Supporters demand action on bill to study U.S. reparations for African Americans
Supporters of a House bill that would create a commission to study and develop reparations for African Americans are working to push the legislation forward, three decades after it was introduced. Last year, the city north of Chicago became the first in the nation to begin implementing reparations for its Black residents. “I want for once an acceptance of the history of the journey that African Americans have taken to be an accepted reality in America,” she added. According to a 2021 Pew Research Center study, 68% of Americans believe that African Americans should not receive reparations. Some New York lawmakers are working on a bill similar to the House measure that would create a reparations commission.
wftv.comEatonville neighbors look to stop sale of last acres of Hungerford School property
EATONVILLE, Fla. — Neighbors and some town leaders in Eatonville want to stop the last 100 acres of a historical piece of land from being sold to developers. The Hungerford School was founded in 1889 as the first school for African Americans in Central Florida. Julian Johnson and his grassroots organization, 1887 First, say town members have been fighting to get ownership of the Hungerford land to Eatonville for decades. Read: OCPS puts up almost 18 acres of land for sale in EatonvilleChannel 9 reached out to Orange County Public Schools multiple times about the land ownership and how it’s been sold. Read: Little museum in Eatonville is big on culture, history“We want the land back from Orange County,” Johnson said.
wftv.comFarmers of color sue government for promised federal aid
DES MOINES, Iowa — (AP) — The federal government has illegally broken a promise to pay off the debts of a group of Black farmers, according to a class-action lawsuit. In 1910, Black farmers owned more than 16 million acres (6.5 million hectares) of land, but today they have less than 4.7 million acres (1.9 million hectares). Faced with the likelihood of a lengthy court battle that would delay payments to farmers, Congress amended the law and offered financial help to a broader group of farmers. The new law allocated $3.1 billion to help farmers struggling with USDA-backed loans and $2.2 billion to pay farmers who the agency discriminated against. Jermaine Walker, who grows corn, wheat and other crops near Pinewood, South Carolina, said the promised federal payments would enable him to save his farm from a bank foreclosure.
wftv.comSharp homeownership spikes for Black, Asian and Latino families in 2021
In 2021, Black, Latino and Asian households saw the sharpest increase in homeownership since the Great Recession, when all their levels of owning had fallen, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Washington Post. The growth for minority households was more pronounced than for White households.
washingtonpost.comWes Moore, Black Democrats aiming to make Maryland history
— (AP) — Wes Moore could soon make history if elected Maryland’s first Black governor, and he's not alone: Rep. Anthony Brown would be the state’s first Black attorney general. With a victory, Moore would reclaim the governor’s office for Democrats, after eight years of term-limited Republican Gov. Democrat Stacey Abrams would become the nation's first Black female governor if she wins her Georgia rematch against GOP Gov. Adrienne Jones to be the state’s first Black and first female House speaker in 2019. Hogan proved to be popular and beat former NAACP President Ben Jealous in 2018, becoming only the second Republican governor in the history of Maryland to win re-election.
wftv.comBlack representation in Alabama tested before Supreme Court
"Black voters have less opportunity than other Alabamians to elect candidates of their choice to Congress," the panel said. But on a 5-4 vote in February, the Supreme Court sided with Alabama to allow this year’s congressional elections to take place without adding a second predominantly Black district. “This is just about getting Black voters, finally, in Alabama the opportunity to elect their candidates of choice. The groups contend that the state’s Black population is large enough and geographically compact enough to create a second district. One of them, Alabama State University, was founded two years after the Civil War and in an area where the districts divide.
wftv.comA record number of Black candidates for higher offices aim to reshape U.S. politics
Since Reconstruction, voters have elected just seven Black U.S. senators and two Black governors. This year, 16 Black candidates — 13 Democrats and three Republicans — are major party nominees for those offices.
washingtonpost.comAP African American studies class debuts in 60 US high schools
Dozens of U.S. high schools are offering an Advanced Placement course in African American studies this fall, multiple news outlets are reporting. “AP African American Studies will introduce a new generation of students to the amazingly rich cultural, artistic and political contributions of African Americans,” Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of AP and instruction, told NBC News. AP courses are college-level classes and exams that students can take in high school, the College Board says on the program’s website. Well-known professor Henry Louis Gates, the director of Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, issued a statement differentiating the AP course from critical race theory, also known as CRT. “AP African American Studies is not CRT.
wftv.comSuspects in attack of Chinese PhD student at UW-Madison not charged with hate crimes
A group of teen suspects accused of brutally attacking a Chinese doctorate student with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in June have not been charged with hate crimes. The 26-year-old victim, who suffered minor injuries, recalled his traumatic experience along University Avenue on the night of June 14 in a Weibo post. A Chinese male student was beaten by FIVE random young men yesterday on University Ave. close to @UWMadison campus.
news.yahoo.comIn the 1800s, the American Colonization Society relocated thousands of freed Black Americans to West Africa. It led to the creation of Liberia.
