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Carol Moseley Braun, the Nation's 1st Black Female Senator, Looks to Join Joe Biden's Cabinet
The first Black woman to serve as a U.S. senator, Carol Moseley Braun, has been out of public office for nearly 20 years. But sheâs hoping to make a return to governmentâin President-elect Joe Bidenâs cabinet, nonethelessâwith an unlikely position: Secretary of the Interior. Moseley Braun, who represented Illinois as a senator, expressed her interest…
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14-Year-Old Honestie Hodges, Handcuffed at Gunpoint by Michigan Police as a Child, Dies From COVID-19
In 2017, 11-year-old Honestie Hodges made national headlines after a horrific confrontation with Grand Rapids, Mich., police, in which they handcuffed the little girl at gunpoint at her home. The incident led to a new policy dictating how the department would interact with minors. A little less than three years later, Honestie has died from…
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Obama Gushes About Sasha and Malia's Participation in Racial Justice Protests: 'I Could Not Have Been Prouder'
In a recent conversation with People magazine about his new memoir, A Promised Land (maybe youâve heard of it?), former President Barack Obama shared that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, were among the millions of Americans who participated in racial justice protests this past summer. âI could not have been prouder of them,â he said.…
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Distrust in Government, Knowledge of Past Medical Abuses Fuels Black Americans' Aversion to Coronavirus Vaccine, Study Finds
High levels of distrust toward the federal governmentâas well as a knowledge of historic medical abuses in the Black communityâcan hamper efforts to get Black Americans to take a free coronavirus vaccine, should one be available, finds a new study. While several studies have come out in recent months gauging potential public responses to a…
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NC's 1st Black Female Supreme Court Justice May Lose Her Seat to the Most Conservative Man on the Court
North Carolinaâs first Black woman to serve as the stateâs chief justice is still fighting for her seat as a recount begins in a race where only 406 votes separate Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley from her challenger, Justice Paul Newby, after nearly 5.4 million votes were cast. As Slate outlines, the race could have…
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Louisiana Teen Quawan Charles Laid to Rest as Family Questions Police Decision-Making: 'They Couldâve Done More'
Quawan âBobbyâ Charles, a Black 15-year-old boy who died under âsuspiciousâ circumstances earlier this month, was honored with a funeral service on Saturday, as his family still searches for answers regarding his death. âYou slowly have brought our family together to support one another, express our true feelings and connect on a more intimate level,â…
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Va. Chemistry Teacher Suspended After Making a George Floyd Pun on a Chemistry Quiz
A Virginia high school is divided this week after a chemistry teacher was suspended for using a George Floyd pun for a student quiz, with students of color saying they felt unsafe as a result of the casual reference and white students complaining that the entire incident has been overblown. The quiz, given virtually on…
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On Transgender Day of Remembrance, Activists Center the Grief, Joy and Humanity of the Black Trans Community
It remains one of the most striking demonstrations from a year defined by protest: tens of thousands of people dressed in white t-shirts, wearing white face masks and white head wraps, from all backgrounds, all marching the streets in defense of Black trans lives. The summer march in Brooklyn, N.Y. was one of the largest,…
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Hit Hard by the COVID-19 Recession, Black and Latinx Survivors More Likely to Return to Abusers, Study Finds
Throughout the year, the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and the recession it spurred have disproportionately hurt Black and Latinx communities across the country. A new study from the nonprofit Me Too has found that survivors of sexual violence in these communities have been particularly vulnerable to financial instability caused by the pandemicâthus making…
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Colin Kaepernick Revives Calls for Release of Mumia Abu-Jamal: 'Mumia's Life and Legacy Must Matter'
For nearly 40 years, Mumia Abu-Jamal has been imprisoned for a crime he says he didnât commit. On Monday, prison abolition activist and former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick renewed calls for his release, saying if Black lives matter, âit means that Mumiaâs life and legacy must matter.â Kaepernick, an NFL free agent who hasnât…
