By: Amber Smith Several years after leaving Morgan State University with a major in physical education, Marcus Dumorin found himself grappling with repaying his $55,000 student loan debt while handling monthly obligations, including caring for his young daughter and sick mother. His monthly payments had reached as high as $600, an insurmountable challenge given his…
By Énoa Gibson The time of lynching for Black folks in America was the same for hundreds of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans—La Hora de Sangre, the “Time of Blood,” they have come to call it in Spanish. It was a time of racial persecution, injustice and countless mob-infused deaths; and 1918 and 1919 were particularly noteworthy…
By Nyah Marshall The third largest community of would-be voters in Granville County, N.C. is neither a city nor a town. It is four federal correctional centers and a state penitentiary that house more than 4,000 inmates, about half the population of the two largest cities—Oxford, the county seat, and Butner, where the prisons are…
By Courtney Williams Five years ago, it was difficult to demonize Toni Morrison or her books. She was the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, as well as the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Presidential Medal of Freedom had been bestowed upon her. She was a woman, and she was Black. Democrat Terry McAuliffe was governor…
By Brittney DeZwaan A Denver suburb’s decision to pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of Elijah McClain acknowledged the role police officers had in his death after they handcuffed and placed him in a chokehold. Three officers were indicted on murder charges in September. But two Aurora paramedics also were…
By Ryan Thomas Just last month, Greenbelt, a small Maryland suburb outside the nation’s capital, became the latest to join the movement for local reparations, as voters approved legislation to study ways to repair the damage past policies did to Black and Native American residents. Colin Byrd, mayor of the city of about 23,000, said…
By Nyah Marshall Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may have had the best of intentions when she showed up at the Met Gala in a white mermaid-style gown with “Tax the Rich” on the back in bold red letters. Her motive was to push those who have much, to share more with those who have less. “She wanted…
By Fatou Drammeh Bill Maher, the comedian, satirist and host of the “Real Time” talk show on HBO, spoke fully and forcefully of the disdain those on the political right may have felt after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez showed up at September’s Met Gala fundraiser wearing a custom-designed white gown with “Tax the Rich” in bold…
By Chanel Cain Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s debut at the Met Gala was rocky to say the least. The event’s theme, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” offered opportunities to critique the nation’s faults. Not one to shy away from a challenge, AOC took a chance. Perhaps she could have taken a lesson from another fashion protestor….
By Janáe Bradford New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was hoping red, white and green could be colors for change at the Met Gala in September. She wore a custom white gown designed by Aurora James of Brother Vellies. The fashion statement was on its back: “Tax the Rich,” in bold, red letters. Green—lots of it—was…