LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) _ The history of the Mosaic Templars was believed to have drawn to a close in the 1930s, when the Great Depression swallowed one of the largest benevolent societies for blacks in the nation and likely the world.
Its finances ruined, the organization created by two freed slaves in the wake of the Civil War left little behind other than its iconic brick building in Little Rock's black business district. But even that relic is now gone, left in disrepair until transients trying to stay warm burned it down in March 2005.
However, 2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers) away in the tropics of the West Indies, a lodge still bears the Templar's name _ one of the chapters that had once popped up in 26 states and six countries _ and has kept the society's fire going while all others faded out.
"One seed was planted and from that seed, much fruit has been reaped,'' said Angelina Thornhill, a member of that surviving Mosaic Templars' lodge on the island of Barbados.
Members of the Barbados chapter came to Little Rock to attend the grand opening Saturday of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, a new building on the site where the organization's headquarters once stood. The new center offers a museum detailing black Arkansan history and the society...

Andrew Hacker was the author of the bestselling book Two Nations : Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal.

This is really chilling information, a detailed, capsule history of voter supression in the US: Read here Hacker's article
and the transcript of his interview....

In June, the school district released a report that spelled out Jefferson High School's problems – problems that had long been talked about by many of the teachers, students and even administrators.
The report mirrored many of the findings of The Skanner's investigative piece that was published several weeks before the district's official report.
Among them, Jefferson suffers more theft and vandalism than any other school, and excessively high staff turnover. According to the report, Jefferson's administrators are unprepared to start the school year without problems...

For several months now, Kevin Howard has been getting his health care from the volunteers at the North by Northeast Health Clinic. But when he went to pick up a prescription and saw a "For Sale" sign out in the front yard, he got a little worried.
"I had no insurance," he told The Skanner. "I go there in order to get my prescriptions … to get my blood pressure under control."
It would be a detriment to the community if the clinic were to close, and luckily for Howard and hundreds of other patients who have few other options for care, the non-profit health clinic won't be closing, they're actually looking to expand.
Every Thursday night, 15 to 20 uninsured people come to the North by Northeast Medical Clinic seeking help. Most of those people are new patients who need medical care from the 2-year-old facility, currently operating out of a small building on Williams Avenue...

Federal homeland security grants that help states prepare to manage large-scale disasters are facing further cuts. The size of the cuts won't be known until Congress passes the $69 billion 2009 Homeland Security budget...

Businessman, organizer, political candidate – now Harold Williams Two is getting recognition as an artist.

His second book, "What Happens When It Doesn't Hurt Anymore," is part two in his Diary of a Man series. He describes it as a sort of spoken-word conversation about his own emotions – as a male -- and how to deal with them...

Imagine the chaos if a tremendous earthquake …

The Time-Based Art Festival continues this week with a showdown. Ohmega Watts will face off against a band of all-star musicians assembled to take on the local DJ. Live Band vs. Ohmega Watts is from 10:30 to 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11 at Leftbank, 240 N. Broadway. Live Band is being led by Ben Darwish of Commotion, and will also feature Reinhardt Melz on drums, John Nastos on saxophone, Justin Partney on trumpet and A.G. Donnaloia on guitar...

On Sept. 24 at Berbati's pan, the who's who of Portland's underground hip-hop welcomes back a rising star, Lucky One -- a dazzling performer who articulates politically relevant topics with a visceral flow while painting them with metaphor that can be understood at all levels...

After serving 525 hungry people in downtown Portland Sunday, Derek Rasheed and other Muslim volunteers could finally go home and eat. Despite the smells of grilled chicken and vegetables, all of those serving food Sunday were abstaining from eating in observance of the holy month of Ramadan.

Every year, during the month of Ramadan, Muslims across the nation come together and feed the homeless and hungry...