Black leaders say threats to undermine US democracy appear aimed at their community
Some of the nationโs most influential Black leaders say many of the threats to democratic institutions in the U.S. appear to be aimed squarely at their community, including efforts to make voting more difficult, censor lessons around race and weaken social safeguards such as affirmative action.
Black history class revised by College Board amid criticism
The official curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies released Wednesday downplays some components that had drawn criticism from conservatives including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said the class would be banned in his state.
Biden to nominate 3 federal prosecutors for New York offices
FILE - In this March 17, 2021 photo, President Joe Biden speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Biden intends to nominate three African American prosecutors to run the U.S. attorneys offices in New York, including the first Black man to run the Southern District of New York. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON โ President Joe Biden is expected to nominate three prosecutors to run the U.S. attorneyโs offices in New York state, including the first Black man to run the Southern District of New York in Manhattan and the first Black woman to head the Western District in Buffalo. Ross, a longtime federal prosecutor, is expected to run the office in the Buffalo-based Western District. Brooklyn federal prosecutors have been examining the stateโs handling of COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes in a probe that drew public attention after a top aide to New York Gov.
San Antonio-area school districts look to offer African-American studies course
SAN ANTONIO โ An African American studies course is gradually being incorporated into school districts across the state. Districts that are already on board include the San Antonio Independent School District, Judson Independent School District and most recently, the North East Independent School District. Lawrence Scott, assistant professor of educational leadership at Texas A&M San Antonio, was a part of that initiative. โWe have to start having some real cogent and critical conversations about race and equity with real data,โ Scott said. This will be the conduit course that will facilitate those conversations,โ he said.
Black History Month: President of St. Phillipโs College follows legacy of female founder
SAN ANTONIO โ Students donโt have to go far or even out of the city to attend a historically Black college. St. Phillipโs College was created and expanded into what it is today thanks to local African American leaders, beginning with Miss Artemisia Bowden. The bishop of St. Phillipโs Episcopal Church wanted to create opportunities for the children of emancipated slaves. And though the assignment was to create a grammar school, she created a vocational school, an industrial school, to a junior college,โ said Dr. Adena Williams Loston, current president of St. Phillipโs College. Loston says before coming to St. Phillipโs College, she was either the first or only Black person to hold all of her positions throughout her career.
New museum traces history of Black music across genres
People walk to the entrance of the National Museum of African American Music, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ A new museum two decades in the making is telling the interconnected story of Black musical genres through the lens of American history. Even as Nashville has long celebrated its role in the history of music, the new museum fills a gap by telling an important and often overlooked story about the roots of American popular music, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B and hip-hop. โMost music museums deal with a label, a genre or an artist,โ said H. Beecher Hicks III, the museumโs president and CEO. She noted that the museum put gospel music in context with how it inspired social change, especially during the civil rights era.
Biden's pick for UN post calls China 'a strategic adversary'
United States Ambassador to the United Nations nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield testifies during for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. Johnson asked her why she had said the United States is not in a new Cold War with China. โThis speech is cheerleading for the Chinese Communist Partyโ and makes no mention of Chinaโs human rights violations, he said. Johnson asked her what the stronger language and tougher tactics would be toward China. โAnd yet, I had an extraordinary 35-year career, that culminated as the assistant secretary of state of African affairs,โ Thomas-Greenfield said.
Kwanzaa observance goes virtual through Jan. 1
SAN ANTONIO โ The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM) has been offering virtual programs each night that teach Kwanzaaโs seven guiding principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. Due to the pandemic, SAAACAM went virtual this year with its celebration of African American history, family, community and culture. โTo me, Kwanzaa signifies the struggle of the African American community, the perseverance of the African American community, and the successes and victories of the African American community,โ said Heather Williams, SAACAMโs program director. Deborah Omowale Jarmon, CEO and director of SAAACAM, said that what Kwanzaa signifies is even more important now in times like these. โWeโve had to use those principles to keep our families together, to keep our communities together,โ Jarmon said.
