By Ericka Alston BuckSpecial to the AFRO The Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) is making a grand return to Charm City Feb. 15-17 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The “Welcome Back to Baltimore” reception took place on Jan. 16 with a remarkable turnout, despite adverse weather conditions. The organization last held their conference […]
Category: Education
Posted inCOMMUNITY
Knicole Mosby-Taylor: Working to empower Maryland’s youth population
By Jannette J. WitmyerSpecial to the AFRO Knicole Mosby-Taylor, founding and executive director of Empowering Minds of Maryland’s Youth (EMMY), planted the seeds of her mission to uplift Baltimore’s young people in 2003. At the time, she was organizing an informal mentoring program for nine young girls in the living room of her home. In […]
Posted inCOMMUNITY
Leading the charge: Gun safety advocate Celeste Iroha speaks on making change after loss
By Catherine PughSpecial to the AFRO Celeste Iroha has been a self-proclaimed activist since the age of 15 years old. “I lost one of my cousins when I was 12 in D.C. His funeral was the first I would have to go to,” recalls Iroha. “I am also a survivor of a shooting, resulting from […]
Posted inCOMMUNITY
Meet Corryn Grace Freeman: The woman investing in future activists
By Tawanda W. JohnsonSpecial to the AFRO Before Corryn Grace Freeman accepted the role of executive director at Future Coalition in 2023, her friend sent her the job description and told her, “this looks like you.” The mission of the organization, which began in 2017 as March On/Future Coalition, is to provide resources to help […]
Posted in!Front Page College
Biden unveils new sweeping student loan debt relief measures, surpassing 3.7 million beneficiaries
By Stacy M. BrownNNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia President Biden continues to make significant strides in alleviating the student loan debt crisis, announcing the approval of debt cancellation for an additional 74,000 student loan borrowers. The latest action contributes to the record-breaking relief the administration has provided to more than 3.7 million Americans. Earlier this […]
Posted in!Front Page National News
Johns Hopkins Medicine employees and students speak out on rebuke of Dr. Sherita Golden
University officials take issue with chief diversity officer’s definition of ‘privilege’ in ‘Diversity Digest’ newsletter By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Employees and students at Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) have sent a letter to President Kevin W. Sowers and Dean Theodore L. DeWeese expressing their disappointment over the institution’s response to its chief diversity officer’s definition […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Trespassers vandalize Howard University’s Benjamin E. Mays Hall
By Ashleigh FieldsAFRO Assistant Editorafields@afro.com Howard University officials are looking into a recent break-in at Benjamin E. Mays Hall, which housed the institution’s School of Divinity from 1987 to 2015. A viral video shows the individuals breaking into the building through the mechanical entrance. Vandals recorded themselves deploying a dry ice fire extinguisher inside, roaming […]
Posted inCelebrating Women's History Month
Meet Dr. Jamie Ware, the woman advocating for more cervical cancer education and preventive screenings
By Mylika ScatliffeAFRO Women’s Health Writer January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and if nothing else, Dr. Jamie Ware wants women to remember that unlike many other cancers, cervical cancer can be prevented. “There is a screening test to detect cervical cancer and with regular screening at the proper intervals, we can take measures to […]
Posted inCivil Rights
DEI opponents are using a 1866 Civil Rights law to challenge equity policies in the workplace
By Anne D’Innocenzio and Alexandra OlsonAP Business Writers NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of workplace diversity programs are increasingly banking on a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to challenge equity policies as well as funding to minority-owned businesses. Section 1981 of the act was originally meant to protect formerly enslaved people — […]
Posted inHealth
CNN’s Sara Sidner sheds light on breast cancer disparities
The co-anchor of CNN News Central announced her stage 3 diagnosis on-air, emphasizing how the disease impacts Black women. By Alexa SpencerWord In Black CNN anchor Sara Sidner announced on Jan. 8 that she is undergoing treatment for stage 3 breast cancer. During an emotional segment on CNN News Central, she told viewers she is […]
Posted inEducation
$100 million gift from Lilly Endowment to United Negro College Fund will support HBCU endowments
By Annie MaThe Associated Press The United Negro College Fund announced a donation of $100 million from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the single largest unrestricted gift to the organization since its founding 80 years ago. The gift announced Jan. 11 will go toward a pooled endowment for the 37 historically Black colleges and universities that […]
Posted inEducation
A woman was hired to investigate racial harassment after a suicide. Then she encountered it herself
By Hannah SchoenbaumThe Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Black woman hired by a northern Utah school district to investigate racial harassment complaints the year after a 10-year-old Black student died by suicide says that she, too, experienced discrimination from district officials. Joscelin Thomas, a former coordinator in the Davis School District’s equal […]