By Svante Myrick A little over a year ago, the College Board unveiled its long-awaited draft AP African American Studies curriculum. What happened next was sad — and all too predictable. Florida officials, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), howled. They claimed the course “lacks educational value” and violated state laws against teaching about race […]
Category: Black History
Posted inGovernor Wes Moore
Gov. Wes Moore highlights collaboration, crime reduction tactics in 2024 State of the State address
By Tashi McQueenAFRO Political Writertmcqueen@afro.com Gov. Wes Moore (D), Maryland’s first Black Governor, delivered his second State of the State address on Feb.7, highlighting partnership as a way to tackle state initiatives and challenges. “One year ago, we began our work together. We knew our state had boundless opportunities and blinding potential,” said Moore. “One […]
Posted inBlack History
A Black author takes a new look at Georgia’s White founder and his failed attempt to ban slavery
By Russ Bynum The Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Michael Thurmond thought he was reading familiar history at the burial place of Georgia’s colonial founder. Then a single sentence on a marble plaque extolling the accomplishments of James Edward Oglethorpe left him stunned speechless. Within a lengthy tribute to the Englishman who died in 1785, […]
Posted inBlack History
James P. Beckwourth: Rediscovering a Black pioneer’s overlooked legacy
By Roger HouseWord in Black James Pierson Beckwourth is a pioneer of the American West largely erased from history lessons. Recovering his story, however, can help us to better understand current debates over historical revision versus woke education — which is to say that, if he had been White, people likely would have learned about […]
Posted in!Front Page National News
Meet Rep. Alyce Clarke: The first Black woman to have her portrait displayed in the Mississippi Capitol building
By Emily Wagster PettusThe Associated Press Former Rep. Alyce Clarke was the first Black woman elected to the Mississippi legislature, and now she is the first Black person — and first woman — to have a portrait on display in the state Capitol. She smiled on Feb. 13 as fellow lawmakers, friends and supporters honored […]
Posted inBlack History
Cardin celebrates ‘Legacy of Progress,’ highlights Black Marylanders’ untold stories during Black History Month
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Special Representative on Antisemitism, Racism and Intolerance for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, submitted remarks into the official Congressional Record honoring Black Americans who have influenced Maryland and U.S foreign policy and highlighting […]
Posted inAfro Newspaper
AFRO snags Honor Roll Award for Women’s Representation
By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Executive Alliance has issued its 2024 Honor Roll Award for Women’s Representation, and the AFRO has made the list for the second year in a row. In order for a company to qualify for the honor, women must hold at least 30 percent of executive leadership positions and at least […]
Posted inBlack History
The Four Step Brothers: Tapping into greatness through dance
By Mekhi AbbottSpecial to the AFROmabbott@afro.com Originally beginning as a trio in 1925, The Four Step Brothers formed a legendary tap dancing group that is still revered almost a century later. Maceo Anderson, founder of The Step Brothers, always took a liking to dance. As a young boy living in Los Angeles, he used to […]
Posted inBlack History
Hattie McDaniel: Trailblazing as the first Black Oscar winner
By Helen BezunehSpecial to the AFRO At the Oscars ceremony in 1940, African-American actress Hattie McDaniel was seated at a segregated table on the far side of the room at the Ambassador Hotel. A great distance from the table where her fellow “Gone With the Wind” cast members sat together. The host hotel had a […]
Posted inBlack History
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks on the authors and mentors who shaped his path
By Tashi McQueen AFRO Political Writertmcqueen@afro.com And By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com In celebration of Black History Month, the AFRO sat down with Governor Wes Moore, the first Black man to lead the great state of Maryland. Moore became the 63rd governor of the state on Jan. 18, 2023, in a historic ceremony outside of the Maryland […]
Posted inHealth
Two new studies document effect of police violence on Black Americans’ health
By Carla K. Johnson The Associated Press The effect of police violence on Black Americans is tracked in two new studies, with one tying police-involved deaths to sleep disturbances and the other finding a racial gap in injuries involving police use of tasers. The health effects of police violence on Black people “need to be documented […]
Posted inCivil Rights
They opened a Haitian food truck. Then they were told, ‘Go back to your own country,’ lawsuit says
By Ben FinleyThe Associated Press PARKSLEY, Va. (AP) — A married couple who fled Haiti for Virginia achieved their American dream when they opened a variety market on the Eastern Shore, selling hard-to-find spices, sodas and rice to the region’s growing Haitian community. When they added a Haitian food truck, people drove from an hour […]