My name is Brenda Stewart and I am the mother of Staff Sergeant Sandra Andelicia Brown, who met with an untimely death as a result of medication complications during routine visits to the Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital. Sandra A. Brown was born and grew up in Pasadena, CA After graduation from high school, she joined the Air Force in 2009. She became a Staff Sergeant at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where she was a supervisor and advisor on administering meals and … [Read more...]
Black Dads Doing Fatherhood
Father’s Day is Sunday, June 16, 2019. President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation in 1966 designating every third Sunday of June as Father’s Day. This day was later signed into law by President Richard Nixon less than 50 years ago in 1972 as a permanent national holiday to commemorate fatherhood. The subject of Black fatherhood more often than not has been portrayed in a negative stereotype manner and is held as gospel. Statistics indicate that Black men who … [Read more...]
3 Tips For Helping Children Embrace Their Unique Selves
Some small children don’t care what anyone thinks about them. If they want to sing at the top of their lungs, they sing at the top of their lungs. If they want to wear a silly hat, mix-matched socks or gloves on a hot day, they do it – with no regard for how others might judge their eccentricities. Somewhere along the line, though, most children long to fit in and begin to worry that their differences make them stand out – and not in a good way. So, they try to conform to what they perceive … [Read more...]
47 State Attorneys General Tell Secretary DeVos to Follow the Law:
Forgive Federal Student Loans Held by Disabled Veterans Although Memorial Day is considered by many civilians as the unofficial start of summer, the true intent of the holiday is to annually honor those who lost their lives fighting for our country. The men and women who wear or have worn this nation’s uniform in military service across wars and generations are deserving of remembrance as well as appreciation. This honor is particularly poignant for those who lost their lives in the fights … [Read more...]
A Tradition of Organizing
When there’s a crisis in the community, we help our neighbors. A new movement is bringing back this tradition to address the housing crisis. As young student activists and organizers in Ohio and Los Angeles in the early 1970s, my parents were a part of a rapidly-growing movement within the black community that sought to create the kinds of community institutions we knew we needed in order to prosper and thrive. My dad won a scholarship to the college they attended by writing a play based … [Read more...]
