Conversations With A Coast Guard Whistleblower
Since my TED talk entitled “How Whistle-blowers Shape History” in October 2018, I’ve had the honor to meet courageous whistleblowers…
A black female cartoonist brings her ‘unique’ take to the New Yorker
In the first cartoon Elizabeth Montague published in the New Yorker, two black women stand on a rooftop that overlooks…
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Plessy v. Ferguson
On April 13, 1896, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging racial segregation laws in Louisiana.…
President Wilson Authorizes Segregation Within Federal Government
On April 11, 1913, recently inaugurated President Woodrow Wilson received Postmaster General Albert Burleson’s plan to segregate the Railway Mail…
Black People Have Been the Only Ones to Die From COVID-19 in St. Louis: Report
Recent reports have shown that coronavirus is infecting and killing black people at a disproportionately high rate. In St. Louis,…
How racism and poverty made Detroit a new coronavirus hot spot
The rising death toll, disproportionately among black residents, has led Michigan to create a racial disparities task force. An aunt,…
Author Nancy Redd’s New Children’s Book “Bedtime Bonnet” Celebrates Black Nighttime Hair Rituals
Nancy Redd, author of Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers, dedicated herself to boosting the self-esteem…
How Late Curator and Artist David C. Driskell Changed Art History Forever
Pamela Newkirk, a professor of journalism at New York University, is the author of Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota…
The Coronavirus Doesn’t Have a Race Problem—America’s Systems Do
This country’s institutions treat Blackness like the most toxic comorbidity of all. I have asthma.” Growing up in my beloved…
LeVar Burton Will Read to the World on Twitter Livestream While People are Sheltered In
If you loved the hit show Reading Rainbow, you’ll be happy to know that LeVar Burton will be livestreaming his…
WHO chief addresses death threats, racist insults: ‘I don’t give a damn’
The head of the World Health Organization, Ethiopian microbiologist Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he has received death threats and racist…
Lawyers and Medical Professionals Demand the Government Release Racial Data for COVID-19 Cases
Black people are being disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Now, lawyers, lawmakers, and medical professionals alike are calling on…
Bronx Assemblywoman returns to nursing on frontlines of coronavirus battle
A Bronx state lawmaker who used to work as a nurse has ditched her business attire for a pair of…
White Men Attack Nat King Cole During Performance in Birmingham, Alabama
On April 10, 1956, African American singer and pianist Nat King Cole was performing before an all-white audience of 4000…
Supreme Court Reverses Wrongful Conviction in Florida; Sheriff Later Shoots Both Defendants
In 1949, four young black men were arrested and accused of rape in Groveland, Florida. The case, which hinged on…
Tulsa’s Former Black Wall Street to Be Modernized With Grant
A $500,000 grant from the National Park service will be used to renovate buildings along Tulsa’s former Black Wall Street.…
African Diaspora Dialogues: The Journey To “One Love”
Priority Africa Network facilitates a series of discussions designed to strengthen ties between new black immigrants and existing African-American communities.…
The Trump administration blames Covid-19 black mortality rates on poor health. It should blame its policies.
The administration’s policies have exacerbated the health conditions that are leading to more coronavirus fatalities among black Americans. Trump administration…
The First Black Figher Pilot
WHY YOU SHOULD CAREBecause this extraordinary World War I soldier is still being left out of the story 100 years…
Black People Revolt Against Slavery in New York City
On April 7, 1712, a coalition of enslaved black people in New York City set fire to a building in…
Earl Graves Sr., Founder of Black Enterprise And Ultimate Champion of Black Business, Passes Away At 85
Black Enterprise Founder and Publisher Earl G. Graves, Sr., the quintessential entrepreneur who created a vehicle of information and advocacy…
Black Americans Face Alarming Rates of Coronavirus Infection in Some States
Data on race and the disease Covid-19 is too limited to draw sweeping conclusions, experts say, but disparate rates of…
Detroit math teacher’s bedtime stories soothe students during the school shutdown
Every night, Voncile Campbell transforms into a new fantasy character. A little boy hunting for treasure with pirates. An owl…
Exonerated Five’s Korey Wise Provides Food For Senior Citizens In Harlem Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Wise teamed up with Councilman Bill Perkins, Harlem District Leader Keith Lilly and local youth to lead the effort. From…
Alabama Mine Explosion Kills 128 Miners—Nearly All Black Men Forced To Work As Leased Convicts
On April 8, 1911, the Banner Mine near Birmingham, Alabama, exploded, killing 128 mine workers. According to the official investigation…
L.A. releases first racial breakdown of coronavirus fatalities; blacks have higher death rate
As cities across the nation report that coronavirus is killing blacks in disproportionate numbers, Los Angeles County health officials released…
[Video] DC Mayor Bowser: Models project a surge ‘in June into July’
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser joins Andrea Mitchell to update with the latest on how Washington, DC is handling the coronavirus…
Kandace Springs Pays Tribute To ‘The Women Who Raised’ Her
Kandace Springs‘ third record is a source of familiarity in uncertain times. Titled The Women Who Raised me, it’s full…
Soul Food Chef Converts His Restaurant into a Grocery Store to Help Needy Families
Chef Jonny Rhodes from Houston has converted his popular soul food restaurant, Indigo, into a grocery store that gives low-income…
Arrest and Execution of Jeremiah Reeves Sparks Rally, Activism in Montgomery, Alabama
On April 6, 1958, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at an Easter rally in Montgomery, Alabama. Standing on the…
‘Just Sit Where You Are.’ Poet Nikky Finney Says Your Poem Is Right In Front Of You
Nikky Finney has been writing poetry tied to particular events for as long as she can remember. When she was…
Uninformed Consent: The History of Black Healthcare in America
In Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY there stands a statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims. Sims was known as a…
When a Black Woman and Everybody Else Values Her AND Her Work
An Uncomfortable Commentary In the movie Monster-In-Law, Viola (Jane Fonda) and Ruby (Wanda Sykes) have the following exchange that is…
COMMENTARY: What Do You Say to Someone Battling COVID-19?
