Cheryl A. Wall, 71, Dies; Champion of Black Literary Women

Cheryl A. Wall, an author and longtime Rutgers University professor who helped elevate Zora Neale Hurston and other black women into English literature curriculums, died on April 4 at her home in Highland Park, N.J. She was 71.The cause was complications of an asthma attack, her daughter, Camara Epps, said.In a teaching career of nearly five decades, Dr. Wall...

Outrage Mounts After Cell Phone Footage Surfaces of Ahmaud Arbery’s Fatal Shooting in Georgia, But No Suspects Have Been Charged. Here’s What to Know

A Georgia prosecutor has called for a grand jury investigation into the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was killed after being chased by two white men in February while out running in a residential neighborhood outside Brunswick, a city on the state’s southeast coast. “After careful review of the evidence presented,” Tom Durden, District Attorney...

Demand Grows For Ahmaud Arbery ‘Lynching’ Grand Jury To Be Expedited

Pictured: A cross with flowers and a letter “A” sits at the entrance to the Satilla Shores neighborhood where Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed in Brunswick, Georgia. | Source: Sean Rayford / Getty UPDATED: 11:39 a.m. ET, May 7 — The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus has joined the call for the grand jury process to be expedited over the shooting death of an unarmed Black man jogging by two white men in a rural part of the state in February. Ahmaud Arbery was killed in broad daylight during a purported citizen’s arrest by a father and son who chased him down in the city of Brunswick because they said they suspected he was a burglar. Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael have thus far avoided arrest and charges because of the state’s citizen’s arrest law. Brunswick Mayor Cornell Harvey reportedly suggested Wednesday night it was “possible an emergency order to assemble a grand jury to hear the case is being considered.” On Thursday, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus demanded that ..

Joe Biden Names His New Plan For Black People After The Negro National Anthem

Battling sexual assault allegations that have recently dogged his presidential candidacy, the presumptive Democratic nominee on Monday made an effort to appeal to the bread and butter of his support base — Black people — by naming his new plan for African Americans after the Negro National Anthem. Joe Biden‘s “Lift Every Voice” plan addresses some of the stereotypical topics associated with Black people, like gun violence and criminal justice, but also would set aside funding for issues stemming from the disproportionate affect that COVID-19 has had on Black people. “Lift Every Voice And Sing” is the name of what was first a poem before it became a song also known as the Negro National Anthem. The plan also calls for more funding to help Black-owned businesses. Ninety-five percent of Black-owned businesses were projected to miss out on the Small Business Administration loans provided by the federal stimulus package. The announcement on Monday seemed to be Biden’s most comprehensive ..