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Questions, lawsuit arise as Va. ratifies ERA
Virginia became the last state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Tuesday as the state Senate approved on a 27-12 vote a House of Delegates resolution endorsing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution stating that the rights of women “shall not be denied or abridged” because of their gender.
Feds sue Stafford County over law blocking Islamic cemetery
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against a Virginia county for “imposing restrictive zoning requirements” that blocked an Islamic nonprofit from building a cemetery.
Baton Rouge works to heal after shootings
BATON ROUGE, LA. On the affluent south side of Baton Rouge, a clutch of plastic balloons bobs in front of the gas station where a former Marine shot and killed three police officers last Sunday. On the impoverished north
Aunt Jemima being retired by Quaker Oats
America’s painful struggles over racism have finally caught up with Aunt Jemima, that ubiquitous fixture served up at breakfast tables for 131 years.
Black lives celebrated and mourned at emotional BET Awards
Black power, suffering and the fight for justice took center stage at the BET Awards on Sunday, the first Black celebrity event since recent nationwide mass protests broke out over systemic racism.
Melvin Van Peebles, ‘godfather’ of modern Black cinema, dies at 89
Melvin Van Peebles, the groundbreaking filmmaker, playwright and musician whose work ushered in the “blaxploitation” wave of the 1970s and influenced filmmakers long after, has died. He was 89.
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.
Williams sisters advance at Wimbledon
LONDON Superstar sisters Serena and Venus Williams are one win away from facing off against each other in the Wimbledon tennis tournament in London.
Racial bias in hiring still hurts African-Americans, study shows
Racial bias in hiring African-Americans has not declined from 1990 to 2015. That was the finding of the largest and most comprehensive meta analysis of its kind published Sept. 12 in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Trump inaugurated amid hail of protests
Republican Donald J. Trump launched his presidency with a blunt inaugural address, a fist pump and promises to give power to the people and put “America first.”
More than 50% of African-Americans have high blood pressure under new guidelines
Well over half of all African-American adults will be classified as having high blood pressure under new streamlined diagnostic guidelines released this week, illuminating the heavy burden of cardiovascular disease in the population. Anyone with blood pressure higher than 130/80 will be considered to have hypertension, or high blood pressure, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology stated Monday in releasing their new joint guidelines.
Batiste, joyful performances highlight Grammy Awards
Jon Batiste had the most Grammy Award nominations and his five wins on Sunday night outpaced everyone, yet he somehow seemed the biggest surprise on a joyous night for music that washed away some of the bad taste left by the Oscars a week earlier.
Monument to activist-journalist Ida B. Wells unveiled in Chicago
A monument to journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells was unveiled June 30 in Chicago.
Trump to speak at Lynchburg school’s commencement
President Trump will give the commencement address this spring at Liberty University in Lynchburg. “I look forward to speaking to this amazing group of students on such a momentous occasion,” the president said in breaking the news on March 22 to CBN News, the Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach founded by televangelist Pat Robertson.
Will Smith paid for NOLA’s fireworks
Residents and visitors to New Orleans have actor Will Smith to thank for the fireworks display on Independence Day.
Video shows former NFL player manhandled by Georgia police
A lawyer for Desmond Marrow said this week the charges against the former NFL player should be dropped, as police and prosecutors in Georgia said they are reviewing the arrest in which officers allegedly used excessive force.
U.N. creates permanent body to address racism
The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Monday establishing a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent to provide expert advice on addressing the challenges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
Mother Emanuel shooter gets 9 life sentences in S.C. state court
With Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof getting nine life sentences in state court on top of a federal death sentence, his prosecutions are finally over — and some relatives of the nine parishioners he killed at a historically black church say they can finally begin to heal.
