‘I believe I witnessed a murder”
Witnesses to George Floyd’s deadly arrest in Minneapolis tell jury of their shock, horror
Darnella Frazier said she sometimes lays awake at night “apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life.”
Boston’s new mayor marks historic ‘firsts’ leading city
Boston has a new mayor. Kim Janey, who took office on Monday, became the first African-American and first woman to lead the city.
After video backlash, NCAA addresses inequities at women’s and men’s tournaments
The NCAA’s inequities in women’s sports are showing. And the NCAA officially, embarrassed mightily on social media, moved quickly to try to clean up the problems.
Beyonce makes history with 28th Grammy Award; whole family wins, too
Queen Bey is the Queen of the Grammys now.
George Floyd’s family wins $27M settlement in civil suit over his death
The family of George Floyd won a $27 million settlement in a civil lawsuit over his death last year at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview stirs racial introspection among Brits
Explosive allegations by Meghan Markle, the duchess of Sussex, that she faced racist attitudes from both the royal palace and the media in the United Kingdom have sent ripples of shock around the world. But they came as no surprise to many Black Britons.
Bloody Sunday memorial March 7 to honor late civil rights giants
This year’s commemoration of a pivotal moment in the fight for voting rights for African-Americans will honor four giants of the Civil Rights Movement who died in 2020, including the late Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.
Late actor Chadwick Boseman, others win Golden Globes as foreign press group called out for lack of diversity
The organization that hosted the Golden Globes said it is developing a plan to recruit Black members after falling under sharp criticism for lacking diverse members.
Tea time: Oprah snags first interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle since they quit royal duties
Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spill the tea when they talk with Oprah Winfrey in their first major TV interview since they quit their royal duties and bought a home last year in the United States?
Civil rights activist Vernon Jordan dies at 85
Vernon Jordan, who rose from humble beginnings in the segregated South to become a champion of civil rights before reinventing himself as a Washington insider and corporate influencer, has died at the age of 85.
Research identified 18th-century school for Black children
The College of William & Mary and Colonial Williams- burg are teaming up to preserve the legacy of an 18th century school that was dedicated to the education of enslaved and free Black children in Virginia.
Golf without Woods? A possibility
The PGA Tour without Tiger Woods was always inevitable purely because of age. His shattered right leg from his SUV flipping down a hill Tuesday morning on a sweeping road through coastal Los Angeles suburbs only brings that closer.
Hip-hop artist Prince Markie Dee of Fat Boys dies at 52
Prince Markie Dee, a member of The Fat Boys hip-hop trio who later formed his own band and became a well-known radio host, died Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, the day before his 53rd birthday.
Melvin E. Banks, whose publishing company revolutionized Bible study by incorporating positive images of Black people, dies at 86
Melvin E. Banks, whose company portraying positive images of African-Americans in the biblical experience has grown from its start in the basement of his Chicago home into the largest independent Black Christian publishing house in the United States, died Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. He was 86.
Hundreds pay final respects to legendary actress Cicely Tyson
People traveled across the country and stood in a block-long line to pay last respects to the late legendary actress Cicely Tyson at a public viewing Monday.
Televangelist Rev. Frederick K.C. ‘Fred’ Price, who built the ‘FaithDome’ in L.A. dies at 89
The Rev. Frederick K.C. “Fred” Price, the televangelist who built his Los Angeles ministry into one of the nation’s first Black megachurches, has died. He was 89.
Mary Wilson, the longest reigning original Supreme, dies at 76
Mary Wilson, an original member of The Supremes who is considered the force that kept the hugely popular trio together through the internal strife that mounted with their success, has died. She was 76.
Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks dies
Leon Spinks, who won Olympic gold and then shocked the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight title in only his eighth pro fight, died Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. He was 67.
GOP Sen. Amanda Chase sues after being censured
A firebrand conservative state senator from Chesterfield County seeking the Republican nomination for governor filed a federal lawsuit Monday that seeks to undo her legislative colleagues’ recent decision to censure her for an alleged “pattern of unacceptable conduct.”
Fredericksburg man carries on legacy of James Farmer
Christopher Williams works daily to carry on the legacy of the late civil rights leader James Farmer.
Dr. Dre hospitalized with brain aneurysm
Dr. Dre says he will be “back home soon” after the music mogul received medical treatment at a Los Angeles hospital for a reported brain aneurysm.
Harris team blindsided by Vogue cover
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has landed on the cover of the February issue of Vogue magazine, but her team says there’s a problem: The photo of the country’s soon-to-be No. 2 leader isn’t what both sides agreed upon, her team says.
Nice guy Russell Wilson helps teammate make $100,000 bonus
The Seattle Seahawks had the lead and the ball with less than 30 seconds left on the clock Sunday, Jan. 3. All they had to do was take a knee to lock up a 26-23 victory against the San Francisco 49ers.
Tuskegee Airman Theodore Lumpkin Jr. dies in L.A.
One of the famed Tuskegee Airmen — the first Black pilots in the segregated U.S. military and among the most respected fighter pilots of World War II — has died from complications of the coronavirus, it was announced last Friday. Theodore Lumpkin Jr. was just days short of his 101st birthday.
