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Bloomberg gives $100M to historically Black medical schools
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is giving about $100 million to four historically Black medical schools over the next four years, with students getting up to $100,000 apiece.
Alabama law protecting Confederate statues remains in effect during appeal
An Alabama law that prohibits cities from removing Confederate monuments will remain in effect while the state appeals a judge’s ruling that declared the statute constitutional, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month.
Judge dismisses effort to remove state Sen. Louise Lucas
A Chesapeake judge swiftly rebuked a conservative group’s effort July 2 to remove a Black state senator from office over her role in a protest that ended with heavy damage to a Confederate monument in Portsmouth.
Scalia’s death sets up showdown over high court
Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died, setting up a major political showdown between President Obama and the Republican-controlled Senate over who will replace him just months before a presidential election.
Florida votes to replace Confederate statue in Congress with one of Mary McLeod Bethune
Florida could soon help diversify the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall by replacing a Confederate general’s likeness with the hall’s first statue honoring an African-American woman.
Pandemic forcing Black morticians to bury their own in profession
When the last mourners departed and funeral director Shawn Troy was left among the headstones, he wept alone.
Patrick Ewing returns to Georgetown
Patrick Ewing is returning to Georgetown University, and boy are the Hoyas happy! On Monday, university officials announced that Ewing, who as a player helped build the school into a national powerhouse in the 1980s, would be back on campus.
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove dies at 49
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove, a prolific player who provided his jazz sound to records across a vast range of styles and won two Grammys, has died at age 49.
Actress Viola Davis makes Emmy history
After 67 years, an African-American woman has won the honor for best lead actress in a drama series at the Emmy Awards. Viola Davis notched the historic win Sunday night before a mostly white audience at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards. She won for her role as a tough criminal defense lawyer in ABC’s drama series “How to Get Away with Murder.”
Actress and film festival co-founder Ja’Net DuBois succumbs at 74
Ja’Net DuBois, who played the vivacious neighbor Willona Woods on the 1970s sitcom “Good Times,” composed and sang the theme song for television’s “The Jeffersons” and was one of the founders of the largest black film festival in the United States, has died.
Janet Jackon doc, despite criticism, a hit for Lifetime
Janet Jackson’s four-part documentary on Lifetime was the network’s most-watched non-fiction show since “Surviving R. Kelly” three years ago, and viewership is continuing to grow.
Questions, lawsuit arise as Va. ratifies ERA
Virginia became the last state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Tuesday as the state Senate approved on a 27-12 vote a House of Delegates resolution endorsing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution stating that the rights of women “shall not be denied or abridged” because of their gender.
Feds sue Stafford County over law blocking Islamic cemetery
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against a Virginia county for “imposing restrictive zoning requirements” that blocked an Islamic nonprofit from building a cemetery.
Baton Rouge works to heal after shootings
BATON ROUGE, LA. On the affluent south side of Baton Rouge, a clutch of plastic balloons bobs in front of the gas station where a former Marine shot and killed three police officers last Sunday. On the impoverished north
Aunt Jemima being retired by Quaker Oats
America’s painful struggles over racism have finally caught up with Aunt Jemima, that ubiquitous fixture served up at breakfast tables for 131 years.
Black lives celebrated and mourned at emotional BET Awards
Black power, suffering and the fight for justice took center stage at the BET Awards on Sunday, the first Black celebrity event since recent nationwide mass protests broke out over systemic racism.
Tax time
Monday, May 17. That’s the deadline for Virginians to file their federal and state income taxes for the year 2020.
McDonnell, wife free; facing $10M legal bill
Former Gov. Bob McDonnell is officially a free man, but he paid a heavy price to get there. Federal prosecutors announced late last week they will not pursue a second trial against Mr. McDonnell or his wife, Maureen McDonnell, on corruption charges. The decision, announced Sept. 8, comes more than two months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction.
Ready or not, 2016 Olympics to open Friday
The 2016 Summer Olympics open Friday in Rio de Janeiro. But the typical opulence and spectacle of the opening ceremony will break from tradition. Organizers in Brazil will depart from the recent tradition of large-scale and expensive shows, and instead will feature a low-emissions cauldron and an “analogue” experience, executive producer Marco Balich said Monday.
