Berry Gordy Jr. is known for being Motown’s legendary founder and producer but few know that he was also a songwriter early on for many of the hits prior to the founding of the label. By Ralph E. Moore Jr. Special to the AFRO After research on him, I realize there’s a lot I didn’t […]
Category: National News
Posted inCoronavirus
#WordinBlack: Covid, Maternal Mortality and Black Women
(Photo courtesy of serenawilliams on Instagram) By Maya Pottiger and Word In Black More than 73,000 Black lives were lost during the pandemic, making up 15% of all COVID-related deaths, the highest of any race, according to The Atlantic’s COVID Tracking Project. This disparity was seen further in a CDC study looking at how COVID-19 impacts pregnant women. Black women made […]
Posted in!Front Page
Stevie Wonder: The artist, the activist, the Wonder(ful)
Stevie Wonder cemented his place in history as one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century in the 1970’s with multiple chart-topping hits and timeless albums such as the still highly lauded {Songs in the Key of Life} (1976). (Courtesy Photo) By Micha Green AFRO D.C. and Digital Editor mgreen@afro.com Stevland Hardaway Morris’ achievements […]
Posted in!Front Page
JPMorgan Chase makes philanthropic commitment to reduce housing disparities
Milan Griffin, vice president of marketing and outreach for HomeFree-USA ; and Robert Kirkland, vice president of divisional community and affordable lending manager for JPMorgan Chase. By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer Report for America Corps Member Msayles@afro.com Homeownership has long been considered a method for people to build wealth, especially for low-income and minority […]
Posted inNEWS
NNPA Joins with Black and Latino law enforcement organizations to oppose the Washington, DC city council’s ban on menthol cigarettes
A recent 700-page report from the U.S. Surgeon General on smoking cessation examines the health impact of bans in the context of smoking cessation. One of the report’s less-publicized conclusions is that there is not enough evidence to conclude that banning menthol cigarettes would cause more people to quit smoking. By NNPA Washington, DC via […]
Posted inNEWS
Remembering the magnitude of the mass choir
The Georgia Mass Choir was one of many large ensembles that had a hit song in the gospel music industry. Whether or not the mass choir will survive, or even make a return post-pandemic remains a mystery. (Courtesy photo) By Marnita Coleman Special to the AFRO Once upon a time in the city of Baltimore, […]
Posted inNEWS
Soul Train’ almost made me cool‘
In an effort to mimic the very basics of Soul Train, 11th grader Sarah Crest practiced her moves daily. (Courtesy photo) By Sarah E. Crest Special to the AFRO By the time I reached the 11th grade, I thought I still had some hope of being cool. Afterall, I had the look, long brown legs, […]
Posted inNEWS
‘It’s Electric’: A little slide before we go
The “Electric Slide,” a line dance widely known in the Black community, was popularized after Marcia Griffith’s 1989 remix to the song, “Electric Boogie,” and its corresponding video showcasing the well-known and easy-to-follow moves (Screenshot). By Micha Green AFRO D.C. and Digital Editor mgreen@afro.com It’s a Black family gathering: the music is blasting, the beat […]
Posted inNEWS
We are coming’: Poor People’s Campaign to march against Manchin and obstructionism in West Virginia
Manchin’s positions are “wrong, constitutionally inconsistent, historically inaccurate, morally indefensible, economically insane, and politically unacceptable,” said the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. By BRETT WILKINS, CommonDreams Staff Writer Outraged by Joe Manchin’s obstruction of Democratic efforts to protect and expand voting rights and end the Senate filibuster, the faith-led Poor People’s Campaign has announced […]
Posted inNEWS
Juneteenth honors Black ancestors’ dream of freedom, relevant today
Participants dance in the ocean as they celebrate during the annual Juneteenth Wade In on June 19, 2020, on Tybee Island. Juneteenth is a celebration of the day Union Soldiers reached Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, with the news that the war had ended and enslaved people were free. JACKSONVILLE FREE PRESS via NNPA […]
Posted in!Front Page
From aria to soul: I love it all
Frances “Toni” Murphy Draper, AFRO CEO and Publisher By Frances “Toni” Murphy Draper As a ‘child’ of the sixties, I listened to a lot of Motown music from Stevie Wonder to Mary Wells; from the Temptations to the Supremes; from the Miracles to the Marvelettes; from Gladys Knight and the Pips to Marvin Gaye, just […]
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Juneteenth to become a Federal holiday
________________________ Sponsored content_________________________ Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee speaks during the 2017 NNPA Leadership Awards Reception at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. The congresswoman was instrumental in the push for Juneteenth Holiday/(Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA) By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green began recognizing Juneteenth as a paid holiday […]
