More African-American Men Currently in Prison System than Were Enslaved Pre-Civil War

via Jeremiah Adebayo @ http://my.opera.com/diplomat2009/blog/

Law professor and author, Michelle Alexander spoke with concerned citizens in Pasadena, California about her bestseller, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness  and the staggering number of African-American men who are caught up in the for-profit, American prison system.  This comes at a significant cost to the African-American community.  Many of these men have felony convictions and lose their voting rights, have children and aren't allowed to partake in many economic and educational opportunities.  From elections to employment to education, these men are disenfranchised.  America is the land of opportunity, but it is also the land of the highest incarceration rate in the world!

via Prison Culture, http://www.usprisonculture.com/

“More African American men are in prison or jail, on probation or parole than were enslaved in 1850, before the Civil War began,” Michelle Alexander told a standing room only house at the Pasadena Main Library this past Wednesday, the first of many jarring points she made in a riveting presentation.

Harvard Offering Free Tuition

Prestigious Harvard University recently announced a program that from now on allows undergraduate students from low-income families to attend the ivy league university tuition-free and loan-free. Families earning less than $40,000 a year with an honor student graduating from high school qualify for this program.

During the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers said, 'When only 10 percent of the students in Elite higher education come from families in lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution.'

Sounds like an excellent opportunity!

To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $40,000 a year visit Harvard's financial aid website at: www.fao.fas.harvard.edu or call the school's financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.