Category: Black Issues

Women With Access to Higher Education Changed America—But Now They’re Bearing the Brunt of the Student Debt Crisis

Higher education policy has taken center stage in the 2020 Democratic Presidential primary, with candidates proposing big ideas including free college and student debt cancellation. Candidates’ focus on this issue stems from a very real change in the experience of paying for college. One in five U.S. households was burdened by student loan debt, as…

I Feared My Enslaved Ancestors Had Been Dishonored in Death—But the African Burial Ground in New York City Tells a Different Story

The oral history of my family says that President James Madison, a Founding Father of our nation, was also a Founding Father of my African American family. In 1992, when I realized I knew a lot about how the president had lived his life but little about how his slaves had lived theirs, I took…

The 5 Best New TV Shows Our Critic Watched in March 2020

The entertainment industry essentially ground to a halt in mid-March, as coronavirus swept the nation, rendering everything from concerts and movie theaters to publicity events and film shoots unsafe, if not illegal. We have to take our distractions where we can get them in these anxious times, so I for one have never been more…

The ‘Exhausted Majority’ Wakes Up for Joe Biden

As recently as two weeks ago it looked like American politics had settled into a divisive new reality. The aggressive ideological wings so dominated the two political parties that they guaranteed that the general election contest would be between two most polarizing candidates, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. The battle would be fought between one…

The Trump Administration Is Stalling an Intel Report That Warns the U.S. Isn’t Ready for a Global Pandemic

An annual intelligence report that has been postponed without explanation by President Donald Trump’s administration warns that the U.S. remains unprepared for a global pandemic, two senior government officials who have reviewed a draft of the report tell TIME. The office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) was scheduled to deliver the Worldwide Threat…

Let Ms. Tina Explain Why Solange Was Always Destined to Win a Prize for Social Impact

On Friday night, singer-songwriter and multimedia artist Solange Knowles received the first Lena Horne Prize for Artists Creating Social Impact, celebrating at New York City’s historic Town Hall theater and memorializing Horne, the trailblazing actress and activist. There to mark the occasion: Horne’s daughter, the author and activist Gail Lumet Buckley and granddaughter Jenny Lumet;…

Resurgent Joe Biden Starts Super Tuesday With Big Virginia Win as Bernie Sanders Takes Vermont

(WASHINGTON) — A resurgent Joe Biden scored sweeping victories across the country with the backing of a diverse coalition and progressive rival Bernie Sanders seized Super Tuesday’s biggest prize with a win in California as the Democratic Party’s once-crowded presidential field suddenly transformed into a two-man contest. The two Democrats, lifelong politicians with starkly different…

Sanders and Biden to Face Off in Debate on Sunday, Amid a Winnowing Primary and COVID-19. Here’s What to Know

What a difference a few weeks can make. Since the last Democratic presidential debate on Feb. 25, former Vice President Joe Biden has emerged as the party’s presidential primary front runner, cementing a clear path towards his nomination. Only Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders remains a viable opponent to the former Delaware senator, and his candidacy…

7 Democrats Take the Stage for the Last Debate Before the South Carolina Primary — And Super Tuesday: Follow Live

We’re in the endgame now. On Tuesday night, seven Democrats faced off in Charleston for the last Democratic debate of February, just a few days before the South Carolina primary. Crucially, it is also the final debate before Super Tuesday on March 3, when more than a third of all delegates for the Democratic National…

Amy Klobuchar Calls for Independent Review of Murder Case That Dogged Her Presidential Campaign

(MINNEAPOLIS) — US Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked a top Minnesota prosecutor Thursday to initiate an independent investigation into the case of Myon Burrell, a black teen sentenced to life after an 11-year-old black girl was killed by a stray bullet. “As you are aware, significant concerns about the evidence and police investigation have been raised…

Joe Biden’s Win in Michigan Gives Him a Clear Path to the Democratic Nomination

Joe Biden is looking more and more like the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, adding to his delegate lead on Tuesday with another set of primary victories that further deflated Bernie Sanders’ campaign. Six states voted on Tuesday, and Biden won the first three to close their polls: Michigan, Mississippi and Missouri. Voting continued in Washington,…

Joe Biden Wins Michigan Democratic Primary, Delivering Major Blow to Bernie Sanders

(WASHINGTON) — Joe Biden won Michigan’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, seizing a key battleground state that helped propel Bernie Sanders’ insurgent candidacy four years ago. The former vice president’s victory in Michigan, as well as Missouri and Mississippi, dealt a serious blow to Sanders, who is urgently seeking to jump-start his flagging campaign. Sanders could…

Barack Obama Sends Cease-and-Desist Over South Carolina Ad Attacking Joe Biden

Former President Barack Obama called on South Carolina TV stations to stop airing an attack ad that uses his voice to criticize his former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday, accusing Republicans of trying to suppress black voter turnout ahead of the state’s Democratic primary on Saturday. The ad, paid for by pro-Trump PAC the…

30 Books and Series to Read While Social Distancing

No matter what’s going on in the world, a good book can provide insight, comfort or a welcome escape. As the COVID-19 outbreak continues and many of us are seeking entertainment while staying home, reading offers some respite. Now may be the time to finally dig into that epic novel you’ve had on your shelf…

Inside the Efforts to Prepare African Countries for COVID-19

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increases around the world—with new clusters recently emerging in Italy, Iran and South Korea—the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that its “biggest worry” is to make sure that the disease does not spread in countries with weaker health systems that have historically struggled to contain infectious disease outbreaks…

