National News - Page 126

Black Voters Matter Mobilizes Students Ahead of HBCU Game

By Shannon Dawson Black Voters Matter (BVM) is heading to Houston ahead of HBCU All-Star Game to educate college students on critical voting issues. The “Take The Field” initiative, which is being spearheaded alongside the Transformative Justice Coalition, will inform students about social justice issues and educate them on their voting rights. The exciting event will be jam-packed with student panel discussions and engagement events, highlighting topics such as mental health, police violence, student loan debt and voter suppression, according to BVM’s website. “Students have always been a critical part of movement-building,” said Cliff Albright, co-founder and executive director of Black Voters

Survey: Black Women Alter Hair for Job Acceptance

By Claretta Bellamy A majority of Black women say they feel they have to change their hair just to be taken seriously for job opportunities and in professional settings, according to a survey commissioned by LinkedIn and Dove. Approximately 1,000 Black women ages 25 to 64, both part-time and full-time employees, took part in the CROWN Research Study. Some 66% of them said they had changed their hair for a job interview to lessen the chances of being passed over due to hair discrimination. Twenty-five percent of Black women said they believed they were denied a job interview because of

Kamala Harris Honors Slave Legacy at Cape Coast Castle

By Jasmine Wright  Vice President Kamala Harris emerged from the female slave dungeon at Cape Coast Castle visibly shaken. Inside the famous slave trading outpost’s dungeon, Harris set a bouquet of flowers down and placed her hand on the centuries-old wall, connecting herself physically to the sorrow of the Africans it once imprisoned. It was a rare show of emotion for the typically stoic barrier-breaking leader, often reticent to talk about her own plight as a Black woman in America. But at a makeshift podium in front of the cannons that stretch along the ocean, Harris’ voice broke as she

Kamala Harris Backs Ghana Amid Terrorism, Russian Influence

With fears of terrorism and Russian mercenaries rippling through West Africa, Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday opened her weeklong trip to the continent by vowing support for Ghana, a democratic pillar in the region that’s being squeezed by an economic crisis and security concerns. The visit was a high-profile show of support for Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, who faces rising discontent over inflation after previously overseeing one of the world’s fast-growing economies. “Under your leadership, Ghana has been a beacon of democracy and a contributor to global peace and security,” Harris said during a joint press conference at the Jubilee House,

Houston Schools Face State Takeover, Raising Equity Concerns

By Holly Yan The fate of nearly 200,000 American students’ education will soon be controlled not by locally elected leaders but by state-appointed managers yet to be named. The Texas Education Agency said it plans to appoint a board of managers to take over the Houston Independent School District – the largest in Texas and the eighth-largest in the country. The changes will not take effect until at least June 1. The move has raised major concerns among some Houston families – as well as questions about similar takeovers nationwide. Houston doesn’t have the worst schools in the state While Houston ISD is the

Nashville School Shooting: 6 Killed, Shooter Identified

By Nouran Salahieh Police in Nashville are still digging into the background and motivations of a former student who entered a Christian elementary school armed with AR-style weapons and detailed maps and opened fire, killing three children and three adults. If you are just reading in, here’s the latest on the shooting and investigation: The shooter: The person was identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale. Hale was shot and killed by police during the Monday attack, and left behind “drawn out” maps of the Covenant School detailing “how this was all going to take place,” Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said. As police work

CA Reparations Task Force: Wealth and Skepticism

By Curtis Bunn As the California Reparations Task Force crafts its recommendations to the state Assembly for a vote by July 1, Fahizah Alim is among the countless Black Californians who have seen generations of change in the country’s most populous state — but are still deeply skeptical that compensation for the centuries of racial oppression will materialize in any substantive form. “Unfortunately, many irrationally see it as a zero-sum game: ‘If we win, then they lose.’ So, I’m not optimistic,” she said. “Hopeful, but not optimistic. Even in liberal California, the status quo runs deep, and that’s white folks on

Randall Robinson, Anti-Apartheid Activist, Dies at 81

By Kaitlyn Radde Randall Robinson, a human rights activist and lawyer known for his advocacy against South African apartheid and for Haitian democracy, died Friday at age 81. He died in St. Kitts, the Caribbean island where he spent the last two decades of his life, of aspiration pneumonia. “He was an incredible father,” said Khalea Ross Robinson, his daughter, who confirmed his death to NPR on Sunday. “He did a lot on behalf of people he hadn’t even met.” Robinson was one of the leaders of the Free South Africa Movement, which began in the 1980s and pushed to end

Report: Black Veterans Face PTSD Benefits Disparities

By Jessica Washington It probably won’t surprise our readers that racial discrimination exists even within ostensibly neutral organizations like the Department of Veterans Affairs. But a newly resurfaced report obtained by NBC News may provide some cold hard evidence. According to NBC News, the report found that Black veterans were more likely to get denied benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder than white veterans. The data reportedly looked at approvals from 2011 and 2016. Black veterans were denied these benefits 57 percent of the time, while white veterans were denied 43 percent of the time. What’s worse, research has found that Black veterans actually suffer higher rates of PTSD. These awards aren’t just

Biden Awards Arts & Humanities Medals to 23 Honorees

By Meagan Vazquez President Joe Biden will award the 2021 National Humanities Medals and the National Medal of Arts at a ceremony for the first time since taking office, according to the White House. The National Medal of the Arts is the highest American award given to artists, art patrons, and groups that have advanced arts in the United States. This year, Biden will honor 12 artists and groups, including actress and producer Mindy Kaling, singer Gladys Knight, and actor and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Other recipients will include legendary performer Bruce Springsteen, “Feliz Navidad” songwriter and singer Jose Feliciano, fashion

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