Breaking News! History in the Making
Historic photos of African-American gay men unearthed
From the Grio.com Hidden in the Open is photo essay and collection of African-American gay male couples throughout history going as far back as the 19th century. Trent Kelley, the collector and historian, notes that “some of these images are sure to be gay and others may not. The end result is speculative at best…
Museum of Fine Arts Boston Receives Monumental Boost To African Art Collection
From the Huffington Post The Museum of Fine Arts Boston recently received a collection of extremely rare sculptures from Benin, adding new depth to their African art collection. Until now, the museum only owned a single piece from Benin — though it opened its African Art section over twenty years ago. The pieces are prized…
This Day in Black History: Civil Rights Leader Medgar Evers is Born
From the African American Registry Medgar Evers was born on this date in 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi. He was an African-American civil rights leader whose assassination for his work as field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. As a representative of the NAACP, Evers worked for the most established and…
This Day in Black History: Civil Rights Act Signed
From the African American Registry On this date in 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law in America. The first of three such legislations was an attempt to deal with the increasing demands of African- Americans for equal rights. President Lyndon Baines Johnson asked for and received the most comprehensive civil-rights act up…
AIDS Quilt Returns to Washington
By KYLE BLAINE, ABC News The AIDS Memorial Quilt has returned to Washington, D.C., for the first time in 16 years, marking the 25th anniversary of The NAMES Project and thirty years in the struggle to stop the spread of HIV and AIDSaround the world. Every morning volunteers take on the laborious process of unfolding…
Justice Department won’t prosecute Eric Holder for contempt
From thegrio.com The Justice Department declared Friday that Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to withhold information about a bungled gun-tracking operation from Congress does not constitute a crime and he won’t be prosecuted for contempt of Congress. The House voted Thursday afternoon to find Holder in criminal and civil contempt for refusing to turn over…
Black Gymnast Is Top Olympic Contender
From the Washington Post Today, with what the Associated Press calls “cover girl looks, a personality that leaps through the TV set and a nickname [the Flying Squirrel] you won’t soon forget,” 16-year-old gymnast Gabby Douglas — who’s expected to be chosen for this year’s Olympic team — might just follow in her footsteps as…
This Day in Black History: Buffalo Soldiers Unit Created
From the African American Registry On June 28, 1866, an Act of Congress authorized the creation of two cavalry and four infantry regiments, “which shall be composed of colored men.” They were organized as the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 38th through 41st Infantry. The 9th and 10th Cavalry would go on to play…
Original Emancipation Proclamation Copy Sells For More Than $2 Million
By Verena Dobnik for the Huffington Post A rare original copy of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation sold Tuesday at a New York auction for more than $2 million. It’s the second-highest price ever paid for a Lincoln-signed proclamation – after one owned by the late Sen. Robert Kennedy that went for $3.8 million two…
Hull-House Museum Exhibit Explores a Chicago Gang’s History and Impact
From the Huffington Post The University of Illinois at Chicago’s Jane Addams Hull-House Museum on Friday opens a new, off-site exhibit exploring the history and impact of the Conservative Vice Lords, one of the city’s most well-known gangs. And that history is, perhaps, a surprising one, according to Lisa Junkin, the museum’s education coordinator and…
Room4Debate: Does the Supreme Court Arizona Ruling Pave Path To Racial Profiling?
By Laurie Kellman of the Huffington Post Congressional Democrats and Republicans scrambled for election-year gain from the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday that threw out key provisions of Arizona’s immigration law but upheld one that requires police to check the status of people who might appear to be in the U.S. illegally. Democrats said the ruling…
This Day in Black History: The Marine Corps Integrates
From the African American Registry On this date in 1941, the Marine Corps formally integrated. This was a result of President Roosevelt signing Executive Order 8802 months before Pearl Harbor. FDR officially opened to Blacks one of America’s most celebrated all-white strongholds. In previous years, the Truman order and the Fahy Committee could not budge…
Privilege: It’s Not Just for White Folks
by Stacia L. Brown for Clutch.com Privilege isn’t a term that springs immediately to mind in conversations about black women in this country. Between earning inequities, media misrepresentations, the “mule of the world” meme, and everything in between, we aren’t exactly the poster children for entitlement. And yet there are several circumstances that can potentially place…
Is sexual harassment different from the perspective of black women?
By Adam Howard, The Grio Sexual harassment has been back in the news with reports of a lawsuit against U.S. Olympics women’s basketball coach, Geno Auriemma. Kelley Hardwick, an African-American NBA security official, claims Auriemma had her removed from an assignment to the 2012 London Games in retaliation, after she spurned his advances. In addition,…
This Day in Black History: Science Fiction Writer Octavia Butler is Born
From the African American Registry Octavia Estelle Butler was born on this date in 1947. She was an African-American writer and the first African-American woman to gain popularity and critical acclaim as a major science fiction writer. She was born in Pasadena, CA, the only living child that her mother was able to carry to…
Chicago Charter School Boasts 100 Percent Graduation Rate for Third Consecutive Year
By Alexis Taylor For Afro.com For the third consecutive year, Chicago’s Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men saw every single member of the senior class at its’ Englewood campus graduate with acceptance letters to a four-year college or university. The accomplishment is no small victory for the original location of the charter school, which…
Blacks Key in 1812 War
From Afro.com For the United States the War of 1812 was a second War of Independence against the British that birthed emblems of American nationalism such as the national flag, the “Star-Spangled Banner” and Uncle Sam, the national icon. But for many enslaved Blacks it was the first major pathway to self-determination and freedom. Thousands…
Freedom Gardens Take Root
From the New York Times ENSLAVED Africans did not win their freedom in order to starve. Kathe Hambrick-Jackson knew that much from her work as the founder and executive director of the River Road African American Museum here in this town, 60-odd miles up the Mississippi from New Orleans. But Ms. Hambrick-Jackson, 54, likes to…
This Day in Black History: Muhammad Ali sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000
From BET.com Before he became known for “The Fight of the Century” with undefeated champion Joe Frazier and his “Rumble in the Jumble” with George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, née Cassius Clay, had already made headlines: He was convicted and sentenced on June 20, 1967, to five years in prison and fined $10,000 for violating Selective…
This Day in Black History: Civil Rights Act Passed
From the African American Registry On this date in 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. John F. Kennedy had argued for a new Civil Rights Act during the 1960 presidential election. But for the next two years, over 70 per cent of the African American vote went to Kennedy, the new president did nothing…
Juneteenth National Freedom Day
From the African American Registry This date marks the Juneteenth National Freedom Day. Celebrated on June 19, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It is the name given to Emancipation Day (or Freedam Day)_by African-Americans in in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, when Union Major General…