Young, Gifted and Black - Jacksonville Man Overcomes Challenges of Autism

Last year, Brandon McAdory of the Southside told his mother he didn't want to spend the rest of his life bagging groceries. Diagnosed at 28 months old with infantile autism, Brandon was nonverbal until he was 6 years old. Now, thanks to a year of intensive study at Hope Haven Children's Clinic and Family Service's HOPE (Helping Ourselves Prepare for Employment) Academy, he is equipped with skills that will enable him to aim higher. Read more from The Florida Times-Union's report.

Young, Gifted and Black - Milwaukee Entrepreneur Reaches Back to Community

Shawn Wilson, founder of Athletes Helping Youth and founder and president of Strategic Wealth Inc., which helps professional athletes, entertainers and entrepreneurs start and lead their own non-profits to help solve social and economic problems in distressed urban communities. With his city childhood always in mind, Wilson says that it's hard for him to fathom that he now works with celebrities like Usher, whom he recently helped to lead a cleanup effort in New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina victims. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's report.

Young, Gifted and Black - Former Sierra Leone Refugee Using Education to Help Others

While living in Sierra Leone and observing the violence during the civil war of the 1990s, Makalay Tarawally decided she wanted to do something to help the people of her country. Now she is studying biology at New Jersey City University and would like to become a medical doctor. She believes that her education is key to preparing herself to implement positive change in Africa. Read more in her Teen Voices profile.

Young, Gifted and Black - Richmond Girls Prepare for Conference to Tackle Teen Issues

Portia Carter and the cadre of urban and suburban girls organizing the fourth annual "Girls are Talking" conference do care about is helping youngsters like themselves navigate a tumultuous time in and out of school. Set for Aug. 18-19 at Virginia Commonwealth University's student commons, the event will tackle topics from gangs and violence to finances and relationships. Read more from The Richmond Times Dispatch report.

Young, Gifted and Black - Dance Battles Keep Oakland Youth Off the Streets

The dance battles at Youth Uprising community center have drawn hundreds of teens who challenge their peers for bragging rights. They face off on a stage just a few feet away from a mural bearing the names of dozens of young people killed in Oakland since 2002. Read more from The San Francisco Chronicle's report.

Nairobi Girl Earns Top African Prize For Painting

Nine-year-old Naylee Nimeshah Nagda of Oshwal Jain Primary School in Nairobi won this year's top African prize for the United Nations Environment Programme's (Unep) 15th international children's painting competition on the environment.
Nagda was among 17 African children who won prizes in the competition. As overall regional winner, her prize was $1,000 and a certificate. Read more from The East African's report.

Young, Gifted and Black - Two Washington D.C. High School Students Excel, Give Back to Community

Eighteen days ago, Jachin Leatherman, 18, graduated from Ballou. He was the school's 2006 valedictorian. His best friend, 18-year-old Wayne Nesbit, also graduated. He was salutatorian. Four years before, at the end of middle school, both had scholarship offers to an elite private high school in the Maryland suburbs. It was an offer that few from Southeast Washington, where Ballou is located, would refuse. was a decision that both boys agreed with, making a private pact with each other that by the time they graduated from high school, they would have made Ballou a better place to be young, black and male. Read more from The Washington Post story.

Young, Gifted and Black - A Farmer's Life

Channel4.com reports on the experiences of young people in Great Britain as they spend life on the farm with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, one of Britain's few black farmers. Read more.

Young, Gifted and Black - Jamaican Students Honored for Essays

The Jamaica Observer reports that 12 students from across the island were on Thursday awarded by the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) for their involvement with the nonprofit organization's poster and story competition on marine mammals entitled, 'Marine Mammals: Giants of the Caribbean Sea'. Read more.

Young, Gifted and Black - Oklahoma Girl is a Two-Time Author at Age 6

Oklahoma City area author Makya Stell has finished her second book and is beginning a 10-city promotional tour. Read The Oklahoman's story about her and her new book " Find out more about her and her book "Jazzy Little Five-Year-Old."

Young, Gifted and Black - 58 Grads at the U.S. Naval Academy

In the Class of 2006 at the U. S. Naval Academy. 58 of the 980 graduates were African American. .Read this Washington Post article about a few of the newest distinguished officers.

Young, Gifted and Black - Maryland Group Keeps History of Tap Alive

The Baltimore Sun reports that Tappers With Attitude Youth Ensemble, a multicultural dance troupe based in Silver Spring, is dedicated to fostering cultural pride in the discipline's rich history. Read more.

Young, Gifted and Black - Akron Youth Excel in Project GRAD

Though statistic show that about 55 percent of African American students don't graduate from high school, The Akron Beacon Journal reports about 40 students who are beating those odds with Akron's Project Graduation Really Achieves Dreams (GRAD). Read more.

Young, Gifted and Black - Oakland Boy Is an Opera Star

Ten-year-old Tyler Thompson has mastered Beijing-style opera, an ancient and dying art form that is difficult even for adult native speakers of Chinese. His performances at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, Oakland City Hall and other venues around the Bay Area have stunned audiences and moved them to tears and standing ovations. Read more in The San Francisco Chronicle's report.

Young, Gifted and Black - Young Men in SE DC Participate in Rites of Passage Program

In March 2006, 14 young marked their transition into manhood after completing coursework in health, career choices, decision making and black history. Read more.

Young, Gifted and Black - Raleigh Man Aims to Save Lost Youth

The Raleigh News and Observer reports that Landon J. Adams, a recent Duke University Divinity School graduate, was chosen from nearly 50 applicants to head the task force, which was formed in response to a 2004 documentary on WRAL-TV, "The Lost Generation." The four-part series questioned why so many young black men end up in North Carolina's prisons.

"Day in and day out, our children are being lost," Adams said. Read more.