By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO Saint Jim Crow. How does that sound? Jim Crow was not a real human being. The name refers to White entertainers who used a stereotype of Blacks to denigrate people of color. The term evolved over time, eventually applying to the laws and customs that underpinned […]
Category: NEWS
Posted inBaltimore News
Scott administration plans next steps: Study finds minority and women-owned businesses are underutilized in Baltimore City contracts
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration recently released the findings of the 2022 Disparity Study for the City of Baltimore, which was conducted by Tampa, Fla.-based MGT Consulting Group. This is the first time the study has been conducted since 2014 and much of the […]
Posted inBaltimore News
First Black chair of Maryland’s Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee uses art to correct history
By Tashi McQueen, AFRO Political Writer, Report for America Corps Member, tmcqueen@afro.com Annapolis, Md. will experience even more representational shifts for the upcoming legislative session in January. Next month a portrait of young Thurgood Marshall, the Baltimore son who integrated the U.S. Supreme Court, will be installed thanks to Sen. William Smith (D-Md-20), chair of […]
Posted inNational News
The National Black Caucus of State Legislators elects Laura Hall as 15th president
By Catherine Pugh, Special to AFRO Laura Hall was recently elected the serve as the 15th president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL). The decision was made at the organization’s 46th national conference, in Las Vegas, Nev. A Democrat with nearly 30 years of legislative experience in the Alabama General Assembly, Hall […]
Posted inBaltimore News
JPMorgan Chase follows up pledge to West Baltimore and local small businesses
By Nicole D. Batey, Special to the AFRO JPMorgan Chase has launched a new community branch experience in Baltimore, the Mondawmin Community Center Branch, with a $600,000 commitment to empower local small businesses. This commitment by JPMorgan Chase is crucial to an area that experienced major setbacks, with the sudden closing of the Target store […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Local centenarian Arthur Green celebrates 106 years
By Bianca Crawley, Special to the AFRO It’s not often that a magnificent and inspiring local centenarian marks 106 years of life– with most of it spent in the bustling Baltimore area. On Dec. 9 Arthur Green, the admired veteran who still lives on his own in Baltimore County, celebrated another year of life. Green […]
Posted inCoronavirus
COVID’s lingering impact prompts Real ID deadline extension
By Jim Salter, The Associated Press The deadline for obtaining the Real ID needed to board a domestic flight has been pushed back again, with the Department of Homeland Security citing the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the slower-than-expected rollout. The deadline to have a Real ID had been May 3, 2023, but […]
Posted inU.S. Government
Supreme Court update: conservatives seem to embrace religion over all else
By Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, AFRO U.S. Supreme Court Correspondent The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard a case that could turn back the clock on civil rights as we know it. In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, Colorado website designer Lorie Smith objects to serving same-sex couples on her website and is suing for the right […]
Posted inMaryland Government
Maryland gets its first Black governor. What does that mean for the Black community?
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com In our country’s 246-year history, we’ve had just three Black governors. The first came in 1990, more than a century after Black people were granted citizenship and Black men were formally given the right to vote. Lawrence Douglas Wilder was elected as Virginia’s […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Railroad workers rally for sick days, dignity and fairness in quality of work life
By Ralph E. Moore Jr., Special to the AFRO Railroad Workers United (RWU) members and their supporters staged a rally Dec.7 near the Inner Harbor to push for paid sick leave for the nation’s freight train workers. Congress and President Joe Biden acted to avert a strike by rail workers before Thanksgiving, but scuttled sick […]
Posted inArts & Culture
‘Team Dream’ launches Oscar campaign for Best Documentary Short, telling the inspiring story of two Black women who returned to swimming in their retirement
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com When Luchina Fisher’s documentary entitled, “Team Dream,” premiered to its first audience at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in August, it received a standing ovation. The 16-minute documentary, which is a part of the Queen Collective program, followed the story of […]
Posted inWord In Black
The Pioneering Black LGBT Activist You Probably Don’t Know – But Should
By Dawn Suggs, Word in Black On a bright, crisp morning in October, a crowd of Donald Suggs Jr.’s friends, neighbors, and family from across the country gathered at the southwest corner of East 6th street and Avenue B in New York City’s East Village. In front of a verdant community garden, they witnessed the […]