Prom Drive Sponsorships

Hello my name is Bria Poole, I currently attend Lincoln University as a senior with a major in Mass Communication and Visual Arts. I am reaching out to find out more information on a sponsorship because I plan to have a prom drive to help high school students located in the Oxford, Philadelphia Pa area to be able to receive a free or affordable prom dress. Please feel free to contact me for more information I plan to start Fall 2017.

Please if you know companies I can contact send the my way I have reached out to 25 companies so far. This will be an huge event if I can receive help from brands that many of us spend money with everyday to help a high school student afford a prom dress.

Police Have Been Arrested for Human Trafficking- Could it be linked to the Missing Girls In DC

Evelyn Atieno wrote for the Huffington Post about the increased media coverage of the black and latino girls missing in D.C. has started a national discussion on whether the cause is human trafficking. Black lawmakers are now calling for the FBI to investigate. In part, social media has been vital in exposing the cases of many of these missing girls. Although many assume these missing cases have been attributed to human trafficking, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Acting Chief of Police Newsham have stated that there's no connection between the cases and human trafficking. There are a total of 38 missing people cases open in D.C. right now.

Many people are wondering how these young girls are being so easily lured. Traffickers sometimes call themselves the newer version of 'pimps', and they're very good at what they do.Direct link to blog Most commonly they prey on runways, girls with low self esteem or with problems at home. Mainly runways and young people are the ones who are commonly trafficked. Is human trafficking new to D.C.? Not at, in 2015 the D.C. City COuncil enacted a law that requires "training on human trafficking to new law enforcement officered, social workers, and case workers". This came after a D.C. police officer was sentenced to 7 years for pimping teen girls. Now that sounds crazy to me while reading her article an official was pimping teen girls, could you image the people who are suppose to protect and serve being the one to over use there power into getting young girls to obey by their rules.

In 2014, Linwood Barnhill Jr, resigned from the Metropolitian Police Department in D.C. and plead guilty to two counts of pandering a minor and one count of possession of child pornography. He was arrested after a 16 year old missing girl was found in his apartment. Court documents said that in a two week span, he prepared her for sex with a man, that included taking nude photos of her. The policeman met the young girl at a mall and asked her if she would be interested in modeling. In 2013, the same officer set up sexual encounter for a 15 year old girl after seeing her at a bus sop and asking her the same question. The officer took nude photos of her as well as clothes. He set up sexual encounter in his home, then the young girl engaged in sexual acts with a man in his 40's or 50's in the officer collected money from the man and gave the girl a portion. There was a third 17 year old victim to whom Barnhill did the same. The officer received a slip on the wrist basically a lighter sentence because the judge felt he didn't abuse his power as a police while committing the crimes.

You can't attribute cops to every missing girl's case in D.C., but it sparks the question of are some of them apart of the missing cases. If some are trafficking these young girls? And how are these girls easily being lured in? Sadly human trafficking is a lucrative business. It is a $32 billion dollar business, in fact a pimp can earn as much as $150,000 to $200,000 each year just from one girl. 

Here are some of the social media post I came across on instragram. It is up to us to make sure everyone is aware of what is going on because the News isn't sending out alerts. 

Vegan College Student

Let's start off by saying being Vegan takes a lot of man power. By man power I mean a lot of mental to not want to sneak eat dairy, meat, fish, anything from an animal. The first week was easy I had went food shopping at Walmart where I got soy milk, cereal, oatmeal, chips, snacks, veggie burgers but then as my food started to run out and my vegetables started, I grew very hungry and felt like my body was lacking energy because I would sleep and wake up starving as if I did not eat the night before which would make me feel very weak then on top of that with me attending Lincoln University and not having a meal plan because they cater to the needs of all students who can not eat somethings or whatever reason. This made it even harder for me because I had little to no options besides to cook my own food and when I ran out of food sometimes would eat nothing.

So I'm in my second week of being a Vegan I started to get use to the feeling of being weak and started to fight it and make smoothies, but listen laughing out loud during my school Mass Comm Week I had went to the radio station iheart radio and 6 abc where  after we had gotten chiptole and although I hate chiptole they had sofritas which is like an tofu instead of meat it made me fall in love because Qdoba doesn't have that option and now for once I finally got to see something that I could eat when I'm out with my friends so it doesn't look like I'm starving myself. But later that day on the way back to campus I started to feel weak again and empty as if I haven't been eating anything which made me feel tired again but as a student when given the chance to get extra credit for class you take it and I went to the forum about Haiti where they had Pizza, Tuna sandwiches and Turkey sandwiches and had one bite of turkey and felt like I was on top of the world. I know I know I cheated myself by doing that but after that and talking to my mom I realized being a vegetarian was the way for me to go.

