Daily News Feed: 4.12.2010/Vocab: Neologism

Notre Dame Has First Black Valedictorian
A Gary, Indiana native will make history next month as the first black valedictorian from the University of Notre Dame.

Katie Washington, 21, is a biology major and minor in Catholic social teaching with a 4.0 GPA.

“I am humbled,” said Washington to the Northwest Indiana Times. “I am in a mode of gratitude and thanksgiving right now.”

University officials said they couldn’t recall ever having a black valedictorian, and don’t keep record of their race. The valedictorian has been accepted to five schools, including Harvard, but she plans to pursue a joint M.D./Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University, according to nwitimes.com.

“Katie works so hard,” Washington’s mother Jean Tomlin said. “I told her when she went to Notre Dame, ‘You are representing your family, your church and the city of Gary. Make us proud.’ (Continue Reading…)

Rail line stirs bad memory in black neighborhood
ST. PAUL, Minn. — When the Rev. George Davis learned the government was coming to take his family’s home to make room for a shiny new interstate, he told his loved ones he’d defend 304 Rondo Avenue with a shotgun.

But Davis was old, about 80, and his wife Bertha was blind by then. When the police came one day in 1956, he went quietly. And soon Rondo — St. Paul’s only black neighborhood — was torn in two, dozens of homes and businesses leveled.

Historically, major public works projects often uproot black and other minority neighborhoods the hardest, leaving communities decimated and longtime residents with little or no compensation. Now, just as what used to be Rondo is finally starting to rebuild itself thanks to new businesses and strong community groups, another transportation mega-project is ticketed to come blazing through the same neighborhood. (Continue Reading…)

Men call to action in NJ in alleged rape
TRENTON, N.J. — Dozens of men joined Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons in an impromptu march on Saturday through the neighborhood where police say a 7-year-old girl was gang-raped.

The march followed an afternoon rally organized to spur discussion about violence committed against and by young people in urban communities.

Near the end of the rally, the founder of an organization that uses men to help keep youth out of trouble recruited men to march. Dennis Muhammad also challenged the men to create a community policing program similar to the Peace Keepers organization he founded. The group has chapters in New York City, Jersey City, N.J., and Wilmington, Del.

Simmons said Peace Keepers has had some success in his hometown of Queens, N.Y. (Continue Reading…)

Black business mogul dies
Obama host two-day summit on nuclear security
Michelle Obama travels to Mexico in first solo trip abroad
Langston Hughes African American Film Festival Gets Under Way
Micro-insurance plans extends health care in Africa