By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, with the city’s top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. Confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen more than […]
Category: Afro Briefs
Posted inAfro Briefs
Dr. Shirley M. Malcom, a pioneer in science is honored at Penn State University
By Nadia Reese, AFRO Editorial Assistant nreese@afro.com To honor scientist and activist Dr. Shirley M. Malcom, a trailblazer for minorities in science, Penn State University renamed one of its campus buildings on April 8. Formerly known as “Innovation Park”, the building is now called the Dr. Shirley M. Malcom building. Dr. Shirley M. Malcom was […]
Posted inNational News
U.S. Mint announces Bessie Coleman quarter to come in 2023
By AFRO Staff After author Maya Angelou became the first African-American woman featured on the 25-cent coin, the U.S. Mint revealed five more women on April 4 to be on the quarter in 2023. Those women included: Jovita Idar, Edith Kanaka’ole, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maria Tallchief and the first Black woman to hold a pilot license, […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Police chief: Multiple shooters in Sacramento mass shooting
By Adam Beam, The Associated Press Six people were killed and 12 injured before dawn April 3 in Sacramento when shots were fired into crowds as bars and nightclubs emptied for the night in the second mass shooting in five weeks in California’s capital city. The suspect — or possibly suspects — were still at […]
Posted inINTERNATIONAL
African refugees see racial bias as US welcomes Ukrainians
By Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press Wilfred Tebah doesn’t begrudge the U.S. for swiftly granting humanitarian protections to Ukrainians escaping Russia’s devastating invasion of their homeland. But the 27-year-old, who fled Cameroon during its ongoing conflict, can’t help but wonder what would happen if the millions fleeing that Eastern Europe nation were a different hue. […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Judge strikes down parts of Florida election law; cites race
By Brendan Farrington, The Associated Press A federal judge struck down portions of a Florida election law passed last year, saying in a ruling March 31 that the Republican-led government was using subtle tactics to suppress Black voters. The law tightened rules on mailed ballots, drop boxes and other popular election methods — changes that […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Video contrasts police depiction of stun gun on Black man
By Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press A Tennessee police officer who used his stun gun on a DoorDash driver wrote an arrest report saying the man had become argumentative while denying he was speeding, refused to hand over identifying information, demanded to see a supervisor and stayed in his car when ordered to get out. […]
Posted inNational News
Senate committee set to hold confirmation vote for Supreme
Senate committee set to hold confirmation vote for Supreme
Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on April 4
By AFRO Staff After a week of public hearings, lawmakers have announced a date for when they will decide if the country will finally have a Black woman sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sat through hours of questioning day after day the week of March 21, defending her record and […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Black reparations panel could decide who gets compensation
By Janie Har, The Associated Press News California’s first-in-the-nation task force on reparations is at a crossroads, with members divided on which Black Americans should be eligible. Compensation as atonement for a slave system that officially ended with the Civil War has long been a source of contention that reverberates to this day. Some members […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Future architect slain on streets of Baltimore City
By Alexis Taylor, AFRO News Editor Marie Berry can’t stay in her home anymore. But she also can’t bring herself to move the tennis shoes at the front door. She’s already begun packing up her house and many of her dreams. Standing in the kitchen of the home she’s lived in for more than 15 […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Lawsuit says Google discriminates against Black workers
By Barbara Ortutay A former Google employee sued the tech giant for racial discrimination, saying it engages in a “pattern and practice” of unfair treatment for its Black workers. The suit claims the company steered them into lower-level and lower-paid jobs and subjected them to a hostile work environment if they spoke out. April Curley […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Xavier-Louisiana students can get early admission to LSU med
By The Associated Press A national leader in the number of Black graduates accepted by medical schools has a new early acceptance agreement with one of Louisiana’s largest medical schools. LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine will admit up to 10 Xavier University of Louisiana students a year under the program, with a pair […]