AframNews.com
DRESSED FOR SUCCESS... BUT GOING NOWHERE!
By: Roy Douglas Malonson
Every year, more than 300,000 Black students in America graduate college, hoping to walk into opportunity. But as diplomas are handed out, many nd that the system has handed them debt, limited job prospects, and little nancial knowledge to navigate adulthood. In 2025, it’s becoming clear: Black students aren’t just graduating underprepared for the job market — they’re also under-equipped to make a living.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Black students represent about 14% of all U.S. undergraduate enrollment. Despite this achievement, systemic gaps persist well beyond graduation.
e U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the unemployment rate for Black college graduates aged 22 to 27 is 10.6%, compared to 5.4% for white
graduates in the same age group. Even among those employed, many Black grads are underemployed — working jobs that do not require a degree.
ese disparities highlight a structural issue: higher education is preparing students to graduate, but not to nancially thrive. Critical life skills like nancial literacy, investing, entrepreneurship, and credit management are rarely part of standard college curricula. Many students leave with thousands in debt and little understanding of how to manage it — or how to build wealth.
A 2016 report from the Brookings Institution found that Black graduates owed $52,726 in student debt on average, compared to $28,006 for white graduates. Four years a er graduation, 48% of Black graduates owed more than they initially borrowed, while only 17% of white graduates did. ese gures remain Success on pg. 3
JUNETEENTH
By: Ashley Small
e Bu alo Soldiers National Museum (BSNM) proudly announces Juneteenth @160: U.S. Colored Troops’ Call to Freedom | Our Journey to Progress, a dynamic three-day community celebration honoring the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth and the enduring legacy of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) and how they in uenced the Bu alo Soldiers. Held from June 19–21, 2025, Juneteenth @160 o ers a unique blend of art, history, education, and cultural experience, rooted in themes of resilience, resistance, and the continuing journey toward Black liberation in America.
“Juneteenth @160 is a cultural reckoning and a tribute to the generations of Black soldiers who fought to become citizens under the protection of the US Constitution. ese were formerly enslaved individuals who have fought for freedom, selfdetermination, and dignity as human beings,” said Desmond Bertrand-Pitts, CEO of BSNM. “We are honored to create a space for learning, re ection, and belonging.”
e USCT played a vital role for freedmen and the formerly enslaved to assert their rights as full American citizens and the realization of Juneteenth. Comprising over 180,000 Black soldiers, the USCT fought for the Union during the Civil War and was instrumental in occupying Confederate territories to enforce the
EDITORIAL
WHO STOLE THE SOUL
By: Jarvis Johnson
Donald Trump’s approval numbers are in. ey are, as one might expect, abysmal—record-breaking in their disgrace. And yet, here we are again, not only staring down the shadow of the 45th president, but shackled once more to his return as the 47th. e man has managed to fail twice and still nd himself, astonishingly, the most trusted gure in American politics. is country, you see, has never been afraid of a lie—only the truth. Despite a public record heavy with deceit, a looming economy ripe for collapse, global unrest trembling at our door, and a government lled with politicians that prefer antics over action and volume over vision—Trump still commands a strange and terrifying kind of faith. Even as scandal stains every corner of his political household—yes, even a crypto scheme reportedly enriching his family by half a billion dollars— the people turn to him, not away. He holds at 41% approval. e Democrats? A meager, spiritless 29%. One is le to ask: What has gone so wrong? Where is the vision? Where, for God’s sake, is the soul of the Democratic Party? It is not enough to say that the Republicans are cruel—cruelty has
never needed a defense in America. What we must ask is why the opposition to that cruelty is so weak, so scattered, so afraid to name itself.
e Democratic Party has become a house haunted by timidity— responding, always, to the latest provocation, as if chasing the ghost of its own purpose. Its leaders o er no plan, no script, and no roadmap. And if the people do not know what you stand for, they will not stand for you.
Democrats support base is slowly but very noticeably eroding. From 2020 to 2024 Dems lost an astonishing 11% across the board.
