Education
Florida education officials report hundreds of books pulled from school libraries, including Toni Morrison, Richard Wright and Maya Angelou

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.” “Forever” by Judi Blume. “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut.
According to the newest information, all of them have been withdrawn from the shelves of some Florida schools list developed by the Florida Department of Education and containing books removed by local school districts.
Recent changes in state law have made it possible for fogeys and residents to take this motion challenge books to school libraries and required districts to submit an annual report to the state detailing which books were restricted of their schools. Florida continues to steer the nation in withdrawing books from school libraries, in accordance with an evaluation by the American Library Association and the advocacy group PEN America.
“Restricting access means limiting the freedom to read,” said Kasey Meehan of PEN America. “Students are losing the opportunity to access books that reflect their own life experiences, to access books that help them learn and to empathize with people who… have different life experiences.”
The list, published for the 2023-2024 school yr, includes titles by American literary icons similar to Maya Angelou, Flannery O’Connor and Richard Wright, in addition to books which have turn into top targets for censorship across the country as a consequence of LGBTQ+ characters, discussions about gender and sexuality and descriptions of sexual encounters, e.g. “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George Johnson and “Gender Queer” by Maja Kobabe. Supporters of conservatism have described such content as “pornographic.”
The list of books removed from libraries also includes Holocaust accounts similar to “The Diary of Anne Frank: A Graphic Adaptation” and “Sophie’s Choice.” It’s an analogous story with the graphic novel, an adaptation of “1984,” George Orwell’s groundbreaking work on censorship and surveillance.
“Everywhere from Toni Morrison to Alice Walker to Slaughterhouse-Five to George Orwell,” said Stephana Farrell, co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, which tracks book challenges within the state. “If you take the time to look through this list, you will see that there is a problem with… this movement.”

In an announcement to the Associated Press, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Education maintained that no books have been banned in Florida and defended the state’s efforts to remove “sexually explicit material” from schools.
“Once again, far-left activists are promoting the book ban scam to Floridians. “The better question is why these activists continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit material,” spokeswoman Sydney Booker said.
The list shows that the number of book withdrawals varies widely across the state, with some districts reporting no restrictions and others reporting hundreds of titles pulled from shelves. Farrell of the Florida Freedom to Read Project said that based on the group’s evaluation of public records, the department’s report is an undercount since it doesn’t include books removed in consequence of an internal staff review, only those withdrawn in consequence of a grievance filed by a parent or resident.
Farrell believes that almost all Florida parents want their children to have broad access to literature.
“We live in a country where parental rights should be recognized, heard and taken into account,” Farrell said. “We are asking for accountability and an accurate record of the impact of these laws on our children and what is available to them.”
Schools have restricted access to dozens of books by Stephen King, a master of the horror genre known for bestsellers similar to “It” and “Pet Sematary.” Clay County officials also found his book, “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft,” inappropriate for college kids.
King, who spends part of the yr in Florida, talked about attempting to get his books out of students’ hands, urging readers to run to the closest library or bookstore.
“What the hell?” In August, King posted on social media reacting to the choice of some Florida schools to drag his books from shelves.
Multiple school districts in Florida have filed legal challenges for restricting students’ access to books, including Escambia County, which is being sued by PEN America and Random penguin housethe biggest publisher within the country.
Nassau County School District in September settled lawsuit brought by the authors of “And Tango Makes Three,” an image book based on the true story of two male penguins who raised a chick together at New York’s Central Park Zoo. Under the terms of the settlement, the district needed to return three dozen books to the shelves.
Education
Schools cut off bus services for children. Parents turn to the driving application

Chicago (AP) -ismael El-amin was Running a daughter to school When a random meeting gave him an idea for a brand new way to travel.
On the way by Chicago, the daughter of El-amina noticed a friend from a category riding together with her own dad once they went to a selective public school on the north side of the city. For 40 minutes they drove along the same crowded highway.
“They wave to each other in the back. I look at my dad. Dad looks at me. And I thought that parents can definitely be a resource for parents, “said El-amin, who began Found Piggyback Network, services that oldsters can use to book rides for their children.
Relying on school buses has been on Fight to find drivers And more students attend school far beyond their districts. As the responsibility for transport to the family, the query of how to replace a standard yellow bus moves, for some it has develop into an urgent problem and a spark of innovation.
State and native governments determine how to widely offer a college bus service. Recently, more has gone back. According to the federal motorway administration, only about 28% of American students drive a college bus questionnaire ended at the starting of last yr. This fell from about 36% in 2017.
Chicago public schools, the Fourth largest district of the nationIn recent years, he has significantly limited the bus service. He still offers rides for disabled people and homeless people, in accordance with the federal mandate, but most families are alone. Only 17,000 of 325,000 students of the district qualify for a college bus rides.
Last week, the school system launched a pilot program that enables some students who attend a magnet outside the neighborly or selective schools to catch a bus in the nearby “Hub Stop”. It goals to start from rides for about 1000 students until the end of the school yr.

