By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia Washington, D.C. – National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., was named to the inaugural CORE Multimedia Group’s 100 Most Influential Blacks Today. The CORE 100 honorees, which include changemakers like Stacey Abrams, Attorney Ben Crump, NBA superstar LeBron James, and Oprah Winfrey, mark and remind the world of the beauty, boldness, and brilliance of Black Excellence at a time when the cultural, economic, and political landscape in the United States has grown increasingly more hostile towards Blackness. “I am grateful for the recognition from…
Author: Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent The Chavis Chronicles kicks off the new year with its debut on WORLD, the 24/7 full service multicast channel featuring public television’s signature nonfiction documentary, science and news programming. WORLD has begun airing the series weekly on Sundays at 11 AM Eastern Time (10 AM Central Time and 8 AM Pacific Time). On WORLD, The Chavis Chronicles joins other stellar content such as PBS NewsHour, Frontline, and American Experience. It can also be seen on public television stations around the country (check worldchannel.org or local listings for dates and times). The…
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia An honest and comprehensive reckoning with America’s racial history and enacting solutions to address it is perhaps the transcendent issue of our time, argues Janet Murguia, the president of UnidosUS, a D.C.-based advocacy organization. “The path forward may be difficult, complicated, and contested, but it is essential to pursue,” Murguia remarked in a news release where she and other advocates form the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative. The collaborative is the foremost diverse coalition of national, racial justice, and civil rights organizations representing and serving more than 53 million people in the…
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent WASHINGTON, DC — Protests and unrest in 2020 sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, shined an even brighter spotlight on police brutality against African Americans. The actions led to renewed calls to remove Confederate statutes and other racially insensitive structures. Professional sports teams, including the Washington Football Team (formerly the Redskins) and Cleveland Indians announced they would change the monikers that many said are offensive to Native Americans. Despite incremental progress, many still argue that unless much more is done to show that Black lives matter, removing racist…
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire The disparities in health care treatment for African Americans extend not only to the millions of underserved patients in U.S. hospitals and medical facilities but also, sadly, to frontline healthcare professionals. Just weeks after Dr. Susan Moore, an African American physician, posted a video that showed the world how her doctor, who is White, downplayed her complaints of pain and discomfort, she died of complications from COVID-19. Many say that Moore’s plight illustrates the healthcare industry’s institutional biases and inherent systemic racism: A pattern of operation, care and treatment that has only exacerbated the…
By Stacy M. Brown Mellody Hobson, a Princeton graduate who in 2019 earned the Woodrow Wilson Award, the university’s highest honor, was named Chairwoman of the Board of Starbucks. With the promotion, Hobson becomes the only African American woman to chair a Fortune 500 company. “I am thrilled and honored to take on the role of chair,” Hobson exclaimed. “Over nearly two decades, I have seen the company continue to elevate and transform its business – adapting to various market environments and evolving consumer trends. “I look forward to working with the Board and talented leadership team on accelerating our…
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent WASHINGTON, DC — President-Elect Joe Biden’s administration plans to support legislation offered by District of Columbia Democratic Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton that would ensure federal agencies advertise with minority-owned businesses, including the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). “From the racial equity plan – at the direction of the President-Elect, the Director of Minority Business Development Agency will coordinate all federal offices to reduce barriers to procurement for underrepresented groups, including all types of minority-owned businesses,” a Biden transition spokesperson told Black Press USA. “This is good news for the Black Press…
By Stacy M. Brown Before this year, no federal execution had taken place since 2003. However, in July, Attorney General William Barr, at the behest of President Donald Trump, resumed federal executions. Since then, eight people have been executed. Before Trump leaves office next month, five more death row inmates are set to be executed. Four of the five are African Americans. If the remaining executions move forward as planned, Trump will leave office with the distinct legacy of being the most lethally prolific president (in terms of federal executions) in more than 130 years. While many have surmised that the current…
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia The first wave of coronavirus vaccines should reach the public this week, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommending that all adults receive the vaccination in 2021. While the CDC said there should be enough doses for as many as 20 million people to receive vaccination by the end of December, health officials expect a much larger supply in the coming months. Still, with a justified distrust of unproven vaccines, and a perceived limited participation by African Americans in clinical the trials that lead to the development…
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent For comedian Bill Cosby, freedom and possible exoneration comes down to his attorneys’ oral arguments before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday, December 1. Cosby has served more than two years of a 3-to-10-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him of aggravated indecent assault. His longtime spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, will join the Black Press beginning at 9:30 a.m. on the morning of the hearings. Wyatt will help dissect the proceedings as they are happening and provide exclusive thoughts and commentary throughout the hearing. All Cosby supporters hope the proceedings will…