Slave-owning US presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and James Madison, as well as leaders Daniel Webster and Francis Scott Key, were members of the ACS.
news.yahoo.comIn 1871, the US almost acquired the Dominican Republic. President Ulysses S. Grant hoped that 'the entire colored population of the United States' would move to the island.
Concerned about the future of newly-emancipated Black Americans, President Grant saw the Dominican Republic as a place where they could live freely.
news.yahoo.comBlack parade culture museum reopening in New Orleans
Backstreet Cultural Museum Reopening FILE - A member of the North Side Skull & Bone Gang starts the celebration with a wake up call for Mardi Gras at the Backstreet Cultural Museum, Feb. 9, 2016, in New Orleans. Ten months after Hurricane Ida damaged the museum celebrating New Orleans’ African American parading culture, it is reopening. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File) (Brynn Anderson)NEW ORLEANS — (AP) — Ten months after Hurricane Ida damaged a museum celebrating New Orleans' African American parading culture, the Backstreet Cultural Museum is reopening. Hurricane Ida left holes in the roof and water inside the original building, a former funeral home, after the storm crashed ashore in August 2021. Artifacts at the museum include regalia given by Mardi Gras Indians — African Americans who create new elaborately plumed and beaded costumes every year.
wftv.comCalifornia land taken from Black couple returned to heirs
Racial Injustice California Beach FILE - A monument on Bruce's Beach in Manhattan Beach, Calif., is pictured on April 8, 2021. The land was purchased in 1912 by Willa and Charles Bruce, who built the first West Coast resort for Black people at a time when many beaches were segregated. They suffered racist harassment from white neighbors and in the 1920s the Manhattan Beach City Council took the land through eminent domain. Last month, the county completed the process of confirming that Marcus and Derrick Bruce, great-grandsons of Willa and Charles Bruce, are the legal heirs. “This may be the first land return of its kind, but it cannot be the last,” Hahn said.
wftv.comHBCU medical schools to tackle organ transplant disparities
A coalition including the four medical schools at the nation's historically Black colleges and universities has announced a new initiative aimed at increasing the number of Black Americans registered as organ donors and combating disparities among transplant recipients.
California reparations plan advances movement, advocates say
California took a big step this week toward becoming the first U.S. state to make some form of restitution a reality by tackling the divisive issue of which Black residents should be eligible to receive reparations for the atrocity and injustices of slavery and racism.
West Orange County old historic African American cemetery to be restored with state grant
The town of Oakland in West Orange County has been awarded Florida's Historic Preservation grant of $25,000 that will go toward the restoration and preservation of the historic African-American cemetery which dates back to 1882.
1 in 5 in US lost someone close in coronavirus pandemic, poll shows
In a Feb. 25-March 1, 2021 poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about 1 in 5 Americans say they lost a relative or close friend to the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)WASHINGTON – About 1 in 5 Americans say they lost a relative or close friend to the coronavirus, highlighting the division between heartache and hope as the country itches to get back to normal a year into the pandemic. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research illustrates how the stage is set for a two-tiered recovery. The AP-NORC poll found about 30% of African Americans, like Parks, and Hispanics know a relative or close friend who died from the virus, compared with 15% of white people. AdThe poll found two-thirds of Americans say their fellow citizens nationwide haven’t taken the pandemic seriously enough.
