By Frank Dobson, The Conversation On Dec. 26, millions throughout the world’s African community will start weeklong celebrations of Kwanzaa. There will be daily ceremonies with food, decorations and other cultural objects, such as the kinara, which holds seven candles. At many Kwanzaa ceremonies, there is also African drumming and dancing. It is a time […]
Josephine Baker wax figure at Madame Tussauds wax museum in Times Square in New York. (Shutterstock) France is honouring the US-born 20th Century singer and activist Josephine Baker with a place in the Pantheon on Tuesday. She’s the first black woman to be remembered in the resting place of France’s national heroes, through her work […]
By Julius Garvey, MD, Special to CAW Marcus Garvey after traveling throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Britain and Europe came back to Jamaica in 1914 and formed the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. The purpose was to unite Africans worldwide for the Redemption of Africa. Redemption meaning to regain possession of what […]
Ruth Negga shines in Rebecca Hall’s adaptation of the Nella Larsen novel
By Soraya Nadia McDonald, The Undefeated Passing is not just the title of a 1929 novella and a new film streaming on Netflix, but a once-common practice that served as a method of survival in a country founded on, upon other things, white supremacy. For Black and mixed-race people whose genes allowed it, the ability to […]
By Kriston McIntosh, Emily Moss, Ryan Nunn, and Jay Shambaugh, Brookings A close examination of wealth in the U.S. finds evidence of staggering racial disparities. At $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family is nearly ten times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150) in 2016. Gaps in wealth between Black and […]
The Senate has a stark choice: voting rights or obstruction.
By Michael Waldman, Brennan Center With the addition of Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) as co-sponsors, a majority of the Senate now supports the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Similarly, a majority supports, and has voted for, the Freedom to Vote Act, which would establish national standards on voting, redistricting, […]
By Javier Lopez, Center NYC Where we live dictates so much of our daily lives. Does the availability, stability, and quality of housing impact an individual’s or a community’s health? Intuitively we should all say yes. And data and research support this lived experience. Observational studies have shown that being without a stable home is […]
By Brian Good, Diversity Inc It took nearly eight decades, but former Army Private Osceola “Ozzie” Fletcher is finally getting his well-deserved Purple Heart for valor and service in World War II and the Battle of Normandy. The obstacle that held back one of the oldest and most prestigious recognitions given to U.S. military veterans […]
Amid new national holiday, advocates draw attention to discrimination based on race and legal status.
Juneteenth Parade Philadelphia at Malcom X Park African American Independence Day. – Philadelphia, PA / USA – June 22 2019 (Shutterstock) By Suzanne Monyak, Roll Call Hours before President Joe Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday, advocates seeking humanitarian protections for undocumented immigrants from Black nations ramped up calls for action. “Today, as […]
By Andrea Plaid and Christopher MacDonald-Dennis, Newsweek This week, we’re marking the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. His death at the hands of Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin—who has been convicted of two counts of murder and one of manslaughter—sparked a national conversation about racism in America. It’s a conversation that’s long […]