Breaking News! History in the Making
Room4Debate: ‘Afro Sponges’ for Sale: Racist or Cute?
By Tom Gardner of the Daily Mail A company behind a new range of Afro style washing up sponges has been slammed for being racist. Campaigners have attacked British makers Paladone for its latest range of dish cleaning products which caricatures black soul legend Diana Ross as having a brillo pad for a hairstyle. The…
This Day in Black History: Duke Ellington is Born
From the African American Registry On this date in 1899, Duke Ellington was born. He was an African-American jazz composer, band leader, and pianist. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C., into a middle-class family, he acquired the nickname Duke as a child for his manners, clothing, and personality. He began playing for friends and…
This Day in Black History: L.A. Riots
From the African American Registry On this date The Los Angeles (Rodney King) Riot began in 1992. One of the first major urban insurrections in the United States after the 1960s, this riot shocked many Americans who had come to believe that the days of explosive racial tensions were behind them. Like Los Angeles’ Watts…
African-American Male Teacher A Vanishing Phenomenon, Experts Say
From wdsu.com Michael Booker, principal at Lake Area High College Prep in New Orleans, is a rare breed. According to the Department of Education, African-American male teachers and administrators are becoming extinct. Only 2 percent of the nation’s 4.8 million teachers are black men. Bearing that in mind, Booker says he and other African-American male educators…
This Day in Black History: Coretta Scott King is Born
From Who’s Who of American Women Coretta Scott King was born on this date in 1927. She was an African-American civil rights activist and author. From Heiberger, Alabama, Coretta Scott was the daughter of Bernice McMurry Scott, a housewife, and Obadiah Scott, a lumber carrier. Scott grew up walking three miles each day to school…
Room for Debate: Is Hollywood too Whitewashed?
From the New York Times The virtually all-white cast of the HBO comedy “Girls” has generated debate about why so many television programs have few nonwhite actors in major roles. Shows like “Scandal,” a new ABC drama starring a black actress, Kerry Washington, in a leading role, are rare exceptions. Why are executives not casting…
Number of biracial babies soars over past decade
By Carol Morello of the Washington Post The number of mixed-race babies has soared over the past decade, new census data show, a result of more interracial couples and a cultural shift in how many parents identify their children in a multiracial society. More than 7 percent of the 3.5 million children born in the year…
This Day in Black History: Jazz Singer Ella Fitzgerald is Born
This date in 1918 marks the birth of Ella Fitzgerald. She was an African American jazz singer from Newport News, Virginia. Considered one of the greatest singers in jazz history, Fitzgerald moved as a child with her mother and her stepfather to Yonkers, New York. As a teenager, she began winning amateur talent contests at…
African American Female HIV Rates Now Rival Africa
As we prepare to recognize National Women and Girls HIV Awareness Day, a new research study has served as a wake up call for a community that might have gone too far. The Center for Disease Control now estimates that 1 out of every 32 black women will be infected with HIV during her lifetime.…
This Day in Black History: Inventor Granville T. Woods is Born
On this date in 1856, Granville T. Woods was born in Columbus, Ohio. He was an African American businessman and inventor. Woods began work in a machine shop at age ten. Though largely self-taught, he studied electrical and mechanical engineering from 1876 to 1878. After that he worked on a British steamer, then became an…
America’s ‘angriest’ theologian faces lynching tree
When he was boy growing up in rural Arkansas, James Cone would often stand at his window at night, looking for a sign that his father was still alive. Cone had reason to worry. He lived in a small, segregated town in the age of Jim Crow. And his father, Charlie Cone, was a marked…
Economic Gap Widens for Blacks
The economic recovery following the worst recession since the Great Depression is quickly approaching its third anniversary in June. Many people probably don’t feel up to celebrating as they struggle to find good jobs and pay their bills while continuing to feel the economic pain left over from the Great Recession. This is especially true…
This Day in Black History- National Urban League Founded
This date marks the founding of the National Urban League (NUL) in 1911. The National Urban League is a nonprofit social service and civil rights organization with headquarters in New York City. The National Urban League grew out of the 19th century Black Migrations. When the U.S. Supreme Court declared its approval of segregation in…
This Day in Black History
On this date in 1853, Harriet Tubman began her work with the Underground Railroad. This was a network of antislavery activists who helped slaves escape from the South. On her first trip, Tubman brought her own sister and her sister’s two children out of slavery in Maryland. A year later she rescued her brother, and…
Inside the Racist Mind
Writer Toure explores the science of racism for Time Magazine: After a recent event where I spoke about racial identity, a white woman sidled up to me, leaned in close so no one near us could hear, and said, “I’m racist.” Many people would be repelled. I was entranced. Here was someone who could tell…
Does acting like ‘a man’ depress black men?
Studies have shown that men in general tend to be more withdrawn about their feelings. African-American men seem to suffer even more than the average man, due to racial discrimination. However, professor and researcher Wizdom Powell Hammond discovered through research that men who speak out and express their feelings are less likely to…
Education For Poor Students Threatened By Exclusionary Housing
Tanya McDowell, a Connecticut mother, made headlines last year when she was accused of stealing — specifically, of stealing an education for her son. McDowell, who was homeless, was accused of felony larceny by authorities who said she sent her child to a stronger school in Norwalk, instead of the one she was zoned to…
Jim Crow Museum Of Racist Memorabilia Showcases Segregation-era Artifacts
The Ferris State University library in Big Rapids, Michigan is home to the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia.
Room4Debate: Should a 6-year-old be handcuffed?
A New Mexico teacher asked a 13-year-old girl to stop talking with her friend and move to another seat. The girl refused. The teacher called the police. The case is among thousands across the United States fueling a long-simmering debate over when educators should bring in the police to deal with disruptive students. A 6-year-old…
Minstrel Cake Causes a International Stir
The Swedish Minister of Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, a self-proclaimed anti-racist, was photographed eating a cake made in the image of an African woman in minstrel makeup. According to an article in Fria Tider (a Swedish publication), the minister of culture was celebrating with a “n–ger cake.” To add insult to injury, Liljeroth was invited…
Black Women Struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
In growing numbers, African American women are entering the armed forces, and putting their lives on the line, both literally and figuratively to serve the United States. As many know, countless members of the armed forces have died serving their country. But few people recognize that soldiers also sacrifice their mental health through their…