Latest news with #JourneytoFreedom
USA Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
'This is my history:' Students join 14-day \
A mentoring program for Black girls and young women takes participants on a 14-day "Journey to Freedom'' tour to learn about the Underground Railroad. WASHINGTON ‒ Samaria Helton had learned about Thomas Jefferson in school, but didn't know the former president had hundreds and hundreds of enslaved people until she recently visited his Monticello plantation in Virginia. The visit was important in her quest to know more about Black history, she said. 'This is my history,'' said Helton, a 16-year-old high school junior from Sanford, North Carolina. 'I need to learn my history.' Monticello was one of several stops on a 14-day journey North for Helton and eight other middle and high schoolers in Leadership LINKS Inc., a mentoring program for Black girls and young women. They are learning first-hand about Black history as they visit historic Black churches, former plantations, the national African American museum and other sites that tell that story. The trip, 'The Journey to Freedom,'' also takes participants through states where abolitionist Harriet Tubman led enslaved people, including herself, on the Underground Railroad to freedom. Organizers said the trip is particularly important now with the stripping of Black historic figures, including Tubman, from websites, the banning of books, the dismantling of education programs and the attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. 'Knowledge is a core value for us,'' said Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, a co-founder of Leadership LINKS. 'We're passing on this history across generations.' 'Representation matters' While the early part of the trip includes stops with Black history connections, it's at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Maryland June 25 where the girls began tracing her path. More: Who gets to write America's history? Activists aim to protect Harriet Tubman, other sites The program aims to introduce the girls to Black women leaders, both historic and present-day. 'So they can see what they can become,'' said Robinson, a graduate of the Naval Academy. The girls had already studied abolitionist Sojourner Truth, so it made sense to focus next on Tubman, Sistrunk Robinson said. 'Not just the mythical figure of Harriet Tubman, but for them to know the full history of her life,' she said, noting that Tubman faced many barriers escaping to freedom. 'That didn't stop her from liberating herself, liberating her family and fighting for liberation for others.' Helton, the high school junior, appreciated the focus on Tubman 'There's a lot to learn from her, to follow her path and fight for our people like she did,'' she said. Juneteenth kicks off trip The trip began on Juneteenth in North Carolina where the girls celebrated with soul food dinner and a documentary, 'Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom Documentary.'' 'It was a fun way to kick off our trip,'' said Capria Daniels, 16, a high school junior from Clinton, Maryland. Daniels said she couldn't pass up the opportunity to join the two-week trip. The girls, who range from sixth graders to seniors in high school, came from Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. The trip is funded by grants and donations. Stops include the University of Virgina, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and Howard University, a historic Black school in Washington, D.C. There's also a visit to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia and Tubman's home in upstate New York. The journey ends in Toronto, where many enslaved Black people fled. There are also lighter outings, including the musical 'Hamilton' on Broadway. At some stops, guest speakers discuss the importance of leadership. Daniels said the stops provide a 'better understanding of where I came from so I can teach the next generation.'' 'Most of it is sugar coated' Beyond site visits and reading assignments, the girls have a passport book to collect stamps at each stop and jot down reflections. They are also equipped with a songbook to learn classic protest songs, such as ''Eyes on the Prize'' and contemporary gospel songs like ''Goodness of God.'' Still at the heart of the trip is visiting sites with connections to Black history. 'That makes what we read about real for them in a very different way,'' said Robinson. Helton and Daniels said history lessons in school often don't tell the whole story, including the brutality of slavery. 'We learn the basics and most of it is sugar coated,' Helton said. During a visit earlier this week to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which has come under attack by the Trump administration, Helton said she learned more about the horrid conditions of millions of Africans packed into slave ships. 'It was sad just to know they had to go through that,'' she said. Destiny Davis, 20, a summer intern for the program, said even colleges have fallen short in teaching the truth about Black history. 'They leave out a lot of graphic information,'' said Davis, a junior at the University of North Carolina, at Greensboro. 'They're teaching you the history they want you to know.'' For Daniels, each stop meant learning something new. 'It definitely taught me a lot more about my history,' she said.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After decade in prison, former Ohio deputy treasurer to be released from custody
The former deputy treasurer of Ohio, Amer Ahmad, is scheduled to be released from federal custody on April 15 − 11 years after he fled the country with a suitcase stuffed with cash. In April 2014, Ahmad fled to avoid sentencing in federal court in a bribery and kickback scheme − traveling to San Diego, walking into Mexico and flying to Pakistan and using a fake passport. Just months before his escape, Ahmad had pleaded guilty to bribery and to conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud and money laundering and was released on bond awaiting sentencing. As his sentencing date approached, Ahmad bolted. While on the lam, Ahmad kept a journal titled "Journey to Freedom: Who said escaping injustice would be easy?" Pakistani authorities intercepted him in Lahore where he was jailed for more than a year. Ahmad grew up in North Canton, earned an undergraduate degree from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard. After working in the financial markets in Chicago, he and his wife moved to Columbus and Democratic Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray hired Ahmad as the state's chief financial officer. When Cordray became attorney general, Ahmad remained in the treasurer's office and Democrat Kevin Boyce, the newly appointed treasurer, elevated Ahmad to deputy treasurer. After Boyce lost the 2010 election to Republican Josh Mandel, Ahmad landed a job as the comptroller for the city of Chicago. He resigned that job shortly before being indicted on federal charges. In 2009, Ahmad re-wrote the state's investment strategy and put his high school friend, Doug Hampton, on the state's trader list. Hampton made $3.2 million in fees and kicked back more than $500,000 to Ahmad via two other men, attorney Noure Alo and small business owner Joe Chiavaroli. Eventually all four men pleaded guilty to federal charges. American officials tried to extradite Ahmad. When that failed to materialize, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson sentenced in absentia Ahmad to 15 years in prison. In August 2015, Ahmad dropped his opposition to returning to the U.S. and federal agents went to collect him. Watson told Ahmad he didn't think he'd ever see him again. 'Spending 16 months in a third-world jail was the consequence of my own actions,' Ahmad told Watson. He thanked his parents for "staying with me" and told them 'Please stick with me. I'll make you proud once again.' Ahmad served most of his sentence at a federal prison in San Diego. More recently, he moved to a halfway house in Cincinnati. His sentence included an order to pay $3.2 million in restitution. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Columbus declined to disclose how much Ahmad had paid, saying that isn't a public record. Court filings show that federal authorities seized $7,800 from his prisoner account, $3,000 from a deferred compensation account and $220 from an E-Trade account. Court filings also show that while incarcerated, Ahmad took more than 200 classes on topics ranging from music to film to history to science. He also worked as a tutor and taught GED and other classes. During the COVID19 pandemic, Ahmad petitioned the federal court for release to home confinement, arguing that he had health issues. The court said no. Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio. lbischoff@ This article originally appeared on The Repository: Former Ohio deputy treasurer to be released from federal custody
