Category : News Talk

Michigan Senate Takes Bold Step to Cap Payday Loan Rates Protecting Vulnerable Communities

The Michigan Senate recently passed legislation that caps payday loan interest rates, a move particularly impactful for areas predominantly inhabited by Black and Brown populations. Spearheading this legislative effort were state Sen. Sar...

Ex-MSNBC host, podcasters agree Black people shouldn’t have to pay taxes: ‘We have never had any reparations’

Former MSNBC host Tiffany Cross, political advocate Angela Rye and former Democrat politician Andrew Gillum entertained the idea that Black people should be exempt from taxes as reparations on the “Native Land Podcast” Monday. The three d...

Michigan’s Leap Forward: The Fertility Health Care Act Unveils New Surrogacy Framework

The Michigan Senate committee recently took a pivotal step towards modernizing the state’s approach to surrogacy by approving the Fertility Health Care Act, a comprehensive package of nine bills aimed at revamping Michigan’s surrogacy leg...

Apartheid memories help fuel South Africa’s World Court case against Israel in Gaza conflict

LUSAKA, Zambia — For three decades, South Africa has felt the freedom of independence after the fall of apartheid, the legalized system of racism and segregation that dominated that country and neighboring Namibia. It is that history that some in...

Black voters aren’t falling for Trump’s pandering

Being the ever-menacing carnival barker that he is, former president Trump said the four criminal cases he faces have garnered him significant support from Black voters. Why? He claims due to the historic injustices Black Americans have endured at t...

Will NJ pay Black Americans for slavery’s legacy? Advocates hope to spur Trenton

Last Juneteenth, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, a Newark-based advocacy group, launched the New Jersey Reparations Council to determine how to compensate Black people impacted by the legacy of slavery in the Garden State. The council’s...

Art Imitates Lives

By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer Movies, particularly horror films, have historically depicted people with mental illnesses as maladjusted or criminally insane. They’re usually the first ones investigated, or scapegoated, for child...

Reparation Conversations

By OBSERVER Newsroom You are invited to “Reparations Conversations,” an event aiming to foster community engagement, provide valuable information, and collect surveys, with a primary focus on the active participation of Sacramento&...

Wounded Healer

By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer Being vulnerable has been hard for LaVontae Hill, but the local mental health professional is sharing his own journey to help others in the Black community. Louis Bryant III, OBSERVER Growing up on...

As TikTok bill steams forward, online influencers put on their lobbying hats to visit Washington

By Haleluya Hadero | The Associated Press Content creator Summer Lucille poses for a photo in Washington on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Haleluya Hadero) WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers, meet your latest lobbyists: online influencers from Ti...

Measles 2024: What to Know About the Outbreak

By Alexa Spencer | Word In Black Courtesy of istockphoto (WIB) – The United States is experiencing its greatest measles outbreak in years. As of late February, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported& 41 cases...

Serve and Protect? Not if Your Loved One’s Black and Missing

By Trina Reynolds-Tyler, Invisible Institute, and Sarah Conway, City Bureau | Word In Black This story is part four of Chicago Missing Persons, a two-year investigation by City Bureau and Invisible Institute, two Chicago-based nonprofit journalis...

Black Women Entrepreneurs Celebrated At The 28th Annual Outstanding Women Leaders Awards Gala

By Kaya Do-Khanh | Special to The OBSERVER Cassandra Walker Pye, president of Lucas Public Affairs, gave her acceptance speech for her Wise Woman award. Seth Patterson, OBSERVER. Hundreds of women dressed in black-tie apparel arrived for the 28...

New California bill aims to give teachers paid pregnancy leave

By Srishti Prabha | OBSERVER Staff Writer Lydiana Alfaro, a teacher in Natomas Unified School District, advocates for paid pregnancy as a recent mother. Standing with her are California Teachers Association representative Erika Jones, Assembly me...

Black Family Health & Wellness Expo taking place in Flint March 15

Written by Tanya Terry Flint Area Links, Incorporated and Hamilton Community Health Network will host a Black Family Wellness Expo from 1-4 p.m. on Friday, March 15. Attending families will have an opportunity to have their teeth examined; register f...