Two brothers reflect on Million Man March 25th anniversary through documentary
San Antonio โ After months of working on creating a documentary about the Million Man March, two brothers were able to bring the project to fruition just in time for the historical eventโs 25th anniversary. The footage and photos used were captured by Leo Edwards, 70, who attended the march October 16, 1995. โI went to the march to videotape the event,โ Leo Edwards said. โThis was all before the internet and to gather that many people to come to D.C. was just an unbelievable experience,โ Leo Edwards said. That synergy brought people together and that synergy still exists 25 years later.โโHe inspired so many,โ said Leo Edwards.
JPMorgan puts $30B toward fixing banking's 'systemic racism'
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ JPMorgan Chase said Thursday it will extend billions in loans to Black and Latino homebuyers and small business owners in an expanded effort toward fixing what the bank calls โsystemic racismโ in the countryโs economic system. โSystemic racism is a tragic part of Americaโs history,โ said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in a statement. Citigroup announced last month it is committing $1 billion toward closing โthe racial wealth gapโ in the United States, including $550 million toward homeownership programs for racial minorities. He noted that thereโs a 30% gap between Black and white homeownership, amounting to about 4.5 million households. JPMorgan was one of 27 major New York-based companies that joined a program to recruit 100,000 workers from the city's low-income, predominately Black, Latino and Asian communities over the next 10 years.
Black singer of regional Mexican music sparks buzz, emotion
Sarah Palafox, an African American woman who sings regional Mexican music, poses in Moreno Valley, Calif., in this undated photo. Palafox, an African American woman raised by a Mexican immigrant family, has generated excitement online with her versions of regional Mexican music. Other videos of her singing banda โ another form of regional music from Mexicoโs southwest coast โ also have been shared thousands of times. She would only say the music will be different and sheโs not listening to critics who tell her sheโs shouldnโt be singing regional Mexican music. โI was told you canโt wear braids, you canโt wear your Afro and go on stage and sing Mexican music,โ Palafox said.
Outdoor comedy show to encourage African American community to get counted in 2020 Census
An outdoor comedy show called the "Be Counted and Be Heard Comedy Showโ aims to boost the turnout in the 2020 Census in the African American community in San Antonio. Organizers of the event said the purpose of it is to increase turnout for the 2020 Census in the African American community in San Antonio and Bexar County. โItโs imperative that the African American community understand the impact that they can make by letting their voices be heard, and getting counted in the 2020 Census is one way to be heard,โ stated Michele Thomas, founder of the Dream Big Scholarship Fund. The deadline for the 2020 Census is Sept. 30. RELATED: Local push gears up to get everyone counted in 2020 US Census before end of September
Black voters in Detroit key for Biden, but are they engaged?
Black voters across Michigan will be pivotal in deciding who will win the battleground state in November. Biden visited Detroit earlier this month, and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, was spending time in Flint and Detroit on Tuesday. In an interview this month with longtime Detroit radio host Mildred Gaddis, Biden noted that Michigan, and its Black voters in Detroit, are โcritically important." Democratic state leaders said they learned hard lessons and that the party has worked to connect with Black voters. But challenges remain in connecting with apathetic voters and with younger Black voters who might have more progressive leanings โ key demographics that Branden Snyder, the executive director of Detroit Action, said his organization is trying to reach.
Local nonprofit organization impacted by #BlackoutTuesday online activism
Instagram users were encouraged to caption their picture #BlackoutTuesday as a form of solidarity and online activism ignorer to amplify the voices of the black community. Users posted the names and website links to local black-owned businesses and organizations such as Black Outside, Inc. Holmes is the executive director of Black Outside. It remained inactive for approximately 40 years until Black Outside resurrected the program last year. โLast year we served 30 girls,โ Holmes said.
David Driskell, prominent authority on black art, dies at 88
FALMOUTH, Maine โ David Driskell, one of the nation's most influential African American artists and a leading authority on black art, has died. Driskell was a multimedia artist who used the trees around his Falmouth, Maine, cabin home as a feature in his work. A spokeswoman for the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland said he died on Wednesday. He would go on to become the author of several books and more than 40 catalogs, and curated โTwo Centuries of Black American Art: 1750-1950โ at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the 1970s. The show was pivotal in paving the way for the study of African American art history.