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More than 50% of African-Americans have high blood pressure under new guidelines
Well over half of all African-American adults will be classified as having high blood pressure under new streamlined diagnostic guidelines released this week, illuminating the heavy burden of cardiovascular disease in the population. Anyone with blood pressure higher than 130/80 will be considered to have hypertension, or high blood pressure, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology stated Monday in releasing their new joint guidelines.
Batiste, joyful performances highlight Grammy Awards
Jon Batiste had the most Grammy Award nominations and his five wins on Sunday night outpaced everyone, yet he somehow seemed the biggest surprise on a joyous night for music that washed away some of the bad taste left by the Oscars a week earlier.
Monument to activist-journalist Ida B. Wells unveiled in Chicago
A monument to journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells was unveiled June 30 in Chicago.
Trump to speak at Lynchburg school’s commencement
President Trump will give the commencement address this spring at Liberty University in Lynchburg. “I look forward to speaking to this amazing group of students on such a momentous occasion,” the president said in breaking the news on March 22 to CBN News, the Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach founded by televangelist Pat Robertson.
Will Smith paid for NOLA’s fireworks
Residents and visitors to New Orleans have actor Will Smith to thank for the fireworks display on Independence Day.
Video shows former NFL player manhandled by Georgia police
A lawyer for Desmond Marrow said this week the charges against the former NFL player should be dropped, as police and prosecutors in Georgia said they are reviewing the arrest in which officers allegedly used excessive force.
U.N. creates permanent body to address racism
The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Monday establishing a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent to provide expert advice on addressing the challenges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
Mother Emanuel shooter gets 9 life sentences in S.C. state court
With Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof getting nine life sentences in state court on top of a federal death sentence, his prosecutions are finally over — and some relatives of the nine parishioners he killed at a historically black church say they can finally begin to heal.
Northam, Gillespie square off in Northern Virginia debate
The two major party candidates in Virginia’s closely watched race for governor argued in mostly cordial tones Tuesday over taxes, President Trump and what Virginia should do with its numerous monuments to the Confederacy.
Jimmy Carter still drawing devotees to church
The pilgrims arrive early and from all over, gathering hours before daybreak in an old pecan grove that surrounds a country church. They come, they say, for a dose of simple decency and devotion wrapped up in a Bible lesson. The teacher is the 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter.
Youngkin inaugural plans include pricey dinner, music acts
Incoming Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin is planning a celebratory inaugural weekend that will include a mix of high-dollar ticketed events and other functions open to the public, according to a program that also touts an appearance by an unspecified Grammy-winning musical artist.
Toni Morrison, who transformed American literature to win Nobel and Pulitzer prizes, dies at 88
Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, a pioneer and reigning giant of modern literature whose imaginative power in “Beloved,” “Song of Solomon” and other works transformed American letters by dramatizing the pursuit of freedom within the boundaries of race, has died at age 88.
Gov. Northam announces plan to reopen schools in the fall
Richmond Public Schools teachers and students are to return to in-person classes after a long summer break, but with strict new social distancing guidelines aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
#MourningWhileBlack
Social media blows up after white priest kicks black family out of funeral
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has apologized for a white priest kicking an African-American family out of their loved one’s funeral.
GOP Sen. Amanda Chase sues after being censured
A firebrand conservative state senator from Chesterfield County seeking the Republican nomination for governor filed a federal lawsuit Monday that seeks to undo her legislative colleagues’ recent decision to censure her for an alleged “pattern of unacceptable conduct.”
Officer charged in killing motorist
“He purposely killed him.” That’s how an Ohio prosecutor described a white police officer’s gruesome actions in gunning down an unarmed African-American motorist he pulled over for not having a front license plate.
Jury recommends neo-Nazi spend life behind bars for death at Charlottesville rally
A Charlottesville jury says the man who killed 32-year-old paralegal Heather Heyer and injured nearly 40 other people with his car during a neo-Nazi rally last year should spend the rest of his life in prison.
Black media icons scaling back, possibly closing
It has been a rough few days for the black media. First, Ebony magazine and its sister publication, JET magazine, may be closing their doors for good. And then the publisher of the storied Chicago Defender newspaper announced last week that it will no longer publish a print version.
Justice denied
Ferguson, N.Y. cases expose injustices, spark change
A national movement is underway to address police brutality against African-American men and the criminalization of communities of color.
U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear appeal of N.C. laws targeting African-American voters
In a victory for African-American and other nonwhite voters in North Carolina, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to lift the racist label that a federal appeals court in Richmond pinned on the state.
