Breaking News! History in the Making

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black Lives Matter brings new vitality to LA neighborhood
The police killing of George Floyd and the surge of activism around Black Lives Matter has suddenly made this LA shopping district once again a destination for discussion, gatherings and commerce.

Court blocks DeVos from diverting COVID-19 relief from public schools
A federal court ruled that Secretary of Education DeVos violated the language of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act – by siphoning off relief funds to private schools, to the detriment of underserved children in public schools, including children from low-income families, children with disabilities, children of color and English language learners.Now public schools will receive the full federal emergency aid to which they are entitled.

Faces of Power: 80% Are White, Even as U.S. Becomes More Diverse
The most powerful people in the United States pass our laws, run Hollywood’s studios and head the most prestigious universities. They own pro sports teams and determine who goes to jail and who goes to war. A review by The New York Times of more than 900 officials and executives in prominent positions found that only about 20 percent identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, multiracial or otherwise a person of color.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black Lives Matter protest in Oxford to demand reparations
Crowds of activists from Black Lives Matter will gather in the heart of Oxford to call for reparations to be made to African nations and descendants of slaves.

The Oscars’ New Diversity Rules Are Sweeping but Safe
#OscarsSoWhite hashtag became a rallying cry, the academy began taking great strides to diversify a membership that had been largely white and male for nine decades. This week, the academy unveiled an even more ambitious diversity initiative with the intention of reshaping not just how movies are rewarded, but also who’s hired to make them in the first place.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – 89% of HR employees expect solidarity with Black Lives Matter
As Black Lives Matter protests continue to rage on, companies are under immense pressure to declare their support – with press silence speaking volumes in itself.

Black, Native American and Fighting for Recognition in Indian Country
Thousands of African Americans were once enslaved by Native Americans in the South. Post-Civil War, they were promised tribal citizenship, but promises were broken. Now a Supreme Court decision has breathed new life into their fight.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – For the First Time, America May Have an Anti-Racist Majority
The best analogue to the current moment is the first and most consequential American racial awakening—Reconstruction in 1868. The story of that awakening offers a guide, and a warning.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black Lives Matter forces South African sports to face racist past
The Black Lives Matter movement has forced South African sports to take a hard look at its post-apartheid history and the dissension between former teammates in a county still trying to heal from its racist past.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Unions threaten nationwide work stoppages in support of BLM
Ahead of Labor Day, unions representing millions across several working-class sectors are threatening to authorize work stoppages in support of the Black Lives Matter movement amid calls for concrete measures that address racial injustice.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – 93% of BLM Protests Have Been Peaceful
The vast majority of Black Lives Matter protests—more than 93%—have been peaceful, according to a new report published by a nonprofit that researches political violence and protests across the world.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – How to Make Black Lives Really Matter, with Michael Harriot & Jamon Jordan
Join YES! and Colorlines for “This Uprising: How to Make Black Lives Really Matter,” a virtual discussion with Michael Harriot of The Rootand historian Jamon Jordan.

Old Navy to pay employees to work election polls
Old Navy is giving their 50,000 workers paid time off to serve as poll workers on Election Day 2020. Huge poll worker shortages are expected due to the coronavirus keeping retired poll workers away.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – The Rich History of African American Activism in WI
While today’s demonstrations in Kenosha are distinctly modern, with activists holding Black Lives Matters signs and cellphones recording violence as it unfolds, Wisconsin’s protests for racial justice have roots starting in the 19th century.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – DHS Says It’s “Working On” A Black Lives Matter Crackdown
After months of Donald Trump recycling Fox News lines equating those protesting racial injustice to domestic terrorists, the president’s acting Department of Homeland Security secretary appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show to tease the department’s mass-arrest plan.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Black National Convention builds unity for Black liberation
The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) and the Electoral Justice Project joined forces to bring together Black organizers and activists from across the country Aug. 29th, for the 2020 Black National Convention (BNC), a multi-hour broadcast filled with energy, celebration, education, electoral justice, and a vision for Black lives.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – 19 Families Purchased Land To Create A City Safe for Black People
In Toomsboro, Georgia a group of 19 Black families banded together to create what has the potential to be the next Black Wall Street. This completely flips Toomsboro’s awful identity, being home of the first documented lynching of a black woman in GA, to one of great hope and inspiration.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – California moves to consider reparations for slavery
California lawmakers are setting up a task force to study and make recommendations for reparations to African Americans, particularly the descendants of slaves, as the nation struggles again with civil rights and unrest.

Special News Series: Rising Up For Justice! – Thousands Gather For March On Washington
Thousands of demonstrators braved sweltering temperatures in the nation’s capital on Friday to demand an overhaul of the country’s criminal justice system and push for racial equality.