Executive Alliance has recognized 64 Maryland-based companies and nonprofit organizations with its 2026 Honor Roll Award for Women’s Representation. Each honoree maintains at least 30 percent women in executive leadership and on boards, setting a benchmark highlighted in the group’s Annual Census of Women Board Directors. Awardees will be celebrated March 18, 2026, at Maryland Jockey Club in Laurel.
Category: Afro Briefs
Posted inAfro Briefs
Despite recent gains, tribal citizens descended from slaves face disparate treatment
Despite expanded access to services in recent years, tribal citizens descended from people enslaved by several Oklahoma tribes continue to face barriers to health care, education and housing. A Government Accountability Office report highlights ongoing disparities, particularly for Seminole Freedmen descendants and those still denied citizenship in the Muscogee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations.
Posted inAfro Briefs
President, allies said to be creating executive plan to steal the 2026 midterms
Activists who support the 47th president are said to be drafting a proposed executive order claiming, without evidence, that China interfered in the 2020 election and seeking expanded federal authority over voting systems ahead of the 2026 midterms, according to The Washington Post. Voting rights advocates warn the move would challenge states’ constitutional control over elections.
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore Police Department releases body-cam video tied to Dwight Hawkins shooting
Baltimore police released body-worn camera footage at a Feb. 28 press conference showing the fatal police-involved shooting of 37-year-old Dwight Hawkins after officers encountered him near a store on the 3600 block of Belair Road on Feb. 24. The video shows Hawkins running from officers, then pulling out a weapon as well as the officers’ violent response, and it ends after he is handcuffed and the handgun is secured. The Maryland Attorney General’s Office said officers then rendered aid until EMS arrived; Hawkins later died at a hospital. Commissioner Richard Worley said the officers were in the area for crime suppression, and officials said involved officers remain on leave as the investigation continues.
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. to lie in state in South Carolina after Capitol Hill dispute
The Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. will lie in state at the South Carolina State House on March 2, following a decision by Governor Henry McMaster to honor the Greenville, S.C. native and civil rights leader. The state-level tribute follows a dispute in Washington after House Speaker Mike Johnson denied a request for Jackson’s casket to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol. A memorial caravan is currently traveling from Chicago to Columbia, South Carolina, where public and private services will be held to honor Jackson’s lifelong legacy of activism and political influence.
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 inWord In Black
Anissa Durham, author of ‘On Borrowed Time’ series for Word in Black, wins NAACP Image Award
By Word in Black On the same night Michelle Obama and Kendrick Lamar were celebrated at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards, a reporter for Word In Black quietly made history of her own. On Feb. 23, Anissa Durham won the inaugural Outstanding Literary Work – Journalism award for “On Borrowed Time,” her nine-part investigation into […]
Posted inNational News
Blizzard warnings cascade across East Coast with winter storm’s approach
A major winter storm began hitting the East Coast on Feb. 22, bringing heavy snow, strong winds, and blizzard conditions from Maryland to Massachusetts. Officials issued blizzard warnings, travel restrictions, and states of emergency as residents prepared for potentially historic snow accumulations and widespread disruptions.
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Black Women’s Roundtable announces 15th Annual Women of Power National Summit
The Black Women’s Roundtable will host its 15th Annual Women of Power National Summit March 11–15, 2026, in Arlington, Va., and Washington, D.C. Hundreds of Black women leaders and allies will convene for five days of organizing, policy advocacy, strategy, healing, and collective action to build political, economic, and community power.
Posted inBlack History
Vernon AME Church absorbed the terror of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Now it will ‘teach truth.’
By Shaunicy MuhammadThe Oklahoma Eagle (NNPA Newswire) – More than a century after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, members of Greenwood’s Vernon AME Church are determined to tell their own stories. Archivists, archeologists and elected officials lined the pews of the church Feb. 12 for the unveiling of The Vernon Witness, a multi-year project to […]
Posted inBaltimore News
On the line with Jesse Jackson: Lessons from a voice that changed history
By Alexis TaylorAFRO Managing Editor I never imagined Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. would pick up the phone. It was 2012. On June 14 of that year, Adidas, the international shoe and sports apparel company, boldly unveiled a pair of sneakers that came complete with a pair of orange, plastic ankle bracelets. After public backlash to […]
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.