A mother waiting for a commuter train in West Philly got the scare of her life yesterday when her 14-month-old child, sitting in her stroller, somehow found her little self rolling off the platform and on to the train tracks. And all this was caught on camera.

As we can see from the video, the mom is initially standing on the platform, and it looks as though she tried to kick down on the brake before becoming distracted by whatever it was that caught her attention (since they’re outside, she might have been on the phone texting). Seconds later, the stroller slowly starts moving forward with the baby sitting forward and upright in it. Moments after that, the stroller passes the thick yellow cautionary line and end ups rolling off the platform on to the tracks as the mom tries to rush to grab it. She jumps down on the tracks to grab her baby and hand the child to a man standing on the platform, as people run to help her get the stroller and herself off the tracks. Luckily, for both mom and daughter, the rail the baby fell on was not carrying an electrical charge according to the NBC affiliate in Philly, and despite a cut on her forehead, they report that she should be fine.

Thankfully, the mother also received help from people standing by. One person helped the young woman get off the track, and another pressed an emergency alert button (which can be seen in the video), which let controllers know there was an incident, and they were able to hold back an oncoming train that was coming in less than a minute.

This video was definitely crazy to watch, especially when you think of a 14-month-old falling out of the stroller and probably not being quick enough to use her hands to help ease her fall. But this is definitely a warning to people with children who ride commuter trains. You have to be aware at all times with what’s going on with your kids. Despite how slow that stroller was moving, it was moving fast enough that no one realized it and could do anything about it. Scary.

Check out the video and let us know your thoughts.

Video courtesy of nbcphiladelphia.com.

grass-rootsfoundation.org

It’s not often that you see someone, especially a celebrity, taking time to give back to a city they’re not even from. But then again, not every celebrity is a member of the legendary Roots crew.

Black Thought, emcee of The Roots and co-founder of GrassROOTS Community Foundation (GCF), joined forces with OkayPlayer and allhiphop.com to raise money for young ladies in Newark, New Jersey. On Saturday night, they held Power Forward, a fundraiser and concert, at Newark Museum.  The event, which was attended by various policymakers, business owners and residents of Newark, was hosted by entertainment personality Amanda Seales and there were performances by Malene Younglao, Maya Azucena and Nneka Best. Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia (Thought’s hometown) and The Roots were also confirmed to attend.

Thought, whose real name is Tariq Trotter, explained his reasons for focusing his attention on New Jersey:

“I now live in Jersey, and I am relying local hip-hop artists, community members, leaders, and friends in New Jersey to come together and show that they care about what happens to our women and girls.”

He and fellow co-founder Janice Johnson Dias adopted Georgia King Village in Newark last year as a community of strategic priority and together, they’ve been working hard on educational resources and healthy living choices for the residents.  The goal is that GCF will motivate the people of Newark to get fit, especially the children.

While keeping a relatively low profile, GCF is an organization that is geared to helping to preserve the well-being of disadvantaged neighborhoods.  They purposely seek out community based organizations that serve women and girls because they believe those groups have “significant potential for creating sustainable change.” In short, women make the world go round!

It’s always good to see people working towards change and not looking to be photographed or necessarily talked about. These are exactly the things we need to talk about.  Hopefully, we hear more about GCF and other organizations like it and maybe they will inspire residents of any city or town to do better.

Source

Source: Philly.com

A few weeks back we saw some behind-the-scenes shots of Eve rocking Reebok’s new 54-11s for a new documentary on the classic sneaker brand and herself, and now the full flick is here.

The Philly-born rapper returned to her roots to show where her fame first began at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, and took us through her time as a rapper, dabbling in fashion, and now her current focus on film making, and acting. From 1999 to 2012, people are still asking, “who’s that girl…”

Check out the mini-documentary here. Are you still checking for Eve?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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Wonder what Eve has been up to lately?

Well, E-V-E has teamed up to star in a documentary in conjunction with Reebok Classics and Complex, and in the process of doing comeback performances around Philly (at Kung Fu Necktie to be specific), she stopped at her alma mater, Martin Luther King, Jr. High School and kicked it with her young fans. With DMX coming back out, Lil Kim on tour, and Eve now getting back to being focused on music and making moves, it’s about to feel like the early ’00s (aka, Millennium) all over again! Check out all the colorful photos of the former first lady of Ruff Ryders as she meets the kids, prepares for performances, and rocks 54-11s. And you can see more over at Hip-Hop Wired.

*Reaches to play “Who’s That Girl”…*

See more photos HERE.

Photos courtesy of Reebok.

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No one will probably ever know the exact reasons behind the bureaucratic drama that led to the departure of Arlene Ackerman, the superintendent of Philadelphia schools but it defintely has something to do with her clashes with mayor Michael Nutter as well as members of the teachers union. Ackerman came to the Philadelphia school district in 2008 and has been credited for raising test scores and graduation rates during her tenure. Still, the Mayor’s office and the teacher’s union have felt that she has chosen to be uncooperative.

Union president Jerry Jordan told the AP that her adversarial approach inhibited collaboration and cooperation. “Many times there was a sense of intimidation and/or retaliation for people voicing their concerns,” he said.

Like many other cities, Philadelphia is experiencing a budget crisis. According to the AP, as Nutter resorted to instituting a tax to raise money to save a kindergarten program, Ackerman found the funds but didn’t immediately notify the Mayor’s office. With the district’s $664 million budget gap this year, many questioned Ackerman’s tactics, loyalties and salary, which at $348,000 per year, was more than Nutter’s. On Thursday night, she addressed district officials in a dramatic speech.

According to the AP:

She entered the room to Sade’s song “Is It A Crime?” — which became the theme of her remarks. She also read Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise”: “You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I rise.”

Ackerman then referred to the past year as “full of lots of challenge and controversy for me” and said her crime was to put children first.
“Is it a crime to stand up for children instead of stooping down into the political sandbox and selling our children for a politician’s campaign victory?” she said.

 

Ackerman left the district the following Monday with $900,000 in severance.

Musiq Soulchild sat down with Madame Noire to talk about everything from his baby boy with 702 singer Kameelah Williams to his VERY interesting choice in classic movies.  Check it all out in the video below!

What’s your favorite Musiq Soulchild song?

Last month 58 laptop computers,  two desktops and one projector was stolen from a West Philadelphia High school.

The police were able to recover half of the stolen laptops and the projector.

But thanks to the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation, the kids will be getting 29 new Apple laptops and one desktop to replace the stolen property.

While Will won’t be able to deliver the computers himself, due to a prior engagement, his long-time friend and community activist, Charlie “Mack” Alston will bring the gifts to the high school students.

Get the rest of the story over at Black Voices.