INSIDER
SAAACAM receives $50,000 donation to help fund renovations to Kress Building
Read full article: SAAACAM receives $50,000 donation to help fund renovations to Kress BuildingThe San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM) has received a $50,000 donation to help fund renovations for the museum’s move to the Kress building downtown.
Trump boosts a hard-right Christian worldview that paints the election as 'spiritual warfare'
Read full article: Trump boosts a hard-right Christian worldview that paints the election as 'spiritual warfare'Donald Trump’s campaign has nourished a fusion of hard-right politics and theology to energize evangelical Christians in swing states.
Harris announces a new plan to empower Black men as she tries to energize them to vote for her
Read full article: Harris announces a new plan to empower Black men as she tries to energize them to vote for herVice President Kamala Harris has announced a series of proposals designed to give Black men more economic opportunities as she works to energize a key voting bloc that has Democrats concerned about a lack of enthusiasm.
American Airlines CEO says the removal of several Black passengers from a flight was 'unacceptable'
Read full article: American Airlines CEO says the removal of several Black passengers from a flight was 'unacceptable'American Airlines is putting employees on leave after they were involved in an incident in which several Black passengers were removed from a flight earlier this year.
Black D-Day combat medic's long-denied medal tenderly laid on Omaha Beach where he bled, saved lives
Read full article: Black D-Day combat medic's long-denied medal tenderly laid on Omaha Beach where he bled, saved livesA medal richly deserved but long denied to an African American combat medic wounded on Omaha Beach in the D-Day landings has been tenderly laid on the hallowed sands where he saved lives and shed blood.
Black men who were asked to leave a flight sue American Airlines, claiming racial discrimination
Read full article: Black men who were asked to leave a flight sue American Airlines, claiming racial discriminationThree Black men are suing American Airlines, claiming they were discriminated against when ordered to leave a plane in January.
Cemetery in an unlikely place being restored in Floresville
Read full article: Cemetery in an unlikely place being restored in FloresvilleLandlocked by the H-E-B in Floresville and a neighborhood, the Walker-Edwards Cemetery is on land once owned by James Walker, an African American who had been enslaved as a child.
Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing longstanding ties to Jewish allies
Read full article: Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing longstanding ties to Jewish alliesA growing number of Black Americans see the struggle of Palestinians reflected in their own struggles for racial equality and civil rights.
Jill Biden hosts tea for female faith leaders and others, including South Carolina prayer partner
Read full article: Jill Biden hosts tea for female faith leaders and others, including South Carolina prayer partnerJill Biden has hosted a White House listening session with about 60 female faith leaders, community leaders and others.
Black leaders say threats to undermine US democracy appear aimed at their community
Read full article: Black leaders say threats to undermine US democracy appear aimed at their communitySome of the nation’s most influential Black leaders say many of the threats to democratic institutions in the U.S. appear to be aimed squarely at their community, including efforts to make voting more difficult, censor lessons around race and weaken social safeguards such as affirmative action.
Black Protestant church still vital despite attendance drop
Read full article: Black Protestant church still vital despite attendance dropThe wide empty spaces in pews between parishioners at a Sunday service at Zion Baptist Church in South Carolina’s capital highlight a post-pandemic reality common among many Black Protestant churches across the nation.
Group asks how African American course violates Florida law
Read full article: Group asks how African American course violates Florida lawThe organization that created a high school African American studies program rejected by Florida says it’s still waiting for specifics from the state about how the course violates state law.
Black history class revised by College Board amid criticism
Read full article: Black history class revised by College Board amid criticismThe official curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies released Wednesday downplays some components that had drawn criticism from conservatives including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said the class would be banned in his state.
Local artist shines light on strength, power of African American women in new exhibit
Read full article: Local artist shines light on strength, power of African American women in new exhibitA San Antonio artist is shining light on the strength and power of African American women in new exhibit called “Essence and Style: The Afro-Centric Woman.”
Controversy, frivolity mark day one of Paris Fashion Week
Read full article: Controversy, frivolity mark day one of Paris Fashion WeekThe pioneering Black performer Josephine Baker — who left the United States to find global fame in Paris in the 1920s — was Dior’s muse for an old school spring couture collection of archetypal classicism.
California police more likely to stop, search Black teens
Read full article: California police more likely to stop, search Black teensCalifornia law enforcement searched teenagers whom officers perceived to be Black youths between 15 and 17 years old at nearly six times the rate of teens believed to be white during vehicle and pedestrian stops in 2021.
Marine general takes over Africa Command, sees challenges
Read full article: Marine general takes over Africa Command, sees challengesMarine Gen. Michael Langley took over as the top U.S. commander for Africa Tuesday, heading U.S. military operations on a continent with some of the most active and dangerous insurgent groups and a relatively small Pentagon footprint.
