WASHINGTON (AP)—In a fiery summons to an important voting bloc, President Barack Obama told Blacks on Saturday to quit crying and complaining and “put on your marching shoes” to follow him into battle for jobs and opportunity.

And though he didn't say it directly, for a second term, too.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

(NNPA)—A Chicago mother recently filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education alleging a Chicago Public School security guard handcuffed her young son while he was a student at George Washington Carver Primary School on the city’s far south side.  In the lawsuit, filed Aug. 29, LaShanda Smith says the guard handcuffed her son March 17, 2010 which resulted in “sustained injuries of a permanent, personal and pecuniary nature.”

Week of Oct. 1-7

October 1

1841—Fannie M. Richards is born. She becomes one of the nation’s early civil rights advocates as well as a prominent educator.

JOHN MERCER LANGSTON

1868—John Mercer Langston (1829-1897) organizes the nation’s first Black law school at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Largely forgotten today, Langston was a major Black political figure during his day. He was one of the nation’s first African-American lawyers, elected political officials and he influenced Black education throughout the country. The town of Langston, Okla., is named in his honor.

ATLANTA (AP)—Denzel Washington still applies the same principles in his acting career that he learned when he was a third grader in the Boys & Girls Club of America.

Now, the Oscar-winning actor along with director Ron Howard want to show how the club has impacted his life along with 20 other celebrities and entertainers, who were once members of the club.

PART OF THE SOLUTION—Actor Denzel Washington talks about a public service advertising (PSA) campaign for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Sept. 21, at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)