist who served in the ...

By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Former First Lady Michelle Obama is featured in a video along with celebrities Tom Hanks, Janelle Monáe, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Lin-Manuel Miranda to encourage people to register and vote. In less than 100 days, the midterm elections that will either expand President Trump’s power or greatly restrict ...

By Dianne Anderson Entrepreneurs and established business owners will converge in Orange County soon to learn new tricks of the trade from some of the best in the business. The upcoming three-day 2018 Ron Brown Business/Economic Summit and Women’s Symposium promises to bring rising business stars up to par for opportunities that are plentiful, provided ...

By Dianne Anderson When crafting and reviewing an annual half-billion dollar city budget, usually the kids are the last to know. Earlier this week, Long Beach teen and youth got in on the front end of the process. They had an opportunity to talk about what many adults are still trying to learn, how to ...