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Bonnie Pointer, who prompted creation of The Pointer Sisters, dies at 69
Bonnie Pointer, who in 1969 convinced three of her church-singing siblings to form The Pointer Sisters, which would become one of the biggest acts of the next two decades, died Monday, June 8, 2020.
Joni Sledge of hit musical group Sister Sledge remembered at 60
Joni Sledge, who with her sisters recorded the enduring dance anthem “We Are Family,” has died, the band’s representative said last Saturday.
‘Like every other day’
10 lives lost on a trip to the store
They were caregivers and protectors and helpers, running an errand or doing a favor or finishing out a shift, when their paths crossed with a young man driven by racism and hatred and baseless conspiracy theories.
Christine King Farris, the last living sibling of Martin Luther King Jr., dies at 95
Christine King Farris, the last living sibling of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died Thursday, June 29, 2023, at age 95.
The aftermath of mass shootings infiltrates every corner of survivors’ lives
More than a year after 11-year-old Mayah Zamora was airlifted out of Uvalde, Texas, where she was critically injured in the Robb Elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers, the family is still reeling.
Black Catholic nuns: A compelling, long-overlooked history
Even as a young adult, Shannen Dee Williams – who grew up Black and Catholic in Memphis, Tenn.,–knew of only one Black nun, and a fake one at that: Sister Mary Clarence, as played by Whoopi Goldberg in the comic film “Sister Act.”
Nun whose body shows little decay since 2019 death draws hundreds to rural Missouri
Hundreds of people flocked to a small town in Missouri this week and last to see a Black nun whose body has barely decomposed since 2019. Some say it’s a sign of holiness in Catholicism, while others say the lack of decomposition may not be as rare as people think.
Simone Biles dazzles in her return from a 2-year layoff to dominate the U.S. Classic
Simone Biles spent two years trying to distance herself from those strange days in Tokyo and all the outside noise that came along with it.
Coco Jones talks earning Grammy nods, overcoming obstacles after Disney fame, Hollywood’s pay equity
Coco Jones was so obsessed with fine tuning her skills as a singer that she tried to mimic Beyoncé’s Olympic-style training of singing while running on a treadmill.
50 Cent out of dollars?
Rapper and actor 50 Cent filed for federal bankruptcy protection Monday, days after a jury ordered him to pay $5 million in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit.
Pope Francis praises ‘gentle’ Pope Benedict XVI ahead of funeral
Pope Francis praised Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s “acute and gentle thought” as he presided over a packed Wednesday general audience in the Vatican, while thousands of people paid tribute to the former pope on the final day of public viewing in St. Peter’s Basilica.
U.S. Open champ Coco Gauff wants to get better and win more major titles — don’t doubt her
Now that Coco Gauff is a Grand Slam champion, she’s ready for stardom.
Breonna Taylor supporters relieved by charges against police
Ahmaud Arbery’s assailants receive second life prison sentence while a street is named in his honor
Louisville activists put in long hours on phones and in the streets, working tirelessly to call for arrests in the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor — but it was mostly two years filled with frustration. They saw their fortunes suddenly change when the federal government filed civil rights charges on Aug. 4 against four Louisville police officers over the “drug raid” that led to the death of Ms. Taylor.
A history of abuse, neglect and torture surrounds Black women’s maternity and mortality
For decades, frustrated birth advocates and medical professionals have tried to sound an alarm about the ways medicine has failed Black women. Historians trace that maltreatment to racist medical practices that Black people endured amid and after slavery.
Serena Williams not done yet; wins 1st match at U.S. Open
Serena Williams is not ready to say goodbye just yet. Nor, clearly, are her fans.
Serena’s legacy: Plenty of wins, plenty of stands on issues
A couple of days before Serena Williams claimed the 22nd of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon in 2016, she was asked what she makes of it when people refer to her as one of history’s greatest female athletes. Her reply: She prefers being characterized as “one of the greatest athletes of all time.” That one, brief response from Williams said quite a lot — about her one-of-a- kind talent with a racket in hand, about her status as an icon, about her willingness to stand up for herself, about why women’s sports should not be thought of any differently than men’s sports. That all came to mind again Tuesday, when Williams indi- cated she is preparing to walk away from her professional tennis career as the start of the U.S. Open approaches on Aug. 29 and her 41st birthday next month nears. Yes, with shouts of “Come on!” marking the journey, she’s won the most major singles championships in the profes- sional era of tennis, which began in 1968; more than the 22 for Steffi Graf or Rafael Nadal, more than the 21 for Novak Djokovic, more than the 20 for Roger Federer, more than the 18 for Chris Evert or Martina Navratilova, more than anyone else. And, yes, Williams won a total of 73 tour-level singles titles and spent more than six years’ worth of weeks ranked No. 1. And she combined with older sister Venus to claim 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles. And then there are the four Olympic gold medals. Still, mere numbers can’t capture everything Williams has represented during a dis- tinguished career that began when she was a teenager in the 1990s and is remarkable for not just the successes but also the longevity, including a record10majorchampionships after turning 30. “She’s lasted longer than most, if not all, female tennis pros. She’s transcended tennis and become a leader on many important cultural, social and gender issues. She has lived an extraordinary life,” Evert wrote in a text message to The Associated Press, “and will undoubtedly continue to crash the glass ceiling in the future.” Indeed, what Williams did without a racket in her hand is rather noteworthy, and extends past the millions in endorse- ment deals; the flirtations with acting; the interest in fashion design and penchant for bring- ing the catwalk to the court with body suits and knee-high boots and whatever else she decided to try; the celebrity and place in pop culture; and, most recently, the work as a venture capitalist (“Seventy-eight per- cent of our portfolio happens to be companies started by women and people of color, because that’s who we are,” Williams said). “It is important to take a step back and think about everything that Serena has brought to our sport and what she has accomplished both on and off the court,” said Steve
Class of 2020 inspired by four-hour virtual ceremony headlined by the Obamas and Beyoncé
Former President Obama said in a commencement speech Sunday that the nationwide protests following the recent deaths of unarmed black women and men, including George Floyd in Minneapolis, were fueled from “decades worth of anguish, frustration, over unequal treatment and a failure to perform police practices.”
Case closed on 1964 murder of 3 civil rights workers
JACKSON, MISS. One day short of the 52nd anniversary of the disappearance of three civil rights workers’ during Mississippi’s “Freedom Summer,” state and federal prosecutors said that the investigation into the slayings is over. The decision, announced June 20, “closes a chapter” in the state’s divisive civil rights history, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said.
Jury decides 2014 document found in Aretha Franklin’s couch is a valid will
A document handwritten by singer Aretha Franklin and found in her couch after her 2018 death is a valid Michigan will, a jury said Tuesday, a critical turn in a dispute that has turned her sons against each other.
60 years late
Richmond woman honored by college after being denied admission in 1956
As a young black girl in Stafford County, Va., in the 1950s, Gladys White Jordan saw up close how privilege was largely determined by skin color.
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