Last year, a version of the ordinance that exempted menthol cigarettes was opposed by Black council members Mark Ridley-Thomas, Marqueece Harris Dawson and Curren Price. They argued that studies have found Black Americans are the racial/ethnic group most likely to use menthol cigarettes and are 25 times more likely than White Americans to do so. ... read more »

At the Dallas Police Department/Korean American Safety Town Hall Meeting on Monday night, you didn’t have to speak the language to know the feelings that were dominating the room. These citizens gathered in the wake of three racially motivated shootings at Korean-owned and operated businesses and they wanted answers.  ... read more »

For almost 40 years starting in the 1930s, as government researchers purposely let hundreds of Black men die of syphilis in Alabama so they could study the disease, a foundation in New York covered funeral expenses for the deceased. The payments were vital to survivors of the victims in a time and place ravaged by poverty and racism. ... read more »

In conjunction with the Lakers’ In The Paint program, All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony shared his wisdom on perseverance to a group of Boyle Heights youth through his memoir “Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised”  ... read more »

American Express and Resy launched "Every Resy Counts," on March 1. The reservation drive looked to encourage people from New York to California to book a table at independently operated restaurants. ... read more »

The money from two different settlement deals will be used to support recovery and relief efforts for people struggling with opioid addiction, a problem that disproportionately affects African Americans. It has been identified as a contributing factor to the high rate of unhoused Black people in California. ... read more »

February 16th brought the opening of playwright, Jeremy O. Harris’, unflinching new work, “Slave Play”, at the Mark Taper Forum in Downtown Los Angeles after almost two years of no performances due to COVID-19. ... read more »

As an African American growing up in Queens, New York, Al Holcomb spent his fall Sundays watching Tom Landry and the Dallas Cowboys on television, and dreaming of one day becoming an NFL head coach. ... read more »

Photo Gallery: Remembering Colin Powell ... read more / view gallery »

People will think this is a book about, you know, going to the Golden Globes and meeting a bunch of celebrities, and a bunch of powerful men whose lives were impacted by #MeToo. I want to tell a different story. My story is ordinary and also extraordinary: It’s so many other little black girls’ stories, so many young women’s stories. We don’t pay attention to the nuances of what survival looks like or what sexual violence feels like and how it impacts our lives. So it just felt important. This is a story that’s been growing inside me for more than 40 years. It was time to give it a home outside of my body. ... read more »

Actor Michael K. Williams, who as the rogue robber of drug dealers Omar Little on “The Wire” created one of the most popular characters in television in recent decades, died Monday. Williams was found dead Monday afternoon in his Brooklyn penthouse apartment, New York City police said. He was 54. ... read more »

August 16: Actress and activist Angela Bassett was born in New York City, NY, 1958 ... read more »

Amid an ugly sexual misconduct scandal, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned on Tuesday, August 10. “I’m a New Yorker, born and bred. I’m a fighter, and my instinct is to fight through this controversy because I truly believe it is politically motivated, I believe it is unfair, and it is untruthful. I believe it demonizes behavior that is unsustainable for society,” a defiant Cuomo remarked. ... read more »

After several delays, the first phase of the sex trafficking trial of R&B hitmaker R. Kelly started Monday with jury selection in New York City. ... read more »

Biz Markie, a hip-hop staple known for his beatboxing prowess, turntable mastery and the 1989 classic “Just a Friend,” has died. He was 57. ... read more »