systemic racism

Smithsonian African American Museum Director Placed on Leave

By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent Kevin Young, the director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), is currently on personal leave and not leading the museum, according to Smithsonian officials. The leave began on March 14 and will continue for an “undetermined period,” according to Kevin Gover, the Smithsonian’s under-secretary for museums and culture. Shanita Brackett, the museum’s associate director of operations, has stepped in as acting director. Young has served as director since January 2021, succeeding Lonnie G. Bunch III after Bunch became Secretary of the Smithsonian. Under Young’s leadership, the museum

High School Students Taught a Lesson for Holding ‘Mock Slave’ Auction

Football players at River Valley High School in Yuba City were seen in a video acting out a “slave auction” involving their Black teammates. In the video, which was posted to Twitter, the African American students are seen stripped to their underwear and paraded into the locker room where their teammates are yelling and jeering at them.

Smith Joins Community Coalition as First Chief Strategy Officer

As Community Coalition’s inaugural chief strategy officer, Smith will develop initiatives to support South L.A. residents – especially Black and Brown Angelenos – in overcoming systemic and institutional barriers in education and other areas. He will also assist in guiding outreach efforts and launch the group’s new National Center for Community Organizing.

Teachers wary of new laws limiting instruction on race

 As middle school teacher Brittany Paschall assembled a lesson plan on the history of the Negro Baseball Leagues, she wondered how she might have to go about it differently next year under a new Tennessee state law that prohibits teaching certain concepts of race and racism.

Experts Say It’s Rare that a ‘Jury of your Peers’ Applies to African Americans

“When a juror is unable to relate to a person accused of a crime, the defendant is more likely to face stiffer penalties, up to and including life in prison,” said Charlotte, N.C.-based Attorney Darlene Harris, who after trying a recent murder trial, spoke to a White male juror who shared that a lot of the jurors could not understand the African American defendant.

New Report Shows Number of People Killed by Police Skyrocketed in 2020

The new report revealed that at least 28 percent of those killed were African Americans, who make up just 13 percent of the U.S. population. Although this figure is staggering, the Center for American Progress (CAP) noted that it is almost certainly under-represents the actual number of civilians who died while in the custody of the criminal justice system.

General Motors Announces 400 Percent Increase in Ad Spending with Black-Owned Media

General Motors officials said it would be more productive to host a series of meetings involving a more extensive mix of Black-owned media publishers and executives. “To ensure that our conversations are both substantive and constructive, we are going to postpone and reschedule it into a series of smaller conversations that take place over the next few weeks,” GM global Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl told the executives.