Breaking News! History in the Making

NFL officials, from left, umpire Barry Anderson, field judge Anthony Jeffries, down judge Julian Mapp, referee Jerome Boger, back judge Greg Steed, side judge Dale Shaw (104), line judge Carl Johnson (101) pose for a photo before an NFL football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. The game is the first in NFL history to feature an all African-American officiating crew. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

About Damn Time: NFL Makes History With All-Black Referee Crew During Monday Night Football

If you watched Monday Night Football last night, not only were you treated to Tom Brady catching a glorious L at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams but for the first time in the history of the NFL, we were treated to an all-Black officiating crew.

Photo: znakki (Shutterstock)

Crackdown on White Supremacist Gangs by California Authorities Leads to Charges Filed Against 102 People

It’s Thanksgiving this week, and I don’t know about you, but I feel like there isn’t much to be thankful for in a year like this. Well, 102 people connected to two white supremacist gangs now face charges as part of an investigation by state and federal authorities. I suppose that’s something to be thankful for.

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Too Many of Them Have Been Wrong’: Black Ex-Prosecutor Exposes Misdeeds of Los Angeles Legal System In Volume of Online Stories

A former LA proscecutor’s online memoir details his “good fight” against an “assembly-line of incarceration.”

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Jason Reynolds: ‘Snoop Dogg once told white folks: ‘I know you hate me. But your kids don’t.’ That’s how I feel

America’s ambassador for young people’s literature talks about touring Trump country, facing down racism and why there’s no such thing as a bad kid.

Jarvis Ragland lines up his class for a bathroom break. At the start of the year, Ragland instituted a "brotherhood" standard. "I told them as brothers, we are not supposed to fight each other."

Black male teachers can have a profound impact in the classroom. Unfortunately, they’re a rarity.

The story of Jarvis Ragland and his experiences as a teacher shed light on the importance of black teachers in schools.

Rep. Barbara Lee & Rep. Karen Bass

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – BLM urges Gov. Newsom to appoint Black woman to fill Kamala Harris’ Senate seat

Sen. Kamala Harris is set to make history as the first Black woman vice president — which means her Senate seat will soon be open. Black Lives Matter is calling on Gov. Newsom to replace Harris with another Black woman.

The body of Victor Sunday Ibanga is pictured in a pool of blood.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – How a bloody night of bullets and brutality quashed a young protest movement

Protesters, inspired by BLM, in their struggle against police brutality (#EndSARS) were massacred at the eight-lane Lekki toll gate in Lagos, Nigeria.

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The Challenge of Black Patriotism

African-American patriotism is complex, with the combination of national pride with the cruel injustices African-Americans’ face

Image: Seal Press

New Book Claims the Destruction of Black Relationships Is ‘America’s Unrecognized Civil Rights Issue’

The effort to explain why so many extraordinary Black women are involuntarily single has initiated one study after another, after another, and solicited the unflattering insights of many Black men who, just by default of being Black men, have been arbitrarily promoted to subject matter experts.

Image: Cashimo PT (Shutterstock)

FBI Report: 2019 Was a Great Year for Racist Murderers

While Donald Trump has repeatedly taken credit for rises in the stock market, Black employment and administration officials who didn’t die from the coronavirus, newly released hate crime data also shows steady growth in the white supremacist murder industry, which has been booming under his leadership.

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Whitewashing the Great Depression

Although the photographers who worked for the FSA took many pictures of people of color—in the streets, in the fields, out of work—the Great Depression’s main victims, as Americans came to visualize them, were white.

Mary Hooks, Atlanta BLM leader

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – After Biden win, Black activists demand reparations for slavery, police reform

After a tumultuous election year victory, one that both gave rise to a new civil rights movement in response to the death of George Floyd and saw Black Americans suffer disproportionately from the COVID-19 pandemic and staggeringly high unemployment, Black Lives Matter activists are asking the new administration to make Black matters paramount.

A UPS driver making a delivery in Brooklyn. The company has eliminated rules against facial hair.Credit...Benjamin Norman for The New York Times

UPS to Allow Natural Black Hairstyles and Facial Hair

The United Parcel Service has lifted restrictions on facial hair and natural Black hairstyles, which was received positively by employees and the workers’ union.

March for Black Women

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – What now for BLM? Whatever happens under Biden, the role of African American women will be vital

President Donald Trump has been voted out of office, but the issues at the heart of Black Lives Matter remain as critical as ever. Black women will be central in this next chapter of American history.

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Public Pressure And Lawsuits Kept USPS From Handing Trump The Election. Here’s How.

The USPS motto, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” can now be updated to include Covid-19 and Postmaster General DeJoy.

Screenshot of a video interview of Marc Lamont Hill discussing Black Leaders.

Marc Lamont Hill on Black Elected Officials and Why the Political System Prevents Progressive Politics From Being Articulated

“There’s the narrative that they [Black elected officials] get into office and they sell out…That absolutely happens, but I don’t think most Black elected officials are sellouts. I just think the system doesn’t allow for the kind of work that needs to be done.” — Marc Lamont Hill, Professor, Author

A privileged man in an elegant setting exuding power.

Systemic Racism 201: The advantages Whites have felt entitled to for generations

Most conversations about systemic racism center the stories of the harms to people of color while ignoring that White people benefit tremendously from it. This is a tough pill to swallow. Few people are willing to go down the proverbial rabbit hole Morpheus spoke allegorically about in that scene from the Matrix.

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They Can’t Kill Us and We Won’t Die

President-elect Biden acknowledged this debt to Black voters in his acceptance speech. Will he begin the job of dismantling systemic racism and increasing Black wealth? Only time will tell.

Cori Bush

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Got into politics after the Ferguson protests. She just became the first Black woman to represent MO in Congress

Cori Bush, a progressive community leader and veteran Black Lives Matter activist, won a House seat in Missouri, becoming the state’s first Black woman to represent the state in Congress.

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Photos From The 1960s: Black Americans Voting For the First Time

While the 2020 election is being processed, it is important to look at the progress of African-American Voting in the United States.

Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) makes a campaign stop at Snyder Park on Oct. 31, 2020, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Harris continues to campaign before Election Day. 
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Overcoming Bias in Voting

When Americans vote this fall, the candidates on their ballots will not reflect the diversity of the United States. Despite recent gains, women and people of color still do not run for office as frequently as White men.