The Latest: South Korea extends social distancing measures
People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus gather at a park in Goyang, South Korea, Wednesday, March 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea is extending its current measures on social distancing for at least another two weeks as it struggles to slow coronavirus infections in the greater capital area. ___WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand has removed remaining coronavirus restrictions on the city of Auckland after containing a small outbreak. ___WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is planning to announce during his prime-time address Thursday night that he’ll deploy 4,000 additional U.S. troops to support coronavirus vaccination efforts. Thursday’s announcement from the Department of Corrections comes a year after suspending visits at prisons because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Health panel expands lung cancer screening for more smokers
Lung cancer is the nations top cancer killer, causing more than 135,000 deaths each year. Lung cancer is the nation’s top cancer killer, causing more than 135,000 deaths each year. Usually, lung cancer is diagnosed too late for a good chance at survival. But "unfortunately, lowering the age and pack-year requirements alone does not guarantee increased equity in lung cancer screening,” wrote Dr. Yolonda Colson and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital. AdOne recent study found just 14% of people eligible for lung cancer screening under the prior guidelines had actually gotten it.
Biden backs studying reparations as Congress considers bill
President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with labor leaders in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021, in Washington. Biden backs the idea of studying the issue, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday, though she stopped short of saying he would sign the bill if it clears Congress. Even with Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, passing a reparations bill could prove difficult. Most Black Americans favored reparations, 74%, compared with 15% of white Americans. AdRep. Burgess Owens, a first-term Republican from Utah, argued against a reparations commission.
Orlando actor takes the wheel in ‘Driving Miss Daisy,’ steers conversation on race in the arts
SANFORD, Fla. – No one drives Miss Daisy quite like Michael Morman. He’s reprised the role of Hoke Colburn in “Driving Miss Daisy” seven times, most recently in the Theater West End production, which just finished its run in Sanford. With each subsequent production, he evolved his performance, understanding the meaning of Colburn’s words and actions more fully with age. In “Driving Miss Daisy,” one scene stands out to him. After his closing curtain call in “Driving Miss Daisy,” Morman realized something.
Orange County’s first elected African-American clerk of courts wants to inspire others
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla – As the first elected African American Clerk of Courts in Orange County, Tiffany Moore Russell said her mission is to inspire others to dream big - all while she’s humbly serving in a position where no one has looked like her before. Her win in 2014 also allowed her to break barriers as the first African-American female Clerk elected in the state of Florida. Russell was recently re-elected in Orange County after running unopposed. She was also the youngest member of the Orange County Commission when she was elected back in 2006 where she served two terms. Russell was first elected as the Clerk of Courts in 2014 (Copyright 2021 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)
Trailblazer who helped integrate Florida schools believes country is heading in right direction
ORLANDO, Fla. – As News 6 celebrates Black History Month, a local woman who’s been a trailblazer her entire life is speaking out about the history that’s now happening right before our eyes. LaVon Bracy endured relentless attacks as one of the first African Americans to integrate Florida schools. As the first and only African American to graduate from Gainesville High School in Alachua County in 1965, the threats against her life were real. “Every day that I would go to school, I would find dead rats, roaches and snakes under my seat,” Bracy said. I really thought that would be the last day I would be on the earth,” Bracy said.
Black hospital faces vaccine mistrust from unlikely source
Dr. Rita McGuire, an obstetrician and infection control specialist at Roseland Community Hospital talks Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, with staff members about taking the COVID-19 vaccine. "It’s not something that I trust right now,’’ says Bland, 50, who worries about how quickly the COVID-19 vaccines were developed. Many holdouts come from the mostly Black, working class neighborhoods surrounding the hospital, areas hard hit by the virus yet plagued with vaccine reluctance. She acknowledged "centuries of medical injustice’’ against Black Americans but said COVID-19 vaccines resulted from years of solid research. Many workers ‘’have not forgotten about those studies where they used us as experiments,’’ McGuire said, including the infamous Tuskegee research on Black patients with syphilis.
US jobless claims fall slightly to 793,000 with layoffs high
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)WASHINGTON – The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to 793,000, evidence that job cuts remain high despite a substantial decline in new confirmed viral infections. The job market had shown tentative improvement last summer but then slowed through the fall and in the past two months has essentially stalled. Part of that increase likely reflects the processing of a rush of claims after the extension of two federal aid programs just after Christmas. Biden’s proposal would extend, through August, two federal unemployment benefit programs that are set to expire in mid-March. Unlike the previous expiration of extended unemployment aid, which occurred on Dec. 26, the cut-off would be phased in between March 14 and April 11.
