Even as overall graduation rates improve, Black and Hispanic students continue to lag behind that curve. Graduation rates for African American students are 76.4 percentage points—8 percentage points behind the national average—and Latino students are at 79.3 percent. Native American students fare even worse at just 72 percent graduation. Meanwhile, White and Asian students are anywhere from four to six points higher than the national average. ... read more »

A new generation of Democrats, such as New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is challenging the party’s establishment, writes Jesse Jackson, and the party’s goal should be to embrace the “moral center.” ... read more »

The house was included in an auction by Guernsey's in New York as part of a larger sale of African American cultural and historic items. It was listed with a minimum bid of $1 million, with a presale estimate of $1 million to $3 million. ... read more »

Tamara Tunie, actress of AMC’s new hit show Dietland, spoke to the Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper.  Dietland shines light on the current issues facing society from a woman’s perspective. Tunie long list of accomplishments includes directing, musical theater, and producing stage plays.    ... read more »

For decades, scholars have wanted to get a closer look at unpublished sections of a towering 20th century book, "The Autobiography of Malcolm X,'' including cut chapters that may have contained some of the most explosive thoughts of the African American firebrand assassinated in 1965.  ... read more »

The Skirball Cultural Center announces the lineup for its twenty-second annual free summertime live music series, Sunset Concerts. This year’s artists showcase local and global influences from Malawian Nyanja Vibes, socially conscious R&B, psychedelic dream-pop, and Afro-Americana to experimental indie rock and Ethiopian funk. In addition to pioneering new sounds inspired by their own cultural identities and traditions, they utilize their art to bridge communities. Presented every summer since 1997 in the Skirball’s picturesque hillside setting, Sunset Concerts features both emerging and established talents, drawing music fans from across greater Los Angeles. ... read more / view event »

Starting last summer, student loan servicers like Navient have been lobbying DeVos to shield them from liability for their practices. And it’s worked. Despite objections from a bi-partisan group of Attorneys General (AGs), the National Association of Governors, and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, DeVos and the Department of Education have increasingly made it more difficult for state and federal law enforcement agencies to do their jobs by retracting information sharing agreements with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and instructing servicers not share student loan information with state law enforcement and banking supervisors. ... read more »

The California African American Museum (CAAM) announced today that it will open four new exhibitions in fall 2018, including two original exhibitions that examine important chapters of African Americans history in California and solo exhibitions of new and recent works by artists Nina Chanel Abney (in conjunction with the Institute for Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) and Robert Pruitt. One of the upcoming exhibitions also includes CAAM’s first partnership with its Exposition Park neighbor, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is lending pieces from its collection. ... read more / view event »

When Dorcas, a home health aide living in New York, learned of her mother's illness, she used most of her vacation time to fly home and care for her. After a few weeks her leave was exhausted and tragically she could no longer afford to be with her mother in the final days of her illness. In the end, Dorcas was forced to take unpaid leave, and return to Florida, arriving just hours before her mother passed away.  ... read more »

Lauded singer-songwriter Goapele kicks off the twenty-second season of the Skirball Cultural Center’s Sunset Concerts on Thursday, July 26, at 8:00 p.m, with her deeply personal take on R&B, soul, funk, and hip-hop. The evening begins with DJ Mamabear of dublab, who will spin a set at 6:30 p.m. ... read more / view event »

Start Date:July 19, 2018 End Date:July 19, 2018 Time:7:00 pm To 10:00 pm Location:MacArthur Park, Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles, W. 6th Street & S. Park View Street, ... read more / view event »

Akuchu, who started break-dancing when he was a teenager, says "hip-hop's history is embedded in its movement.'' You can't separate that history from the moves themselves. ... read more »

Cotton died Sunday afternoon at the Kendal at Ithaca retirement community in New York, said Jared Harrison, a close friend who was at her bedside. Harrison said she had battled illnesses recently but didn't specify a cause of death. ... read more »

The lawsuit was filed on Monday, May 14 by “Protect Our Parks,” a nonprofit organization that seeks a court order to “bar the Park District and the City from approving the building of the Presidential Center and from conveying any interest in or control of the Jackson Park site to the Foundation.” ... read more »

Arch Colson Whitehead on November 6, 1969, novelist Colson Whitehead spent his formative years in Manhattan, New York with his parents, Arch and Mary Anne Whitehead, who owned a recruiting firm, and three siblings. Of his childhood, he has said that he preferred reading science fiction and fantasy and watching horror films. ... read more »