CHANNEL: African American

African American bank OneUnited is offering a 5.75% 30-year fixed mortgage. The bank's senior VP says it's "more important than ever that black banks...combat this crisis" of foreclosures in minority neighborhoods.

JudyAnn Bigby, MD, secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) for Massachusetts, wants healthcare institutions held accountable for their quality of care to patients of color.

She spoke to NEWz about this and other issues, following the Nov. 28 release of the state report, "Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities by EOHHS Regions in Massachusetts."

BOSTON, Dec. 4, 2007—Latinos and African Americans each comprise only 6% of the population of Massachusetts, but they make up more than 50% of the state's residents who have HIV/AIDS. So says a report released yesterday by the Mass. Department of Public Health (DPH), called "An Added Burden: The Impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic on Communities of Color in Massachusetts," according to DPH press release.

Former New York Times journalist Kim McLarin enjoys her careers as novelist, college instructor and, now, host of WGBH TV's "Basic Black."

Storefronts in Dorchester and Roxbury are plastered with youth-targeted cigarette ads. Boston officials and teen groups want to restrict the ads.

More than 50% of Black and Latino teacher candidates are failing the Mass. teachers-licensure exam.  The high failure rate has prompted the Mass. Department of Education to find out why.

New England Ethnic News spoke to three education and testing professionals to learn more.

African American and Latino high school students voiced their opinions about violence in their lives, snitching to cops, and education, at a meeting convened this month by the Boston Public Health Commission.

The newly-created Boston chapter of Reaching Out to Others Together (ROOT) aims to unify anti-violence groups to fight gun violence, says the Dorchester Reporter.

Martin Luther King Jr. strongly denounced the Vietnam War, a stance that clashed with Pres. Johnson, mainstream media, and African Americans.  Even the NAACP gave King the cold shoulder, reports the Bay State Banner.