Black Heritage Trail in Daytona Beach highlights city’s historical sites
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It’s home to “The World’s Most Famous Beach” and the Daytona International Speedway, but the city of Daytona Beach also has a history full of African American roots. The Black Heritage Trail features 18 locations highlighting important sites around the city. Spots include more well-known areas like the Jackie Robinson Ballpark and Bethune-Cookman University, but also parks and buildings named after residents. AdFILE - This is an April 18, 1948, portrait of Brooklyn Dodgers baseball player Jackie Robinson. The trail and the information provided about the locations are thanks to Yvonne Scarlett-Golden, the city’s first African American mayor and a native of Daytona Beach.
Hank Aaron, civil rights leaders get vaccinated in Georgia
Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron waits to receive his COVID-19 vaccination on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. Aaron and others received their vaccinations in an effort to highlight the importance of getting vaccinated for Black Americans who might be hesitant to do so. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)ATLANTA – Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, former U.N. Ambassador and civil rights leader Andrew Young and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan got vaccinated against COVID-19 in Georgia on Tuesday, hoping to send a message to Black Americans that the shots are safe. Getting vaccinated “makes me feel wonderful," Aaron told The Associated Press.
More US churches are committing to racism-linked reparations
(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)NEW YORK – The Episcopal Diocese of Texas acknowledges that its first bishop in 1859 was a slaveholder. Some major denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention, have not embraced reparations as official policy. The Episcopal Church has been the most active major denomination thus far, and others, including the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, are urging congregations to consider similar steps. This will include scholarships for students attending seminaries or historically Black colleges and assistance for historic Black churches. But Dietsche expects some funds will help congregations launch their own reparations initiatives, particularly if their churches had historical involvement in slavery.
Utah senator blocks national museums for Latinos, women
WASHINGTON – A lone senator from Utah has singlehandedly blocked the bipartisan approval of two new national museums to honor American Latinos and women, arguing that “last thing we need is to further divide an already divided nation.”Republican Sen. Mike Lee objected Thursday to the creation of the two proposed Smithsonian museums, stalling two projects that have been in the making for decades and enjoy broad bipartisan support. Senate approval would have sent the legislation approving the Latino museum to President Donald Trump for his signature. The Senate was attempting to pass the measures by voice vote, which requires every senator's consent. Lee said he sees an exception for museums dedicated to American Indians and African Americans that already sit on the National Mall. “We have been systematically excluded, not because this senator said so but because the Smithsonian itself said so,” Menendez said.
US lawmakers unveil anti-slavery constitutional amendment
FILE - This Nov. 29, 2011, file photo shows the signature of president Abraham Lincoln on a rare, restored copy of the 13th Amendment that ended slavery, in Chicago. As ratified, the original amendment has permitted exploitation of labor by convicted felons for over 155 years since the abolition of slavery. Constitutional amendments are rare and require approval by two-thirds of the House and Senate, as well as ratification by three-quarters of state legislatures. In Merkley’s Oregon, voters in 2002 approved the elimination of constitutional language that prohibited Black Americans from living in the state unless they were enslaved. The prevalence of prison labor has been largely accepted as a means for promoting rehabilitation, teaching trade skills and reducing idleness among prisoners.
Harris becomes first Black woman, South Asian elected VP
They will be sworn in as president and vice president on Jan. 20. “I want us to be committed to the idea that representation is exciting and it’s worthy of celebration and also that we have millions of Black women who deserve a fair shot.”Harris is the second Black woman elected to the Senate. “That’s the kind of policy that also happens when you have voices like ours at the table,” said Jayapal, who in 2016 was the first South Asian woman elected to the U.S. House. Harris' mother raised her daughters with the understanding the world would see them as Black women, Harris has said, and that is how she describes herself today. She attended Howard University, one of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities, and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s first sorority created by and for Black women.
In South, most Black Senate candidates since Reconstruction
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jaime Harrison speaks at a campaign rally on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)COLUMBIA, S.C. – In the battle for control of the U.S. Senate this year, the Deep South is fielding more Black candidates than it has since Reconstruction. Mike Espy and Adrian Perkins, meanwhile, are launching spirited bids for the Senate in Mississippi and Louisiana, respectively. The Senate currently has three Black members: Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democrats Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California. “The more competitive races are, and Black candidates win those competitive races, it diminishes this worry that Black candidates can’t win,” Abrams recently told The Associated Press. In Mississippi, Espy is trying for a second time to become the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction with his challenge to Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith.