Good morning beautiful people!

Even though we are still shocked, devastated and rallying  for  Trayvon Martin, it’s  great to highlight a little positive news for the family.

Jahvaris Fulton, Trayvon’s brother, recently  landed an internship at the office of Florida Representative Frederica Wilson.

From Madame Noire:

Good morning girls!

Have you ever had someone try  to tell you what your future would be? Sometimes it’s positive and other times they assume the worst for you. Well, that is what Pennsylvania’s School Reform Commission is doing when they voted June 1st to close 23 Philadelphia Public School which is 10 percent of the entire city. Without necessarily saying it with their mouths, they’ve assumed jails are going to be more useful to youth than schools.

Due to a $304 million debt, students will return to school  without many essentials; including books, papers, clubs, assistant principals, etc. Nearly 3,000 people will lose their jobs.

The city has recently begun work on a $400 million prison project, said to be “the second-most expensive state project ever.”

From RT:

Newly unemployed teachers might consider submitting their resumes to the Department of Corrections, though, with the news that the supposedly cash-strapped government is digging deep to spend $400 million for the construction of State Correctional Institutions Phoenix I and II.

The penitentiary, which is technically two facilities, will supplement at least two existing jails, the Western Penitentiary at Pittsburgh and Fayette County Jail. Pittsburgh’s Western Penitentiary was built in 2003 with the original intention of replacing Fayette County Jail, but the prison has struggled with lawsuits claiming widespread physical and sexual abuse of prisoners.

Scheduled to be completed in 2015, the new prison’s cell blocks and classroom will be capable of housing almost 5,000 inmates. Officials said there will be buildings for female inmates, the mentally ill and a death row population.

81 percent of students impacted by school closings are black, even though they make up only 58 percent of the population.

Read more at RT

What do you think about the government building jails in place of schools?

Do you think they feel that’s where this generation is going to end up?

SPEAK OUT

Good morning, girls!

So you constantly hear about all the problems and violence in the world and automatically assume that your voice doesn’t matter, right? Wrong!

Bryan Cross, 28 year-old South Side native,  was fed up with the crisis of gun violence in Chicago and decided to make his voice heard.

He posted a photo of himself with the caption “Angry Because Over 500 Youth Were Murdered in Chicago.” Seemingly overnight, Facebook and Instagram users were flooding his inbox asking that he make one for them.

And just like that, an online anti-violence movement was born: the 500 Campaign.

From NBC Chicago:

He’s had fairly steady requests over the past couple of weeks, but when 6-month-old Jonylah Watkins was fatally shot on Monday, the requests started coming in fast and furious.

He’s edited hundreds of photos for his followers, who in turn are spreading the message on their own social media networks.

“There’s a depression out here, people are wondering what they can do,” Cross said. “I wanted to get people worked up so they at least feel like there’s something they can do to address the violence.”

Bryan is hoping to stage an anti-violence rally downtown sometime this summer.

Learn more about the 500 Campaign at its Facebook page HERE

SUPPORT THE 500 CAMPAIGN!

How will YOU use your voice to make a change?

SPEAK OUT!

Hey Fly Girls!

So tell me if you or a friend have ever used #TeamLightSkin or #TeamDarkSkin on Twitter or Instagram? Be honest.  Well,  you know at the end of the day EVERY shade is just as  gorgeous as  the next, right? Absolutely! Even though the music industry might show one shade of female as being more beautiful, new artists are breaking down those stereotypes and embracing all girls.  Compton rapper, Kendrick Lamar is trying to do his part to diversify the type of beauty seen in the music industry. The hot lyricist has been getting praise lately for not only his dope album but also having a darker tone model, Brittany Sky, in his new vid Poetic Justice. Check it out…

“We had another girl for the lead but I had an idea where I just wanted a little bit of a darker tone [girl] in the video,“ Kendrick tells Miss Info. “It’s almost like a color blind industry where there’s only one type of appeal to the camera.“

“I give [Brittany] the credit, too, for just being there, and being a natural, genuine young lady. She wasn’t  all in the open, trying to jump in [front] of the camera. She was cool, just chilling. I always kept in the back of my mind  like ‘you don’t ever see this tone of a woman in videos. ‘” Kendrick says, “No disrespect, I love all women, period. But at the same time, I still feels like it needs that balance.“

Check out the interview he had with Miss Info discussing his choice in his new vid…

Do you think it’s a division between darker tone females and lighter tone females at your school? If so, how do YOU think we can close the gap and accept everybody’s beauty?

SPEAK OUT!

Good morning Beautiful Girls,

We have to put a stop to all of this senseless violence. Each one of you has too much to offer the world to have your precious  life taken at such an young age.

After Hadiya Pendleton performed with her high school marching band during the presidential inauguration two weeks ago, the King College Prep teen became Chicago’s 42nd homicide victim of 2013. She was gunned down and killed on Chicago’s South Side becoming an unintended victim of a gang dispute.

We know that President Obama cannot solve the issue of gun violence alone. But going to Chicago and addressing Chicago’s youth violence is a priority in dealing with the future of our country.

President Obama rightly went to Newtown to comfort the families who lost children in that horrible tragedy. Now, Chicago needs his leadership & guidance. since over 500 families have loved ones to violence in the last year alone.

Please Sign the petition to get President Obama to make a speech in Chicago dealing with youth & gun violence! 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION!

Hey beautiful ladies!

Ok, so let’s have a truth moment. Do you HONESTLY think it’s cute when guys walk around wobbling because their pants are  literally at their knees? Yeah, we don’t think that look is too hot either. I mean fitted jeans are trendy nowadays but unfortunately we  still have guys for some reason who want to show their boxers. Gross!

A group called the Black Mental Health Alliance of Massachusetts is behind a controversial ad urging black youth to pull up their sagging pants.

In the ad, a black police officer sternly advises against the divisive style by mentioning some staggeringly harsh consequences; including a $300 fine and up to three years in prison!

From All Hip Hop:

The video, targeted to young urban dwellers in Massachusetts, is the brainchild of Dr. Omar Reid.

Dr. Reid, President and Founder of BMHAM, said the video’s purpose was to address the growing issue of young men walking in the streets, without regard and respect for themselves and their community.

“This is just the beginning of our public strategy to encourage parents, schools, police, social service agencies, housing agencies, faith-based organizations along with men and women in our community to take a collective stand and tell our young men and boys to pull those pants up,” said Reid.

 

Do you think the trend of saggin’ will ever pass?  Do you think it’s cute when guys do?

SPEAK OUT!

 

Good morning Fly Girls!

I know, I know it’s Christmas break and the last thing you want to do is read anything half way educational due to the fact you’re about to dive into a new semester! But this info is useful & can save your life!

Students who attend certain high schools in Philadelphia will have easier access to condoms.

Due to the high rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections, Condom dispensers have been placed in schools.

The dispensers are located in the nurse’s office, and the condoms are free.

“We believe distributing condoms is part of our obligation to keep  students healthy and to remain healthy,” said school district spokesman  Fernando Gallard.  “The health department has described this as a  continued epidemic of STDs among teenagers in Philadelphia.”

Condoms have in the past been provided to students in Philadelphia as  part of wider program in which the teenagers are provided “free,  voluntary and confidential” testing for sexual diseases in their  schools, Gallard said.

It was the results of those tests that led officials to launch the  current program to distribute condoms regularly in schools instead of  once a year when the tests are administered.

Of the 130,000 student who have received testing in the last five years, some 6,500 or 5 percent of them have tested positive for diseases  including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Parents were made aware of the distribution program in October and were  given the chance to opt their children out of receiving the  prophylactics.

Read more at ABC News.

DO you think it’s a good idea to put condom dispensers in high school? Is it helping or hurting?

Should schools make condoms available?

SPEAK OUT!

Good morning loves!

C.O.R.E Mag would like to give a BIG congratulations to President Barack Obama & the First Family!

Hi Fly Girls!

Athletes & activists came together this past weekend to promote peace in Southside Chicago.

Priest and activist Michael Pfledger and NBA legend Isiah Thomas came together to  organize a basketball tournament this  past weekend in order to bring together several rival Chicago gangs.

From the Grio:

“You walk in that gym and you see the passion, the excitement, you see the smiles on kids [faces],” Fr. Pfleger told Chicago’s WMAQ-TV. “You see kids who used to shoot each other playing ball with each other…you see Joakim [Noah] and [Derrick Rose]…you tell me anything’s wrong about this? I’m in heaven right now.”

In addition to some of the Bulls’ star players, other famous ball players in attendance included Antoine Walker, Quentin Richardson and Taj Gibson. Isiah Thomas, who grew up on the West Side of the city, said the tournament can essentially be a wake-up call for many young men.

“These kids know that they’re valued, they know that we love them,” Thomas told WMAQ. “And we’re hoping that out of this [tournament], there can be some type of peace where they stop killing each other and really understand how important they are to all of us.”

How do YOU promote peace in your neighborhood???

SPEAK OUT!