Who, now, is the base of this party? In 2024, the numbers speak for itself. 83% of Black voters cast their ballot Kamala Harris, while 51% Hispanic and 47% white did so respectively One would think the Democratic Party would embrace the agenda of its most staunch supporters. But yet—ask any of them what the party stands for, and you will hear gibberish about issues that only matter to a very small percentage of its base.
Black voters, in particular, have been the most faithful, the most enduring. Since the marches, the assassinations, the bullet and the baton—we have voted.
We have li ed up a party that too o en lowers its eyes when we speak. We are told we have won, and yet lynching laws still breathe on dusty law books. Our children are still hunted in the streets by those paid to protect. Reparations remain a political myth, not a moral imperative. HBCUs beg for the crumbs of budgets that should have built their futures long ago. is betrayal is not new—but that does not make it any less unbearable.
And let us be clear: the blame is not only with those who sit in power, but also with those we send there—our own. e days of assimilation and yielding are over. Black elected o cials must create e Black Agenda(for US and by US) ey must carry out Wthis agenda clearly, without apology, and in unity. Our issues can no longer make way to whatever new issue arises without rst addressing ours! But Without e Black Agenda it is easy for those in power to overlook the needs of our community by being willfully ignorant and simply saying they didn’t know what our ask was.
We deserve to know what we are ghting for, or simply not
Success Cont.
relevant in 2025, as newer data continues to show the same racial wealth gap trend in student loan burdens. e struggle doesn’t stop at student loans. In the workforce, Black graduates face signi cant hiring and wage disparities. A 2023 report from McKinsey & Company shows that while Black professionals make up 12% of the U.S. labor force, they hold only 8% of entry-level corporate roles and less than 4% of executive-level roles. In the tech industry, where job growth has exploded, the representation is even lower. Google, Apple, and Meta each report Black employee percentages under 6% nationwide, despite years of HBCU recruiting and internal diversity pledges. ese gaps are not always about credentials. Hiring discrimination — both conscious and unconscious — plays a critical role. Numerous audit studies have shown that Blacksounding names receive fewer callbacks than white-sounding names on otherwise identical resumes. e problem isn’t a lack of talent; it’s a lack of access and equity.
employment gaps, young Black professionals o en face a costly expectation: to “look the part.”
Professional wardrobes, relocation costs for job interviews, unpaid internships, and career fairs all add up — yet many Black students are rst-generation college graduates with limited nancial support from home.
A study by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce found that only 25% of Black students are able to complete unpaid internships, compared to over 35% of white students. ese internships o en serve as pipelines to employment, meaning that lack of access becomes yet another barrier to entry.
many young Black adults remain locked out of wealth-building opportunities like homeownership, business ownership, and investment.
To reverse this cycle, systemic shi s are needed. ese include: Requiring nancial literacy and entrepreneurship courses as part of every college degree program.
Funding for paid internships and early-career fellowships specically for underrepresented minorities.
Federal student loan forgiveness for HBCU graduates and rstgeneration students who carry disproportionate debt burdens.
Corporate accountability and transparency in hiring, promotion, and salary data to ensure equal opportunity.
Financial literacy is not a required subject at most universities, even though students are graduating with an average debt load that can cripple their early adult years. According to a 2022 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index, only 28% of young adults (aged 18–34) could answer more than half of nancial literacy questions correctly. Among African American respondents, that number was even lower.
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In addition to educational debt and
Without instruction in budgeting, taxes, interest rates, credit building, or investing, graduates are o en le to gure it out on their own — and many learn too late. Despite earning degrees,
The Bottom Line Black students have honored the promise of education. ey have enrolled, persisted, and graduated at increasing rates — but the system hasn’t delivered on its end of the bargain.
Until we build institutions that not only hand out degrees but also teach the tools of survival — income generation, ownership, wealthbuilding — we will keep watching young Black talent walk the stage in caps and gowns, only to return home underemployed, overwhelmed, and overdrawn. ey’re dressed for success — but the path to real success remains blocked.
