Daily News Feed 8.21.2009/Vocab: stultify

HBCUs Seek Online Schooling Solutions
Two historically black colleges, faced with almost constant obstacles to stay afloat and continue their missions, are adding to their game plans in their efforts to bring in more degree-seeking students and their dollars. Atlanta’s Morris Brown College is launching a full, Internet-based degree program in organizational leadership and management. Students can begin taking classes online next week, said its president, Stan Pritchett. “We really believe this will be a major step in the process of restoring our stability,” Pritchett told BlackAmericaWeb.com. He projects the college will have 120 students in its campus-based degree programs when classes start next week and from 300 to 500 students enrolled online before the end of the year. (Continue Reading…)

The Simpsons Get a Makeover for African Show
No, there’s nothing wrong with your eyes. These are the Simpsons – just a little less yellow than usual. For the first time in more than two decades, Homer and his family have been given a make-over. At the behest of advertisers, the family have been turned into Angolans ahead of the shows first airing in the African continent. Angolan advertising agency Executive Center have taken an original animated promotional shot of Bart, Homer, Maggie Lisa and Marge sitting together on a couch and altered it to show them as Africans. Their yellow skin has been replaced with a much darker brown skin while Marge’s blue hair has been switched for a jet black afro hairdo. Lisa’s hair is now braided and the entire family are shown wearing Angolan-inspired clothing and flip flops. (Continue Reading…)

Fox Nation’s Racist Attack On McDonalds “Black” Web Site
In response to an announcement from McDonald’s that they are launching a new web site to serve the African American community, Fox Nation members donned their white sheets and expressed how they truly feel. The spark that fueled this barrage of hate was 365Black.com, a site about which McDonalds says: At McDonald’s, we believe that African-American culture and achievement should be celebrated 365 days a year — not just during Black History Month. That’s the idea behind 365Black.com. It’s a place where you can learn more about education, employment, career advancement and entrepreneurship opportunities, and meet real people whose lives have been touched by McDonald’s. (Continue Reading…)

Africa: Continent’s Population Reaches One Billion
One billion people now live in Africa, says a new report. The continent’s population is growing by about 24 million a year, and will double to nearly two billion by 2050, the report adds. These statistics have been released by the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington-based non-profit organisation, in a report published jointly with USAID, the United States government aid agency. The report, the “2009 World Population Data Sheet,” shows that Africa is the continent with the world’s highest birth rate and the highest projected population growth rate to 2050. (Continue Reading…)