National News

Who Appointed Van Jones To Be Chief Ambassador Of The Black Delegation?

By Zack Lilly I‘m pretty sure there was a time when I used to like Van Jones. I’m not sure when that was. It was definitely before he started urging Black people to give Donald Trump his flowers because Trump “did good stuff for the Black community,” even though he really didn’t. It was certainly before Jones blamed Black people’s “lifestyle choices” for why we were disproportionately vulnerable to COVID-19. I couldn’t have possibly liked Van at any time after he attended CPAC and tap-danced to the tune of “Kumbaya, My White Nationalist Lord.” It must have been well before Jones baby-sat former presidential senior advisor

WNBA star Brittney Griner released from Russian custody in a high-profile prisoner swap between the U.S. and Moscow

By Andrea Mitchell, Zoë Richards and Yuliya Talmazan WNBA star Brittney Griner is free Thursday after the Biden administration negotiated her release from a Russian penal colony in exchange for an arms dealer, according to a senior administration official. President Joe Biden signed off on the trade, which took place in the United Arab Emirates, even though it meant leaving behind Paul Whelan, an American corporate security executive who remains jailed in Russia. “She is safe, she is on a plane, she is on her way home,” Biden said in remarks from the White House on Thursday morning. “She will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and

Three Southern University Human Jukebox band members hit, killed while changing flat tire

By Alison Brul The Baton Rouge community is mourning after three Southern University Human Jukebox band members were struck and killed along I-49 in north Louisiana Tuesday evening. According to Louisiana State Police (LSP) Troop E, 19-year-old Tyran Williams of Dallas, Texas, 21-year-old Dylan Young of Dallas, Texas, and 19-year-old Broderick Moore of Cedar Hill, Texas were killed in Natchitoches while changing a flat tire along the interstate after 7 p.m. Tuesday. State Police said a 1997 Freightliner hit all three after drifting onto the northbound shoulder. The driver was identified as 62-year-old Clyde Gray of Coushatta. All three victims

Deion Sanders was never obligated to stay at an HBCU

By Cecil Harris After it was announced that football great Deion Sanders was leaving his coaching job at Jackson State University for an opportunity at the University of Colorado on Saturday, he faced criticism on social media. Many are upset that the Black former superstar is leaving a Historically Black University where his leadership could continue to provide a solid foundation for young Black athletes. But this view is a bit shortsighted. Sanders should not be obligated to stay at an HBCU, and as Colorado’s new head football coach, he has proven he’s true to his profession. That’s not only because of the

Advocating For A Strong Media Must Be Part Of Broader Racial Justice Work

By Jennifer R. Farmer For years, many outlets in the mainstream media have been in free fall. We’ve seen newsrooms consolidate departments and functions, shed positions and cease operations. This trend has continued through 2022, as CNN recently announced layoffs impacting 400 of its 4,400 workforce. Gannett, which owns hundreds of local papers in communities across the country, recently announced its third round of layoffs. NPR also reported cuts. And the Washington Post advised that it is ending its Sunday magazine. Those recent announcements follow the closure of the Black News Channel and reductions at BuzzFeed News in 2021, and years of media layoffs.  

HBCU students in Georgia face an extra obstacle in voting

By Adam Edelman When Lauren Nicks, a senior at Spelman College in Atlanta, cast her vote in last month’s midterms, she did so in her home state of New York. Nicks, a 21-year-old international studies major at the historically Black college, had been told months earlier by fellow students about a law that does not allow students from private colleges and universities in the state to use their school ID as identification to vote — a rule she believed would prevent her from casting a ballot in Georgia. As a result, she wasn’t able to vote for her preferred candidate, Democratic Sen. Raphael

Black leaders on Buffalo’s East Side are building markets to address food insecurity

By Claretta Bellamy The historic Fruit Belt neighborhood on Buffalo’s East Side, with its Grape, Peach and Lemon streets, was once thriving. Yet now, in place of the orchards that once gave the area its name, there are abandoned homes with broken steps and “no trespassing” signs, overgrown empty plots of land and a troubling lack of grocery stores. The only supermarket on the East Side is Tops, where a white gunman killed 10 Black residents in May. While the tragedy brought national attention to this neighborhood and its status as a food desert, access to grocery stores with fresh produce remains

DOJ Reaches Agreement On Interim Solution To Jackson, Mississippi’s Water Crisis

By Bilal G. Morris On Tuesday, the Department Of Justice filed a proposal in federal court that, if approved, would appoint an Interim Third Party Manager to stabilize the city of Jackson, Mississippi’s public drinking water system. The move was made by DOJ to build confidence in the system’s ability to supply safe drinking water to the system’s customers. The city and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) have both signed the order and have agreed to all its terms.  The Justice Department also filed a complaint against the city alleging that the city has failed to provide drinking water that is

Veterans Affairs has denied benefits to Black people at higher rates for years, lawsuit alleges

By Victoria Ebner Obtaining benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs has been disproportionately more difficult for Black Americans for decades, a federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges. “The results of VA’s racial discrimination has been to deny countless meritorious applications by Black veterans, depriving them and their families of care and support that their faithful service has earned,” the lawsuit reads. Filed in federal court by Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic on behalf of Conley Monk Jr., a Vietnam War veteran, the suit claims Monk was repeatedly denied home loan, education and medical benefits because he is Black. Monk is

Georgia organizations push to keep Black voters energized for the crucial Senate runoff

By Curtis Bunn  Grassroots organizers working to turn out Black voters on behalf of Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in next month’s runoff election expected to encounter an exhausted electorate as voters prepare to head to the polls for the second time in as many months. They underscore the importance of educating Black voters about the significance of the Dec. 6 runoff between Warnock and Republican contender Herschel Walker. Yet voting rights organizations supporting Warnock say Black voters they’ve spoken with remain energized because expanding Democrats’ majority in the Senate even by a single seat would have a significant impact. It would allow

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