Afrofuturism showcased at Carnegie Hall in 2-month festival
Read full article: Afrofuturism showcased at Carnegie Hall in 2-month festivalAfrofuturism will be highlighted at Carnegie Hall, placing a spotlight on the movement as the bastion of New York City music and culture takes another step toward normalcy.
Alabama revisits pairing KKK leader and Black student names
Read full article: Alabama revisits pairing KKK leader and Black student namesThe University of Alabama is reconsidering its decision last week to retain the name of a one-time governor who led the Ku Klux Klan on a campus building while adding the name of the school’s first Black student.
Adams, Bragg win NYC election amid historic Black leadership
Read full article: Adams, Bragg win NYC election amid historic Black leadershipWhen New York City voters this week chose Eric Adams as the city’s next mayor and Alvin Bragg as the Manhattan district attorney, they elevated two Black men into two of the city’s most powerful elected offices.
Black couple's daring escape from slavery marked in London
Read full article: Black couple's daring escape from slavery marked in LondonBlack couple who escaped slavery in the U.S. state of Georgia and fled to Britain to campaign for abolition have been honored with a historic marker on their home in London.
House votes to curb power of presidency on travel bans
Read full article: House votes to curb power of presidency on travel bansThe Democratic-led House has passed legislation to constrain a president’s power to limit entry to the U.S. The vote Wednesday was a response to former President Donald Trump’s travel ban covering five Muslim-majority countries.
Biden to nominate 3 federal prosecutors for New York offices
Read full article: Biden to nominate 3 federal prosecutors for New York officesFILE - In this March 17, 2021 photo, President Joe Biden speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Biden intends to nominate three African American prosecutors to run the U.S. attorneys offices in New York, including the first Black man to run the Southern District of New York. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is expected to nominate three prosecutors to run the U.S. attorney’s offices in New York state, including the first Black man to run the Southern District of New York in Manhattan and the first Black woman to head the Western District in Buffalo. Ross, a longtime federal prosecutor, is expected to run the office in the Buffalo-based Western District. Brooklyn federal prosecutors have been examining the state’s handling of COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes in a probe that drew public attention after a top aide to New York Gov.
San Antonio-area school districts look to offer African-American studies course
Read full article: San Antonio-area school districts look to offer African-American studies courseSAN ANTONIO – An African American studies course is gradually being incorporated into school districts across the state. Districts that are already on board include the San Antonio Independent School District, Judson Independent School District and most recently, the North East Independent School District. Lawrence Scott, assistant professor of educational leadership at Texas A&M San Antonio, was a part of that initiative. “We have to start having some real cogent and critical conversations about race and equity with real data,” Scott said. This will be the conduit course that will facilitate those conversations,” he said.
Black History Month: President of St. Phillip’s College follows legacy of female founder
Read full article: Black History Month: President of St. Phillip’s College follows legacy of female founderSAN ANTONIO – Students don’t have to go far or even out of the city to attend a historically Black college. St. Phillip’s College was created and expanded into what it is today thanks to local African American leaders, beginning with Miss Artemisia Bowden. The bishop of St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church wanted to create opportunities for the children of emancipated slaves. And though the assignment was to create a grammar school, she created a vocational school, an industrial school, to a junior college,” said Dr. Adena Williams Loston, current president of St. Phillip’s College. Loston says before coming to St. Phillip’s College, she was either the first or only Black person to hold all of her positions throughout her career.
New museum traces history of Black music across genres
Read full article: New museum traces history of Black music across genresPeople walk to the entrance of the National Museum of African American Music, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A new museum two decades in the making is telling the interconnected story of Black musical genres through the lens of American history. Even as Nashville has long celebrated its role in the history of music, the new museum fills a gap by telling an important and often overlooked story about the roots of American popular music, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B and hip-hop. “Most music museums deal with a label, a genre or an artist,” said H. Beecher Hicks III, the museum’s president and CEO. She noted that the museum put gospel music in context with how it inspired social change, especially during the civil rights era.
Biden's pick for UN post calls China 'a strategic adversary'
Read full article: Biden's pick for UN post calls China 'a strategic adversary'United States Ambassador to the United Nations nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield testifies during for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. Johnson asked her why she had said the United States is not in a new Cold War with China. “This speech is cheerleading for the Chinese Communist Party” and makes no mention of China’s human rights violations, he said. Johnson asked her what the stronger language and tougher tactics would be toward China. “And yet, I had an extraordinary 35-year career, that culminated as the assistant secretary of state of African affairs,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
Kwanzaa observance goes virtual through Jan. 1
Read full article: Kwanzaa observance goes virtual through Jan. 1SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM) has been offering virtual programs each night that teach Kwanzaa’s seven guiding principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. Due to the pandemic, SAAACAM went virtual this year with its celebration of African American history, family, community and culture. “To me, Kwanzaa signifies the struggle of the African American community, the perseverance of the African American community, and the successes and victories of the African American community,” said Heather Williams, SAACAM’s program director. Deborah Omowale Jarmon, CEO and director of SAAACAM, said that what Kwanzaa signifies is even more important now in times like these. “We’ve had to use those principles to keep our families together, to keep our communities together,” Jarmon said.