If your Vegan I give you credit but if you want to find out more here is an website to help you with your journey http://vegan.org/

Howard University Demand Resignation of White Professor for Holding Humiliating Mock Slave Auction

 Lately Howard University has been in the media a lot for many things that they have going on from accomplishments to failures. Recently the school has been in the News for a White Howard University Professor using Frederick Douglass as an opportunity to humiliate one of the few black students. We all know that Howard University is one of the Historically Black Colleges or University (HBCU) in the south that is well known for the man famous people who came from the school to either become actors, rappers, etc. On March 9, 2017 the unarmed white professor was teaching a lecture on the hardships of slavery based on the writing the denigration inflicted upon slaved during the auctions, the professor decided to show rather than tell. http://www.bet.com/news/national/2017/03/21/howard-university-students-demand-resignation-of-white-professor.html To me him showing instead of just talking about it was for the students to have an better understanding of what was going on in my opinion because we live in a day where we read everything but don't fully gasp what is going on until it happens. The teacher pointed to one of two Black men in the room, the educator prompted him to stand up while the class looked at is physical features. When pointing out that the students healthy and physical build, the professor commented that he would have been "The type of slave buyers would look for." Which would mean that this man (student) looked strong and built, yes I can see the wrong on both point of views but he took a real life demonstration to connect with his students. With me attending an HBCU I feel the teacher should have asked who would like to volunteer and ask them if they feel comfortable with him doing this in class because you never want to come across as racist in today's society we (Black) people are afraid that maybe someone close to use can be apart of the KKK with so much going on in the media with police killing blacks, Donald Trump making the comments that he does and people turning into Uncle Toms we don't know what to believe but my question is what if the teacher was black how would this go would it still result in students wanting him fired or because he is white and will not understand what black people go through that they want him to be fired? The question remains .

Students in the room immediately became infuriated with the professor and asked him to stop. However the teacher continued, when the students asked him to stop but he kept going that's when matters change now because the class felt uncomfortable and asked him to stop but he denied to do so. The students was then told to turn toward the class and watch them as they examined his teeth and weight. While noticing the look of shock on the students faces, the professor tried to reassure him that he was also uneasy. "It's Ok, I'm uncomfortable too; I'm white," one student recalled the professor telling the class, according to https://www.cagedbirdmagazine.com/single-post/2017/03/10/White-Howard-University-Teacher-Holds-Mock-Slave-Auction the professor eventually asked the student to turn around so the class could examine his buttocks,which immediately resulted in the student getting frustrated. "I wanted to hit him," said the student. "I was being racially and sexually harassed in front of my peers and only thing I could think to defend myself was by punching him." The black man or any human being first instinct is to hit or fight back which I'm glad the student ad self control because the teacher could ave flipped this to be the student is a superpredator http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/03/very-brief-history-super-predators like society paints young black men to be. The incident became such a heated topic that forced Howard University to open an official investigation into the matter. Students are now calling for resignation or termination of the professor. http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/242403168-story 

Lincoln University: Mass Communication Week

As Everyone knows I attend the first HBCU Lincoln University where it is Mass Communication week. If you didn't know Mass Communication is the imparting or exchanging of information on a large scale to a wide range of people.

This is a wonderful experience because it gives us time to speak to alumni, build connections with people and work on building or brand. Click the video to find out more on what to wear in a work interview this is Day 2 of the mass communication week.

Motel in Philly being sued in first report human-trafficking lawsuit under Pa. Statute

On March 10, 2017 I read an article on philly.com about the Roosevelt Inn on the 7600 block of Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/415876763.html which talks about a lawsuit filed in Philadelphia last Friday accuses the Roosevelt Inn in Northeast Philadelphia of regularly providing rooms to human traffickers who exploit girls, forcing them to be prostitutes.

In the article it states that the complaint, filed on behalf of a Philadelphia girl, who was 14 years old when she was forced into illegal sex trade in 2013 and exploited for two years, is the first such lawsuit of its kind under Pennsylvania's 2014 human trafficking statue, her attorneys say. "This lawsuit is the first among many to come that will hold hotel and motel owners, among others, accountable when they knowingly allow victimization of the most vulnerable in our society," plaintiffs attorney, Tom Kline, of Philadelphia-based Kline & Specter PC, said in a statement.

The Philadelphia girl, now 17 years old was dressed in sexually explicit clothing and was 'visibly treated in an aggressive manner' by traffickers, the statement claims, quoting from the lawsuit. Says the http://people.com/crime/philadelphia-motel-allegedly-allowed-teen-girl-sex-trafficking/  the suit further alleges they failed to intervene or contact police and continued to pocket revenue from the room rentals, as the teen was trafficked. Her attorneys say the civil suit is the first among many to come against hotel and motel owners for allegedly profiting from sex trafficking. Patel, the hotel manager told Philly.com he had "no knowledge" that the teen had been victimized on his property. "We just rent the room and that's all we can do," he said. The suit alleges her traffickers placed internet advertisements that listed her under a fake name and directed customers to call a number and settle on a cash on a cash price for sex, then they were directed to the Roosevelt Inn. A hotel clerk "Abdul" was fully aware that the girl" and other underage children were compelled to perform sex for many," the suit says. The room where the girl was forced to be a prostitute "contained used condoms and condom wrappers and the room frequently smelled of marijuana, had "Do Not Disturb" signs on the door and frequently had men and other minors go in and out, the suit further contends.

