The New York Times

By MICHAEL KIMMELMAN
Published: June 17, 2008

PARIS — When Youssoupha, a black rapper here, was asked the other day what was on his mind, a grin spread across his face. "Barack Obama," he said. "Obama tells us everything is possible."

A new black consciousness is emerging in France, lately hastened by, of all things, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States. An article in Le Monde a few days ago described how Mr. Obama is "stirring up high hopes… Continue

It doesn't take much to realize that things sometimes need to change. The question that may be somewhat more challenging to answer is 'how do I make those changes happen?'

I've been talking with my friend Terence about this same topic for a short time now and he offers the following 5 ways that a person can get involved and start seeing changes in their community, state, and anywhere else they interact.

1. Get Registered, then help register others

Registering to vote is easy, visit you… Continue