National News - Page 58

With festivals and reflection, America marks Juneteenth

ByĀ Daniel Arkin Americans from coast to coast celebrated Juneteenth this weekend, taking to the streets to commemorate the end of slavery after the Civil War. Black people in the U.S. have observed Juneteenth since the late 1800s. In the summer of 2021, after nationwide protests over systemic racism renewed interest in Juneteenth, President Joe Biden signed legislation that made June 19 a federal holiday. The holiday honors the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed ā€” 2Ā½ years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The celebrations included cookouts, parades, line dancing,

Everything you need to know about Californiaā€™s reparations report

ByĀ Curtis Bunn After more than two years of fact-finding, reports and public hearings, the California Reparations Task Force on June 29 will hand over to the California Assembly its extensive report and recommendations for compensation to eligible Black people of California for the harms of slavery. California was not a slave state, but more than 4,000 enslaved Black people were taken there between 1850 and 1860, typically by plantation owners, to work in the gold mines. They settled in California after slavery ended, many creating wealth, buying land and building communities, only to face generations of discrimination,Ā land theft or seizure,

What Is Juneteenth? Hereā€™s Why We Honor the Federal Holiday

By Mckenzie Jean-Phillippe A key American historical event has finally gotten federal recognition: June 19, 1865ā€”the dayĀ allĀ people living in the United States, including the formerly enslaved, were officially granted freedom. On June 17, 2021, President Joe BidenĀ signed a billĀ into law making the day known as Juneteenth a national holiday. “Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. They don’t ignore those moments in the past. They embrace them,” Biden said at the White House signing. “Great nations don’t walk away. We come to terms with the mistakes we made. And in remembering those moments, we begin to heal and grow

California skate park is named for Black motorist fatally beaten in police traffic stop

Officials dedicated a California skate park Sunday in honor of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who spent much of his youth in the state and was killed in January in what prosecutors said was aĀ fatal beating by policeĀ in Tennessee during a traffic stop. An avid skateboarder, Nichols spent much time as a youth at the park on the outskirts of Sacramento. City officials and others held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly renovated skate park now named for Nichols. Nichols moved to Memphis, Tennessee, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic and lived there with his mother and stepfather. He enjoyed photography

Illinois Becomes the First State to Prohibit Libraries From Banning Books

By Aila Slice Illinois has become the first state in the nation to legally prohibit libraries from banning books. During a ceremony in Chicago on Monday, Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that “protects the freedom of libraries to acquire materials without external limitations” and threatens to pull funding from libraries unless they agree that books cannot be “proscribed, removed, or restricted because of partisan or personal disproval.” The new law, which takes effect in January, comes amid a largelyĀ conservative movementĀ to ban books from school libraries to counter any left-leaning narratives about race, gender, sexuality and other issues thatĀ Republicans

Supreme Court backs landmark voting rights law, strikes down Alabama congressional map

ByĀ Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON ā€” TheĀ Supreme CourtĀ on Thursday struck down Republican-drawn congressional districts in Alabama that civil rights activists say discriminated againstĀ Black votersĀ in a surprise reaffirmation of the landmark Voting Rights Act. The court in a 5-4 vote ruled againstĀ Alabama, meaning the map of the seven congressional districts, which heavily favors Republicans, will now be redrawn. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, both conservatives, joined the court’s three liberals in the majority. In doing so, the court ā€” which has a 6-3 conservative majority ā€” turned away the stateā€™s effort to make it harder to remedy concerns raised by

Jamie Foxx’s Rep Clears the Air Following Wild Claims About His Health

By Shanelle Genai AsĀ Academy Award-winner Jamie FoxxĀ continues to recover in rehab following an unspecified ā€œmedical complication,ā€ a rep is finally speaking out to clear the air on theĀ unsubstantiated claim that theĀ RayĀ star suffered a stroke that left him partially blind and paralyzed as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine. In an exclusive statement to NBC News, his rep said that the allegation is ā€œcompletely inaccurate,ā€ although he declined to offer any more specifications or clarifications on the cause of the actorā€™s condition. This marks the first time that another party outside of Foxxā€™s immediate family has spoken on the actorā€™s behalf

California’s earliest Black settlers bought land only for it to be stolen. Their descendants want it back

ByĀ Curtis Bunn It had been nine months since Yolanda Tylu Owens unearthed her ancestorsā€™ history by researching her family tree. But one evening, quietly sitting at the foot of her bed in her home in Sacramento, California, an idea flashed in her mind. ā€œIt was like my ancestors spoke to me,ā€ Owens said. ā€œIt was so out of the blue. But it was clear: I should search to see if my great-great-great-grandfather had any land.ā€ She scrambled for her laptop. Within minutes, she had to sit back in her chair to process what she had learned. ā€œIt was there, plain

Cornel West announces his presidential campaign

By Char Adams Philosophy professor, historian and political activist Cornel West entered the 2024 presidential race on Monday. West, 70, announced his candidacy for the Peopleā€™s Party nomination on social media, calling the presidency a vehicle for pursuing truth and justice. ā€œI come from a tradition where I care about you,ā€ West said inĀ the video. ā€œI care about the quality of your life. I care about whether you have access to a job with a living wage, decent housing, women having control over their bodies, health care for all, de-escalating the destruction of the planet.ā€ He said his campaign would

32 Mississippi school districts still under federal desegregation orders

There are 32 school districts in Mississippi still under federal desegregation orders, the U.S. Department of Justiceā€™s Civil Rights Divisionā€™s assistant attorney general said Thursday. Enforcing the open desegregation orders fit into a broader body of civil rights work launched in Mississippi that is examining jails, police departments and hate crimes in the state, according to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the U.S. Department of Justiceā€™s Civil Rights Division. Referring to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregation of public schools across the country, she said the Justice Department is ensuring school districts provide Black students in Mississippi

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