1887. e ibodaux massacre occurs in Louisiana. An episode of white supremacist violence that occurred. It followed a three-week strike during the critical harvest season.
1896. Plessy v. Ferguson legitimizes state laws reestablishing racial segregation in Southern states.
1900. A majority of Southern states pass laws that required African Americans to be separated from white citizens in railroad cars and depots, and other establishments.
1905. W.E.B. Du Bois calls for social and political change for African Americans during the Niagara Movement.
1906. e Atlanta Race Riot of 1906 was a signi cant episode of violence in Atlanta, Georgia, during which at least 12, and possibly up
12, to 25, African Americans were killed.
1909. e National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
1916. e Great Migration begins, where more than six million African Americans move from the rural South to various urban metropolitan areas.
BLACK HISTORY FUN FACTS
- Ella Fitzgerald, known as the “First Lady of Song,” had a fascinating life and career. She started out as a dancer before winning a talent contest at the Apollo eater, launching her singing career
- e Invention of the Super Soaker – e popular water gun, the Super Soaker, was invented by African American engineer Lonnie Johnson in 1989. Johnson, a former NASA scientist, created the water gun that became a global sensation, earning him millions in royalties.
- First African American-Owned Newspaper – In 1827, the rst African American-owned newspaper, Freedom’s Journal, was founded by Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm. It provided a platform for advocating for abolition and civil rights.
- e Harlem Hell ghters – During World War I, the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the “Harlem Hell ghters,” fought under French command and were highly decorated for their bravery. ey were one of the most decorated units of the war, despite facing racial prejudice.
- African American Inventors and Innovations –African American inventors have made countless contributions, including Garrett Morgan’s invention of the tra c signal in 1923, which greatly improved
HISTORICAL
UNVEILING TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK MARKER FOR BOYNTON CHAPEL METHODIST CHURCH
By: Debra Blacklock-Sloan
Boynton Chapel Methodist Church and the Harris County Historical Commission will unveil a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Marker for the congregation’s building on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. e church is located at 2812 Milby Street, 77004.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks (RTHL) are properties judged to be historically and architecturally signi cant. e Texas Historical Commission (THC) awards RTHL designation to buildings at least 50 years old that are worthy of preservation for their architectural and historical associations We hope you can cover this historical event!
GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
CALL FOR PROJECTS
Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Grant Program
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) is conducting a Call for Projects for the 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities grant program.
This program (49 U.S.C. 5310) provides federal funding for the purpose of assisting private nonprofit groups in meeting the transportation needs of older adults and people with disabilities when the transportation service provided is unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate to meeting these needs.
Boynton Chapel Methodist Church the church’s history notes that it was organized by eight founding members in 1880. e African-American congregation quickly grew and, in August 1885, the Dallas Street Methodist Episcopal Church, by now part of the Texas Conference, purchased property at Dallas and Paige Streets. e rst recorded pastor was Peter Bush in 1886. e church was renamed Boynton Chapel Methodist Church by 1889, and membership grew to 300 by 1915. An expansion and addition to the 1887 church was designed under Rev. Jesse W. Gilder in 1916 and completed under Rev. S.W. Johnson in 1922. e church purchased an adjacent lot to enlarge the building and establish a community center, featuring a gymnasium, roof garden, reading room, classroom, playground and pool. is pool was the only such Houston facility open to African Americans from 1926 to 1939. e community center later added a nursery school. Under the leadership of Rev. Homer D. Pace, the church purchased property at 2812 Milby Street in 1955 for a new building. John S. Chase (1925-2012), Texas’ rst licensed African- American architect, designed the building early in his career. Local artist Carroll Harris Simms (1924-2010) created the lead art glass at the entry. e new building was dedicated on January 5, 1958. Chase’s Mid-Century Modern design emphasizes the horizontal plane and natural lighting. Distinguishing features include the ying gables and low bell tower, stained glass window walls in the sanctuary and cruciform shapes outlined in pink marble on the east and south elevations. In its new location, the church continued to serve the ird Ward community. Noted church members included community leaders such as Christia Adair (1893-1989), Madgelean “Mama” Bush (1931-2010) and Dr. Forde McWilliams (1926-2001). For more than 100 years, Boynton Chapel has been a staple of Houston’s ird Ward.
