National News - Page 150

Black HBCU Students Soar Toward Aviation Careers

By Curtis Bunn At Florida Memorial University, a small historically Black university in Miami Gardens, Tremaine Johnson is training to become one of the country’s few Black pilots. Less than 2% of commercial airline pilots are Black, according to one report, making Johnson’s decision to become a pilot — rather than an air traffic controller, as he’d originally intended — notable. His choice also comes at a particularly crucial time, as airlines around the country experience a pilot shortage due to cutbacks during the pandemic. At 20-years-old Johnson still remembers the exact moment that inspired his career change: It was when he flew

U.S. Offers Deal to Free Griner, Whelan From Russia

By Amanda Macias The United States has made an offer to the Russian government for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. “We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago,” Blinken told reporters at the State Department. The nation’s top diplomat also said that he would discuss the offer with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “in the coming days.” “Our government has communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal, and I’ll use the conversation to follow up personally and, I hope, move us toward a

Oxford to Publish First Dictionary of African American English

By Jeevika Verma Black Americans have long contributed to the ways in which the English language is used, and now a new research project aims to compile the first Oxford Dictionary of African American English. “Finally we will have a space that recognizes our language in a way that encompasses all the people within African American language communities,” said Sonja Lanehart, a linguistics professor at the University of Arizona who grew up in the South. “If we look at some present words, we can think of something like woke and hip, cool, bad meaning good.” The research project is a

NBA Legend Bill Russell Dies at 88, Leaves Historic Legacy

Bill Russell redefined how basketball is played, and then he changed the way sports are viewed in a racially divided country. The most prolific winner in NBA history, Russell marched with Martin Luther King Jr., stood with Muhammad Ali and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. The centerpiece of the Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 championships in 13 years, Russell earned his last two NBA titles as a player-coach — the first Black coach in any major U.S. sport. Russell died Sunday at the age of 88, with his wife, Jeannine, at his side, his

HBCU Students Face New Abortion Limits, Lead Awareness

By Lauren Lumpkin Many of the country’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are scattered across the South, in states where Black Americans, in the wake of the Civil War, pooled their resources and finally gained access to higher education. Now, however, their descendants are disproportionately losing their right to reproductive health, students at those schools say. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide, will have a outsize effect on students at HBCUs due to their concentration in states that are restricting access to the procedure. Nearly three-quarters of HBCUs recognized by the Department of

Lt. Gen. Michael Langley Poised as First Black 4-Star Marine

By Jaclyn Diaz More than 35 years since his career in the U.S. Marine Corps began, Lt. Gen. Michael Langley could reach one of the highest ranks of the military. Langley faces a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. If confirmed by the Senate, Langley will become the first Black four-star general in the Marines’ 246-year history. He will lead all U.S. military forces in Africa as chief of U.S. Africa Command. A native of Shreveport, La., and the son of a former, noncommissioned officer in the Air Force, Langley has commanded at every level. His posts included Afghanistan during the

NPS Awards $9.7M to Preserve Historic HBCU Campuses

The National Park Service (NPS) today announced $9.7 million in grants to assist 21 preservation projects in 9 states for historic structures on campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). “For more than 180 years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities have provided high-level academics, opportunities, and community for generations of students. These grants enable HBCUs to preserve the noteworthy structures that honor the past and tell the ongoing story of these historic institutions,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams. Since the 1990s, the NPS has awarded more than $87 million in grants to over 85 of the remaining active HBCUs. Congress appropriates funding for

Mary McLeod Bethune Honored in U.S. Capitol Statuary Hall

Civil rights leader and trailblazing educator Mary McLeod Bethune on Wednesday became the first Black person elevated by a state for recognition in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. Florida commissioned the project after a grassroots campaign succeeded last year in removing a statue of Edmund Kirby Smith, among the last Confederate generals to surrender after the Civil War. Bethune joins John Gorrie, a pioneer in air conditioning and refrigeration, in representing Florida. Bethune was born in South Carolina in 1875, seven years after the ratification of the 14th Amendment, with its guarantee of equal protection under the law for all in the United States. She died in

Brittney Griner’s Russian Trial Updates & U.S. Release Efforts

By Rachel Treisman Brittney Griner’s defense argued her case in a Russian court on Thursday, one week after the WNBA star pleaded guilty to drug charges and nearly 150 days after she was first detained. It was the third hearing in the trial of the Phoenix Mercury center and Olympic medalist, who could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. And it comes amid growing public pressure on the Biden administration to make a deal to secure her release. Griner was arrested on Feb. 17 — a week before Russia invaded Ukraine — after authorities at a Moscow area airport

Clotilda Descendants Honor Ancestors in Alabama River Ceremony

Descendants of the last African people abducted into slavery and brought to America’s shores gathered over the weekend on the banks of an Alabama river to pay tribute to their ancestors. The descendants of the 110 people aboard the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to bring enslaved African people to the United States, held a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the vessel’s arrival. Dressed in white and walking slowly to the beat of an African drum, the descendants made their way to the banks of the Mobile River near Alabama’s coast. A wreath of white, yellow and red flowers

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