The private boarding school for underprivileged students now led by Autumn Adkins, who describes herself simply as “a black girl from Richmond, Virginia,” would have excluded her in years past.

The one-time white boys-only institution in Philadelphia did not admit its first black student until 1968 — and that was only after numerous legal challenges, months of protests, a visit from Martin Luther King Jr. and a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. Girls weren’t allowed until 1984.

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Shari Griffith and Katrina Kelly met over 10 years ago and are best friends.

At 25-years-old, they walked the path that many students typically follow after graduating from high school: they went to college, earned bachelors’ degrees, and obtained jobs in corporate America.

But in 2008 during the height of the recession, their lives took a different twist.

They were both let go from their employers. But instead of struggling to find other jobs, the duo decided to revisit their high school roots in March 2009 and create their own catering business — Cake N Wings.

Singer Leslie Uggams, left, and dancer Savion Glover, talk outside a new exhibit about how the Apollo Theater shaped American entertainment, at the National Museum of American History in Washington.

Michael Jackson’s fedora, Ella Fitzgerald’s yellow dress and Louis Armstrong’s trumpet are together in a Smithsonian exhibit celebrating the famed Apollo Theater that helped these stars to shine.

(AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)

Gabourey Sidibe hosted Saturday Night Live on April 24th and during rehearsal she spoke to Access Hollywood.

Sidibe predicted months ago that she would host SNL. She said she was very nervous when she first got the call but has since given in to excitement.

(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Six high schools are competing to land a memorable commencement speaker: President Barack Obama.

The White House is asking the public to help narrow the six down to three by rating videos and essays submitted by the high schools.

The three finalists will be announced Friday and Obama will pick the winner, which will be announced May 4.

Image courtesy of The Today Show

CHICAGO (AP) — Bria Fleming has been through a lot in the last year, including her mother’s hospitalization and job loss and a fire in their home. It’d be enough to get most 18-year-olds down.

But the black high school student is surprisingly optimistic about the future and her chances for a better life — an attitude common among her African-American peers, according to a new nationwide survey of high school students.

“I know kids who’ve been through less and maybe they can’t handle it,” said Foster, who’ll head to Florida A&M University in the fall in hopes of eventually becoming a veterinarian. “But my mom always tells me, ‘Work hard, stay positive and you’ll make it.’”

© Laurence Gough – Fotolia.com

President Barack Obama delivers the eulogy during funeral services for Dorothy Height, Thursday, April 29, 2010, at the National Cathedral in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama eulogized fallen U.S.civil rights leader Dorothy Height Thursday as a humble but tireless force for equality and justice.

Speaking to hundreds of mourners gathered in the stately Washington National Cathedral, Obama recounted Height’s quiet perseverance during decades of work, mostly behind the scenes while the men of the movement got more attention and fame.

(AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari )

Job-seeker Julian Richards fills out a job application, Tuesday, April 27, 2010, during a job fair in Tacoma, Wash. Richards said he was seeking work to match his background and experience in sales and marketing.

Unemployment rates fell or remained level in three-quarters of the 372 largest metropolitan areas, a sign that the economic recovery is widespread.

The Labor Department said Wednesday the jobless rate dropped in 69 percent of metro areas last month from February. It rose in 24 percent of large cities and remained the same in the rest.

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Will Allen, 60, is the CEO of Growing Power, an organization that aims to, as Allen put it, help bring about the “good food revolution.”

“People are really looking at how they can change their local food, and how we make sure that everybody has access to the same food,” said Allen. “It doesn’t make sense that because you have a lot of money you can eat good, and because you have a little bit of money you eat poorly.”

AP Photo/The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Darren Hauck

Every generation of jazz musicians takes the genre to strange new heights of improvisation and experimentation, while master artists refine and re-imagine familiar sounds with subtle new complexities.

In celebration of April as both Jazz Appreciation Month and the start of the summer festival season, theGrio has compiled this list of the top jazz festivals around the States and beyond.

Photo of the Nicholas Payton Quintet courtesy of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival