By Lauren Victoria Burke Pioneering poet and playwright Ntozake Shange died on the morning of October 27 at an assisted living facility in Bowie, Maryland. She was best known for her much celebrated Obie Award-winning play, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf.” “To our extended family and friends, it is with ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire National Newspaper Publishers Association President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., heralded 2018 as “payback year” for African Americans and other minorities who have suffered on the new presidential administration policies and it that seems Black women are in lock-step with Chavis. Two years into the presidency of ...

By Dr. Elizabeth Primas, Program Manager, NNPA ESSA Public Awareness Campaign The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines standards as, “something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model or example. For example,” the Egyptians established the 365-day calendar, recording 4236 BC as the first year in recorded history. Around 1100 AD in England, it was ...

By Carol McGruder Co-Chair African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council Just as cigarettes were finally decreasing in popularity, vaping came along and made tobacco cool again. From 2011-2015, the use of e-cigarettes (or e-cigs) among high school students increased nationwide from 1.5% to 16% — and this number just keeps going up. In fact, e-cigs ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Next month’s fast-approaching midterm elections count as one of the most consequential in a lifetime, according to political scholar Norman Ornstein. The folks at AARP “wholeheartedly concur,” and not just in word, but also by actions. The organization, which was founded in 1958 on the principles of promoting independence, ...

By Dianne Anderson Going to the doctor’s office to review cancer options is never stress-free, but it can get a little easier if you know the right questions to ask, and if you bring a friend. Longtime health advocate Ernesta Wright said a big part of her nonprofit outreach has been raising community awareness, particularly ...

By Barbara Smith Photos by ESE  The 61st Monterey Jazz Festival offered a generous mix of jazz legends including sax giant Charles Lloyd, vocalist Dianne Reeves, flutist Hubert Laws, trumpeter/bandleader/composer Wynton Marsalis, pianist Dave Grusin, bassist Christian McBride, pianist Benny Green, drummer Brian Blade and New Orleans musician/bandleader Jon Batiste. Women were showcased prominently this ...

Segerstrom Center for the Arts presents the Ahmad Jamal Quartet for one performance only on October 19 at 8:00pm. The extraordinary night of music features jazz legend and celebrated pianist-composer Ahmad Jamal who returns to the center with his quartet which includes James Cammack, bass; Herlin Riley, drums; and Manolo Badrena, percussion. Single tickets are ...

By Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire On October 11, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Eric Dreiband to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice (DOJ). The vote was 50-47. The reaction from the Congressional Black Caucus and civil rights leaders was negative. Several groups sounded the alarm as Dreiband’s nomination moved ...

By Charlene Crowell Recent and stunning disclosures of racially-offensive writings by a high-ranking official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has unleashed an escalating barrage of criticisms, including calls for the official to be fired and more probing questions regarding the agency’s commitment to fair lending. Since a September 28 Washington Post article first reported how ...