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Progressive Jamaal Bowman Defeats 16-Term Incumbent Eliot Engel
We told y’all earlier that the middle school principal would win. Now, after a lengthy vote count, it’s official.
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Civil Rights Pioneer Rev. C.T. Vivian Dies at 95
The Rev. Cordy Tindell Vivian—a product of the Midwest who helped make history in the South—died on Friday morning at his home in Atlanta of natural causes at the age of 95, The Associated Press reports. Born July 30, 1924, in Howard County, Mo., as a child he moved with his mother to Macomb, Ill.,…
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The Genius of Resilience: Toward a New, Black National Convention
Imagine it’s 2070. History classes all over the U.S. teach the 2020 Black Lives Matter Uprisings and the national campaign to defund police. Students are shocked to learn about police officers who once killed Black people. For these young people, public safety means community and skilled professionals coming together to resolve problems peacefully and everyone…
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Mike Espy: With the Confederate Emblem Gone, I Look Forward to Seeing a New Flag Fly Over Mississippi
It’s taken a long time, but change is coming to Mississippi: our state flag—with its archaic symbol of the confederacy—is finally coming down. Unlike the flags that commonly fly over other states, our flag was never intended to unite and uplift. It was designed to perpetuate a longstanding division among our citizens. It did not…
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The Fight for Our Collective Liberation
When black people and our allies take to the streets tonight in protest—as we have on previous nights past and as we will on nights to come—we will be calling for justice. Justice for our community means justice for George Floyd. Justice for our community means justice for Breonna Taylor. And justice for our community…
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Jaime Harrison: How Do I Tell My Black Sons That This Could Be Them?
Minneapolis, Minn.; Louisville, Ky.; Brunswick, Ga. These are the latest cities turned inside out because of the killing of innocent black men and women by members of law enforcement. Rightly, the outrage and the pain have spread to every corner of the nation, including cities and communities here in South Carolina. This pain is chronic,…
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Little Richard, a Founder of Rock 'n' Roll, Has Died at 87
“I should be better recognized today for sure,” Little Richard said in an August 2010 interview with the Wall Street Journal. “I am the beginning. I am the originator.” And indeed, the outrageous performer with the wild falsetto and pounding keyboards ushered in a new sound in the 1950s that combined rock ‘n’ roll with…
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Maybe We Don't Celebrate DC's Emancipation Day Because We're Not Actually Free
Today, April 16, marks the date 158 years ago, when Washington, D.C., became the only American jurisdiction to end slavery by paying $1 million in ransom to slaveholders to free the 3,100 people enslaved in the nation’s capital. This holiday may be D.C.’s best kept secret. Public commemorations have been shrinking every year. Perhaps we…
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Young Futurists 2020: America Needs Leaders Now More Than Ever. Here Are 25 Who Are Already About That Life
If we’ve learned anything over these past few months, it’s that leadership matters. At a moment when this country needs—no, absolutely craves—leaders who have the vision to take decisive action and to inspire others to reach beyond their limits, the 25 people on this year’s Young Futurists list provide the blueprint for what real leadership…
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Congress Must Mandate Release of Coronavirus Demographic Data—Including Race and Ethnicity
The coronavirus pandemic is a crisis unlike any we’ve seen in our lifetime. In the United States alone, hundreds of thousands of people are confirmed sick, more than 20,000 people have died, and more than 16 million have filed for unemployment. Already, we are seeing the ways in which the pandemic is impacting communities unequally.…
