Meet Ayanna Woods, the Chicago Native Making Waves in Classical Music
In the symphony of her life, she has found her rhythm early on. Today, at 31 years old, Woods is celebrated as one of the most promising composers of her generation, her works performed by esteemed ensembles such as The Crossing, Chanticleer, and Third Coast Percussion. As detailed in the Chicago Sun Times, her recent […]
Championship HBCU Basketball Team Finally Visits the White House More Than 6 Decades After Their Win
This is a long time coming! The Tennessee A&I Tigers of Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State University made history in 1957 as the first HBCU team to win a national championship, Essence reports. They followed up that impressive victory with two more back-to-back national titles, making history as the first college team to win three […]
The Banner Sisters Acquire Former Louisiana Plantation Where Their Ancestors Were Enslaved
Twin sisters Jo and Joy Banner are hoping to heal their ancestral land and right the wrongs of history. They recently purchased the Woodland Plantation in LaPlace, Louisiana, which was the site of the 1811 Slave Revolt, one of the largest uprisings of enslaved people in American history. The plantation was also where the Banner […]
Viral TikTok Star JaBria Makes Acting Debut on ‘Abbott Elementary’
We are so happy for our internet niece! TikTok star La’Ron Hines first burst onto the scene during the pandemic with his viral videos profiling his parent’s preschool students. Hines would regularly sit down with the students for his “Are You Smarter Than A Preschooler?” series during his trips back home to Mississippi. The initial […]
Celebrating Dr. Johnnetta Cole, the First Black Woman President of Spelman College
She is a true pioneer in academia! Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole. The name itself evokes a legacy of leadership, scholarship, and a deep commitment to empowering others. A true trailblazer in every sense of the word, Dr. Cole has shattered glass ceilings throughout her career, most notably as the first African American woman to serve […]
RuPaul’s Rainbow Book Bus Hits The Road to Deliver Banned Books
Beep beep! The Rainbow Book Bus is coming your way! At a time when administrations across the country are seeking to ban books and limit access to educational and diverse texts in schools and libraries, RuPaul and his Rainbow Book Bus will be traveling from the West Coast to the South to distribute the very […]
Oklahoma Supreme Court to Hear Case of 109-year-old Tulsa Massacre Survivors
The last two survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre appeared at Oklahoma’s Supreme Court last week demanding that the land and property that was destroyed during the race riot be returned to other survivors and their children. Almost four years ago, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher, both 109 years old, launched a case […]
19-Year-Old Black Sailor Killed in Pearl Harbor Will Be Laid to Rest 80 Years Later
Almost 80 years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the remains of a Black teenage sailor from Virginia have been found and will soon be laid to rest, the United States Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency shared in March. David Walker served as a Mess Attendant 3rd Class USS California during World War II. On December […]
Farmer Marcus Carpenter Opens Minnesota’s First Black-Owned Freight Farm
The first Black-owned Freight Farm is opening in Hennepin County, Minnesota, helping to address food insecurity and inequality in agriculture in the rural area. The Freight Farm will be led by farmer Marcus Carpenter and his organization, Route 1, a Minnesota-based resource for BIPOC emerging farmers. “Today is an exciting day,” Carpenter said to KARE […]
Remembering Ramona Edelin, The Educator Turned Activist Who Popularized The Term ‘African American’
Dr. Ramona Hodge Edelin, an educator and activist who helped popularize the term “African American” in the late 1980s, died February 19 from cancer at her home in Washington D.C., The Washington Post reports. She was 78 years old. Ramona Hodge (later Edelin) was born in Los Angeles on September 4, 1945. Her mother, Annette […]