February 2023 - Page 6

RSV Vaccine Nears FDA Approval After Decades of Research

By Donovan J. Thomas As COVID, flu and RSV cases continue to sicken thousands and fill hospitals around the country, a leading scientist who has worked for years on vaccines for all three viruses believes vaccines for RSV are possible as early as May. Dr. Barney Graham, a clinical trials physician, immunologist, and virologist —

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Phylicia Rashad Named First Toni Morrison Chair at Howard

By Larry J. Sanders Following the establishment of the Toni Morrison Endowed Chair in Arts and Humanities in May 2021, President Wayne A. I. Frederick and the Howard University Board of Trustees have approved the appointment of Phylicia Rashad, dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, as the inaugural holder of this chair. “Dean Rashad

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Emmitt Glynn teaches AP African American studies to a group of Baton Rouge Magnet High School students on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023 in Baton Rouge, La. Baton Rouge Magnet High School in Louisiana is one of 60 schools around the country testing the new course, which has gained national attention since it was banned in Florida. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)

NJ Expands AP African American Studies Amid FL Backlash

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday that his administration is expanding Advanced Placement African American Studies courses next year from one school to 26 in New Jersey after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked the course from being taught in public schools in Florida. Murphy’s move comes about a month after the administration of DeSantis, a potential presidential candidate,

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Du Bois Center at BSU Champions Black History & Justice

Courtesy of Bowie State University While efforts to dilute the study of African American history in classrooms spread across the country, the recently established Du Bois Center for the Study of the Black Experience at Bowie State University aims to enable scholars to expand the conversation on social justice movements and contemporary issues of race. The

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UMES Expands Innovation Hub With $1.5M Federal Funding

Courtesy of University of Maryland Eastern Shore The University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation was the recipient of $1.5 million in federal funding as part of its efforts to provide expanded resources beyond campus. The grant, which was part of the 2023 omnibus funding legislation that was approved by the federal

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Families Demand DOJ Probe Into Deaths at Houston Jail

By Amy Simonson Families of three men who died last month in custody at Houston’s Harris County Jail are calling on the US Justice Department to investigate what their attorneys call an “extraordinary number” of deaths and “a pervasive pattern and culture of death” at the facility. “No one should receive a phone call, no one, telling

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Rep. Justin Pearson Criticized for Dashiki in TN House

By Candace Mcduffie The Tennessee House GOP didn’t hide their disdain for freshman Democratic state representative Justin J. Pearson after he wore a Dashiki on the House Floor. Their advice to him: get in line, or leave his position. Pearson, who was a Root 100 honoree in 2022, wore the traditional West African garb in the chamber last week as

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Howard University Receives $2.5M for Africana Studies Chair

By Kevin Childs The Cameron Schrier Foundation is donating $2.5 million to Howard University to establish an endowed fund for a chair of Africana studies. The Cameron Schrier Chair in Africana Studies will solidify the University’s leadership in the discipline by supporting the formation of a doctoral program. The endowed chair is to be held by the

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Rep. Jamaal Bowman Renews Push for Federal Reparations Bill

By Juana Summers NPR’s Juana Summers talks with Democratic New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman about the effort to reintroduce H.R. 40, a bill that would create a task force to study reparations for Black Americans. Twenty years ago, the late Democratic Congressman John Conyers of Michigan posed this question to a crowd of thousands. JOHN

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College Board Defends AP African American Studies Course

By Curtis Bunn The College Board said it made an error in not “immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander” of its African American Studies course after the department deemed that the advanced high school course “lacks educational value.” “Our failure to raise our voice betrayed Black scholars everywhere and those who have long toiled

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