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VP Harris becomes the first woman to give a West Point commencement speech

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By Emma Bowman and Juliana Kim Vice President Harris delivered the keynote speech at West Point’s graduation ceremony on Saturday, making her the first woman to give a commencement address in the military academy’s 221-year history. The watershed moment comes amid the 75th anniversary of two major turning points in the U.S. military — the beginning of women having a permanent place in the armed forces and the end of racial segregation in the military. “These milestones are a reminder of a fundamental truth,” Harris told graduates on Saturday morning. “Our military is strongest when it reflects people of America.”

A Black professor has long said what the IRS now admits: The tax system is biased

By Char Adams The Internal Revenue Service is increasingly acknowledging the presence of racial bias in the nation’s tax system — along with the years of work by pioneering researchers who’ve spent years highlighting the issue. In a letter sent last week to the Senate Finance Committee, the agency said Black taxpayers are far more likely to be audited than non-Black ones, exposing them to tax penalties. And in January, the Treasury Department revealed that a swath of tax breaks disproportionately benefit white people, leaving many Black people with hefty tax bills and little money left over. “We are deeply concerned by these

Tina Turner, Magnetic Singer of Explosive Power, Dies at 83

By William Grimes Tina Turner, the earthshaking singer whose rasping vocals, sexual magnetism and explosive energy made her an unforgettable live performer and one of the most successful recording artists of all time, died on Wednesday at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, near Zurich. She was 83. Her publicist Bernard Doherty announced the death in a statement but did not provide the cause. She had a stroke in recent years and was known to be struggling with a kidney disease and other illnesses. Ms. Turner embarked on her half-century career in the late 1950s, while still attending high school, when

Famed R&B group The Spinners donate performance outfits to Motown Museum in Detroit

Henry Fambrough had a musical homecoming of sorts Friday at “Hitsville U.S.A.” Fambrough, one of the founding members of the iconic R&B group The Spinners, took a tour of Motown’s Studio A in Detroit as part of a ceremony that included the donation to the Motown Museum of 375 outfits worn by the group during performances. It “was a long time ago,” Fambrough said of the 1960s, when he first walked into the studio. “I used to dream about this place.” He told reporters that he had to convince his wife that the studio was where he was going for

Rep. Cori Bush Pushes For $14 Trillion In Reparations

By Jessica Washington The fight for reparations has been heating up in statehouses and city halls nationwide. And now, Representative Cori Bush (D-Mo.) wants to bring that fight to Congress. The Missouri Congresswoman is introducing the Reparations Now Resolution, urging Congress to provide at least $14 trillion in reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans. “We need to push this right now,” Rep. Bush told The Root. “It’s 2023, and the U.S. federal government still has not acknowledged the atrocities that came at the hands of this government.” Bush’s resolution estimates that this nation owes roughly $14 trillion in debt to African Americans. “Our bill breaks down the value of cotton

Confirmation Of First Black Woman Judge To 11th Circuit Court Hailed As Major Win For Voting Rights

By Bruce C.T. Wright Underscoring the urgency for voting rights reform, the latest in a series of Black women nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed to the federal court is being hailed as a major win in the fight to protect the integrity of casting ballots and democracy in the U.S. Nancy Abudu made Black history on Thursday after being narrowly confirmed to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The lawyer for the Southern Law Poverty Center has become the first Black woman judge to serve on the powerful court that is based in Atlanta and has jurisdiction over

NAACP issues travel advisory for Florida over DeSantis’ ‘aggressive attempts to erase Black history’

By Summer Concepcion The NAACP on Saturday issued a travel advisory for Florida over Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion programs” in the state’s schools, the organization said in a statement. “Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” the NAACP said. “Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.” The advisory comes after DeSantis’ administration in January blocked an Advanced Placement course in African American

Racist threat against Black students at California high school evokes fear in parents

By Claretta Bellamy Parents of Black students at a high school in California are worried for their children’s safety after a threat was made on Instagram earlier this month. The parents told NBC News that they have little details regarding the incident involving the threat made against Black students who attend Western High School in Anaheim, and are unsatisfied with the response from school staff. The threat came in the form of an image posted on Instagram, which was reviewed by NBC News. Accompanying text warned the school to “be ready” and used a racial slur on top of a picture of handguns,

The South is home to a growing Black immigrant population

By Leah Donnella Titile Keskessa was 15 years old when she “almost got beat up” by a classmate for asking, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, who exactly this King guy was — and why he warranted a day off from school. It was 1987, and Keskessa had recently moved from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Memphis, Tenn. — the city where King was notoriously assassinated. She laughs at the memory now. It’s almost too absurd to be satire: a Black kid threatening violence against another Black kid to defend the honor of the leader of the nonviolent organizing

NAACP warns Congress against debt ceiling deal that would ‘harm’ Black communities

By Daniel Arkin The NAACP’s president is warning Congress that any resolution to the debt ceiling impasse that caps spending on federal aid programs would “disproportionately harm Black communities” and that talk of expanding work requirements “must be resoundingly rejected,” according to a letter obtained by NBC News. “These proposals play on racist stereotypes masquerading as sound policy,” Derrick Johnson, the head of the civil rights organization, wrote in an open letter to Congress sent Wednesday. In the letter, he laid out his concerns following reports that legislators involved in debt limit negotiations are weighing proposals that would cap federal discretionary spending on programs such as Medicaid,

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