Tag: jessicajohnson

The 2024 World Happiness Report, which is a collaboration with Gallup, the Oxford Well-being Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and its Editorial Board, found that young Americans under 30 are much more displeased with their lives than adults over 60.

As excitement was building up for the solar eclipse in Ohio the past two weeks, I saw an electric sign that piqued my interest while commuting to work in Lima. The sign was placed on a corner in Huntsville, a village that I pass through with a small population of just over 400.

One of the recently released spring biopics that I really looked forward to is the Netflix film on Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman to be elected to Congress in 1968. Simply titled “Shirley,” the film takes viewers on an intense and dramatic journey of Chisholm’s 1972 Democratic presidential campaign, a campaign she had no shot to win but valiantly ran to be a voice for those who were not represented on Capitol Hill.

(Jesus) said unto them, “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter answering said, “The Christ of God.” (Luke 9:20)

Like many sports fans this year, I have been in awe of the on-court accomplishments of Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark. Her highlight reels on YouTube show her draining “logo threes” on the Hawkeyes’ home court combined with precision backdoor passes to set up her teammates for easy layups. The timing for Clark topping LSU legend Pete Maravich’s NCAA scoring record of 3,667 points could not have been better as it occurred in March during Women’s History Month. Clark will not only be etched in college basketball history for her incredible scoring feats but also for her overall impact on the women’s game, as current underclassmen stars like USC’s JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, LSU’s Mikaylah Williams, and Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon have already boldly stepped into the spotlight. Watching the gifted athleticism of these female basketball phenoms is no doubt going to bring the highest TV ratings ever for the women’s NCAA tourney.

Ava DuVernay’s acclaimed film “Origin” has been digitally released, which should hopefully attract more viewers to examine its intricate themes connecting American racism to global caste systems.

One of the concerning health headlines toward the end of 2023 was the loneliness epidemic that is affecting millions of Americans, causing premature death in many cases. And it’s not just the U.S. that is grappling with so many adults and young people feeling alone and isolated. The World Health Organization declared loneliness a “pressing health threat” last November, and it was one of the top five health issues listed in a global roundup report by the World Economic Forum.

For the past two years, students in my Black history sports icons course have watched Regina King’s Academy-nominated film “One Night in Miami” to begin our section on Muhammad Ali, formerly Cassius Clay.

A significant number of Gen Z Americans and college students appear to be doing a “pivot” back to religion, according to Jay Richards, the director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion and Family at the Heritage Foundation.

One of the Black history documentaries that I had marked on my to-see list is the recently released PBS “Gospel” series that is hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.