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Gullah-Geechee Community: Hear Us On Climate Change
ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C.–Ed Atkins Jr., 68, is proud of his family tradition. He’s a third-generation fisherman and owner of Atkins Live Baits and Local Oysters, which was started by his mother and father. But Atkins is worried that the effect of climate change on the waters are hurting not only his business, but also…
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Funding Is Top Issue for Trump’s Newly Appointed Board of Advisors on HBCUs
President Donald Trump recently announced 13 new appointees to the President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Bennett College President Phyllis Dawkins is among them. Dawkins, at the helm of a school established to educate freedmen and train teachers in Greensboro, N.C., in 1873, has strong views on what such institutions and…
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Malcolm X Tells His Story in New Documentary Featuring Rarely and Never-Before-Seen Footage
In front of a rapt audience at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Malcolm X’s third daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, talked about witnessing the assassination of her father at Harlem’s Audubon Theatre and Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965. “I’m told my mother placed her entire body over my sisters and me that…
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Jenifer Lewis Is the Mother of Black Hollywood and She Has the Receipts to Back It Up
It seems as if you can hear her laugh from miles away. Her smile is so bright it lights up the darkest theater, cabaret, movie or television screen. Jenifer Lewis—of Black-ish; Broadway’s Eubie!; the films Beaches, Poetic Justice and What’s Love Got to Do With It, among scores of others—is fearless. That’s a good thing…
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The Smithsonian Is Creating a Dope Hip-Hop Anthology
When MC Lyte broke into the hip-hop world as a pioneering solo female rapper, she wasn’t thinking about making history. Like most aspiring artists, she wanted to be on the radio. “I was a lover of hip-hop. I went to the hip-hop clubs. I started rapping in elementary school … at 12, I started keeping…
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Women’s March: Massive Crowds Take Over DC and Cities Around the Country
Singer-actress Janelle Monáe said a prayer with her fellow performers before taking the stage to raucous cheers at Saturday’s Women’s March, which drew a gargantuan crowd that packed the National Mall from the streets east of the U.S. Capitol all the way west past 17th Street. “I want to remind you that it was woman…
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Here’s What the Vibe Was Like at President Trump’s Inauguration
Yvette Cormier’s brows furrowed when she was asked what she thought about being on the National Mall to see President Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. She was here for both of President Barack Obama’s inaugurations and thinks that today wasn’t the same at all. “The energy of the crowd is completely different, and there’s no diversity,”…
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Meet Gloria Allen, Trans Icon Who Led Charm School for Transgender Youths of Color
Gloria Allen, 71, is a transgender African-American woman who is seen as an icon by many in her community. She volunteered for years teaching a charm-school class at Chicago’s Center on Halsted, trying to teach transgender and gender nonconforming youths how to survive and to believe in themselves. “If we were all the same way…
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Women’s March on Washington: Speaking on Many Issues With 1 Voice
Organizers of the Women’s March on Washington, set for Saturday, Jan. 21, are gearing up for what they hope will be the largest mass mobilization ever on the first full day of a new presidential administration. It is set for one day after the swearing-in of President-elect Donald Trump. “You can’t ignore a grassroots group…
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Hair-Care Pioneer Miko Branch Is Teaching Millennials Do’s and Don’ts of Running Business
Miko Branch, co-founder and CEO of the multimillion-dollar Miss Jessie’s natural-hair-care line, is hoping the tale of her success will inspire others who might want to follow in her footsteps. “It’s more like the cherries on top, to be able to stand in my shoes and know where I came from, and know I had…
