Category : News Talk

An Open Letter to Network Television on Behalf of the Black People You Cast

By Jocelyn Jackson Williams | Special to the OBSERVEROPINION – I remember being so hyped when MTV first came out. I told my mom with excitement that it was going to be a channel that played music videos all day. She was not enthused. She kne...

Report Reveals Black Students Face 84% of School Policing Assaults

By Houston Defender | Word In BlackThis& post& was originally published on& Defender NetworkCredit: Jordan Andrews/Unsplash(WIB) – In October 2015, a Black 16-year-old in Spring Valley High School, South Carolina, was trapped in a h...

Cissy Houston mourned by Dionne Warwick, politicians and more at longtime church

By Mark Kennedy | The Associated PressDionne Warwick speaks during a ceremony celebrating the life of Cissy Houston on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Dio...

California Continues Progressive Policies, With Restraint, in Divisive Election Year

By Don Thompson | KFF Health News | Special to The OBSERVERSACRAMENTO, Calif. — This year, Gov. Gavin Newsom affirmed abortion access, calling California “a proud reproductive freedom state” and criticizing Republicans across the country for trying t...

Money behind the curtain: Examining the political action committees and independent expenditures that impact the Sacramento mayor’s race

By Scott Thomas Anderson | SN&R | Special to The OBSERVERSometimes the checks written to a political candidate in a race do not tell the story.That’s true of the funding dynamics of the Sacramento mayor’s race.At the end of January, Dr. Dr. Floja...

Why are some Namibians unhappy with Germany’s reparations?

Germany is offering Namibia €1.1 billion over 30 years. The money is expected to be used for development projects that benefit the Herero and Nama people. However, some Herero and Nama are demanding official reparations. Between 1904 and 1908, Germa...

DOJ concludes Greenwood probe, eyes reparations for Tulsa Massacre survivors

TULSA, OKLA (KTUL) — We have new information about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre survivors and descendants. The U.S. Department of Justice spent the past two days on Greenwood as part of the first-ever probe. Investigators for DOJ left Greenwood wit...

Harris still embraces reparations and radicalism

When Vice President Kamala Harris repeated on Oct. 15 that she thinks the idea of racial “reparations” should be studied further, she evinced a radicalism she just can’t hide. Radical leftism is Harris’s milieu. It is what she came from. It is what...

2023 Economic outlook for Black entrepreneurs and consumers

As the economic toll of the pandemic on businesses wanes, what do the experts forecast the economy will look like in 2023 for Black-owned businesses and African American consumers? One study from the Brookings Institute, released in 2022, shows th...

Square Root Academy empowers students with STEM education and opportunities

By Christine Shelby | OBSERVER Staff WriterNicholas Haystings, Executive Director of Square Root Academy, is dedicated to introducing kids to STEM. After noticing a lack of diversity in the industry, he co-founded Square Root Academy with three other...

SPORTS HISTORY IN BLACK: NBA introduces dress code to crack down on urban wear

Allen Iverson was an incredibly talented basketball guard. He was a force on the court, but also carried tremendous cultural influence off the court. On the sidelines in the early 2000s, Iverson often wore apparel associated with hip-hop culture—such...

New exhibit explores disparities, inequities in Black health care

At the Black History Museum and Cultural Center on Saturday, exhibit curator Elvatrice Parker Belsches opened her presentation by introducing the audience to Doctor Peter Hawkins, the city of Richmond’s official tooth drawer in the late 1700’s. It...

How is the world watching the 2024 US election?

No matter the outcome, the results of the 2024 United States presidential election are certain to have global impact. How are citizens and leaders in other parts of the world viewing this election? What’s at stake for their countries and regions?...

Hard-hitting dramas a part of Black-oriented fall TV and movie lineup

NEW YORK — Family, celebrity lives, and fighting crime are three major themes of fall 2024’s new movies and TV shows that focus on Black people’s experiences.& Dramatic films such as “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” “Never Let Go,” and “The Piano Le...

Reparations Commission releases report

The City of St. Louis Reparations Commission has released its “comprehensive plan designed to address the longstanding impacts of systemic racism and economic inequality endured by Black residents.” The report marks a major milestone in the city’s o...