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WEDNESDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2017

AN AMERICAN PRINT MEDIA PUBLICATION

Report: Historically Black Colleges and Universities generate $14.8B in economic impact By Stacy M. Brown Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) generate $14.8 billion in economic impact annually, which is equivalent to a ranking in the top 200 on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest corporations, according to a stunning new report by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

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HE report, conducted by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business Selig Center for Economic Growth, revealed that the 1,634-student Alabama school generates $67 million for its local region. • In total, the nation’s HBCUs generate $14.8 billion in economic impact annually; that’s equivalent to a ranking in the top 200 on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest corporations. This estimate includes direct spending by HBCUs on faculty, employees, academic programs and operations, and by students attending the institutions, as well as the follow-on effects of that spending. • Public HBCUs account for $9.6 billion of that total economic impact, while private HBCUs account for $5.2 billion. The economic impact of Historically n HBCU, see page 6

Ferguson leaders wonder if monitor worth cost By Jim Salter Ferguson, Missouri, has paid nearly a half-million dollars to the monitor team overseeing its police and court reforms, but city leaders question what they’ve gotten for their money, especially after the departure What are residents of the original lead monitor. getting out of Washington attorney [monitoring]? Clark Kent Ervin resigned Mayor James Knowles III in September after serving a little over a year as lead monitor overseeing the consent agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Ferguson, the St. n Ferguson, see page 2

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ACLU leader: Legalizing marijuana a ‘racial justice issue’ By Bob Jordan The head of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey says legalizing recreational marijuana would help fix “a racial justice issue and a civil rights crisis” because the war on drugs is disproportionately targeting black New Jerseyans. “In New Jersey you are three times more likely to be arrested and convicted for marijuana possession if you’re black than if you’re white,” said Amol Sinha, the new state ACLU executive director. “Add that to the context of our racial disparity rates in the prison system in New Jersey. It feels like a compelling need to address this drug enforcement issue that is exacerbating not n Marijuana, see page 6

Why ending AIDS in Africa matters to Black Americans

Payday lenders continue attack on consumer protections Payday lenders want to charge triple-digit interest on your loans-Congress wants to help them.

By Charlene Crowell “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is a well-known adage. In recent weeks, it seems that phrase could also be an apt description of the unrelenting efforts of predatory payday lenders to sell their wares. Across the country, 15 states as well as in the District of Columbia, with varying geographies, economies and demographics have enacted strong rate cap limits. In each locale, these actions were taken to curb the harmful consequences of payday lenders’ 300 percent or higher interest rate loans. When voters or legislatures approve rate caps, these lenders

seek loopholes to evade state requirements. Changing products from payday to car

title-loans is one way. Others pose as “loan brokers” or “mortgage lenders” to avoid

regulation of payday lending. Even at the federal level and on the heels of a still-new rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), payday lenders and their supporters are now pressing for legislation to continue and expand triple-digit lending on small-dollar loans. The same deception that hides the real cost of predatory, consumer loans is reflected in the title of pending legislation in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate. The Protecting Consumers’ Access to Credit Act of 2017 (H.R. 3299 and S. 1624) would allow payday lenders, high-cost online lenders, and n Payday, see page 2

By Dr. Djibril Diallo World AIDS Day is here and a recently launched initiative aimed at ending HIV/ AIDS, as a public health crisis in Africa, could be a catalyst to trigger discussions about HIV in the African American and African diaspora communities in the United States. In recent months, several African heads of state have made public their commitment to support the goal of ending AIDS by 2030. In September, six African heads of state joined UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé at the “HIV Fast Track” side event organized during the 72nd United Nations General n AIDS, see page 2


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