TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)—William P. Foster, credited with innovating a much-imitated high-stepping style as founder and longtime director of the Florida A&M Marching 100 band, died Aug. 28 in Tallahassee university officials said. He was 91.

Foster served as the marching band’s director from 1946 until his retirement in 1998. He created more than 200 halftime pageants for the band at the historically Black university.

LEGENDARY BANDLEADER—In this July 16, 2008 photo, Benjamin McNamee, 17, from Miami, Fla., right, shakes hands with William Foster, 88, left, founder of the Florida A&M Marching 100 band, during a break at the FAMU band camp in Tallahassee, Fla.

Every year 3,500 youths are admitted to Shuman Detention Center. Forty percent of that total is represented by repeat admissions, those who have already had one or more visits to the center.

Nothing makes Shuman’s director Wil­liam Simmons unhappier than these startling statistics. Although he only has the youths who come to the center for an average of 15 days, he is focused on doing whatever he can to reduce the recidivism rate.

REVOLVING DOOR—Williams Simmons fights his daily battle to lower recidivism rates.

“One of the biggest challenges is recidivism. That’s a shame. It says a lot about society itself,” Simmons said. “In addition to that it is because we don’t have any impact on their home life. What kind of services are they getting when they go home? That’s the frustrating part.”

(NNPA) – Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young has weighed in on the arrest of T.I., claiming the rapper may have been stopped for "DWB - Driving While Black."

T.I. and his wife Tameka "Tiny" Cottle were arrested after they were stopped in the rapper's Maybach on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, for allegedly making an illegal U-turn.

Police allegedly smelled the odor of marijuana, searched the vehicle and uncovered a small amount of ecstasy and what is reported to be meth-amphetamines.

Young questioned the police's initial intent when they stopped the chart-topping rapper/actor, who recently starred in the #1 hit movie, Takers.

“There’s another culture in L.A. that I don’t understand,” Young told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Most people in Los Angeles would wonder why he was stopped. I don’t know why they should have been stopped ... When a Black man is stopped and not speeding … you call that driving while Black.”

Young, who officiated T.I.'s wedding to Tiny in July, also counseled T.I. after the rapper pleaded guilty to federal drug charges.

T.I. immediately notified his probation officer of the arrest, as required by the terms of his probation.At press time, T.I. is heading back to Atlanta. He will most likely have to appear in court where Judge Charles Pannell Jr. could revoke his probation and send the rapper to jail.

"T.I. is going to be back on his way to Atlanta in the next 24 hours," Don Samuel, one of T.I.'s lawyers, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It's almost certain he'll end up appearing before the court here. But without knowing all the facts, it's premature to speculate what the court is likely to do."

According to the terms of T.I.'s probation, the rapper cannot possess or use any narcotic, or frequent any place drugs are sold, used or administered.

Special to the NNPA from the St. Louis American

 

(This is the first in a series of responses addressing Black-on-Black violence.)

During his exclusive Aug. 23 interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier editorial board in the wake of the fatal shooting during a midget league football game, Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper challenged nonprofits working in African-American neighborhoods to act more cooperatively in the battle to stop Black-on-Black killings.

FLORENCE ROUZIER and MALIK BANKSTON

“I tried to bring (Community Empowerment Association) and the Kingsley Center together because we need to have more collaboration. It’s harder when you have all these groups competing for the same funds,” he said. “I’d rather make an investment in these programs that are being preventative.”