It shouldn’t be enough to compensate for the lost service, said Erin Rose Schubert, a volunteer for CPS parents for Buses Advocacy Group.
“People who had money and privilege were able to determine other situations, such as observing work schedules or public transport,” she said. “People who did not do this had to pull their children out of school.”
In Piggyback Network, parents can book a ride for their online student with one other parent traveling in the same direction. Travels cost about 80 cents per mile, and drivers receive compensation using loans for their very own rides for children.
“This is an opportunity for children not to be late in school,” said 15-year-old Takia Phillips during the last Piggyback ride with El-amin as a driver.
The company organized several hundred rides in the first yr operating in Chicago, and El-amin contacts drivers for possible expansion in Virginia, North Carolina and Texas. This is one in all A number of startups which filled the void.
Unlike Piggyback Network, which connects parents, Hopskipdrive contradicts directly with school districts to help students without credible transport. The company launched ten years ago in Los Angeles with three moms trying to coordinate school journeys and now supports about 600 school districts in 13 states.
The regulations stop them from acting in some states, including Kentucky, wherein a bunch of scholars Louisville lobby on their behalf to change it.
After District stopped bus For most traditional and magnetic student schools, the group often called an actual young waste wrote a hip-hop song entitled “Where my bus at?” Song music video He was popular on YouTube with texts reminiscent of: “I am a good child. I also stay in the classroom. Teachers want me to succeed, but I can’t get to school. “
“These bus driver deficiencies do not really leave,” said Joanna McFarland, general director of Hoppdrive. “This is a structural change in the industry that we must seriously take care of.”
HopSkipdrive was a welcome option for the son of Reinai Gibson, Jerren Samuel, who attends a small highschool in Oakland, California. She said that the school cares about meeting his needs of the student with autism, but the district was transported because there is no such thing as a bus from their home in San Leandro.
“Growing up, people talked about children in short yellow buses. They were associated with physical disability and were irritated or ridiculed – said Gibson. “Nobody knows that it is a support for Jerren because he cannot accept public transport.”
Encouraging from his mother helped Jerren overcome the fear of driving with a stranger to school.
“I felt really independent in getting to this car,” he said.

Companies cope with children, claim that they check drivers widely, checking their fingerprints and requiring them to care for children or parenthood. Drivers and kids often receive slogans that must match, and fogeys can track the child’s whereabouts in real time through the application.
Kango, a competitor of HopSkipdrive in California and Arizona, began as a free application for a journey similar to the Piggyback network, and now he concludes contracts with school districts. Sara Schaer said that drivers receive greater than usual for Uber or Lyft, but there are sometimes more requirements, reminiscent of bringing some disabled students to school.
“This is not only the situation of the air conditioning curb, three minutes,” said Schaer. “You are responsible for taking this kid to school and from school. This is not the same as transporting an adult or decoration of someone’s lunch or dinner. “
In Chicago, some families who use Piggyback said they saw little alternatives.
Worrying about the growing city crime indicator, a retired policeman Sabrina Beck never considered her son to take Metro to Whitney Young High School. Since she led him, she volunteered through Piggyback to lead a primary -year student who qualified for a selective magnet school, but he was unable to reach.
“To have the opportunity to go and then miss it because you don’t have transport, it’s so harmful,” said Beck. “Such options are extremely important.”
After canceling the bus route, which took her two children to primary school, Jazmin Dillard and other parents from Chicago thought that they’d convinced the school to transfer the opening bell from 8:45 to 8:15, which is simpler for her to master the time of schedule. After this plan, it was scrapped because buses were needed elsewhere at the moment, Dillard turned to Piggyback Network.
“We had to rotate and find a way to work on time, and also take them to school on time,” she said.
(Tagstranslate) @AP
Education
UNCF has the inauguration “Mind is …” a gala in North Carolina


