Symptoms Of Swine Flu

The 2009 African-American Student Association Banquet (WSU)

Sojourner Truth Honored

Sojourner Truth, was the self-given name of Isabella Baumfree, an American slave, abolitionist, and women's right activist.  On Tuesday, she was honored as the first memorial bust for an African-American woman in the U.S. Capitol.

A War For Your Soul-Birmingham version

A War For Your Soul-Birmingham version from Erisai Films on Vimeo.

Ban James David Manning: He Makes "NO" Sense

James David Manning (born February 20, 1947) is chief pastor at the ATLAH World Missionary Church on 123rd Street in New York City. Manning grew up in Red Springs, North Carolina, and has been at ATLAH since 1981. ATLAH stands for All The Land Anointed Holy, which is Manning's name for Harlem.

Manning graduated from The College of New Rochelle with a Bachelor of Arts degree and continued on to Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York where he was awarded a Master of Divinity. Manning also holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from his own ATLAH Theological Seminary, an unaccredited educational institution.

A Diamond in the Rough: Love Sees No Color

Are you satisfied with how President Obama has governed in his first 100 days in office?

Playing for Change - Stand by Me

President Obama signs landmark service legislation; cites Teach For America application numbers

Better Days Are Ahead - From Slavery to Obama's Victory

Mildred and Richard Loving

Mildred and Richard Loving embrace after the Supreme Court rules they can be legally married, 1967.

MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: INTRODUCTION TO DR. WILLIAM T. HOSTON

Coach Carter - "Our Deepest Fear."

Assault Weapons Ban

Our Troubling Tax System

Obama at Georgetown University

MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: INTRODUCTION TO DR. WILLIAM T. HOSTON

Arizona State University president suggests he fears political backlash from Obama honorary degree decision

Arizona State University President Michael Crow suggested Saturday in an email to faculty and students that he was hesitant to award President Obama an honorary degree because of potential political consequences to the state-supported school.

"Since my appointment we have not awarded honorary degrees to sitting politicians, a practice based on the very practical realities of operating a public university in our political environment," Crow wrote in the message, obtained by POLITICO.

He added: "We are a young and emerging university in a new and politically complex state."

Arizona is home to Obama's 2008 opponent, Sen. John McCain, and also has a Republican governor and GOP-controlled legislature.

Stung by the embarrassment surrounding his school's initial refusal to award Obama an honorary degree, Crow issued a statement Saturday apologizing for "the confusion" and announced the school would designate a group of scholarship students as the "President Barack Obama Scholars."

But Crow still didn't say whether the president would receive an honorary degree when he speaks at the school's graduation ceremony on May 13th.

MENTAL SLAVERY: THE INCARCERATION OF THE BLACK MIND.---WILLIAM HOSTON

Isteyenin Bir Yüzü Kara Vermeyenin....

Michelle Obama in 2020

A Letter to Dr. King---WILLIAM HOSTON

Dear Dr. King,

Greetings, this is William Hoston. On the eve of the date of your death (April 4th), I began thinking about the why's and how's of your life. Why did you choose to participate in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and how did you decide to carry the quest for civil rights? I know the external answers, but I don't know the internal answers. I conceded to the fact that God chose you. Then I asked, why would God choose you for such a short period of time, and why wouldn't God allow you to see the fruits of your labor (i.e., the election of President Obama). I was reminded of one of your quotes, "Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle (even death)."

We miss you...

Respectfully,

Dr. Hoston

STD Awareness Month

Why Iowa Won't Go Backwards on Marriage Rights.

Are We Teaching “Racism” in Kansas Schools? Andover Middle School?---WILLIAM HOSTON

When is white America (and black America alike) going to realize that racism is embedded in the fabric of this country?

The recent Andover Middle School case of a white seventh-grader, that made a board game glorifying the Ku Klux Klan is disturbing, offensive, and racist. What is more troubling about the entire incident is the failed leadership of the language arts teacher, school principal, and Andover Middle School administrators that would have sweep this under the rug if an African-American parent had not taken a photograph of the board game at a school open house forum.

School officials claim that the teacher was trying to be innovative while teaching history and assigned the students a task to create board games. They indicate that the student involved was not attempting to be offensive and was only creating a learning module based on the information gained in class from the reading of “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,” a novel about the bond of an African-American family and their ability to overcome racial injustices and discrimination that plagued southern blacks during the 1930s.

The assignment was entitled “Changing the World for the Better” and students were to choose an historical figure. Did the teacher and the student believe that the Ku Klux Klan was a historical figure that changed the world for the better? While it may be difficult to decipher the intentions of the student, the teacher should have recognized that the assignment turned in did not meet requirements and the potential impact it would have on other students.

Who is to blame in this situation?

What type of information is the teacher disseminating to the children in the class? Is the teacher not explaining the materials to the students? Is there a gap between what is read and how it is interpreted? If so, it is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure that the students understand the materials taught in class. In this case, it appears that the teacher failed the student.

Where were the parents of the student? Do they condone this type of behavior? Were they at the open house? Did they help create the board game? These rhetorical questions are vital in gaining information to identify if the parents played a role in encouraging or discouraging their child from creating a board game that others would deem offensive. Did they not see the child carry this large board game out of the house? If not, they failed their child.

As an educator, we should encourage students to be innovative in the creation of ideas, give them the creative freedom to birth ideas and we give them direction to make the ideas come to life. We should carry out this duty with integrity and a sense of responsibility. So when our students display their work to the general public it will convey a sense of understanding, not ignorance.

William T. Hoston is an Assistant Professor at Wichita State University in the Department of Political Science.

Let's Eliminate Stereotypes

Michelle Obama Tears Up At School

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Were Black Activists Wrong to Come to the Lovell Mixon Funeral?