Literacy lessons are still part of life for mother of six in Syracuse who never gave up on her education   A young black girl in Ellabell, Georgia, wanted to learn. It was the 1960s, and the Supreme Court had declared in the mid-1950s that separate was not equal. She was bused from her tiny town, not far from Savannah, …

Community figure, Nation of Islam minister recently named to Syracuse School Board Mark Muhammad guards himself as if he were his own personal Queen’s guard. He is hesitant about showing emotion, explaining who he is and expressing his beliefs. But once he is willing to speak, he opens up about who he is like the call to the altar. He …

Finding ways to help women detect breast cancer, then get through it Valerie Taylor was lying down relaxing in her home when she felt an itch in her right breast. When she touched it, she discovered a lump that felt like the shape of an egg. She called her doctor right away. “I was more scared than anything because I …

David Hills overcame criminal past to work to defuse violent situations A few weeks ago, two men ready to end each other’s life called a truce over a mediated meal. They’d exchanged bullets before trading words: One had put bullet holes in the van of the other. One had shot at the other several times. “These guys are killers, literally. …

Chef’s passion shows through to community she feeds Wanda Adair has a relationship with food that is as deep as her famous three-cheese macaroni pan in the kitchen of Simone’s Soul Food. The 58-year-old and her son, David Hills, have been the operators of Simone’s for more than a year. The restaurant, named after Hills’ wife, Letisha Simone Johnson, has …

Two sisters start their own salon with inspiration from their mother African-American sisters Samantha Coleman and Sakari McDonald have been changing the face of salon ownership since May when they opened up their salon, Pretty Girl Threadz. Salons capable of styling African-American hair can typically be found on Syracuse’s South Side, where a large part of the city’s black population …