Breaking News! History in the Making
How Race, Gender And Fatigue Have Affected The Coverage Of Renisha McBride’s Death
By Rahel Gebreyes, HuffPost Live It’s no secret — the Trayvon Martin and Renisha McBride killings have striking similarities. Both were young black victims and in each case, the killers claimed self-defense. But despite the parallels, it appears that the two cases are being treated differently — even within the black community. Although the Martin…
For African-American Women—and All Women—Let’s Make Every Day Equal Pay Day
By Stephanie Schriock and Rep. Terri Sewell, theroot.com When we talk about the gender pay gap, most of us are already familiar with the fact that women make just 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. While this remains true, not all women are even that fortunate. For African-American women the wage gap is…
One Man’s Epic Quest to Visit Every Former Slave Dwelling in the United States
Joseph McGill, a descendant of slaves, has devoted his life to ensuring the preservation of these historic sites. “Now that I have the attention of the public by sleeping in extant slave dwellings, it is time to wake up and deliver the message that the people who lived in these structures were not a footnote…
‘MODIFIED DUTY’ FOR MEDICS AFTER FATAL NYC ARREST
By VERENA DOBNIK, bigstory.ap.org NEW YORK (AP) — Four emergency workers involved in the medical response for a New York City man who died in police custody after being put in an apparent chokehold have been barred from responding to 911 calls, the Fire Department of New York said. The two EMTs and two paramedics…
An Opportunity for Real Dialogue about Milwaukee’s Segregation Issues
Free and Open to the Milwaukee Public (with RSVP only) ABHM is collaborating with the Zeidler Center for Public Discussion in their “Building Thriving Community: Beyond Segregation” Community Dialogues. This dialog project is the response of our two organizations to the yearning for deep conversations on this topic that we’ve both experienced this year. Milwaukee…
Alice Coachman, first black woman to win Olympic gold medal dies
A trailblazing athlete is honored upon her death. High jumper Alice Coachman was the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
Janet Mock Breaks Through the Isolation for Transgender Women of Color
By Jenn M. Jackson the root.com I recently added a new name to my list of inspirational writers: Janet Mock. Her best-selling memoir, Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love and So Much More, is a beautiful—at times bumpy—journey through girlhood. Reminiscent of Zora Neale Hurston’s iconic Their Eyes Were Watching God, it is a touching…
63 Abducted Females Escape Extremists In Nigeria
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, npr.org MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — More than 60 Nigerian girls and women abducted by Islamic extremists two weeks ago have managed to escape, officials said Monday, though more than 200 girls who were kidnapped in April remain missing. Nigerian security forces and federal government officials had denied reports of the mass abduction…
Who Were the White Folks of Freedom Summer?
From SNCC leaders to Freedom School organizers, these are their stories. By Diamond Sharp, theRoot.com It’s well-known that 1964’s Freedom Summer, as it came to be called, was an interracial effort, with many white college students joining African Americans to register voters in Mississippi. It was the murder of three civil rights activists—two of them…
New Malcolm X Diary Reveals a Revolutionary Optimist
By Todd Steven Burroughs theroot.com While many in the civil rights movement community this summer are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer, another important half-century milestone—and a significantly blacker, more radical one—was recently acknowledged in New York City: the founding of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, Malcolm X’s political organization. Malcolm X, founder of the…
Who Was the Unsung Hero of the 1964 Civil Rights Act?
Activist Clarence M. Mitchell Jr.’s name might not be known in every household, but his actions with the NAACP changed history.
New Wave of African Writers With an Internationalist Bent
By FELICIA R. LEE, nytimes.com More than a decade ago, when the young Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was struggling to get her first novel, “Purple Hibiscus,” published, an agent told her that things would be easier “if only you were Indian,” because Indian writers were in vogue. Another suggested changing the setting from Nigeria to America. Ms.…
First Trailer for Mini-Series of Acclaimed ‘The Book of Negroes’
Trailer and photos for the star-studded production, based on a true story, which debuts October 13, 2014. Adapted from Lawrence Hill’s award-winning bestseller.
An Original Freedom Rider Reflects on the Struggle
By Taryn Finley, Theroot.com In 1961, 19-year-old Howard University student Hank Thomas embarked on a journey that would change interstate travel forever and inspire the birth of other movements. Thomas made a quick decision to join the Congress of Racial Equality’s Freedom Rides to travel from Washington, D.C., to the Deep South with several other…
How Hip-Hop Has Become a Gateway to Black Poetry
By: The Root Staff Left of Black interviews poet and professor Elizabeth Alexander about how young people are coming to poetry through their experience with hip-hop, and what it means that more poets are winning prizes and recognition. Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal is joined by Elizabeth Alexander to discuss the black art…
Baptism by Fire
America is so steeped in racism that even fight departments discriminate against Black applicants who want to save lives.
Texas county unwittingly votes in favour of reparations for African Americans
Some Dallas county commissioners were surprised to realized they voted for reparations after failing to read a full bill,
This Day in History: We Celebrate the Birth of Anna Kingsley
From the African American Registry, aaregistry.org This date in 1793 celebrates the birth of Anna Kingsley. She was a African plantation owner, abolitionist, and former slave in America. Born Anna Madgigine Jai in Senegal, she was captured in her native country in 1806 when she was 13 years old. She was brought to Florida,…
Black Identity and Racism Collide in Brazil
Some Brazilian soccer players don’t identify as black in hopes of avoiding racism from fans and those in the industry.
Single mother graduates from UCLA with three degrees
by Carrie Healey, theGrio.com A single mother of three boys, Deanna Jordan, graduated over the weekend from UCLA with three degrees. Jordan grew up in Compton and, by 22, was a mother of three. “I needed for my sons to see there was a legacy that preceded them with college,” Jordan told CBS Los Angeles. “I am the first in my…
