Stories

The publisher of the state’s oldest African-American newspaper expressed concerns in a recent Iowa Bystander issue about the Iowa Commission on the Status of African Americans’ Ongoing Covenant with Black Iowa.

Jerald Brantley, in a May 19 column titled “From the pen of JB,” wrote: “Let’s talk about gatekeepers and their negative effect on our community [...]

A Des Moines program that is a national model for helping ex-offenders get jobs and stay out of prison will receive a $1 million boost next month.

Spectrum Resources’ Prisoner Reentry Program helps ex-offenders find jobs and lead law-abiding lives. It’s among five sites across the nation that will receive a $1 million federal Beneficiary Choice [...]

Three African-American leaders in Des Moines plan to launch a community calendar next month to improve communication among the city’s black residents.

“The connectedness thing we can do right away,” said Jerald Brantley, publisher of the Iowa Bystander.

Brantley, Ako Abdul-Samad and Wayne Ford have joined forces to tackle the serious problems facing blacks, such as [...]

African-Americans in Des Moines will get a chance Thursday to voice their concerns and ideas to leaders of three of the city’s well-known black non-profit agencies.

The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Polk County Senior Center at 2008 Forest Ave.

Driving the meeting are three men who didn’t always [...]