The program aims to improve mobility for seniors and individuals with disabilities by removing barriers to transportation service and expanding transportation mobility options. This program supports transportation services planned, designed, and carried out to meet the special transportation needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities in all areas. Eligible projects include both "traditional" capital investment and "nontraditional" investment beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complementary paratransit services.
Projects that provide transportation services for seniors and individuals with disabilities will receive priority consideration.
Project Proposals are due to METRO by June 13, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. (CST), by electronic submittal to: GrantApplications@RideMETRO.org
Late submittals will not be accepted.
Pre-Application Workshop Presentation will be posted on METRO’s Grant website Monday, May 12, 2025: https://www.RideMETRO.org/Grants
Worksheets and other related documents are available to download.
Questions submitted by May 23, 2025, will be posted by May 30, 2025. Please check back for updates.
For more information about these programs or questions regarding the application and budget process, please contact GrantApplications@RideMETRO.org or 713-739-4697.
Lone Star College for: RFQ #25-04-08 – Investment Broker Dealer Services for Lone Star College System. Electronic submittals due by 2:00PM, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Contact: janet.bradley@lonestar. edu or (832)813-6299. Must Register to Bid: https://lonestar.ionwave.net/Login.aspx. If registered, please ensure your registration is up to date. For assistance with the on-line registration process, contact MCvendors@lonestar.edu.
NOTICE TO PROPOSERS Request for Proposal will be received by Lone Star College for: RFP #25-04-04 – Student Transportation Services for Lone Star College System. Electronic submittals due by 2:00PM, ursday, June 5, 2025. Contact: janet.bradley@lonestar. edu or (832)813-6299. Must Register to Bid: https://lonestar.ionwave.net/Login.aspx. If registered, please ensure your registration is up to date. For assistance with the on-line registration process, contact MCvendors@lonestar.edu.
Rev. Dayle Perry, Pastor
LOCAL
By: Al Green Press
On Saturday, May 3, 2025, Congressman Al Green was honored by the Washington Bar Association (WBA), the oldest and largest association of Black attorneys in the D.C. area, with the Charles Hamilton Houston Medallion of Merit. e WBA presented its highest award to Congressman Green and civil rights scholar Professor Sherrilyn I ll. Charles Hamilton Houston was a WBA founder and civil rights leader, he was key in ending Jim Crow segregation and played a critical role in the Brown v. Board of Education decision that overturned the “separate but equal”
doctrine. is award is given to individuals who embody the principles of Charles Hamilton Houston through leadership and service.
Past recipients of this distinguished honor include the Honorable Justice urgood Marshall, the Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Honorable Johnnie Cochran, the Honorable Congressman John Lewis, the Honorable Dr. Dorothy Height, the Honorable Eric Holder, the Honorable Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Honorable Valerie Jarrett, the Honorable Justice Constance Baker Motley, and the Honorable Marian Wright Edelman. WBA
President Joshuah R. Turner and PresidentElect
e is a crime that is also known as Gentri cation. How can poor communities highest in crime and poverty become the highest in property value? ey o en say these communities are too dangerous to live in, but not so dangerous to build in. e taxes always increase but core services and resources steadily decrease.
e CRIME has never been down, however the areas where the most gentri cation is taking place is said to be the most dangerous. One would think high as crime is the police presence and visibility would increase in a proactive manner, but in
reality, it decreases unless a killing has taken place which is reactive. Crime especially murder or gun violence will SCARE most out of their communities/homes.
