Archive for January 2023
Five Black Memphis police officers are fired for killing a Black motorist
The five Memphis police officers were suspended but not charged in the deadly beating death of a Black motorist. The killing raises the difficult question of whether Black police officers behave more like White police officers who have historically acted out of bias and rage against Black men. The five police officers were involved in the…
Read MoreGunman murders 10 in a quiet suburb
An immigrant from China killed 10 people and wounded 10 others during the Lunar New Year’s Eve celebration in Monterey Park, California. The latest news reports indicate that one of the wounded individuals has died, bringing the total number dead to 11. Police identified the man as Huu Can Tran, 72, who hid in a white van…
Read MoreMichelle Commander takes command
Michelle Commander has been named deputy director of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and Culture, which is based in Washington, D.C. Commander joined the museum after working as the deputy director of research and strategic initiatives at The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. She has written several…
Read MoreBenjamin Jealous to lead the Sierra Club
Benjamin Jealous has been named the seventh executive director of the Oakland, California, Sierra Club. He took over the Sierra Club, whose founder, John Muir, disliked Black people. He took over the Sierra Club, whose founder, John Muir, disliked Black people. Jealous replaced Michael Brune on August 13, weeks before the Sierra Club’s executive director announced his…
Read MoreFormer Memphis cops arrested for a brutal beating
Five former Black Memphis police officers have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, who was arrested during a traffic stop. The former Black officers—Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. In addition, they all were charged with aggravated assault, one count…
Read MoreMemphis police release damming videos of the beating of Tyre Nichols
As Memphis police brutally beat Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop, he cried out for his mother to come to help him the same way some soldiers do in combat. Nichols screamed for his mother three times as police pulled him from his car for reckless driving. Memphis police on Friday released a series of…
Read MoreEdgar Daniel Nixon played a crucial role in organizing the landmark Montgomery bus boycott
Edgar Daniel Nixon, known as E. D. Nixon, was an American civil rights leader and union organizer in Alabama who played a crucial role in organizing the landmark Montgomery bus boycott there in 1955. The boycott highlighted the issues of segregation in the South, was upheld for more than a year by black residents, and nearly brought the city-owned bus system to bankruptcy.…
Read MoreProstate cancer is higher among Black men
The American Cancer Society reports that cancer rates are 5 percent higher among Black men compared to White men and 79 percent higher than for Asian American/Pacific Islanders. Overall, the incidence is higher in Black men because of prostate cancer, which is 70 percent higher than in White men, three times higher than among Asian…
Read MoreMany firsts for Kevin Warren as he reaches the top of the Bears
Kevin Warren has been named president and CEO of the Chicago Bears. Warren, 59, is the Bears’ fifth president in the team’s 103-year history, following George S. Halas, George “Mugs†Halas Jr., Michael McCaskey, and Ted Phillips. He is the first Black president of the Bears and the first president and CEO hired from an…
Read MoreTennis star Naomi Osaka said she is pregnant with her first child.
Shortly after withdrawing from the 2023 Australian Open, the Grand Slam champion announced that she was pregnant. “The past few years have been interesting to say the least, but I find that its the most challenging times in life that may be the most fun,” she tweeted on Jan. 11 alongside a sonogram photo. ”These few months away from…
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