For the Week of September 2-8

September 2

1766—Post-Colonial era Black leader James Forten is born on this day in 1766. Little known today but during that period he was one of the most prominent Black men in America. Born free in Philadelphia, Pa., he became a fierce anti-slavery activist, an inventor and successful businessman. In fact, the sail-making company he found made him one of the wealthiest Black men in the nation. Forten and AME Church founder Richard Allen organized the First Convention of Color in 1817. He went back and forth on the issue of “re-Africanization” which called for the return of Blacks to Africa. He financially supported Paul Cuffee’s venture in the West African nation of Sierra Leone but he later turned against the American Colonization Society and its efforts to return free American Blacks to the West African nation of Liberia.

by Jessica Harper

(NNPA)—A 2009 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revealed that Black teens and young adults are more prone to violence than their White counterparts. Despite that alarming fact, mentoring and counseling groups like the District-based Evolutionary Elders (EE) continue to inspire African-American youths to excel personally and professionally.

Co-founder and author, Eugene Williams Sr., said the organization fights the odds by maintaining a positive outlook about the future of Black youths.

“We don’t want to be bothered with defeatist attitudes,” Williams, 68, said.

by Glen Johnson

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP)—President Barack Obama had a simple task for his first morning on vacation: shoot over to a Martha’s Vineyard bookstore to fill out his daughters’ summer reading list and grab himself a novel.

Easier said than done.

BOOK SHOPPING—President Barack Obama, with daughters Malia and Sasha, leave the Bunch of Grapes book store in Vineyard Haven, Mass., Aug. 20, where the first family is vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard.

His SUV, part of a 20-vehicle motorcade, passed through a cordon of Massachusetts State Police motorcycle officers, in a protective cocoon of Secret Service agents. Tagging along for the quick trip Friday were White House communications trucks, an ambulance and two vans full of reporters and photographers.

NEW YORK (AP)—Emmy-winning CBS News correspondent Harold Dow, who helped shape the documentary program “48 Hours” and covered the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst and the Sept. 11 attacks, has died. He was 62.

Dow died suddenly Saturday morning in New Jersey, network spokeswoman Louise Bashi said. He lived in Upper Saddle River, N.J., but it wasn’t immediately clear if he’d been at home.

HAROLD DOW

Dow had been a correspondent for “48 Hours” since 1990. His nearly 40 years with the network also included reporting for “CBS Evening News with Dan Rather” and “CBS News Sunday Morning.”