Volume 133 No. 39
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THE BLACK MEDIA AUTHORITY • AFRO.COM
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APRIL 26, 2025 - MAY 2, 2025
AP Photo/Sunday Alamba
Around the world everyday people and world leaders, such as former U.S. President Barack Obama (center, left) are mourning Pope Francis (center, right). Obama called himself a “great admirer” of the man known as “the People’s Pope.” Shown here parishioners signing a condolence register book at the Holy Cross Cathedral Church in Lagos, Nigeria.
Millions mourn Pope Francis
By Ralph E. Moore Jr. Special to the AFRO
Pope Francis, from the very day he first spoke to the world from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, was quite the man to follow. Many observers (Catholics and non-Catholics alike) were very impressed by Pope Francis and his humble, non-traditional gestures as he assumed the papal position. He announced his papal name, Francis, a
name with no Roman numerals following it, signifying no other pope had ever taken it. He carried his own luggage, fixed his own meals and rode buses and the subway in Rome as he did in his native Argentina. Pope Francis was a most unusual man. Physically challenged with a lung partially removed as a young man, he still rose to become the first pope from South America. On March 13, 2013, he also became the first pope to be elected in roughly 600 years, after the resignation of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
As pope, he lived in a simple apartment in St. Martha’s House, nearby, but not inside St. Peter’s Basilica. Though he was a pope, he never forgot his humble beginnings. Named Jorge Mario Bergoglio at birth, Pope Frances hailed from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was born on Dec. 17, 1936 as the eldest in a family with five children. His parents were immigrants from Italy to Argentina. Pope Francis attained a degree in chemistry before he entered a Jesuit seminary to study for
the priesthood. He was ordained a priest in 1969 and was elevated to bishop and then cardinal while in Buenos Aires before being elected to the highest position of authority in the Catholic Church in 2013, the papacy. Around the world, his death is being mourned. Joseph Ciancaglini, a lifelong Baltimore-born Catholic and educator at Catholic Continued on A2
Rev. Bryant and the Black Press won’t let Target off the hook By Jason Roberts
afro.com
Rev. Jamal Bryant is urging Black Americans to keep the pressure on Target by continuing the national boycott that began as a 40-day economic “fast.” The move, sparked by the retail giant’s decision to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, has already cost the company
an estimated $12 billion, Bryant said. “Because of your fast, Target has lost $12 billion,” Bryant told his congregation. “I am so grateful that there is power in unity, and we know the strength of Black economics.” Since the fast began, Target’s stock has plummeted from $138 to $94 per share, and in-store foot traffic is down by 7.9 percent. The boycott gained traction
after Target announced it would wind down racial equity programs it introduced following the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. The company, which operates nearly 2,000 stores and employs over 400,000 people, said it had always planned to sunset the programs after three years. However, many Continued on A2
Photo courtesy of Meta (Facebook)/ Jamal Bryant
Courtesy Photo
Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant (left), pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, and Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., CEO and president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, have teamed up to fight for diversity in corporate America.
Black boys matter: Why are they disappearing from schools? By Quintessa Williams In March, when The New York Times reported that 1 in 5 young Black men between the ages of 20 and 24 are neither in school nor employed, longtime educator Dr. David E. Kirkland was not surprised. The same article noted that Black men make up just 19 percent of enrollment at Howard University — one of the nation’s most prestigious HBCUs. However, in his view, the article focused on the wrong end of a young person’s educational journey. Opting out of college and the workforce is a symptom of a much larger problem for young Black men, one that begins as early as preschool, long before college enters the educational picture. The lack of Black men in higher education stems from next to no institutional or emotional support for Black K-12 schoolboys, lingering systemic racism in public education,
administrators — creates a cycle “We treat Black boys like they’re school of exclusion. Black male students are suspended and expelled at three to four problems before they even times the rate of their White peers, often for subjective or vague offenses know how to write their names.” like “defiance” that don’t usually merit and very few Black male teachers as role models. “Most Black boys go to school and learn to hate school,” says Kirkland, founder and CEO of the nonprofit forwardED, a former NYU professor, and one of the country’s leading scholars on educational equity. “They’re told from day one that they’re a problem — that they’re unintelligent. They’re made to feel like a threat before they’ve even been given a chance.” In other words, Kirkland believes the phenomenon of missing Black college men is the endpoint of a long, predictable breakdown, triggered almost as soon as their education begins. “We didn’t just lose them after high school,” he says. “We’ve been pushing
them out since pre-K.”
The early pushout
The data doesn’t lie. According to the Department of Education, Black kids make up around 18 percent of preschool enrollment in the U.S., but nearly 48 percent of all preschool suspensions. Kirkland says that’s where the pattern and the pushout begin. “We have evidence of disciplinary action and special education placements beginning as early as 2 years old,” Kirkland says. “We treat Black boys like they’re problems before they even know how to write their names.” This hyper-surveillance — combined with implicit bias, adultification and racial anxiety from teachers, aides and
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punishment in others. Schools that punish Black boys early and often, Kirkland says, are not neutral spaces, but sites of harm. Many Black boys are improperly funneled into special education programs not to support their learning but to manage their presence. And the psychological and social impact of educational mismanagement — damaged self-esteem, increased self-doubt and frustration — can be deadly. “Ten years ago, the suicide rate for Black boys aged 10 to 14 had jumped 144 percent,” Kirkland notes. “We’re talking about emotional and psychological death long before they ever drop out.”
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