School closures are also a step in the gentri cation process because when you are decreasing education, you also are increasing the chances of incarceration. We shouldn’t have to worry about more schools closing, but more jails and half houses opening. It should be prevention before detention; they need more options like trades that guarantee money vs college just guaranteeing DEBT. ey
Cristina A. Beckles were among the notable legal leaders in attendance. Congressman Al Green stated, “I am deeply humbled to receive this award from the Washington Bar Association (WBA). To be included among such a distinguished group of civil rights giants is an extraordinary honor. I thank the WBA
THEFT BY GENTRIFICATION
shouldn’t have to go to jail to receive a Free trade.
e Neglect of the Drainage and infrastructure is also step in the gentri cation process. It doesn’t take a hurricane or a storm to FLOOD us out, just a good rain. We are told to call,”311 and to Turn around don’t drown. “However, we were also told that a dedicated drainage fee “Rebuild Houston “would take care of our prehistoric drainage and infrastructure. It’s becoming impossible to a ord insurance if you are even lucky to get insurance in our communities in which we pay a fee to ood now. Our commu-
CONGRESSMAN AL GREEN HONORED WITH CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON MEDALLION
CELEBRATING MALCOLM X ON HIS 100TH BIRTHDAY
By: NBUF Houston
for its unwavering commitment to justice and for continuing to elevate voices that ght for equity under the law.”
On Saturday, May 17, Sunday May 18 and Monday May 19, 2025, the National Black United Front (NBUF) in Houston will host it’s annual Malcolm X Birthday/SelfDetermination Weekend activities at it’s Headquarters 2428 Southmore Blvd. Houston, Texas 77004. All events are FREE with donations encouraged. Click the link https://www.ze y.com/ enUS/ticketing/malcolmx100thbirthdayselfdeterminationweekend517--51925 to register.
By:Travis McGee
nities are being Redlined as well as being deprived of federal funds by being the ood plains in some cases.
Una ordable housing is a bigger step in gentri cation because the city is focused on increasing the density vs improving the quality of life in our communities. e city doesn’t have any zoning so writing bad ordinances like Chapter 42 that empower the developers vs protecting our communities can be considered taxation without representation also, by the way this particular ordinance is what allows them to replat, divide, decrease the
e late Black Nationalist and Human Rights servant is being honored throughout the U.S. and around the world on this his 100th birth anniversary. Sixty years a er his assassination Malcolm X’s life and work still inspires activists, organizers, and freedom ghters today. While Hollywood, streaming platforms and mainstream outlets have continued to project their version of our Black Shining Prince, it has been grassroots formations that have been unwavering throughout the decades in presenting in diverse ways his enduring legacy. His late wife Dr. Betty Shabazz and the couple’s daughters have risen to occasion amid multidimensional challenges to raise his authentic voice for generations to hear. Scan QR code for more information.
minimum lot sizes, and put multiple structures on one lot in which the demographics of the area can’t a ord as well as the tax increase that comes with the una ordable housing vs traditional single family dwellings. ey can also name it another whole subdivision within a preexisting subdivision, DEED restriction really doesn’t matter if the city is making monies o the permits and etc. If the areas are below the poverty level who can a ord these una ordable structures Starting @400K per unit to Price us out. e Final step to gentri cation is to TAX
us out by planning to put millions of dollars’ worth of property in residential neighborhoods that would love to see hundreds of millions in improvement to improve their quality of life with their tax dollars vs building things that will greatly increase their taxes even more.
e goal is to scare us out, close our schools, ood us out, price us out, tax us out, and with no quality grocery stores in hopes we would run out or die out, so they can continue to Buy Us Out.
President Joshuah R.
CONGRESSMAN AL GREEN, WBA
PRESIDENT JOSHUAH TURNER, PROFESSOR SHERRILYN IFILL
GREAT EDUCAT RS THE HEART OF LEARNING STARTS WITH
Nominate a deserving teacher, counselor, principal, early childhood learning center, school board or school district.
Created in 2002, the H‑E‑B Excellence in Education Awards was designed to honor and thank outstanding public school professionals. Through this program, H‑E‑B awards over $780,000 annually to deserving educators who go the extra mile to serve their students and communities. To submit a nomination or application, go to HEBLovesTeachers.com Deadline for nominations September 30
