NEW ORLEANS — Close to 3,000 Black journalists are attending the 2017 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) annual convention in downtown New Orleans this week. The convention began Wednesday and runs through Sunday. The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR) and KMOJ-FM are the only local Black media in attendance. President Donald Trump’s warning to North Korea brought […]
National
A space for national news pertaining to African Americans
Posted inNational, News
Up from the ashes — Detroit down, but not out
Conclusion of a two-part story The City of Detroit’s motto translated from the Latin is “We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes.” That motto is prominently displayed on the city’s flag and has been the impetus for city residents ever since the 1805 fire that destroyed the city. The executive director […]
Posted inNews
Harteau’s exit cheered; mayor urged to do the same (photos & video)
Protesters rally, march, vow to keep up the pressure Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau’s resignation Friday at the request of Mayor Betsy Hodges marked a dramatic end to an intense week. In a released statement, the mayor said that she had “lost confidence” in Harteau’s leadership and “it is clear that she has lost the […]
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Five days of terror: Detroit ’67
Eyewitness accounts of the riot that changed Detroit forever First of a two-part story The “Long Hot Summer of 1967” wasn’t about unusually warm humid weather. It was about the 159 race riots that occurred in the United States 50 years ago. The 1968 Kerner Commission report submitted to President Lyndon Johnson pointed out that […]
Posted inNational
Hatred in America ‘hidden most days, alive every day’
U.S. Park Police confirmed that another noose was found on the National Mall on Saturday, June 17, according to ABC News. Late last month, a portion of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C., was closed for nearly three hours after a noose was found in a gallery, officials […]
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African Americans in Congress say Trump lying about wiretaps
White House Given Until Monday to Present Evidence WASHINGTON — An African-American member of the House Intelligence Committee said the White House’s failure this week to present her committee with evidence supporting President Trump’s claim former Presisent Barack Obama wiretapped him during the election confirms the prevailing view that his assertion is groundless. “I don’t […]
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‘La La Land’…I mean ‘Moonlight’ wins Best Picture
Climactic moment ruined by monumental blunder The Academy Awards ended on a sour note when Faye Dunaway announced that favorite La La Land had won the Oscar for Best Picture. Trouble is, she and co-presenter Warren Beatty had been handed the wrong envelope. So, while La La’s producers were taking turns delivering heartfelt acceptance speeches, […]
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Tom Perez wins DNC chairmanship over Keith Ellison
Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez bested Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) to become Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Feb. 25 at the party’s winter meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Ellison came up short in the second-ballot tally with 200 votes to Perez’ 235. During his acceptance speech, Perez asked to suspend the rules to appoint Ellison deputy chair. Rep. Ellison, the […]
Posted inArts + Culture, National, News, Television
‘America ReFramed’ Season 5: A closer look at two of this season’s offerings
America ReFramed, a documentary series that explores America’s ever-changing socio-cultural landscape, premieres two films on the PBS World Channel this month: one looks at gentrification and the other at the life of a longtime San Francisco Bay Area community activist. A New Color — The Art of Being Edythe Boone made its national public television […]
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How to break the glass ceiling
Big Sky commissioner reveals what got her where no Black woman has gone before Andrea Williams is the first Black female commissioner of a major collegiate conference. It’s been almost a year since she was named head of the Big Sky Conference last April, and she has been on the job since July 1, 2016. […]
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Joan Higginbotham: her passion for math and science led to outer space
WASHINGTON — During grade school growing up in Chicago, Joan Higginbotham she said she always enjoyed math and science. That led to her love for electronics as a young, inquisitive girl. “I was fascinated with electronics. I used to mess around with things at home,” Higginbotham said. Ultimately, the fascination with math, science and electronics […]
Posted inBlack History Month
The man who created an army of Black engineers
WASHINGTON — Most people have never heard of Eugene M. DeLoatch, but all over the world, they have seen the fruits of his labor, across the United States, in Puerto Rico, the Middle East, Japan, Germany, Korea, across Europe, Africa and South America. The people he trained have built buildings and other structures, molded rivers, solved […]
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Emmett Till’s accuser admits it was all a lie
More than six decades after the horrific, racially motivated murder of Emmett Till, the White woman who accused the Chicago teenager of verbally and physically accosting her in Money, Miss., in 1955 has admitted she lied, according to a new book. Till had allegedly whistled at and groped Carolyn Bryant, a 21-year-old White woman, while […]
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‘Trump effect’ has liberated closet racists, says historian
Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. may now have moved into a time of not having to apologize for racism according to a longtime social and cultural historian. Professor John Hoberman of the University of Texas at Austin, who was the scheduled Humphrey Forum speaker January 30 at the U of M’s Humphrey School of […]
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Women’s Marches bring out millions to protest Trump
Millions of people in the U.S. and around the world joined Women’s Marches Saturday, January 21, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Pink hats and signs flooded the streets — from Washington, St. Paul, Los Angeles and New York to Paris, London and many more cities. As many as 600 marches reportedly […]
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Blacks, minorities largely absent during Trump inauguration
WASHINGTON – African Americans, Hispanics, in fact most people of color, were a rarity at President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The lack of participation by America’s Black and other minority communities was stark to viewers on television and on the ground. The makeup of the audience, as well as those on the main stage were in […]
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NNPA’s Chavis receives promise of first press interview with President Trump
Omarosa Manigault, recently named assistant to the president and director of communications in the Office of Public Liaison for the Trump Administration, has promised the first press interview with President Trump to Benjamin Chavis, president/CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, according to sources who attended a private meeting with the Trump transition team Jan. […]
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President Obama encourages and challenges Americans in farewell address
President Obama returned to Chicago to give his farewell address to the nation Tuesday, January 10. In his nearly hour-long speech, the president touted the achievements of his administration — from “taking out” Osama Bin Laden and bailing out the auto industry to passing comprehensive health care legislation and bringing the unemployment rate to a near “10-year low.” He thanked […]
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Sioux tribe and Dakota Pipeline still at impasse
By Chris Juhn Contributing Photographer The Standing Rock Sioux celebrated a victory on Sunday, December 4 when Jo-Ellen Darcy, the U.S. Army’s assistant secretary, announced that they would not be approving the easement that is required for Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to tunnel under the Missouri River. Darcy mentioned they plan on doing an Environmental […]
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Obamacare predicted safe for 2017, but future uncertain
The Affordable Care Act could be vulnerable under new administration By Charles Hallman Staff Writer Over a third of MinnesotaCare recipients need to confirm or update their eligibility information before the end of the year, advises the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). An estimated 36,000 recipients of the state’s basic healthcare plan are affected, and many […]