By Stacy Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent Authorities recently released disturbing bodycam footage of Jayland Walker’s death at the hands of Akron, Ohio police officers. Walker was an unarmed Black DoorDash delivery driver with no criminal record when he died in a hail of bullets. The lawyer for the 25-year-old’s family called it an execution, […]
Category: News
Posted inNational News
More than 1,000 Black women leaders call on Biden administration to step up efforts to free Brittney Griner
By Stacey M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent A collective of nearly 1,200 intergenerational, intersectional Black women leaders across the United States is calling on the Biden administration to ramp up efforts to free WNBA superstar Brittney Griner from detainment in Russia. In a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, the #WinWithBlackWomen collective […]
Posted inReligion
#FaithWorks: Scotland AME Zion Church Groundbreaking Ceremony
By Special to the AFRO A groundbreaking ceremony will be held this weekend at an important historic site in Maryland. The Scotland African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church in Montgomery County was built by hand and opened in 1924 by Black congregants establishing new lives as landowners. The Scotland community dates to the Reconstruction era […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Over $350k raised on GoFundMe for Burger King worker gifted candy, a movie ticket and a coffee cup for service
By Kara Thompson, MDDC Intern Kevin Ford has never missed a day of work as a Burger King chef in Las Vegas, Nevada. For 27 years he has dealt with the hustle and bustle and everything else that comes with working in America’s fast food industry. And while most people celebrate their work anniversary with […]
Posted inNational News
Denzel Washington and Simone Biles among 17 Medal of Freedom honorees
By Kara Thompson, MDDC Intern On Thursday, July 7, President Biden presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 Americans in a formal ceremony at the White House. “We strive for we the people doing what we can to ensure the idea of America,” said Biden. “The call of freedom shines like the sun to […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore City faces a shortage of election judges for the July 19 primary election
By Jannette J. Witmyer, Special to the AFRO As the date for in-person voting in the Maryland Primary Election slated for July 19 rapidly approaches, area election officials are working frantically to secure additional election judges to accommodate the needs of voters who choose to cast ballots in person, instead of using the mail-in or […]
Posted inCoronavirus
U.S. failed to stop fraud in COVID-19 loan program
By Jennifer McDermott and Geoff Mulvihill, The Associated Press The U.S. failed to take basic steps at the start of the coronavirus pandemic to prevent fraud in a federal aid program intended to help small businesses, depleting the funds and making people more vulnerable to identity theft, the chairman of a House panel examining the […]
Posted inWord In Black
#WordinBlack: Here’s what you need to know about critical race theory
By Maya Pottiger, Word In Black The term “critical race theory” has been in the news a lot lately. If you’re confused about what it means – or too afraid to ask at this point – here’s what you need to know. What is critical race theory? Very simply, critical race theory is the idea […]
Posted inWord In Black
#WordinBlack: Why many Black teachers likely won’t return to the classroom
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black Even though school has been out for a few weeks, Monise Seward is still tired. Though she’s working night hours at a part-time job to keep an income through the summer, she attributes her continued exhaustion to her full-time gig: teaching. In fact, she views the night shift as […]
Posted inWord In Black
#WordinBlack: Survey found Black adults ‘satisfied’ with direction of the country, up 10 points from previous results.
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black The November Temperature Check found that 52 percent of Black adults are “satisfied” with the direction the country is heading in. This is a 10-point increase from the September results. Since then, three white men were convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, the unemployment rate for Black adults in the […]
Posted inNational News
We, as a Nation, Are Failing Black Children: A Call to Action
By Jacqui Patterson and Nsedu Obot Witherspoon We are mamas, aunties, and sisters. We are public health practitioners, racial justice activists, and social justice champions. And we are raising the alarm about the plight of Black children in these United States. To this end, we announce the release of, The Racism that Upends the Cradle: How […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore social justice organization commits $250,000 towards abortion access
By Tinashe Chingarande, Special to the AFRO A Baltimore social justice organization has committed $250,000 to protect access to abortion and ensure bodily autonomy in Maryland. This was followed by a Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, an almost 50-year-old precedent on the federal level that allowed women to have abortions without facing […]