Two brothers reflect on Million Man March 25th anniversary through documentary
Read full article: Two brothers reflect on Million Man March 25th anniversary through documentarySan Antonio – After months of working on creating a documentary about the Million Man March, two brothers were able to bring the project to fruition just in time for the historical event’s 25th anniversary. The footage and photos used were captured by Leo Edwards, 70, who attended the march October 16, 1995. “I went to the march to videotape the event,” Leo Edwards said. “This was all before the internet and to gather that many people to come to D.C. was just an unbelievable experience,” Leo Edwards said. That synergy brought people together and that synergy still exists 25 years later.”“He inspired so many,” said Leo Edwards.
JPMorgan puts $30B toward fixing banking's 'systemic racism'
Read full article: JPMorgan puts $30B toward fixing banking's 'systemic racism'CHARLOTTE, N.C. – JPMorgan Chase said Thursday it will extend billions in loans to Black and Latino homebuyers and small business owners in an expanded effort toward fixing what the bank calls “systemic racism” in the country’s economic system. “Systemic racism is a tragic part of America’s history,” said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in a statement. Citigroup announced last month it is committing $1 billion toward closing “the racial wealth gap” in the United States, including $550 million toward homeownership programs for racial minorities. He noted that there’s a 30% gap between Black and white homeownership, amounting to about 4.5 million households. JPMorgan was one of 27 major New York-based companies that joined a program to recruit 100,000 workers from the city's low-income, predominately Black, Latino and Asian communities over the next 10 years.
Black singer of regional Mexican music sparks buzz, emotion
Read full article: Black singer of regional Mexican music sparks buzz, emotionSarah Palafox, an African American woman who sings regional Mexican music, poses in Moreno Valley, Calif., in this undated photo. Palafox, an African American woman raised by a Mexican immigrant family, has generated excitement online with her versions of regional Mexican music. Other videos of her singing banda — another form of regional music from Mexico’s southwest coast — also have been shared thousands of times. She would only say the music will be different and she’s not listening to critics who tell her she’s shouldn’t be singing regional Mexican music. “I was told you can’t wear braids, you can’t wear your Afro and go on stage and sing Mexican music,” Palafox said.
Outdoor comedy show to encourage African American community to get counted in 2020 Census
Read full article: Outdoor comedy show to encourage African American community to get counted in 2020 CensusAn outdoor comedy show called the "Be Counted and Be Heard Comedy Show” aims to boost the turnout in the 2020 Census in the African American community in San Antonio. Organizers of the event said the purpose of it is to increase turnout for the 2020 Census in the African American community in San Antonio and Bexar County. “It’s imperative that the African American community understand the impact that they can make by letting their voices be heard, and getting counted in the 2020 Census is one way to be heard,” stated Michele Thomas, founder of the Dream Big Scholarship Fund. The deadline for the 2020 Census is Sept. 30. RELATED: Local push gears up to get everyone counted in 2020 US Census before end of September
Black voters in Detroit key for Biden, but are they engaged?
Read full article: Black voters in Detroit key for Biden, but are they engaged?Black voters across Michigan will be pivotal in deciding who will win the battleground state in November. Biden visited Detroit earlier this month, and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, was spending time in Flint and Detroit on Tuesday. In an interview this month with longtime Detroit radio host Mildred Gaddis, Biden noted that Michigan, and its Black voters in Detroit, are “critically important." Democratic state leaders said they learned hard lessons and that the party has worked to connect with Black voters. But challenges remain in connecting with apathetic voters and with younger Black voters who might have more progressive leanings — key demographics that Branden Snyder, the executive director of Detroit Action, said his organization is trying to reach.
Local nonprofit organization impacted by #BlackoutTuesday online activism
Read full article: Local nonprofit organization impacted by #BlackoutTuesday online activismInstagram users were encouraged to caption their picture #BlackoutTuesday as a form of solidarity and online activism ignorer to amplify the voices of the black community. Users posted the names and website links to local black-owned businesses and organizations such as Black Outside, Inc. Holmes is the executive director of Black Outside. It remained inactive for approximately 40 years until Black Outside resurrected the program last year. “Last year we served 30 girls,” Holmes said.
David Driskell, prominent authority on black art, dies at 88
Read full article: David Driskell, prominent authority on black art, dies at 88FALMOUTH, Maine – David Driskell, one of the nation's most influential African American artists and a leading authority on black art, has died. Driskell was a multimedia artist who used the trees around his Falmouth, Maine, cabin home as a feature in his work. A spokeswoman for the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland said he died on Wednesday. He would go on to become the author of several books and more than 40 catalogs, and curated ”Two Centuries of Black American Art: 1750-1950” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the 1970s. The show was pivotal in paving the way for the study of African American art history.