On the June 28 broadcast of the 2020 BET Awards, the network included Brown’s image and name in a video montage of famous African Americans who have died within the last year. The tribute included Diahann Carroll, Bill Withers, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, Pernell Whitaker and others.   ... read more »

The state of California  started recognizing Juneteenth or Black “Freedom Day,” marking the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, back in 2003 as an official state observance. That was 17 years before Juneteenth became a household word across the United States this year.  ... read more »

The lawsuit arose out of Comcast’s decision several years ago not to carry several Allen-owned television channels, such as Pets.TV and Recipe.TV. Comcast has argued its rejection of Allen’s channels was purely a business decision, reflecting what it viewed as the channels’ limited audience appeal. Allen then promptly filed a $20 billion lawsuit against Comcast, alleging that the company’s refusal to contract with Allen’s company was racially motivated, in violation of Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. ... read more »

There are half a million people, mostly men, mostly white, but way too many African Americans. African Americans are 13 percent of the population and 40 percent of the homeless. The homeless are primarily concentrated in California, New York, Florida, and Texas, but you can find them in almost any community. Two-thirds of the homeless are sheltered on a given night, but a third are sleeping on the streets, on park benches, in alleys, under awnings. To quote the late great Congressman Elijah Cummings, "we are better than this." ... read more »

SCLC is planning a new Poor People’s Campaign focused on empowerment, education and food for those in poverty. ... read more »

Stressing that they were acting out of "an abundance of caution'' and not panic, Los Angeles city and county officials today declared a state of emergency for the novel coronavirus, as six new cases of the disease were revealed in the county in the last 48 hours. ... read more »

A San Francisco Bay Area school district voted Wednesday to name an elementary school after former First Lady Michelle Obama.  ... read more »

For years, Richard Manning knew what he needed to cope with his physical pain, rage and PTSD — much of which he traced to a career-ending knee injury he suffered while on a domestic security detail with the Marines. ... read more »

Californians will soon have sweeping digital-privacy rights stronger than any seen before in the U.S., posing a significant challenge to Big Tech and the data economy it helped create. ... read more »

Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro joined members of Black Lives Matter today as they demanded that police officers who shot and killed a man running through a mall carrying a long knife be held accountable. ... read more »

Congratulations, Judge Teri L. Jackson! ... read more »

The film – with sentimental flashbacks of a bygone era - centers on the ongoing gentrification in California’s largest city and how it has sapped the blackness out of The Fillmore neighborhood in San Francisco, once a thriving African-American political and cultural hub in the Bay Area. ... read more »

After three years in a Chinese prison for allegedly assaulting a man during a bar fight, Brown returned home Wednesday to the hugs and smiling faces of his loved ones. Outside of his family’s brick house on Detroit’s east side, he took a few moments to reflect on regaining his freedom. ... read more »

Bishop Wilburn Wyatt Hamilton, an enduring spiritual and community activist in the San Francisco area, passed away on Sept. 16, at the age of 88. Hamilton served in the Church of God in Christ denomination as general board member emeritus and prelate emeritus of the California Northwest Jurisdiction under the leadership of Bishop Nathaniel Antonio Bullock.  ... read more »

In yet another twist for worried parents: Meet the vaping hoodie. This high school fashion mainstay — defined by a hood with drawstrings — is now available as a vaping device, ready to deliver a puff of nicotine (or marijuana) anywhere, anytime. Including in the classroom. ... read more »