On February 1, the United Negro College fund hosted the inaugural “Mind …”. The gala for collecting money to support students at local historically black universities and universities (HBCU) in North Carolina and Seniors of high schools from the Winston-Salem Forsyth Ford.
The organization organizes these galas throughout the country, including New York, Houston and Washington
In order to gather $ 250,000 for college kids, Honored event Five distinguished leaders from the Triad area: NBA All-Star and Olympian Chris Paul, philanthropist Willie Kennedy, medical leader dr Henry WB Smith III, former Chancellor North Carolina A & t State University, Harold Martin Sr. And his wife David Wagner Jaskółka Window.
“As a major of education, someone who wants to be a teacher, director, superintendent one day,” said Daria Couther, a student of Bennett College and a uncf scholarship. “It just inspires me and continues to continue and not leaving the field of education.”
Martin emphasized the importance of the gala, saying: “Education is civil law.”
Last yr, UNCF collected $ 3 million for college kids from North Carolina last yr. Participants related to community leaders and heard inspiring stories of scholars and experience an unforgettable evening.
Paul, who is currently playing in San Antonio Spurs, grew up In the Lewisville community along with his older brother Charles.
The NBA star won the nickname “CP3” because he shared the same initials as his father and brother. He was particularly near his grandfather, Nathaniel “Papa” by Jones, who was the owner of a gas station, in which Paul spent most of his childhood. Later he played basketball in Wake Forest.
Paweł’s book in 2023 wonders about life lessons, which he learned from her deceased grandfather. The title is a tribute to Jones’s age at the time of his premature death and the variety of points scored by Paul in his honor while playing at highschool, which took place after his funeral.
(Tagstranslate) UNCF
Education
Head Start programs cannot access federal financing

Dozens of Head Start programs are unable to access “expecting” federal subsidy funds.
According to the National Head, the Association (NHSA) just isn’t in a position to access the approved federal funds attributable to freezing imposed in the course of the Trump administration, which has been repealed since then.
In a study conducted by NHS, almost 50 programs reported that he’s unable Access to financing approved by the Congress. The organization estimates that this is applicable to over 20,000 children and 6,000 employees. The recipients encounter errors messages, comparable to “rolling” and “in progress” when they fight to access funds from subsidies. Lack of access to those funds increases the likelihood that educational programs before K and early childhood will fight for fundamental expenses, including employees’ remuneration.
NHSA issued an announcement calling on the president and his administration to resolve the barriers hindering funds.
“Head Start is a life line for children and families in their most urgent needs. We call on President Donald Trump and the management of the Health and Social Welfare Department to immediately solve problems related to unnecessary delays in financing Head Start, “we read in an announcement.
“Although it is not clear why this happens, they should be solved immediately, and thousands of families and their children will be exposed to the loss of critical early care and educational services, which they rely on work, go to school and develop. “
Black company He informed in regards to the initial executive ordinance, which froze expenses for a federal subsidy, causing universal panic amongst many organizations and natural individuals.
On January 27, an executive order introduced by the Management and Budget Office was announced as a short lived means enabling Trump’s administration to look at “financial assistance from foreign aid, NGOs, Dei, Woke Gender Ideology and Green New Deal. “
The administration insisted that the funds wouldn’t be transferred to organizations that weren’t in keeping with its program, despite the fact that the frozen funds were already frozen assigned and approved by Congress. In response to public outrage, the administration assured that freezing wouldn’t affect basic government programs, including social security, veterans’ advantages, Pell grant program and supplementary program (SNAP).
On January 28, the US District Judge, Loren L. Alikhan, struck the order after submitting a lawsuit of twenty-two democratic general lawyers. Then the administration repealed the order. It just isn’t clear whether the Trump administration will attempt to stop federal funds with one other method.
-
Press Release10 months ago
CEO of 360WiSE Launches Mentorship Program in Overtown Miami FL
-
Press Release10 months ago
U.S.-Africa Chamber of Commerce Appoints Robert Alexander of 360WiseMedia as Board Director
-
Business and Finance8 months ago
The Importance of Owning Your Distribution Media Platform
-
Business and Finance11 months ago
360Wise Media and McDonald’s NY Tri-State Owner Operators Celebrate Success of “Faces of Black History” Campaign with Over 2 Million Event Visits
-
Ben Crump10 months ago
Another lawsuit accuses Google of bias against Black minority employees
-
Theater11 months ago
Telling the story of the Apollo Theater
-
Ben Crump11 months ago
Henrietta Lacks’ family members reach an agreement after her cells undergo advanced medical tests
-
Ben Crump11 months ago
The families of George Floyd and Daunte Wright hold an emotional press conference in Minneapolis
-
Theater11 months ago
Applications open for the 2020-2021 Soul Producing National Black Theater residency – Black Theater Matters
-
Theater8 months ago
Cultural icon Apollo Theater sets new goals on the occasion of its 85th anniversary