It takes people like Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro, to remind and educate Black people of their heritage, which includes a special connection to nature. ... read more »

SOULNIC adds music — lots of it —  for an incomparable picnic experience going into its 13th year in Los Angeles this summer.  ... read more »

Nearly half of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, but the burden of disease is disproportionately higher in Black people, who have among the highest rates of hypertension in the world. ... read more »

The FDA is finally moving a proposed national ban on menthol flavored cigarettes and flavored cigars after more than a decade of inaction and a citizens petition lawsuit brought by the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council and Action on Smoking and Health, the American Medical Association, and the National Medical Association. ... read more »

Whether it is other philanthropists, local or regional health centers, or state and federal officials, there is a desperate need for creative solutions to getting more people screened and saving more lives. Smith’s initiative is an innovative approach, but there are other ways to spread awareness and boost screenings in the Black community.   ... read more »

Soul Source LA is an event curated by Eric Carter Chu, better known in the DJ realm as “its.blksoap.” The inspiration for Soul Source LA is to create a safe space that promotes freedom and self expression for dancers and deejays. ... read more »

Few Americans believe there has been significant progress over the last 50 years in achieving equal treatment for Black people in dealings with police and the criminal justice system, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. ... read more »

October 14: Martin Luther King Jr. received a Nobel Peace Prize, 1964 ... read more »

The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals continues to fall, declining from 670 on Saturday to 656, according to the latest data released by the state. The number of those patients in intensive care remained the same at 202. It was the 36th time in the past 41 days that the number of COVID patients in county hospitals declined, down from a summer peak of nearly 1,800 brought on by the more contagious Delta variant. ... read more »

October 10: Grammy award winning singer, actress and dancer Mya Marie Harrison was born, 1979 ... read more »

October 9: Death of mathematician Benjamin Banneker (74), in Ellicott's Mills, Maryland. ... read more »

October 8: Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.” ... read more »

October 6: Activist, Fannie Lou Hamer was born in Montgomery County, Mississippi. Hamer was a civil rights activist who helped African Americans register to vote and co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1964. ... read more »

October 5: Yvonne Brathwaite Burke was the first Black Congresswoman from California. Born in Los Angeles, Burke discovered a lot of feats, in 1966, she became the first African American woman elected to the California assembly. ... read more »

October 3: Alfred Sharpton Born in Brooklyn, New York, 1954 ... read more »