La Salle University student and Pittsburgh resident Delvin Turner was selected for the Summer Program at Harvard Law School.

In the sixth grade, Turner listened intently as his class studied Thurgood Marshall and his struggle to assist African-Americans gain access to equal educational opportunities. “I was inspired by the fact he used law as a vehicle for change to help those who had been neglected by the legal system,” said Turner, a graduate of Central Catholic High School.

DELVIN TURNER

When Turner told his mother he wanted to be a lawyer, she took him to the Allegheny County Court House to watch the attorneys argue their cases. “Lawyers, it seemed to me, were intelligent people and sharp communicators who could challenge injustices and work to bring about meaningful change,” said Turner. Turner, a senior at La Salle University in Philadelphia, spent five weeks at Harvard University’s Law School with the Trials Program, which prepares students for the LSAT exam and offers lectures by prominent attorneys. He was one of 20 students selected to attend the program.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)—Authorities say a student athlete at Florida A&M University died after she was stabbed in the neck, and another young woman has been arrested.

The Tallahassee Democrat reports that police said Shannon Washington died early Sunday. She was a member of the women’s basketball team.

by Cyril Josh Barker

NEW YORK (NNPA)—Labor Day weekend, millions of Americans hit the highways to get to their weekend vacation destinations.  However, the lack of a simple task is killing Blacks on the roads at an alarming rate.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the No. 1 leading cause of unintentional injury death for all African-Americans is motor vehicle crashes. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for African-Americans ages 1 to 14. Of those killed while passengers in a vehicle, 52 percent of Black children were not restrained at the time of the crash.

Though wearing a seat belt is the best way to avoid injury, Blacks are still failing to buckle up. The problems have become so severe that it has been declared a public health crisis.

Week of Sept. 10-16

September 10

1847—John Roy Lynch is born into slavery on this day near Vidalia, La. Lynch would be among the first group of Blacks to serve in the United States Congress after slavery. He represented the state of Mississippi. Lynch would even serve as temporary chairman of the Republican Party National Convention. During this period, the Republicans were the more progressive and friendly-to-Blacks party. But as the period of Reconstruction faded and Southern politicians made it virtually impossible for Blacks to remain in political office, Lynch moved to Chicago and practiced law. He died in 1939 at the age of 92.

FATHER DIVINE