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California Attorney General Joins Coalition Pushing Back on “Pay to Pay” Mortgage Fees

Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta called on the federal government to outlaw additional fees companies charge homeowners for paying their mortgages. California is joining 20 other states and the District of Columbia in the effort. “Some financial service

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Blacks in Virginia Beach Are Closing the Wealth Gap

Virginia Beach landed on the top spot of cities where African Americans fare best economically and where Black businesses thrive. According to the personal finance website Smart Asset, Virginia Beach also has the seventh-highest median Black household income, at roughly

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Wells Fargo Accused of Discrimination in Lending

“Last month, it was reported that Wells Fargo approved ONLY 47% of Black homeowners’ mortgage applications compared to 72% of white applicants! We are suing Wells Fargo to demand they CHANGE their practices that are killing Black homeowners opportunities!” Attorney

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Viola Davis Red Carpet Jewelry Supports #BlackisBrilliant Campaign

When Viola Davis sported Matturi Fine Jewelry earrings at the premiere of Showtime Television’s hit show “The First Lady,” she paid more than a tribute to designer Satta Matturi. She wore the jaw-dropping pieces, ethically and sustainably sourced natural diamonds

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President Biden Issues First Pardons, Including First Black to Serve on a Presidential Detail

On April 26, President Biden used his pardon powers as President for the first time. The White House announced three pardons and the commuted sentences of 75 nonviolent drug offenders. The move by President Biden follows calls by justice reform

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Florida Governor Signs Bill to Create New Police Force Targeting “Voter Fraud”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on April 25 to create a new police force that will focus on voter fraud. The move is a further indication that DeSantis is setting up for a run for President that will likely be

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Pandemic’s Heavy Toll on Children’s Mental Health

The Covid-19 pandemic is taking a heavy toll on the health, finances, and mobility of people around the world, affecting almost everyone on the planet. Youth, in particular, have been experiencing an uptick in mental health cases, including depression, in

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Ageism Behind Smear of Sen. Dianne Feinstein

So how would you like the idea of Barbara Lee, Oakland’s member of Congress, getting a bump up to the big house, the U.S. Senate? Lee’s name has risen to the top of the list after some sitting members of

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Annette Taddeo Calls for Boycott of Redistricting Special Session

She characterized the decision to let Gov. DeSantis lead on redistricting as spineless. Sen. Annette Taddeo said she won’t show for next week’s Special Session on redistricting. “If the Governor wants to make a real difference in Floridians’ lives and

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An Extraordinary Life, Linking Past and Present

I was trained to fight by my grandmother, Mamie Bland Todd. She would often remind me, “Pessimists are right more often, but optimists win more often.” “In this life you have to decide what’s more important to you.” Then she

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Allen-Jones Scholarship Boosts Support For 1st-Generation Students

  In 2012, Vara Allen Jones’ colleagues surprised her by creating the Vara Allen-Jones Scholarship for Academic Excellence to support first-generation students and honor her service to the Anchorage community. Vara is a 2019 retired University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)

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André De Shields Stars in ‘Hadestown’ on Broadway

His legendary run in Hadestown coincided with his 50th anniversary as a performer, having made his professional acting debut in the 1969 production of Hair in Chicago. Anaïs Mitchell, Hadestown’s Tony Award-winning writer said, “It was the privilege of a lifetime to work with André, our

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African American Museum & Cultural Center in the Works

Not for lack of talent, the inland empire never had a gallery where Black artists could gather to exhibit their works, bask in their creativity, or otherwise have a place to call home – until now. In the works, the

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Policing Black Bodies Still a Lethal Business

So, the police have killed yet another unarmed black man for an administrative infraction. Patrick Lyoya, 26, was killed outside a house in Grand Rapids, Michigan after a traffic stop for driving with a license plate that did not match

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Birth of a White Nation – The Social Construction and Legal Enactment of “White People”

Birth of a White Nation is a fascinating book on race in America that begins with an exploration of the moment in time when “white people,” as a separate and distinct group of humanity, were invented through legislation and the

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South Carolina’s Zia Cooke is One of the Highest Paid Athletes in College

  Zia Cooke, a 21-year-old junior guard for the University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team, has been named one of the highest-paid athletes in college basketball. “It just shows that we can do a lot of things that a

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Illegal Voting Charges Dropped Against Pamela Moses after Memphis D.A. Gets Pound of Flesh

Pamela Moses spent 82 days in custody after a Tennessee judge handed down a six-year prison sentence against the 44-year-old Black woman for trying to register to vote. On April 22, prosecutors declared that they’d gotten their pound of flesh.

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Golf’s Biggest Stars Set to Arrive in D.C. Area for Wells Fargo Championships

Rory McIlroy, the No. 7 ranked player in the world, and other top players, including Rickie Fowler, and Tony Finau, have announced their commitment to participating in next month’s Wells Fargo Championship as the PGA TOUR returns to the Washington,

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Megan Thee Stallion Opens up About Tory Lanez and 2020 Shooting

Opening up for the first time about the trauma of being shot two years ago, Grammy Award winner Megan Thee Stallion described her fear not only of her assailant but of police officers. “I was lying to protect all of

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Human Rights Declined During the COVID-19 Pandemic, in Countries From Angola to the Us to New Zealand

Human rights activists and international leaders first warned in April 2020 that countries could use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to crack down on human rights. Human rights refers to a wide range of political and social rights recognized

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People of Color Have Been Missing in the Disability Rights Movement – Looking Through History May Help Explain Why

Jennifer Erkulwater is a professor of political science at the University of Richmond. Her scholarship focuses on the politics of poverty, Social Security and disability rights. Below are highlights from an interview with The Conversation. Answers have been edited for

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In Age of Racial Reckoning, Ralph Lauren Partners With Morehouse and Spelman Grads on Vintage Black Fashion Styles

  Prompted by George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, major retail companies touted their commitment to racial justice. Some publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement. The Vermont-based ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s went further and issued a

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Many in Neighborhoods of Color are Breathing More Unhealthy Air Than Ever Before

According to a report published this week by the American Lung Association, almost half of Americans – 137 million people – are experiencing more days of “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” air quality than in the previous two decades combined. The

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Prostate Cancer Rising in Black America

As the United States continues to grapple with its legacy of systemic racism, debates on issues such as police brutality and racial profiling, the economic gulf between Blacks and Whites, and the dearth of access to affordable educational opportunities, there

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Study: Race Is Central to Identity for Black Americans and Affects How They Connect

No matter where they are from, who they are, their economic circumstances or educational backgrounds, significant majorities of Black Americans say being Black is extremely or very important to how they think about themselves. A new Pew Research poll revealed

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Three Lawsuits Challenge City of Oakland, A’s Over Proposed Real Estate Project at Port of Oakland

So far, three lawsuits have already been filed challenging efforts by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and John Fisher of the Oakland A’s to move full-steam ahead to win final approval for building a massive $12 billion private real estate project

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Alzheimer’s Drugs Decision Has Deeper Impact on Health of Blacks, Other Minorities

Last spring, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first new Alzheimer’s disease therapy since 2003. For the 6 million-plus people living with the fatal disease in the United States, the availability of a medicine designed to treat the

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New Poll: Oakland Voters Overwhelmingly Want to Vote on Proposed Stadium Deal

A new poll of Oakland voters conducted by the Mellman Group for the East Oakland Stadium Alliance (EOSA) shows that city residents overwhelmingly want the right to vote on any deal the city strikes with the Oakland A’s using public

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Pittsburgh Steelers QB Dwayne Haskins Hit By Car, Killed in Florida

  Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was killed when he was hit by a dump truck while walking on a South Florida highway. Haskins was stranded on the highway and was looking for gas when the incident occurred in the

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Registration open for HBCU student business pitch competition   

$185,000 in scholarships, internships and hands-on business lessons up for grabs  Ally Financial Inc. and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the largest organization exclusively representing the Black College community, have opened registration for the fourth annual Moguls in the Making pitch competition,

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Students of Color in Special Education Are Less Likely To Get the Help They Need – Here Are 3 Ways Teachers Can Do Better

When I was a special education teacher at Myrtle Grove Elementary School in Miami in 2010, my colleagues and I recommended that a Black girl receive special education services because she had difficulty reading. However, her mother disagreed. When I

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Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray was the First Black Person to Earn a Doctorate in Law From Yale University

  Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray was the first African American to earn a doctorate in law (JSD) from Yale University. Even more, she conceptualized the arguments that won Brown v. Board of Education which ended segregation in public schools and

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African American Holistic Physician and Author Launches New Platform to Combat Racism

  Elaine R. Ferguson, MD, a noted pioneering holistic physician, author, and the founder of One Health, LLC, has launched Rise & Thrive™: Healing Hate’s Invisible Harm, a groundbreaking holistic healing initiative designed to provide a vast array of programs,

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House Committee Plans Hearing on ‘Underfunded’ and Operationally Challenged IRS

U.S. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Mass.), the chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, plans to hold a virtual hearing to examine the operations and financial condition of the IRS. In March, the Internal Revenue Service reported being chronically underfunded

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CDC Launches New Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics

New center will enhance capability for timely, effective decision-making to improve outbreak response using data, models, and analytics The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced the launch of the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA).

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Howard University’s Gregory Odom Jr. Accepts Sponsor Exemption To Wells Fargo Championship

PGA TOUR coming to DC area May 4-8 Potomac, MD April 19, 2022 — Tournament officials announced today that Gregory Odom Jr., a senior standout on the Howard University Men’s golf team, accepted a sponsor exemption to compete in the

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HBCU Grads, These Two Black Doctor Siblings Are Empowering Patients to Be More “Medically Literate”

Drs. Shamolie Wyckoff and Elita Wyckoff Jones, both Spelman College alumna and also fleshly sisters, have collaborated to write With Ease, Navigating the Medical Office Visit to respond to the increasing healthcare needs, particularly for people of color, the elderly

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Jackie Robinson Was a Republican Until the GOP Became the ‘White Man’s Party’

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson played his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers, forever changing baseball and society. Robinson was Black, and the integration of all-white major league baseball was perhaps the most important story about civil rights in

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Is It Possible To Heal the Damage We Have Already Done to the Earth?

Sometimes it may seem that humans have altered the Earth beyond repair. But our planet is an incredible system in which energy, water, carbon and so much else flows and nurtures life. It is about 4.5 billion years old and

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Christians Hold Many Views on Jesus’ Resurrection – A Theologian Explains the Differing Views Among Baptists

  Every year, Christians from around the world gather for worship on Easter Sunday. Also known as Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, Easter is the final day of a weeklong commemoration of the story of Jesus’ final days in the city

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Advocates Say FBI Missing Children Data Misleading; Does Disservice to Black Juveniles

Missing white children receive far more media coverage than missing Black and Brown children. A fact advocates often point to when explaining the disparity in attention provided to individuals of color. But another unsettling fact has emerged with the release

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Theegala ready to follow model set by Hovland, Morikawa

When invitations were sent out for the 86th annual Masters Tournament, there’s no debating that the world’s best players weren’t going to be in attendance. But should you ask about the best storylines, the discussion could shift in another direction.

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Florida Bans 41 Percent of Math Books Because of CRT

The Florida Department of Education said the state has rejected more than 50 math textbooks ahead of the 2022-2023 school year. The department cited references to critical race theory among reasons for the rejections. Officials said they would not accept

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The Brain Shrinks by 5 Pct Beginning at 45, Experts Say Banish the Distractions

Ted Zanto, an associate professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, said aging shrinks the brain by about 5 percent between age 45 and 60. Additionally, while AARP writer Sari Harrar noted that might sound small, it

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White House Unveils Steps to Advance Equity in America

The Department of Health and Human Services said its increasing outreach to communities of color to encourage enrollment in free and low-cost health care, and the agency will address the maternal mortality crisis that disproportionately impacts Black and Native families,

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Black Lives Should Also Matter in the Russia-Ukraine War

Black Americans have enjoyed an enduring bond with Africa and their brothers and sisters living on the Continent, with many U.S.-based civil rights agencies, clergy members, and African American organizations taking a keen interest in the welfare of citizens in

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Vacationing In Palm Springs With The All-Electric 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge: The Rise Of Conscious Design

With the pandemic seemingly beginning to dwindle, people have been anxious to travel freely again, whether for vacation or simply to an idyllic destination for a work trip. In my case, I was able to unify the best of both

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FDA — Smoking While Black and Brown in America

      Whenever the history of racial discrimination in the United States appears to repeat itself, it produces predictable rhymes and sometimes tragic social consequences. Mark Twain, Ida B. Wells, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison all had one thing

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Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational Presented by Cisco Announces Field, Purse

Billy Horschel APGA Tour Invitational presented by Cisco announces field, purse, sponsors and Korn Ferry Tour event exemption May 4 – 6 event at TPC Sawgrass will include a field of 18 players with the largest purse in APGA Tour

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Greear Webb: Youth Have Always Been on The Front Lines A GDN Exclusive

“Youth have always been on the front lines of history.” Unknown “Using that as a point of connection and having those one-on-one conversations with older generations is how, he says, “we can best achieve change and continue this movement. Adding,

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