Billionaire Robert Smith, who pledged during a commencement speech last year to pay off the student debt of the graduating class at Morehouse College, is launching a new initiative aimed at easing the burden of student loans at historically Black colleges and universities.

Last week, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced the Protect our Protesters Act to criminalize police violence against demonstrators exercising their constitutional rights. After the unjust murder of George Floyd, people across the country protested their opposition to police brutality and were …

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) recently announced it is investing up to $30 million from its endowment in voter outreach organizations in the Deep South to increase voter registration and participation among people of color with a lower propensity to vote.The initiative, called Vote …

Today, the House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, by a bipartisan vote of 236 to 181. The legislation is the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement, empower our communities, and build trust between law enforce…

The sound of Public Enemy’s 1989 song “Fight the Power” blared as face-masked protesters in Washington, D.C. broke into a spontaneous rendition of the electric slide dance near the White House.

George Floyd's death is a symbol of hope to 20 family members who didn’t receive justice when their loved ones were killed by police. Videos of Ahmaud Arbery’s and George Floyd’s brutal deaths sparked outrage. But what happens when there isn’t a video circulating on social media. Several Bla…

Warning: Graphic images and video below.

For Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza the global outpouring of protests and activism following the murder of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody has been heartening and makes her hopeful for the future. At the same time, she said, “It’s bittersweet that it takes someone…

Underlying the recent unrest sweeping U.S. cities over police brutality is a fundamental inequity in wealth, land and power that has circumscribed Black lives since the end of slavery in the U.S.

On-the-ground views of the protests sweeping the country are vital for understanding who is protesting and why. Mainstream news media coverage and individuals’ social media posts only go so far – and can focus on violence and disruption.

Amidst the burned-out husks of buildings and just blocks from the 3rd District police station, where many neighboring businesses were looted and burned, some bars and restaurants, their windows still covered in plywood, are opening for business.

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Just after midnight on March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, an EMT in Louisville, Kentucky, was shot and killed by police officers who raided her home.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today hailed the unanimous vote of the Minnesota Board of Pardons to grant a posthumous pardon to Max Mason. Mason, a traveling African American circus worker, was wrongly convicted on a groundless charge of rape in the aftermath of the public lynchin…

The campaign to defund the police has swept across the U.S.  Protestors who have been pushing for drastic changes to policing have taken a huge step forward. On Sunday, Minneapolis City Councilmembers in a veto-proof majority made up by Council President Lisa Bender, Alondra Cano, Phillipe C…

The intersection of E. 38th Street and S. Chicago Avenue, where George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, was filled with chalk art, flowers, and calls of “Black Lives Matter” Friday. It was at that intersection that a group of LGBTQ activists and community members hoped to af…

 “George Floyd’s story has been the story of Black folks,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, delivering a passionate eulogy Thursday at a Minneapolis memorial service honoring the life and death of George Floyd, 46, who was murdered by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison made several announcements today in the prosecution of the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis.

West Broadway in North Minneapolis was lined with businesses where community members could get groceries, supplies and even a slice of pizza for free on Saturday.

From the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to the Streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Louisville, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and New York City, and the bright lights of the Big Apple, African Americans are expressing outrage over the police killing of George Floyd, t…

After a tumultuous night of clashes between police and demonstrators in the Longfellow neighborhood, residents near the site of the protests emerged to survey the damage and start to clean-up.

George Floyd’s family members say they want the four officers at the scene charged with murder. "They were supposed to be there to serve and to protect and I didn't see a single one of them lift a finger to do anything to help while he was begging for his life. Not one of them tried to do an…

Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives passed, with a 208 to 199 vote, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act), a $3 trillion COVID-19 relief package that includes more funding to address the immediate needs of families with low income. In…

U.S. Bank has developed a single site full of online resources where customers can find helpful information regarding their financial needs. Through this online resource and other partnerships, U.S. Bank aims to provide simple, clear information to help individuals and small businesses get t…

The NAACP, the nation’s foremost social justice organization, has launched a campaign entitled #WeAreDoneDying, aimed at exposing the inequities embedded into the American healthcare system and the country at large. From COVID-19 to running while Black in America, the abuse faced by people o…

Months after the U.S. House passed a new lynching law, which has been held up by the Republican-led U.S. Senate, and a day after investigative journalist Ida B. Wells was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize — a lynching story dated February 23, 2020 is in the news.

The U.S. Census Bureau will begin a phased restart of some 2020 Census field operations in select geographic areas.  

The Class of 2020 is one of the most unique graduating classes in modern history. Commencements and other celebratory events have been canceled due to the pandemic. To meet the demands of the times, former President Barack Obama will deliver a televised prime-time commencement address for th…

Black Americans are typically undercounted during the U.S. Census, resulting in a loss of resources and political power.  

Worldwide media coverage has presented the COVID-19 pandemic as an indiscriminate novel virus – a global leveler. 

Black Enterprise Founder and Publisher Earl G. Graves, Sr., the quintessential entrepreneur who created a vehicle of information and advocacy that has inspired four generations of African Americans to build wealth through entrepreneurship, career advancement and money management, has died. A…

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced the Student Debt Emergency Relief Act, legislation that provides immediate monthly payment relief for federal student loan borrowers, cancels at least $30,000 in outstanding student loan debt per bo…

If you have a big appetite for politics news, you’re not going to go hungry this week.

Rev. Dr. William Barber II believes that everyone has a right to live.

The conditions at Mississippi’s Parchman prison makes it one of the worst detention facilities in the world, according to reform advocates and human rights organizations.Death and violence are rampant, many inmates are without beds, and electricity, plumbing, and fundamental human rights are…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Congressional Black Caucus released the following statement yesterday in response to the announcement by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that two members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) and Val Demings (FL-10), will serve as managers for…

Reps. Ilhan Omar and Barbara Lee Announce War Powers Resolution To Prevent War With Iran

Editor's Note: The below op/ed was originally published as a letter to the editor by The New York Times. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. The op/ed is reproduced here by request.December 18 — Today the House of Representatives will vote on whether to…

Shortly after the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to impeach President Donald Trump on Friday, December 13, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) held a conference call with publishers of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association …

In the century following the Civil War, as many as 5,000 people of color were murdered by mobs who believed in the cause of white supremacy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) President Dorothy Tucker will intensify efforts to combat increasing verbal and physical attacks against journalists, including NABJ members, in the United States and abroad. 

In keeping with former first lady Michelle Obama’s commitment to supporting adolescent girls’ education all over the world, she announced on Giving Tuesday (Dec. 3) she will donate more than $500,000 – the proceeds she derived from 2018 and 2019 merchandise sales related to her book, “Becomi…

Chairwoman Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) led a delegation of Congressional Black Caucus members to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday in San Ysidro, California, where they said they witnessed first-hand the deplorable treatment and plight of Black immigrants.

To say Cyntoia Brown’s life has been complicated is an understatement. Brown is a young, black woman sentenced as an adult to life in prison when as a teenager, she killed Johnny Mitchell Allen, a 43-year-old man, who had solicited her for sex. Brown maintained she killed Allen in self-defen…