During Dr. John Rich’s work at a Boston City Hospital during a violent period in the 1990s, he began noticing a disproportionate amount of young Black men showing up on hospital beds. At first, he and many of his colleagues felt that the men must have been criminals in order to end up in the emergency room, but after some in-depth interviews, Rich discovered that many of these victims of violence were just that, victims. Now, as a professor and Chair of Department of Health Management and Policy at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he has a program to aid people suffering from the physical and emotional wounds of violence. His book, “Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men,” compiles the stories of the men he talked to about their experiences. Annenberg Radio News host Heather Hope spoke with him:
LISTEN: Interview With Author About The Homicide Epidemic And Its Victims
Your Little Black Book
Baron Jay Littleton, Jr. was inspired to learn about African American inventors when he had to present a project in the fourth grade about Garrett Morgan, the inventor of the traffic light and gas mask. Inventions like Morgan’s peaked Littleton’s interest and he wanted to know more about Black inventors who are often overshadowed and not mentioned in history classes. 
He took all the Black inventor facts he learned and compiled them in his “Your Little Black Book” series, which chronicles prominent African Americans in history, business, sports, science and various inventions.
His latest book release is titled, “Your Little Brown Book,” which highlights Latino contributions to society and the world.
Annenberg Radio News host Heather Hope interviewed Littleton as part of Black History Month.
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