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Edward Waters Thwarted Shooter Before Jacksonville Attack

Before the fatal shootings of three Black residents in Jacksonville, Florida, over the weekend, the gunman, a young white man with swastikas painted on his rifle, pulled into a parking lot at Edward Waters University and began putting on tactical gear. Students reported him, a campus police officer approached and he sped off in his vehicle having never identified himself. The shootings dredged up memories of another infamous racist attack in the city nearly 60 years ago known as Ax Handle Saturday. In that incident, a mob of Ku Klux Klan members armed with ax handles chased and beat 17-year-old Nat Glover after he left his part-time job washing

New African American Museum Opens at Historic Slave Port

By Scott Tong The new International African American Museum , which opened last month in Charleston South Carolina, stands at a location that is itself drenched in history. The museum is on Gadsden’s Wharf, where ships carrying enslaved people from Africa arrived to bring them into bondage in America. Gadsden’s Wharf was one of the nation’s largest trans-Atlantic slave ports, says Tonya Matthews, president of the museum. Historians estimate nearly half of enslaved Africans who came to America arrived and entered at the port complex in Charleston. “It was a major point of commerce,” Matthews says. “And a big part of that commerce

Shania Muhammad, 16, Becomes Youngest U.S. Teacher

By Nahlah Abdur-Rahman Shania Shakura Muhammad is making history in the field of education. The 16-year-old earned numerous degrees and is the youngest full-time teacher in the U.S. According to Afrotech, the young achiever earned her Bachelor’s degree with honors two years ago from Oklahoma Community College and Langston University, an HBCU. She continued her academic pursuits to obtain two more degrees in specialties such as child development. This background led her to pursue her already groundbreaking career in teaching. Upon accomplishing her most recent academic milestone, the HBCU graduate announced that her journey would not have been paved without the

TN GOP Silences Rep. Justin Jones Under New House Rules

 Republican lawmakers on Monday voted to silence a Democratic member of the so-called Tennessee Three during an already tense House floor session after determining the young Black member violated newly enacted rules designed to punish disruptive members. The move was directed at Rep. Justin Jones, which prohibited him from speaking and debating on bills for the remainder of the floor session. The vote prompted loud cries and chants that drowned out proceedings for several minutes even after the House speaker ordered the gallery to be cleared out. Moments prior, Jones had been criticizing legislation that would have allowed more law enforcement officers in schools

Jacksonville HBCU Community Mourns Racially Charged Attack

By Curtis Bunn Jheam Johnson had just settled into his seat on a bus in Washington, D.C., that was about to embark on a 15-hour ride to Jacksonville, Florida, when he heard that a mass shooting had taken place five minutes from his home. The invigorating spirit he felt having just attended the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington transitioned instantly into “an array of emotions,” he said, none of them good. “You hear about these tragedies happening all over the country all the time. But a part of your brain doesn’t connect that it could happen right where you live.

Dr. Helene Gayle to Lead Spelman College After CCT Tenure

By Mitch Dudek Dr. Helene D. Gayle is stepping down as CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the city’s oldest and largest philanthropic institutions, to become president of Spelman College in Atlanta. Gayle, who led Chicago Community Trust for five years, plans to step down in June to take her new post. Her appointment still needs to clear the school’s board. Spelman is a private, historically Black, women’s liberal arts college. Under her leadership, Chicago Community Trust focused on advancing racial and ethnic equity to overcome a growing wealth gap. “I have traveled and worked across the globe

Natalie Hudson Named First Black Chief Justice in MN

By Claretta Bellamy Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday promoted Natalie Hudson to be chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, making her the first Black person to lead it. Then-Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Hudson as an associate justice in 2015. She will lead the high court when current Chief Justice Lorie Gildea retires in October. “Justice Hudson is one of our state’s most experienced jurists. She has a strong reputation as a leader and consensus builder,” Walz said in a statement. “I am confident that she will advance a vision that promotes fairness and upholds the dignity of all Minnesotans.”

Little Rock Schools Offer AP African American Studies

By Jamie Lynch  In a sharp break from Arkansas education officials, the Little Rock School District said in a news release it will offer AP African American Studies for credit. Earlier this month, state education officials said students enrolled in the controversial Advanced Placement course would not receive credits toward graduation. “As part of our commitment to providing a rich and comprehensive learning experience, we will continue with our plans to offer the AP course,” the district’s release said Wednesday. “We will also continue to work closely with the College Board regarding content and curriculum.” CNN has reached out to the state

SCOTUS Asked to Review TJ High School Admissions Policy

A parents group backed by a conservative legal organization asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to consider whether an admissions policy aimed at diversifying an elite Virginia high school is racially discriminatory. The case over how students are selected to attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology came to the court two months after its conservative majority barred colleges and universities from considering race as a factor in admissions. But unlike the higher education cases, the admissions policy adopted in 2020 by Virginia’s Fairfax County School Board for the state-chartered magnet high school was on its face race neutral. The Alexandria-based

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