By Almeta Cooper Nothing brings me more joy than spending time with my beautiful five-month-old grandson. When I am with him, we are in our own special world – the board books, the stuffies, the smiles. I certainly don’t want him to see the dread I am feeling. I work in the climate sector and […]
Author Archives: Special to the AFRO
Posted inBlack History
Autherine Lucy Foster’s courage opened doors at the University of Alabama
Autherine Lucy Foster became a civil rights pioneer when the University of Alabama rescinded her 1952 admission after learning she was Black. With legal backing from Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP, she won the right to enroll in 1956, but violent protests led to her suspension and expulsion. Decades later, the university reversed its decision, and Foster earned her master’s degree in 1991. She was later honored by Morgan State University for her role in desegregating higher education.
Posted inBlack Press
Two legacy Black newspapers close, citing financial pressures
The Richmond Free Press and Portland Skanner have shut down as leaders warn of a broader funding crisis in Black media.
Posted inBlack History
Black history is in Maryland’s economic future
By Harry Coker Jr. Every February, we pause to celebrate Black History Month—a time to honor the giants upon whose shoulders we stand. Recently, during a visit to the Banneker-Douglas-Tubman Museum in Annapolis, and while walking past the future home of the AARCH African American Heritage Center in Frederick, I was reminded that Black history […]
Posted inOPINION
What Jesse Jackson’s legacy demands now
By Kamye Hugley Nowadays, political rhetoric is increasingly portraying civil rights protections as overcorrection and even unnecessary. But the legacy of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, who died Feb. 17, is a reminder to the nation of a different understanding of justice—one that insisted that expanding equity strengthens democracy rather than diminishes it. Jackson spent […]
Posted inOPINION
Federal loan caps could shut a majority of Baltimore out of medicine – do local health systems care?
Historically, Black high schools like Frederick Douglass and Paul Laurence Dunbar shaped Baltimore’s workforce, but unequal pathways have long determined who entered medicine versus low-wage healthcare labor.
Posted inObituaries - Baltimore
Funeral set for Rev. Dr. Delores B. Dorsey, trailblazing minister and educator
The Rev. Dr. Delores B. Dorsey, a pioneering minister and longtime Baltimore City kindergarten teacher, died Feb. 8. In 1994, she became the first woman ordained at Wayland Baptist Church. Funeral services will be held Feb. 26 in Baltimore.
Posted inBooks
Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes, R. Gregory Christie win 2026 Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes and illustrator R. Gregory Christie are the 2026 winners of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, presented by the American Library Association to honor outstanding African American authors and illustrators of children’s and young adult literature. Arriel Vinson received the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award, while additional Author and Illustrator Honor Books recognized works by Derrick Barnes, Calvin Alexander Ramsey, Marie Arnold, Lamont O’Neal and Alexis Franklin.
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: SNAP changes an opportunity to move from food assistance to food sovereignty
Bethany Johnson-Javois calls for communities and churches to respond to recent SNAP reductions by building local food systems rooted in ownership, collaboration and long-term stability.
Posted inOpinion
America’s lies and Europe’s choice to believe them
Percival Duke is an American singer, composer and author based in Germany. This week, he discusses why the racist history of America cannot be ignored by Europeans seeking to understand “what went wrong in the United States.”
Posted inOPINION
This is a sankofa moment: What are we learning?
LaDon Love is the executive director of SPACEs in Action. This week she reflects on the current moment in history and needs to happen next.
Posted inOPINION
Opinion: Alcohol sales aren’t the answer to food deserts
Michael Eugene Johnson argues that allowing beer and wine sales in grocery stores is not a reliable solution to food deserts in Maryland. He warns it could harm public health, oversaturate neighborhoods with alcohol, and threaten local independent store owners, urging lawmakers to pursue healthier, community-focused alternatives.