The girl, identified in the lawsuit only as M.B., "was visibly treated in an aggressive manner by traffickers" and exhibited fear and anxiety in the hotel, the suit says, adding she dressed in a sexually explicit manner while walking the hallways. Despite knowing about or seeing signs of human trafficking, the hotel, its manager and workers failed to report the crimes to authorities or otherwise stop the girl's victimization, the suit says. The girl, as a result, suffered physical harm, mental anguish, humiliation, and other harm, the suit contends. The suit seeks more than $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. It is the first known civil suit to use the Pennsylvania Human Trafficking Law of 2014 that allows for compensation for victims against those who profit directly or indirectly from human trafficking, the plaintiff's attorneys...

This post caused me to think of the 64,000 black women missing in the United States and no one is speaking about it. On the media outlets I haven't noticed anything about this on the news and can't seem to figure it out I know when I was younger I could remember things about the black market to sell organs https://www.decodedscience.org/organ-harvesting-human-trafficking-black-market/56966  which in this article talks about organ harvesting being tied to human trafficking and has become a booming business in the 21st century on a global scale. It is a criminal offense to traffic body parts or perform transplants from any source not legally affiliated with a hospital or other medical facility, but legality doesn't deter either side of these transactions. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services data of Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network reports 21,333 currently awaiting organ transplant of which 100,402 are waiting for a kidney. Only 30,970 transplants actually took place (legally) in 2015. According to the World Health Organization, America is one of many organ-importing counties and by the use of the web, patients can get transplant packages from $70 to over $160,000.00.

So wonder how much people can make with taking people and drugging them so that they can make a lot of money off of young people. What we need to do is work on ways to help find our missing brothers and sisters since no one is taking notice, we must not forget that no matter if we are family we are still connected in some way. Help me get this across to everyone who doesn't know what is going on, let this be an effort to actually make sure our kids are safe and aware. Because I'm afraid everyday for the safety of my younger uncle who is 17 years old and sometimes even my own safety because I only know but so much to make sure that me and others around me are safe.

West Philly High Needs Clean Water

West Philly High School is a secondary school located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia  on 4901 Chestnut St, Philadelphia PA 19139 with a number of students of 750. West Philadelphia High opened in 1912 with a student population of 5,500. Such was the press on the new high school, which originally stood as two separate buildings for boys and girls http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/w/westphila The West Philadelphia High School athletic field, is located at 48th and Spruce Street, was formally known as Passon Field and home to Negro League baseball in the 1930s. The park was the home field of the Eastern Colored League's Philadelphia Bacharach Giants starting in 1931, and the Negro National League's Philadelphia Stars in 1934 and 1935. The field is still in use by West Philadelphia High School's SPEEDBOYS football team. In September 2011 West Philadelphia High School went to its new location at 4901 Chestnut Street and transitioned into a Promise Academy, thus changing the name to the Promise Academy at West Philadelphia High School.

On instagram Tuesday March 7, 2017 I seen a post that said West Philly High Needs Clean Water! Calling all: Students, Parents/Guardians, Staff, Alumni, and Community members. What: In November West Philadelphia. High School water was unfit to drink (?) Fountains were turned off. Some were replaced w/ filtration stations. Rest room sinks were left on. Packaged meals, bottled water and hand sanitizer was supplied to the school...School District refused to relocate the students and staff. Outsiders using/renting school facilities were not made aware of contained water in the school. When: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at 6:00 PM Where: 4901 Chestnut Street Why: The community must convene to asses this situation and decided what action must be taken to assure quality water for ALL schools. Please spread the word and attend this meeting.

This is sad because I remember being in high school at Paul Robeson for human services located on 41st Ludlow Street in West Philly where I was terrified to drink the water fountains because of the stories I would hear about the water not being clean for Public Schools. While at Paul Robeson although the water was warm we had no choice but to drink the water if we didn't buy a water bottle that would last us 7hours in school. We was close to closing and shutting down but because we was fighting to stay open and not join schools we stayed open, but the real questions is why when Paul Robeson asked to partner with West Philadelphia High School it didn't happen? Is it because people seen Paul Robeson as a trouble school? Did the School District really consider the problems that would disappear because West Philadelphia High has an long history of having problems in the old building before they relocated. Was the water always bad in 2011 or did they fix it enough to last 6 years and think no one would notice????? Stay tuned for the next post when I update every question I have.