Can black churches survive turbulent times? The recession has hit the black community disproportionately hard, shuttering hundreds of churches across the country because of foreclosure. But the greatest challenge may come from a shift in emphasis. As preaching focuses more on individual prosperity than community uplift, some scholars speculate that the decades-old power the black church has exercised as the "soul" of the African-American community is "dead" — or on its way there.
Steve Harvey's wife mentors young women: The Girls Who Rule the World Mentoring Weekend takes place Oct. 28-30 in Atlanta. Hosted by the Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation, it aims to help 100 diverse teenage girls from the metro-Atlanta area navigate their way through the societal pressures of teenage life, including teenage pregnancy and prostitution.
Why don't scholars have access to Rosa Parks' records? Julian Bond argues that it's hard to imagine that Rosa Parks would have wanted access to papers documenting her lifetime of political activism available only to a buyer who could afford the exorbitant price, and it's even harder to believe that our society allows this for our history.
Michelle Obama's cousin, the black rabbi: Rabbi Capers Funnye, a prominent African-American rabbi from Chicago who is a cousin of first lady Michelle Obama, told the congregants at Los Angeles' Saban Theatre last weekend, "We are a Jewish people linked to each other not by color or racial background, but because of our belief."
In other news: US Open: Venus a Winner, Serena Up Next.