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “You know how to ask the right questions,” the late John Murphy, then-assistant managing editor of the…
DJ Jazzy Jeff reveals that he is recovering from coronavirus
Hip-hop legend DJ Jazzy Jeff is the latest celebrity to reveal that he contracted coronavirus. In a pair of posts…
White Man Tried for Killing Black Sharecroppers in Georgia; Racial Violence Continues
Beginning on April 5, 1921, a local white plantation owner named John Williams stood trial in rural Georgia for allegedly…
BE Exclusive: Chase Consumer Banking CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett Offers Strategies For Building and Preserving Black Wealth
Thasunda Brown Duckett is on a mission. In addition to overseeing the retail banking arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co.—a…
Teachers are superheroes needed in a pandemic
Just last week we were all ear hustling from our social distance about the invisible opponent that goes by the…
The Coronavirus Doesn’t Discriminate, But U.S. Health Care Showing Familiar Biases
The new coronavirus doesn’t discriminate. But physicians in public health and on the front lines say that in the response…
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated in Memphis
On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed while standing on a hotel balcony in…
This Company Offers Same-Day Delivery For Black-Owned Products
There has been a huge movement in the black community to turn their buying power toward black-owned business. One entrepreneur…
(2017) LeVar Burton Reading ‘Goodnight Moon’ To Neil DeGrasse Tyson Is Just Awesome
“Levar? You think when the cow says ‘Moo,’ he’s really saying, ‘Mooon’?” I occasionally long for someone to read “Good…
Black Cinema at Its Birth
American cinema is over 125 years old, and African Americans have been a part of it from the beginning. This…
NBA Player Marcus Smart Will Donate Blood for Experimental COVID-19 Treatment
The NBA season has been suspended due to the new coronavirus pandemic. Several NBA players have been infected with the…
Thomas Sims Captured in Boston After Fleeing Enslavement
In early 1851, Thomas Sims, an enslaved black man living in Savannah, Georgia, successfully escaped bondage and fled to Boston,…
Oprah Winfrey Donates $10 Million To Coronavirus Relief
Oprah Winfrey is the latest billionaire to step up amid the coronavirus pandemic. The television mogul today announced she will…
‘Lean On Me,’ ‘Lovely Day’ singer Bill Withers dies at 81
Bill Withers, who wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of…
This Maryland Salon Is Slaying Locs With These Haute Designs
Check out 21 ways Sherelle Holder and her team are innovating with the natural hairstyle. When it comes to styling…
Ellis Marsalis, jazz pianist and father to Wynton and Branford, dies aged 85
New Orleans star, who was admitted to hospital with Covid-19 symptoms, saluted as ‘giant of a musician and even greater…
Reuben Micou Lynched in Winston County, Mississippi
On April 2, 1933, a mob of white men broke into the Winston County jail in Louisville, Mississippi to lynch…
Get Sick Or Starve: How A Deep Cleaner Is Surviving The Pandemic
“We are literally being put up against a wall and making a choice between life and death, between working and…
How Coronavirus Is Disrupting the Supply Chain of This Black-Owned Business
Like most good businesses, Loza Tam was created to meet a need. Founder Tomara Watkins started the business, which sells…
Louisiana Lynch Mob Claims Federal Law Cannot Punish Them; Supreme Court Later Agrees
On April 1, 1875, the Supreme Court finished hearing arguments in United States v. Cruikshank, a case that asked whether…
Meet Some Of The Powerhouse Women Creating “Brave Spaces” For Multicultural Creatives
Since its first conference, CultureCon went from an intimate headcount of 150 attendees to close to 2,000 during last year’s…
Facebook Aims $100 Million at Media Hit by the Coronavirus
With grants and marketing spending, the social media giant hopes to support outlets doing essential local reporting but struggling with…
Atlanta’s Mayor: Hospitals Could Reach Capacity By Early May
Atlanta’s hospitals could reach capacity by May 3 if the current rate of coronavirus infection continues, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms…
How Arthur Lewis built a dynamic collection of black art
The front door of Arthur Lewis’s Los Angeles home opens to a room organized like an exhibition space. The marks…
Marie Scott Lynched in Wagoner County, Oklahoma
On March 31, 1914, a white lynch mob in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, seized a 17-year-old black teenaged girl named Marie…
Days After a Funeral in a Georgia Town, Coronavirus ‘Hit Like a Bomb’
A mourner came to Albany, Ga., to attend the funeral of a retired janitor. After a pause while the infections…
Virginia Teen Makes 3-D Printed Face Masks For Coronavirus Relief
The global coronavirus pandemic, also called COVID-19, has brought mass closures and cancellations of events, businesses, and schools across the…