Author: Stefi Mar

African Americans
Stefi Mar

Brooklyn Academy of Music Names Jamaican-Born Tamara McCaw as President

The renowned Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) has announced the appointment of Jamaican-born cultural executive Tamara McCaw as its new president, marking a historic leadership transition for one of the United States’ most influential performing arts institutions.

African Americans
Stefi Mar

How Resilient Black Women Turn Job Loss into New Ventures

In the aftermath of mass layoffs in 2025, many Black women are turning uncertainty into opportunity by launching businesses, strengthening professional networks and being innovative. Through resilience, creativity and community support, they are carving paths to stability and success in a shifting economy.

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

New Research Shows the Many Benefits of Early Learning

While the evidence is clear that pre-K makes a meaningful difference for children in the short and long term, children need access to high-quality programs to experience these benefits. Access, however, remains unequal, particularly to programs that provide high-quality experiences.“An Updated Look at Pre-K in Large American Cities,” research findings include:

African Americans
Stefi Mar

A Head Start Administrator’s Story

My name is Marcia Claggett. I reside in Calvert County, Maryland , and work at the United Planning Organization’s (UPO) Office of Early Learning in Washington, D.C. As a child at the age of 3, I was enrolled in the Head Start program located at the Southern Maryland Tri-County Community Action Committee. The year would be 1970. I completed two years of Head Start with the program and I have to add that my mother was introduced to much-needed services that assisted her in making ends meet. 

African Americans
Stefi Mar

Bakersfield Links Inc. Hosts Fourth Annual Black Family Wellness Expo

Free health screenings and vendor exhibits draw a broad cross-section of residents; Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, Rep. 35th District, warns Kern County has been a designated health care shortage area “for decades” with no remedy in sight.

Arts & Culture
Stefi Mar

Spring Has Sprung in the “City of Good Neighbors

It’s that time of the year again! Days are longer, and the weather is cooler. Don’t try to explain this to Mother Nature. No one could ever imagine ushering in spring with sizzling weather.

African Americans
Stefi Mar

Author Details History of Black Leisure Sites in Southland

In her latest book, “Living the California Dream – African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era,” author Alison Rose Jefferson provides new insights into how the great migration of Blacks beginning in 1910 from the American South to the urban North, Midwest, and West challenged the prevailing narratives that exclude African Americans and shows their active role in shaping regional identity.

African Americans
Stefi Mar

AFUWI – Gala to Honor Outstanding Leaders

The American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) will honor two outstanding academic leaders whose work has changed access to higher education for many generations of minority students. Dr. Wayne J. Riley, President of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, and Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, Interim President and President Emeritus of Howard University, will be honored at AFUWI’s 29th Annual “The Legacy Continues” Awards Gala, which is scheduled for April 17, 2026, in New York City.