Breaking News! History in the Making
The American Revolution was not a whites-only war
The political freedom resulting from the war was earned on battlefields at Lexington and Concord, at the Battle of Bunker Hill and beyond, with the help of black soldiers, both free and enslaved, who fought with the Continental Army.
Cause of Fire at Mount Zion AME Church Ruled ‘Natural’
Investigators in South Carolina said Thursday that a fire at a historic black church this week was most likely sparked by natural causes and that no criminal intent was found.
Donald Trump says African-American youths ‘have no spirit’
On the same day that a New Hampshire poll put Donald Trump second in the race to be the Republican Party’s nominee for president in 2016, the New York mogul said that African-American youths had “no spirit” and blamed Barack Obama for dividing the country.
Woman Removes Confederate Flag In Front Of South Carolina Statehouse
A woman scaled a flagpole in front of the South Carolina Statehouse on Saturday morning and removed the Confederate battle flag.
White Supremacists More Dangerous To America Than Foreign Terrorists, Study Says
At least 48 people have been killed stateside by right-wing extremists in the 14 years since since the September 11 attacks — almost twice as many as were killed by self-identified jihadists in that time, according to a study released Wednesday by the New America Foundation.
Thousands Walk Hand In Hand To Show Support For Mother Emanuel Church
On Sunday evening, hours after Emanuel A.M.E. Church opened its doors for the first service following the killing of nine of its congregants Wednesday, thousands in Charleston took to the streets in a show of support and solidarity.
Racism Is Not A Mental Illness
An act of terrorism unfolded on American soil last night when Dylann Roof allegedly killed nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Texas teacher’s Facebook rant about McKinney pool party gets her ‘relieved of her duties’: report
Karen Fitzgibbons lost her job after a Facebook post that said blacks are “causing the problems” and advocated racial segregation.
This Father’s Day, Let’s Shatter the Myth About the Absent Black Father
Fact: More young black fathers are raising their children at home than are not. Black men are present and engaged fathers who love their children.
‘Are you an African American?’ Why an NAACP official isn’t saying.
A controversy is raging over whether a prominent Washington state civil rights activist and Howard University graduate who claimed she was African American is actually white.
Civil War vet to be honored 98 years after burial
On Sunday, the Historical Society of Dayton Valley gave Scott Carnal the ceremonial burial he probably didn’t get nearly 100 years ago.
Calls Mount For The Firing Of Texas Officer Who Crashed Pool Party, Pulled Gun On Teens
A rally is planned for Monday in the Dallas-area city of McKinney calling for the firing of the police officer seen in a viral video throwing a bathing suit-clad teenage girl to the ground and pointing his pistol at other youths at a pool party.
It Pays to Be a Jerk? Not if You’re Black!
In a new article in The Atlantic, jerks are highlighted as the real stars of the corporate world. But corporate “jerks” might not be so cool if they weren’t also white and male.
Fatal police shootings in 2015 approaching 400 nationwide
At least 385 people were shot and killed by police nationwide during the first five months of this year, more than two a day, according to a Washington Post analysis. That is more than twice the rate of fatal police shootings tallied by the federal government over the past decade.
How One Massachusetts Jail Cut Its Population By 30 Percent In 6 Years
By now the problem is well documented: There are far too many Americans behind bars, and it costs society far too much, in every sense, to keep them there. Less discussed, however, is what can be done about it.
Tortuous History Traced in Sunken Slave Ship Found Off South Africa
In 1794, a Portuguese slave ship left Mozambique for a 7,000-mile voyage to Brazil and the sugar plantations that awaited its cargo of black men and women. Shackled in the ship’s hold were between 400 and 500 slaves, pressed flesh to flesh with their backs on the floor. With the exception of daily breaks to exercise, the slaves would spend the bulk of the estimated four-month journey in the dark of the hold.
The journey lasted only 24 days. The São José Paquete Africa came apart violently on two reefs not far from Cape Town. The captain, crew and half of the slaves survived. An estimated 212 slaves perished in the sea. The remnants of the São José have been found, right where the ship went down. It is the first time that the wreckage of a slaving ship that went down with slaves aboard has been recovered.
The new National Museum of African American History and Culture, which will open in 2016 on the National Mall in Washington DC, will house an exhibit of the ship and its cargo.
It’s Time to Stop Blaming Black-on-Black Crime
For every unarmed black man, woman or child killed by unrestrained police officers, there’s an intellectually impoverished response when black people get visibly upset about it: What about black-on-black crime?
Longtime school benefactor meets with Obama, Biden
Some 80 years after graduating from school, Vivian Bailey has taken the field trip of a lifetime.
African-Americans Who Attended Desegregated Schools Have Better Language Skills Years Later
African-Americans who attended racially diverse schools have better cognitive abilities decades after graduation, according to a new study.
