National News - Page 140

Hank Willis Thomas’ “The Embrace” Redefines MLK Legacy

By Adrienne Childs Arms and hands can represent the gamut of physical and emotional lives of humans. A gesture can express strength, protest, aggression, fear, love, hate, passion, comfort and much more. Rosie the Riveter’s pumping bicep and the soaring fists of John Carlos and Tommie Smith have communicated some of the most potent cultural messages in American history. Using the powerful language of gesture — one that has long been part of his symbolic repertoire — artist Hank Willis Thomas has created “The Embrace,” a public monument to American icons Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. Unveiled on

Tyre Nichols Case Spurs Renewed Push for Police Reform

By Kalyn Womack The videos of Tyre Nichols being brutally beaten by Memphis police officers left the public in shock and disgust. Barack and Michelle Obama joined the nationwide call for police reform in a statement reacting to the footage. “The vicious, unjustified beating of Tyre Nichols and his ultimate death at the hands of five Memphis police officers is just the latest, painful reminder of how far America still has to go in fixing how we police our streets,” read a tweet from the former President and First Lady. President Biden said in a statement he was “outraged” and “deeply pained” to see the video.

Sharpton Leads March Against FL Ban on Black History Course

Rev. Al Sharpton, National Action Network (NAN) founder and MSNBC host, led a march to the Florida Capitol on Wednesday to protest Gov. Ron DeSantis’ rejection of a high school African American history course, accusing the Republican of censoring a fundamental chapter of the nation’s past. The civil rights leader walked through Tallahassee to the Statehouse with dozens of supporters who criticized the state’s blocking of the Advanced Placement pilot course. “Our children need to know the whole story. Not to not only know how bad you were, but to know how strong they are,” Sharpton told the crowd, adding,

NJ Expands AP African American Studies Amid FL Backlash

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday that his administration is expanding Advanced Placement African American Studies courses next year from one school to 26 in New Jersey after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked the course from being taught in public schools in Florida. Murphy’s move comes about a month after the administration of DeSantis, a potential presidential candidate, declared without citing any evidence that the course violates state law and isn’t historically accurate. Murphy cited Florida as he prepared to unveil the course expansion Tuesday during a visit to a Newark high school, saying DeSantis is prioritizing “political culture wars” over academics. “New

Families Demand DOJ Probe Into Deaths at Houston Jail

By Amy Simonson Families of three men who died last month in custody at Houston’s Harris County Jail are calling on the US Justice Department to investigate what their attorneys call an “extraordinary number” of deaths and “a pervasive pattern and culture of death” at the facility. “No one should receive a phone call, no one, telling them that their loved one is deceased and (get) no answers,” said Octavia Wagner, the older sister of the late Jacoby Pillow, whose relatives joined those of Kevin Smith Jr. and Smith’s uncle – who also died at the jail – at a news conference

Rep. Justin Pearson Criticized for Dashiki in TN House

By Candace Mcduffie The Tennessee House GOP didn’t hide their disdain for freshman Democratic state representative Justin J. Pearson after he wore a Dashiki on the House Floor. Their advice to him: get in line, or leave his position. Pearson, who was a Root 100 honoree in 2022, wore the traditional West African garb in the chamber last week as he was being sworn into the Tennessee General Assembly. Apparently, the GOP couldn’t wait to comment on his attire and shortly thereafter Pearson tweeted about it: “We literally just got on the State House floor and already a white supremacist has attacked my wearing of my Dashiki.

College Board Defends AP African American Studies Course

By Curtis Bunn The College Board said it made an error in not “immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander” of its African American Studies course after the department deemed that the advanced high school course “lacks educational value.” “Our failure to raise our voice betrayed Black scholars everywhere and those who have long toiled to build this remarkable field,” the company said in an extensive statement released Sunday to “clear the air and set the record straight.” It called attacks “on Black scholars repulsive” and said “they must stop.” This controversy began on Jan. 12, when the Florida Department of

Oldest Black Schoolhouse Moved to Colonial Williamsburg

A building believed to be the oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children in the U.S. was hoisted onto a flatbed truck and moved a half-mile Friday to Colonial Williamsburg, a Virginia museum that continues to expand its emphasis on African American history. The original structure, built 25 years before the American Revolution, stood near the college campus of William & Mary. The pinewood building held as many as 30 students at a time, some of them free Black children studying alongside those who were enslaved. Hundreds of people lined the streets to celebrate its slow-speed trip into the heart of

New Pulse Oximeter May Solve Racial Bias in Readings

By Anil Oza During the COVID-19 pandemic, one measurement became more important than almost any other — blood oxygen saturation. It was the one concrete number that doctors could use to judge how severe a case of COVID-19 was and know whether to admit people into the hospital and provide them with supplemental oxygen. But pulse oximeters, the device most commonly used to measure blood oxygen levels, don’t work as well for patients of color. “There’s no doubt in my mind that this has led to people not getting care, not getting timely care, or even being sent home or

College Board Unveils AP African American Studies Course

By Nicole Chavez  The College Board released Wednesday the official framework of a new Advanced Placement course on African American Studies that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier denounced for imposing a “political agenda.” In recent months, the multidisciplinary course has been praised by academics and historians, all while becoming a target for lawmakers aiming to restrict how topics like racism and history are being taught in public schools. DeSantis had objected to some of the topics and authors that were initially part of the course; those topics – Black queer studies and Black feminism – are not in the official course

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