By Alexis Taylor Special to the AFRO Shea Guillory was shocked when the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia began sending letters one week after she took her newborn home. Yes, she had asked the pediatrician to test for sickle cell disorders prior to leaving the hospital. Yes, she was aware that she had the sickle […]
Category: National News
Posted inAfro Briefs
Judge lifts race, gender hiring quotas for Cincinnati police
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins The Associated Press A federal judge has lifted race- and sex-based hiring quotas imposed on the Cincinnati Police Department 40 years ago to fix its lack of diversity, agreeing with the U.S. Justice Department’s argument that the changes are no longer constitutional. At issue before U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott was a […]
Posted inNEWS
‘Un(re)solved’ exhibit focuses on civil rights-era killings
The PBS Frontline’s traveling augmented-reality exhibit, “Un(re)solved”, rests in the special exhibit room of the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson, Aug. 27, 2021. The exhibit opened on Aug. 28, to align with the commemoration of the death of Emmett Till, a Chicago teenager who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. The multi-media platform examines the […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Black Iowa police chief faces backlash after bringing change
Waterloo Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, in Waterloo, Iowa. Fitzgerald, the first Black police chief in Waterloo, is facing intense opposition from some current and former officers as he works with city leaders to reform the department, including the removal of its longtime insignia […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Disparities in discipline still plaguing public school systems
African American students are being disciplined at higher rates than their white counterparts. (istockphoto/omgimages via #WordinBlack/SeattleMedium) By Aaron Allen The Seattle Medium and Word in Black In a school year devastated by a pandemic, African American and marginalized students are being disciplined at higher rates than their white counterparts here in the state of Washington […]
Posted inCoronavirus
How to navigate mask mandates, vaccines in middle schools
By Maya Pottiger and Word in Black In a surprising announcement last week, the CDC released new mask guidelines for schools that allow vaccinated students to opt out of wearing masks. Masks will still be required for students who aren’t vaccinated, which prompts a lot of questions about middle school. Vaccines are only available to […]
Posted inCoronavirus
#WordinBlack: Most HBCUs are holding off on in-person classes this fall
(Photograph by Ivan Aleksic/Unsplash) By Maya Pottiger Word in Black As schools around the country begin the fall semester, many historically Black colleges and universities are opting out of in-person classes. A Word In Black analysis of 94 HBCUs found that 23 of them, or 24%, are fully remote this fall. A larger number of […]
Posted inCoronavirus
#WordinBlack: Here’s what school mask mandates look like state by state
(Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash) By Maya Pottiger Word in Black The Delta variant is feeding new surges in COVID-19 cases around the country weeks before school starts. On top of that, the majority of students in K-12 education are still not eligible for vaccines. Even though the CDC released guidelines earlier this month easing mask policies in schools, nothing […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
California court overturns murder convictions of Black men, cites racism
By The Associated Press A California appeals court on Sept. 17 overturned the convictions of three Black men over a double slaying, saying prosecutors dismissed a Black woman from the jury pool for racial reasons. The prosecutor in the Contra Costa County case inappropriately questioned the 25-year-old woman’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement […]
Posted inNEWS
Biden announces vaccine mandate, fight ensues
President Joe Biden’s announcement of new mandates for federal employees and contractors have sparked outrage among Republican governors around the country. (Courtesy of @therecount/Twitter) By J. K. Schmid Special to the AFRO President Biden is moving the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to force employer protection of workers, he announced Sept. 9. The new […]
Posted inCoronavirus, National News, NEWS
‘Tru Facts on the Vax’ FAQs
By AFRO Staff New cases of COVID-19 continue to surge across the United States. As Americans adapt to the pandemic, the virus is adapting too. Two new variants of the virus have emerged, named Delta and Lambda. The CDC reported Delta as the dominant virus variant in new infections and new hospitalizations. The Lambda Variant […]
Posted inCoronavirus
Biden’s forced COVID-19 vaccine attack on minorities
Paris Dennard, Senior Communications Advisor for Black Media Affairs at the Republican National Committee (Photo: Provided by Paris Dennard) By Paris Dennard President’s new rule is deliberate and targeted discrimination Years ago, my grandfather, a staunch conservative Democrat, told me that he hated to hear U.S. Presidents say “my fellow Americans” because he felt they […]