By The Associated Press A group of about 30 demonstrators on June 18 burned a Mississippi state flag, saying it symbolizes the racism at the heart of the state’s problems with poverty, education and health care. Demonstrators with the Poor People’s Campaign burned a Confederate battle flag and then a separate Mississippi state flag Monday […]
Category: National News
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News
Here’s What Obama’s Reading Lately
By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com Donald Trump, the current resident of the White House is allegedly loathe to read anything; the polar opposite of his predecessor Barack Obama. Recently, President Obama, the author of three books, shared his current reading list via a Facebook post to his more than 55 million Facebook followers. President Obama’s […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News
3 Democrats Look to Make History in Wisconsin Race
By The Associated Press Mahlon Mitchell likes to remind voters while campaigning that they can make history by electing him Wisconsin’s first Black governor. Meanwhile, Kathleen Vinehout and Kelda Roys — who breast-fed her daughter in a campaign video — are each hoping to become the first woman to lead the state. The three are […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News
New Organization that Honors Black Firefighters to Open
By The Associated Press A new organization to promote, remember and protect African American firefighters and emergency workers is opening its doors on the Chicago’s southwest side. The Black Fire Brigade will officially open its doors with a June 23 ceremony at the brigade’s new home that will include the unveiling of a memorial to […]
Posted inHealth, National News, NEWS
American Medical Association Elects Black Woman President
By AFRO Staff Dr. Patrice A. Harris, a psychiatrist from Atlanta, was recently elected president of the American Medical Association during its annual conference. When she assumes the helm in June 2019, she would become the first Black woman to hold the position. “It will be my honor to represent the nation’s physicians at the […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, Books, BUSINESS, ENTERTAINMENT, Media, National News, NEWS
Target, American Greetings Apologize for Racially Insensitive ‘Baby Daddy’ Card
The Associated Press American Greetings has apologized for a Father’s Day card that drew criticism on social media for depicting a Black couple over the words “Baby Daddy.” The inside of the card reads: “You’re a wonderful husband and father — and I’m so grateful to have you as my partner, my friend, and my […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News, NEWS, Religion
Black Religious Leaders Criticize Sessions’ Use of Scripture to Justify Separation of Immigrant Families
By TRAMON LUCAS, The Associated Press Several prominent members of the Black clergy on June 15 criticized United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions for using the Bible to justify separating immigrant children from parents. The Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, along with the Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Barber, in separate statements, called […]
Posted inNational News, NEWS, POLITICS, U.S. Government
Lawsuits: Congressional Maps Dilute Black Voters in 3 States
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and DAVID A. LIEB, The Associated Press A Democratic political group launched a legal campaign June 13 to create additional majority-minority congressional districts in three Southern states, claiming the current maps discriminate against Black voters. Attorneys filed separate federal lawsuits in Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana, challenging congressional maps lawmakers in each state approved in […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News, NEWS, POLITICS, U.S. Government
San Francisco’s First Black Female Mayor Went from Projects to City Hall
By JANIE HAR, The Associated Press San Francisco’s incoming mayor knows the yawning gap between rich and poor firsthand, having been raised by her grandmother in the city’s drug- and violence-riddled projects. It is now the job of London Breed — the first Black woman elected mayor of the city — to unite a wealthy but conflicted […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News, NEWS
Disgraced Ex-Detroit Mayor Seeks Trump Pardon
By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, syoes@afro.com Kwame Kilpatrick, the former Detroit mayor who began his political career with so much promise, has spent the last seven years incarcerated, on a 28-year-sentence after being convicted of 24 felonies. Now, Kilpatrick is reaching out to Donald Trump for a presidential pardon. Kwame Kilpatrick, 48, the ex-Mayor of Detroit, […]
Posted inD.C. Community, National News, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
Poor People’s Campaign Brings Message to Congress
By James Wright, Special to the AFRO, jwright@afro.com U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) recently convened a hearing on poverty in the country and the key witness was the Rev. William Barber II, the co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign. Barber testified on June 12 at the U.S. Capitol before such lawmakers […]
Posted inNational News, NEWS
Coretta Scott King Starts A New Program To Avert Violence
May 29, 1982 WASHINGTON (UPI) — Coretta Scott King says she is very concerned about high unemployment rates, but feels a new program she is starting across the nation will offer more hope and violence. Mrs. King is president of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for nonviolent Social Change, named after her late husband […]