Will Pennsylvania Resident Jordan Brown Be The Youngest Person In The World To Serve A Life Sentence?

Not much goes on in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Located about 50 miles outside of Pittsburgh, the Lawrence County borough is home to less than 1,000 people, over 17% of which live below poverty level. In 2009, 11 year old resident Jordan Brown (pictured here, in a photo provided by Lawrence County Prison) was described as a normal “all-American boy”. He enjoyed local leisure activities such as football, riding bikes, reading Harry Potter books and hunting. A year later, Jordan, now 12, faces grown up charges with a possibility of life in prison without parole.

On February 20, 2009, 26-year-old Kenzie Houk was found lifeless in bed with a bullet from a 20-gauge shotgun through her head. She was eight months pregnant with a baby boy and a mother to two girls. Her boyfriend’s son, 11-year-old Jordan, was identified as the murder suspect and faces two counts of homicide, one including the unborn child.

Because the state of Pennsylvania offers no reprieve in convictions due to age, it’s no surprise that it has the highest total number of juvenile lifers. This means that Jordan could very well spend the rest of his life behind bars for a crime committed when he was a child. According to the University of Pittsburgh, if kept in criminal court and convicted, Jordan will be the youngest person in the world serving a life sentence.

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

krysten

DC ME: Violence In Milwaukee

Check out this episode of DC ME from Milwaukee. DJ interviews people whose lives have been affected by violence in the city.

Posted by:

Steve Romain

Farming: An Urban Hobby?

Who says we can only farm in rural areas? Despite the obvious challenges of urban farming, community gardens are popping up in parks, vacant lots, and even on rooftops across the nation.

And with good reason. While it may be difficult to find space, fertile soil, and even people interested in the cause, the benefits are endless. Researchers have found that urban farming can foster good health and community involvement, while being easier on the wallet. In fact, every $1 invested in community garden results in $6 of vegetables.

Yet saving money is just the beginning. Urban farming increases the sustainability of our cities, promotes concern for the environment, and fosters community involvement. Considering that most urbanites hardly even know their next-door neighbors, we certainly can’t expect to always know who produces our food. Urban farming, however, can alleviate both problems simultaneously.

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Kiera Aaron

How Black and White is the Roomie Racial Divide?

If you’re not a millionaire or living with family, chances are you’re currently sharing a dorm or an apartment with roommates. Bets are you chose them (or they were selected for you) based on living compatibility: likes, dislikes, level of cleanliness, habits etc. But have you ever really analyzed them based on race?

New studies by several universities have, with several surprising results. Living with a roommate of a different race will decrease your prejudice levels. If you’re a white student (who statistically enters college with the least diverse friendship group), you’ll become the most likely to develop cross-racial relationships, whereas the opposite occurs with black students (they enter with diverse friendship then experience a decline as they seek out people from a similar background). Hispanic and Asian students maintain the same levels as they had before entering freshman year.

On the other hand, cross-racial relationships are more stressful than homogenous ones—they spent less time together and shared fewer friends. However, if they managed to tough it out for 10 weeks, they would both experience an “improvement in racial attitudes.” … Continue Reading

Posted by:

Yolanda Clatworthy

Hip Hop: Coming Soon to a School Near You

Education as we know it is changing. Remember sitting in class and having your teacher yell at you for listening to music? No longer! If Run-DMC has their way, teachers will not only be encouraging music in the classroom but will be bringing in rap and hip hop of their own.

Darryl McDaniels, a member of the pioneering rap group Run-DMC, was invited by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to attend a conference at the Summer Teacher Institute last week. While there, he spoke to teachers that had gathered from across the country about the importance of using rap as a way in which teachers could better connect with their students, saying that rap made school more interesting, relevant, and personal for students. All I can say is, why wasn’t Run-DMC saying this to my teachers when I was in school?

But seriously, he’s got a point. While he admitted that rap can be “raw,” he also pointed out that it is a form of social commentary and as such has the potential to become an educational tool and a medium of expression for kids who might not have another outlet. In his own words, “real hip-hop is information, education, communication and motivation, whether you’re rich, poor, black, white, Puerto Rican. Hip-hop is the total expression of the existence of what it’s like to be alive on the face of the earth.”

So look out students. This September, it could be your teacher that busts into the classroom with a few Run-DMC lyrics of their own:

One thing I know is that life is short

So listen up homeboy, give this a thought

The next time someone’s teaching why don’t you get taught?

( From Run-DMC:  “It’s Like That”)

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Yolanda Clatworthy