By Steven Ragsdale This past weekend, thousands gathered in Alabama for the annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee Celebration, retracing the famous steps across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where civil rights marchers once faced violence for demanding the right to vote. As the nation reflected on that history, many of today’s and yesterday’s activists also mourned […]
Tag: Medgar Evers
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Longtime DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is ending her reelection campaign for Congress
Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia’s longtime nonvoting delegate to Congress and a Civil Rights Movement veteran, has filed paperwork to end her reelection campaign, signaling the close of her 35-year tenure on Capitol Hill. Her retirement opens a competitive Democratic primary in the overwhelmingly Democratic city as questions had mounted about her effectiveness amid heightened federal intervention in Washington.
Posted inPolitics
Reality check: How Black ministers took on Charlie Kirk’s killing
Charlie Kirk, 31, an avowed Christian, White nationalist, and White House insider, had a history of bigoted, racist remarks. Since his assassination, conservatives have compared him to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., but Black ministers pushed back on that comparison in sermons the Sunday after the murder.
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: It’s time to rediscover Malcolm X
As the 100th anniversary of Malcolm X’s birth is celebrated, his legacy continues to resonate through generations as both a symbol of Black pride and a global voice for justice. Honoring his life means not only remembering his bold stance against racism, capitalism and imperialism, but also continuing his mission to unify and uplift Black communities worldwide.
Posted inLiving
How ancient African proverbs can empower Black lives today
By Aswad WalkerAssociate editor, Houston Defender With each passing day the assault on all things Black increases. The Department of Defense removed the Tuskegee Airmen and Jackie Robinson from the DoD’s official webpage. The DoD no longer acknowledges Black History Month. The U.S. Army erased Civil Rights Movement hero and U.S. military veteran Medgar Evers’ […]
Posted inTV and Film
‘We Need Joy’: Black community sounds the alarm after MSNBC leadership cancels ‘The ReidOut’
Members of the Black community gathered in support of political commentator Joy Reid, whose award-winning MSNBC show, “The ReidOut,” was recently cancelled, and was the first Black woman to anchor a primetime cable news show.
Posted inCivil Rights
Black civil rights activists, politician among diverse group of Medal of Freedom recipients
President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 people, including civil rights icons Medgar Evers, prominent political leaders such as Nancy Pelosi and James Clyburn, and actor Michelle Yeoh, for their exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.
Posted inBaltimore News
An AFRO spotlight on Black excellence: Meet Lonnie Spruill Jr., the last living founder Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
Lonnie “Butch” Spruill Jr. is the last living founder of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., which was founded at Morgan State University in 1963 and has since grown to 30,000 members.