FAMILY MATTER—Bill Murray with five-year-old daughter Cheyanne.

CHERRY HILL, N.J.—Africana Homestead Legacy Publishers Inc., released “Under African Skies,” its first children’s folklore picture book, under its imprint Nefu Books. A clever and colorful adaptation of two African folktales, this story will teach children ages 4-8 valuable lessons on kindness and friendship. Author Roland C. Barksdale-Hall of Sharon, Pa., is an experienced storyteller and well-known in genealogy, family history, library science and African-American culture circles. The book’s illustrator is Bill Murray, a nationally-syndicated cartoonist who also lives in Sharon, Pa. The two will collaborate on several more titles for their folklore series, “Stories by Brother Barksdale.” Future books will feature old and new characters.

by Derrick McCain

Filled with drama, plot twists and even musical numbers, “The Company You Keep” was a play produced by Soul’d Out productions during their Let’s Stop the Violence Week. The play keeps a strong Christian approach to handling such conflict while emphasizing a moral: beware of the company you keep.

WRONG PERSON KILLED—After the dust falls, the one who was suppose to be shot was not and an innocent person was killed as everyone sees that Hazel was killed instead of Tammy, her friend. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

“There has been many incidents in Pittsburgh where the youth were at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Alichia Parker, executive producer. While the play preaches a positive message, the production failed to keep it as uplifting as it could have been, due to several factors.

by Lisa-Anne Ray-Byers

Q. My son is in 12th grade and is planning for college.  He has been searching for scholarships and was advised by a friend to be careful of scam scholarships. How do you know if a scholarship is real?

A. Yes, there are scholarship scams and you can always follow the rule that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!  You should be suspicious of any program that requires the following:

Eric McIntosh is on an urban mission to enrich the lives of Wilkinsburg teen­agers through the creative and performing arts.

As the new executive director of Neighborhood Youth Outreach Program in Wilkinsburg, McIntosh,44, will be able to retool the after-school program to do just that.

FUTURE ARTIST—Eric McIntosh looks on as students create their works of art. (Photos by J.L. Martello)

“There’s a lot of violence happening in Wilkinsburg, but there are a lot of services out there for youth. There’s still a chasm and we want to bridge that and give them good choices to keep them moving forward,” McIntosh said.

“I was asked to be the executive director to give the after school program more substance. It’s been in existence for 16 years and I am working to strengthen the staff and working to expose the kids to as much art as we can,” McIntosh said.