The waiting room at the American Medical Missionary Care clinic at 1320 N. Michigan in Saginaw is a busy place on a Friday afternoon. Patients -- old and young, black and white -- crowd around a large television and chat over the sound of a talk show.

They are waiting to see Dr. Chidozie J. Ononuju, who runs four medical clinics in Saginaw and Flint, along with a home visit service and outreach to residents at Saginaw senior housing complexes.

Ononuju estimates 70 percent of his patients have health insurance, many with Medicaid or Medicare, while he charges fees on a sliding scale to 20 percent of his patients and gives free care to the remaining 10 percent.

"We treat everyone, with or without insurance. I don't receive any grants. We are breaking even and then we give back.

"I work from 7 a.m. to about 10 p.m. many days and go to Flint on Thursdays. Coming from Africa, I believe in family and giving. We have to   more »

Thirteen-year-old Sparkyl Williams plopped to the ground with exhaustion after stepping off the stage in Southeast High School’s auditorium Saturday night. “Oh, my feet hurt. I’m out of breath,” she panted excitedly. After a nearly 12-minute routine of stepping and hip-hop dancing, Sparkyl’s feet certainly deserved a rest. Step dancers use all their bodies as instruments to produce rhythms and sounds through footsteps, clapping and words.

Six teams competed, coming from as far south as Alton and north as Rockford, organizers said.

The competition capped off a daylong series of “edutainment” that highlighted stepping and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Kimberly Moore of the Network Group, which produces and promotes entertainment that combines health education with artistic expression, spearheaded the event to highlight the heritage of stepping in black fraternities and sororities.   more »

Members of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and employees of the Mississippi Department of Transportation provided BHS with "Rover," a truck body on a machine that simulates an accident in which the vehicle rolls over with passengers inside. As the truck rolls, dummies - like Bob - inside flop around and are ejected through the windows, just like in some rollover accidents.

"We have to make sure you graduate from high school and college. And in order to do that, you have to be alive," said Alpha Phi Alpha Alumni Chapter President Dexter Holloway. "Accidents happen, and we need to make sure you're prepared."

The speakers focused on two particular safety precautions: wearing a seat belt and not drinking and driving.

MDOT representative Lisa Valadie told the group that   more »

Provost Ronald J. Daniels announced the appointment of Associate Chaplain Rev. Charles L. Howard, C ’00, as Interim University Chaplain.  Rev. William Gipson, the former University Chaplain, became Associate Vice Provost for Equity and Access on January 1, 2008 (Almanac January 15, 2008). 

Rev. Howard, who served two terms as chairman of the United Minorities Council as a Penn undergraduate, now directs the CHORDS program, a partnership that connects Penn, through the Chaplain’s Office and the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, with West Philadelphia schools, neighborhood organizations, and communities of faith. 

He is the editor of The Souls of Poor Folk, an essay collection linked to a multimedia project (including a student-shot documentary)   more »

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Mu Kappa Chapter paid a solemn tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tuesday, staging a silent march in honor of the civil rights leader.

The march wound its way from Cheadle Hall to the Women’s Center lawn, with Alpha Phi Alpha President David Brown leading the procession while holding up a large black marquee with two other fraternity members. Twenty-five students, faculty and fraternity members participated in the march.   more »

Black, white and Asian children sat side-by-side, enjoying doughnuts on a day off from the schools they attend together, while civil rights pioneer Lord
Nickens talked of growing up in an era when that couldn't happen.

"I remember this place when we couldn't come in," he said of the Boys and Girls Club building on Burck Street, where more than 50 people gathered Monday to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. "We couldn't come in the front door and we couldn't come in the back door."

The room grew silent as the audience hung on his every word.

King became a world figure because "he wanted to see that every human being on the earth had the same privileges," Nickens said. The civil rights leader dreamed of a day when no one was shunned "because of color of skin or texture of hair."   more »

"My experience at DePauw and Indiana changed me dramatically," 2007 graduate Kareem J. Edwards said today on WNYC/New York Public Radio's Leonard Lopate Show. Edwards, who came to DePauw as a Posse Scholar from New York, appeared on the program to discuss the work of the Posse Foundation.

"Posse saved my life," Edwards asserted.  "Coming from the inner city of Queens, going to college wasn't a reality, it was more of a dream.  And Posse takes dreams turns (them) to reality.  So by giving me the option to go to college and supporting me throughout my four years and even after college" the foundation opened doors that

Posse Foundation identifies, recruits, and trains student leaders from urban public high schools to form multicultural teams called "posses." Following an intensive eight-month recruitment and pre-college training program the teams enroll at top-tier colleges and universities nationwide to pursue their academics and help promote cross-cultural communication.

"I'm more reserved now, calm, have a different   more »

With Black History Month less than three months away, there is one name that will soon be on everyone’s lips: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King’s legacy and powerful words continue to inspire, challenge, and motivate.  To ensure the continuance of that legacy, Harry Johnson is spearheading the campaign for a national memorial in honor of Dr. King. 

As President of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc., a project of Alpha Phi Alpha, Johnson is in-charge of the fundraising, design, and construction of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial.

Johnson recently spoke with Sixshot.com about the one-hundred million dollar project, why it’s relevant, why arguments against the erection of the   more »

H2bid.com, an African-American company, is a finalist in the Forbes.com "Boost Your Business" contest.  H2bid is an online exchange that provides vendors with access to water utility contracts from around the world.  It is a leader in the water industry. 

H2bid was formed in January 2006, with the vision of providing the first universally accessible global marketplace for water utilities and contractors. By bringing together water-system planners and bidding contractors, H2bid offers increased visibility to municipal and regional water projects around the globe. This wider and more open competition should result in more competitive contracts and a lower overall cost of water system maintenance.

Out of almost 1,000 businesses, only 5 were selected as finalists.  H2bid is owned by Glenn Oliver, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha.  Jaison Oliver, the Executive Vice President, is also an Alpha man.  H2bid is the only black-owned company in the final round.  The winning company will receive $100,000.  The winner will be determined, in part, by online votes.   more »

Fraternities and sororities have less than a month to measure up.

Greek organizations must complete a 49-page evaluation and turn it in to the student development office by Dec. 1 to prove they've met standards set by the university.

The Greek Standards, which evaluates the progress and achievements of Greek organizations, replaced the Greek Millennium Initiative this fall. The GMI had been in place since 2000.

Andy Morgan, coordinator of Greek Life and Student Development, said the standards needed to be made simpler and more specific.

"People always complained about it," Morgan said. "Everyone was like 'we need to change this.'"

Last spring, volunteers were asked to meet over the summer to change the GMI, Morgan said.

The newly implemented Greek Standards measure Greeks on eight criteria, ranging from academia to social standards.   more »