You Can Learn a Lot About Yourself From a DNA Test. Here’s What Your Genes Cannot Tell You

“Have you found an article of clothing with a suspicious stain?” asks the website of one Florida-based company called All About Truth DNA Services, which informs readers that “aprrpoximately [sic] 60% of husbands and 40% of wives will have an affair at some point,” and recommends consumers wait for their “suspicious item” to dry and…

Joe Biden Wins Florida Primary as Coronavirus Disrupts Voting

(WASHINGTON) — Joe Biden swept to victory in Florida, Illinois and Arizona on Tuesday, increasingly pulling away with a Democratic presidential primary upended by the coronavirus and building pressure on Bernie Sanders to abandon his campaign. The former vice president’s third big night in as many weeks came amid tremendous uncertainty as the Democratic contest…

Joyce Ladner Used Her Stories to Raise Awareness of the Civil Rights Movement. Now, She’s Telling Them in a New Way

When The March, TIME’s virtual reality re-creation of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, opens to the public on Friday at Chicago’s DuSable Museum of African American History, visitors will be able to experience being part of the crowd on the day in 1963 when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I…

Mojo: Biden Finds His Confidence in South Carolina, But is it Too Late?

Joe Biden has hit his stride. After a stumbling start to the Democratic presidential contest, the former Vice President is heading into Saturday’s South Carolina primary loose, scrappy and running in front. Polls show him ahead, fundraising is suddenly coming easily, and his crowds are matching those of his rivals. The difference is showing in…

Supreme Court Halts Alabama Execution of Nathaniel Woods so It Can Review His Appeal

(ATMORE, Ala.) — Alabama was set to put to death an inmate Thursday evening for the 2004 slayings of three police officers shot by another man at a suspected drug house. The U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution plan at least temporarily to review his appeal. Nathaniel Woods, 43, was scheduled to receive a lethal…

‘I Was Not Going to Stand.’ Rosa Parks Predecessors Recall Their History-Making Acts of Resistance

On March 2, 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was sitting on a totally full bus in Montgomery, Ala., when the driver asked her and three black schoolmates give up the whole row so that a white woman could sit. According to her biographer Phillip Hoose’s account of the events, her classmates got up and moved to…

Why TIME Decided to Revisit a Century of Women and Influence

Throughout its history, editors of TIME aimed their curiosity at those who broke free of gravity. Week after week, year after year, the magazine featured an individual on the cover, often from Washington but also from Wall Street or Hollywood, from foreign palaces and humming factories, all outstanding and almost always men. The “great man…

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Son Asks Alabama to Stop Inmate’s Upcoming Execution

(MOBILE, Ala.) — The son of Martin Luther King, Jr. has called on Alabama’s governor to stop Thursday’s plan to execute an inmate for the 2004 killings of three police officers in which authorities say a co-defendant did the shooting. Nathaniel Woods, 43, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday evening at a south…

Accused of Calling a Black Juror ‘Aunt Jemima,’ Pennsylvania Judge Barred From Cases

A Pittsburgh area judge accused of making racist comments about a juror has been barred from hearing cases, according to a court order issued this week. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Mark Tranquilli is accused of repeatedly referring to a black juror as “Aunt Jemima.” Tranquilli made the racially-charged references during a conversation in his…

A Wrongfully Convicted Kansas Man Who Spent 23 Years in Prison Is Awarded $1.5 Million

A Kansas man who spent over two decades in prison for a double murder he didn’t commit will be awarded $1.5 million for his wrongful conviction, according to the Kansas State Attorney General’s office. Lamonte McIntyre was convicted and sentenced to two terms of life in prison for the murders of Donald Ewing and Doniel…

Where Trump’s Acquittal Fits Into the History of Impeachment, According to Historians

On Wednesday, the Senate ended President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial with a result that was momentous, if not surprising: with their vote not to convict him and remove him from office, he became only the third President in American history to reach that point. Trump was acquitted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction…

Joe Biden Says It’s Not Time to Panic. But His Campaign Is In Trouble.

After back-to-back dismal finishes, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign is scrambling to sharpen its strategy as it heads into a do-or-die stretch. Biden advisers spent much of Wednesday on the phone with donors and supporters, seeking to reassure loyalists that it’s not time to panic. They told allies to look for more of Biden…

The Enduring Mystery of Malcolm X’s Assassination

Friday marks 55 years since Malcolm X, one of the 20th century’s most important black figures, was assassinated at age 39 while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York, on Feb. 21, 1965. In the more than half a century since, what happened that day has remained the subject of debate. Three members…

‘You Never Find Quiet Except Under a Tyranny.’ Congress Has Always Been Partisan and That’s a Good Thing.

In the throes of the worst crisis in American history, the Civil War, Democrats in Congress repeatedly attacked Abraham Lincoln as a “tyrant” and even his fellow Republicans questioned his competence and investigated his generals. Beleaguered though he often felt, Lincoln never claimed that Congress lacked the authority to challenge his actions or declined to…

These Overlooked Black Women Shaped Malcolm X’s Life

The anniversary of the Feb. 21, 1965, assassination of Malcolm X was surrounded by a renewed wave of interest in the black nationalist leader’s life and death — particularly with the release of the recent Netflix series Who Killed Malcolm X? and the subsequent news that the Manhattan District Attorney will review the investigation of…