By Curtis Bunn More than a century after the NAACP adopted “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the “Black national anthem,” the song has sparked social media-fueled backlash in the lead-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans. Rep. Lauren Boebert said on X that there’s “ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM.” Another critic called the song, which speaks to resiliency and the
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By Kristen Welker and Kaitlyn Schwanemann Amanda Gorman made her voice heard in January 2021 while reading the poem for President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Four years later, she’s helping children find their voice with her new picture book, “Girls on the Rise.” With illustrations from artist Loveis Wise, Gorman’s book serves to highlight “the importance of community and
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By Rashad Grove The formation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has been critical to the development of Black life in America. Alongside houses of worship and business entities, HBCUs are some of the oldest institutions perpetually owned and managed by African Americans. As defined by the Thurgood Marshall Fund, HBCUs were “established in the
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By Dantee Ramos On Saturday, the first intercollegiate women’s flag football game in Alabama occurred between Huntingdon College and HBCU Alabama State University. The inaugural match for both teams follows the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association’s decision to add women’s flag football to seven CIAA institutions in October, per Blavity. According to WSFA, Alabama State’s women’s flag football program is the first at a
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By Madeline Holly-Carouthers Durag Festival will return to Charlotte on June 21 with a new location and opportunities for artists to showcase their creative talents. The festival, founded in 2018 by Lisa Michelle and the Charlotte artist known as Dammit Wesley, merges culture, fashion and creativity. The annual event centers its celebrations on the durag,
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By Ishika Ghosh When life hands you lemons, why not dance it out? Dawn Staley is the kind of coach who can rock a Super Bowl sweatshirt on game day and still command respect. But when her No. 2-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks fell to Texas, did her Philly pride take a hit? Not a chance.
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Courtesy of Drake State Community and Technical College Drake State Community and Technical College is off to a fast start in 2025, claiming two firsts in its field during the month of January. Drake State received over $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Labor as part of its latest round of Strengthening Community Colleges Training
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By Antonio Harvey The efforts of the Little Rock 9 (LR9), the first Black students to integrated Central High School in the early part of the civil rights movement, is well-documented in African American history. The students obtained that notoriety because of the usage of television in the 1950s. About four years after the LR9
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By Reg Chapman Making sure young people have access to a quality education has been the mission of one St. Paul woman for more than 35 years. Jo Ann Clark founded the Thinking College Early Fair and, for the past 20 years, she has taken more than 1,000 young Black students on a tour of
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By Ken Dilanian, Ryan J. Reilly and Tom Winter Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, a senior Justice Department official said Monday evening. The order is for all charges against Adams to be dismissed, and the dismissal is without prejudice, the official
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