Detroit post office named in honor of ‘Queen of Soul’
The “Queen of Soul” will forever be remembered at a Detroit post office.
Black officer hailed as hero
A Black U.S. Capitol Police officer is being hailed a hero for steering an angry mob away from the U.S. Senate chambers in last week’s deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president.
Best-selling novelist Eric Jerome Dickey dies at 59
Eric Jerome Dickey, the best-selling novelist who blended crime, romance and eroticism in “Sister, Sister,” “Waking With Enemies” and dozens of other stories about contemporary Black life, has died at age 59.
Race car driver is now a knight
Lewis Hamilton, the seven- time Formula One racing champion, is now a “Sir” as well.
No charges in shootings of Jacob Blake and Tamir Rice
A Wisconsin prosecutor declined Tuesday to file charges against a white police officer who shot a Black man in the back in Kenosha, Wis., concluding he couldn’t disprove the officer’s contention that he acted in self-defense because he feared the man would stab him.
IRS claims Prince’s estate undervalued by 50 percent
The ongoing controversy over the money left behind by Prince when he died without a will is heating up again after Internal Revenue Service calculations showed that executors of the rock star’s estate undervalued it by 50 percent, or about $80 million.
Oklahoma begins Tulsa race massacre centennial remembrance
Oklahoma began a centennial remembrance Jan. 1 of a once- thriving African-American neighborhood in Tulsa decimated by deadly white violence that has received growing recognition during America’s reckoning over police brutality and racial violence.
Principal Joe Clark, who inspired film ‘Lean on me,’ dies
Joe Louis Clark, the baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film “Lean on Me,” died at his Florida home on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, after a long battle with an unspecified illness, his family said. He was 82.
Sculpture honors 1st Black president of U.S. college
The first Black president of an American college is being honored with a sculpture installed in the Vermont city where he was born in 1826.
Tuskegee Airman dies days before his 100th birthday and ceremony honoring military service
Tuskegee Airman Alfred Thomas Farrar died on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, in Lynchburg only days before a ceremony planned to honor his service in the program that famously trained Black military pilots during World War II. He was 99.
Don’t spend your stimulus check just yet
On hold. That’s the status of the $600 government checks and a host of other aid contained in the $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package Congress overwhelmingly approved Monday.
Trailblazing Black country singer Charley Pride, winner of 3 Grammys from 30 No. 1 hits, succumbs to COVID-19 complications
Charley Pride, one of country music’s first Black superstars whose rich baritone on such hits as “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” helped sell millions of records and made him the first Black member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, has died. He was 86.
More U.S. churches commit to reparations
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas acknowledges that its first bishop in 1859 was a slaveholder. An Episcopal church erects a plaque noting the building’s creation in New York City in 1810 was made possible by wealth resulting from slavery.
David N. Dinkins, NYC’s first Black mayor, dies at 93
Few American leaders have faced the battery of urban ills that confronted David N. Dinkins when he became New York’s first Black mayor in 1990.
Tuskegee Airman Frank Macon dies
One of only two original, remaining Tuskegee Airmen in Colorado has died. Frank Macon died Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, at his home in Colorado Springs. He was 97.
Harvard elects first Black male student body leader
A 20-year-old from Mississippi has be- come the first Black man elected student body president at Harvard.
Bruce Boynton, who inspired 1961 Freedom Rides after Richmond arrest, dies at 83
Bruce Carver Boynton, a civil rights pioneer from Alabama who inspired the landmark “Freedom Rides” of 1961, died Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. He was 83.
State’s second medical marijuana dispensary opens in Richmond
Virginia’s second medical cannabis processor has opened in Richmond.
Organizations raise $1M for new racial justice fund
Several organizations in Richmond have partnered to raise $1 million for a fund set to expand wealth and educational op- portunities for the Black community and to address structural racism.
Singer Bobby Brown’s son found dead at L.A. home
Bobby Brown Jr., the son of singer Bobby Brown, was found dead at a Los Angeles home Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. He was 28.
Pope Francis lauds NBA players
Pope Francis met with NBA players at the Vatican on Monday, lauding them as “champions” and saying he supported their work on social justice.
President Obama’s memoir off to record-setting sales start
Former President Barack Obama’s memoir, “A Promised Land” sold nearly 890,000 copies in the United States and Canada in its first 24 hours, putting it on track to be the best selling presidential memoir in modern history.
Malcolm X bio wins National Book Award
Tamara Payne and her late father Les Payne’s Malcolm X biography, “The Dead Are Arising,” has won the National Book Award for nonfiction.
Ken Jennings to be first interim host on ‘Jeopardy!’
“Jeopardy!” record-holder Ken Jennings will be the first in a series of interim hosts replacing Alex Trebek when the show resumes production next week.
Affirmative action hits Brazil’s runways
Bold styles are usually the talk of the town for Sao Paulo Fashion Week. This year, cou- ture connoisseurs in Brazil’s most cosmopolitan city have focused on the models—more specifically, the color of their skin.
