Community - Page 3

Twins earn $1 million in scholarships, accepted into 15 universities

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By Lora Lavigne Raleigh, North Carolina (WRAL) — A pair of 17-year-old twins from Enloe Magnet High School are making quite a name for themselves. Not only did the siblings earn more than one million dollars in scholarships, they were accepted into 15 college institutions. Despite the challenges of an unprecedented school year, twins Reagan and Ricardo Razon are preparing to close their high school chapter on June 12 – and have multiple big opportunities on their horizon. Ever since they could learn to read and write, the sky was the limit, according to the twins. Now, the teenage twins

Idaho moves to ban critical race theory instruction in all public schools, including universities

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By Leah Asmelash, CNN As some public school districts move toward embracing critical race theory in their curriculums, others — like in Idaho — are doing the opposite. Idaho lawmakers have advanced a bill that would prohibit public schools, including public universities, from teaching that “any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior,” which, according to the bill, is often found in “critical race theory.” It also prohibits teachings arguing that “individuals, by virtue of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin, are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other

An Atlanta school named after a Confederate general will be renamed to honor Hank Aaron

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By Rachel Trent An Atlanta school that had been named after a Confederate general will soon be renamed after Braves legend and Hall of Famer Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron. The Atlanta Board of Education unanimously voted last week to approve the renaming of Forrest Hill Academy to Hank Aaron New Beginnings Academy. The change will take effect next school year. Forrest Hills Academy was named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader, according to CNN affiliate WSB. Aaron, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 following an illustrious MLB career highlighted

The fierce urgency of action on racialized police violence

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By Julian Zelizer Over the past few weeks, the nation has seen another series of horrific videos documenting both violent treatment and deaths of Black and brown people at the hands of police. Even as the world was reliving the killing of George Floyd — as videos of his death under the knee of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin were shown repeatedly at Chauvin’s televised trial — images were surfacing of Daunte Wright being shot by an officer during a traffic stop in nearby Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. And days later, Chicago police released body camera footage of a 13-year-old

Why should a cop’s blue fear matter more than my Black life?

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Opinion by Issac Bailey I’m a Black man who has never personally had a nasty run-in with the police. I should have no trouble with them. But I fear them, and I know they fear me. Caron Nazario, an Army officer, was pepper-sprayed in the face during a traffic stop in Virginia; Daunte Wright was shot by a cop in Minnesota who allegedly mistakenly reached for the wrong weapon; George Floyd died in handcuffs while a police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes. I’ve met young Black men so terrified of police in their neighborhood they

A group of Black female writers created a Hallmark card collection to inspire racial resilience

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By Carly Ryan As a master writer for Hallmark, Melvina Young is well-practiced in keeping a finger on the pulse of her community; making note of the emotions they may need to express, and later translating them into a card. “Our job really hinges on the power of empathy, that ability to get into someone else’s experience that has never been your own, and to treat that experience with respect,” said Young. “Consumers trust us to serve their emotional lives, and that’s an incredibly important thing.” So, in the summer of 2020, as she saw injustices arise against the Black

How one of Detroit’s churches is tackling vaccine hesitancy to help combat Michigan’s Covid-19 surge

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By Sarah Jorgensen When Pastor Kenneth J. Flowers took to the pulpit on Easter Sunday, tapping a tambourine along with a choir singing “he got up,” the morning represented resurrection in more ways than one. “This time last year, we couldn’t come to the sanctuary,” he preached to his congregation at Detroit’s Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church. “This time last year, we were dealing with coronavirus in the early stages. This time last year, I had to have Easter all by myself in my basement.” Flowers himself had Covid-19. His wife, Terri Flowers, was in the hospital with

Black voter says a painting at Georgia governor’s voter bill signing shows the plantation where her family worked for generations

By Natasha Chen and Theresa Waldrop When Kimberly Wallace turned on the news after she got home Friday night, she saw Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signing a bill into law that critics have labeled Jim Crow 2.0 because of the disruptions it would mean to voters, particularly Black voters. But Wallace, who is Black, noticed something else in the room where Kemp signed the bill. On the wall, she said, was a painting that depicts the plantation on which her family members worked, going back to slavery. Wallace said at first, she didn’t think twice about the painting. But “when

Evanston, Illinois, approves the country’s first reparations program for Black residents

By Skylar Mitchell and Suzanne Malveaux, CNN Officials in the Chicago suburb of Evanston voted Monday to release the first batch of funds in a program offering reparations to Black residents whose families have felt the effects of decades of discriminatory housing practices, according to the Chicago Tribune and Evanston Now. It is the first of its kind in the country. Alderman Robin Rue Simmons and the Evanston City Council developed plans to direct revenue from a 3% tax on legalized cannabis into assistance for home loans. “We had to do something radically different to address the racial divide that

Atlanta spa attacks shine a light on anti-Asian hate crimes around the world

By Christopher Johnson and Tara John, CNN The outpouring of grief and anger over the news that six Asian women were among those killed in the shootings at three Atlanta area massage parlors has drawn attention to the rise of anti-Asian violence in the US. And it’s not just an American problem. From the UK to Australia, reports of anti-East and anti-Southeast Asian hate crimes have increased in Western countries as the pandemic took hold this past year. At least 11 people of East and Southeast Asian descent CNN spoke to described racist and xenophobic incidents, such as people moving

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