Elizabeth Dilley Imagine one of your great grandparents toiled over a hand-written, illustrated copy of the Gospel of John for many years, creating radiant and reverent art to accompany the vivid imagery of John’s words, hand-scribed in script from a relative you barely knew. This labor of love was stolen years later, when your entire…
By Eric Arnold The defense in the Kevin Epps murder trial presented just one witness, Dr. Judy Melinek, an eminent forensic pathologist whose testimony appeared to supercede the expert witnesses who had testified for the prosecution earlier in the trial – including San Francisco Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Christopher Liverman. Melinek, regarded as something of…
By Andrea Stevens AFRO Staff Writer In cities across the country, many Black households say rising prices are reshaping their daily routines. Costs for food, housing and health care continue to rise faster than wages. People are now making difficult choices about expenses that once felt ordinary. According to the September 2025 Consumer Price Index…
Edward Henderson | California Black Media Kaci Patterson is the founder and Chief Architect of the Black Equity Collective (BEC). This network of funders and nonprofit leaders is committed to investing in the long-term sustainability of Black-led organizations in Southern California. A graduate of Pepperdine University, Patterson holds an MBA in Organizational Management &…
by Alice T. Crowe Black Americans have struggled to build wealth in America through property ownership. Owning land meant freedom. Government policies like redlining and restrictive covenants cheated Black families and communities out of wealth. Jim Crow’s color-coded paper maps were just one ruse in a trick bag of tactics used to normalize segregation and…
Edward Henderson | California Black Media Areva Martin is an award-winning civil rights attorney, talk show host, commentator, author, and keynote speaker who offers commentary on politics, women’s rights, children’s rights, disability rights and civil rights. She is President and CEO of the Special Needs Network, which she founded to advance disability rights and support…
By Niyoka McCoy, Ed.D., Chief Learning Officer, Stride/K12 Swinging side by side with a friend on the playground. Sharing chalk over bright, colorful sidewalk drawings. Hiding behind a tree during a spirited game of hide-and-seek. These simple moments between children may seem small, but they matter more than we think: They lay the foundation for…
By Alexis Taylor AFRO Managing Editor One of my earliest memories as a child is a night from the early 90s. In my family’s small, but sufficient MacDonald Manor apartment in Chesapeake, Va., a scene plays out. My mother and I are in the living room. It’s the middle of the night, but this night,…
By Stacy M. Brown Forty-three years after “Thriller” hit the world like a lightning bolt, its anniversary still behaves like a global holiday. This weekend the celebration stretched from one continent to the next. In London, a Brixton record stall blasted the bassline of “Billie Jean” as shoppers argued over vintage vinyl. In Paris, a…
By Dori McCarroll “If you were asked to design a school and had no limitations on what you could do and what you could offer students, what would you create?” That was the question our group received during an October gathering in Atlanta of educators, legislators, faith leaders, parents, and other school choice advocates. The…
Michael Neuroth “But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also…” (Matthew 5:39) “Courage is Contagious!” was the closing reminder at a recent training I attended here in Washington, DC. The training was held by Free DC, a local movement advocating for “home rule” for DC’s over 700,000 residents, whose local…
Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase You’re not alone if you reach the end of the week or end of the month and wonder where your money goes. If you’d like to save money, you may not realize how quickly everyday indulgences like a morning latte or takeout food add up — especially if you don’t track…
By Maurice Carroll None of us make it out of life without experiencing some stress. Let’s face it, stress is one of those human traits that crosses all boundaries of faith, nationality, gender and age. There are studies dedicated to defining it and others dedicated to finding and sharing treatments for it. As African Americans,…
Edward Henderson | California Black Media Kaci Patterson is the founder and Chief Architect of the Black Equity Collective (BEC). This network of funders and nonprofit leaders is committed to investing in the long-term sustainability of Black-led organizations in Southern California. A graduate of Pepperdine University, Patterson holds an MBA in Organizational Management &…
By Stacy M. Brown Black Friday arrives this year in a country wrestling with the weight of policies that have stripped stability from millions of Americans and placed Black communities at the edge of economic ruin. Storefront lights shine as if the nation were whole, yet in living rooms across the country, families count the…
The biggest change in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings finds the Alabama Crimson Tide falling to No. 10 after a heartbreaking loss at home to the Oklahoma Sooners. The top three remain the same as the Ohio State Buckeyes, Indiana Hoosiers and the Texas A&M Aggies continue to hold serve. Meanwhile, it will be…
After two weeks of criticism from Ferrari Chairman John Elkann, Lewis Hamilton said in Las Vegas he woke up thinking about driving. However, the turbulence Hamilton is currently experiencing has not gone away. Before Thursday’s practice, Hamilton said his passion has not waned and he actually thinks about driving while sleeping. “Not really, I wake…
Noel Andersen As I gathered with faith leaders alongside Clergy Laity United for Economic Justice at a rally to stop the raids in Los Angeles, we didn’t know what we would face when the National Guard approached us. But we marched together with collars and stoles knowing that as faith communities, we had to take…
By Chianti Marks AFRO Intern At the age of 30, Akosua “Sua” Bamfo found a small lump in her breast. It was October 2022. She immediately scheduled an appointment with her OB-GYN. After undergoing an MRI and ultrasound, she was told her breasts were too dense for clear imaging and that they would follow up…
Cristal Canas Garcia (Student) How is it possible that each time this country seems to be doing well, it crashes? Monday, September 8th, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled against millions of Latinos and immigrants, the very people who help build this country every day. In Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, the Court ruled 6-3 to let…
By Constance Carter/Wealth Advocate Einstein called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world. Those who understand it earn it. Those who do not pay it. That is why the Trump administration is floating a 50-year mortgage. They are betting that we will not see the true cost. He, him, and they are framing this…
By Aaron Foley Word in Black Every Friday, Joanne Griffith tries to get the world a little more unstuck. Her newsletter, “The Get Free Guide,” implores its readers — who are increasingly becoming evangelists, but more on that shortly — to do just that. The methods, like the one she dropped in the September newsletter,…
After years of incendiary rhetoric, Greene used her CNN interview to preach kindness and unity — while still echoing old habits Tom Jones | Poynter The star of the Sunday morning news programs was Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The controversial representative appeared Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” and talked about her…
Trayce Potter In today’s volatile political climate, most people have picked a clear side. A person is either red or blue, left or right, progressive or conservative, pro or anti-Trump. While these labels erode the fabric and spirit in which our founding fathers built our government, it also hides the true story of the suffering…
By Greg Scaduto As the parent of a nonverbal child with autism, the condition is not one that I watch from the sidelines; it’s one that defines my family’s experiences every day. Every time public figures revive false narratives about vaccines and autism, it reinforces stigma and undermines the incredible progress we’ve made in advocating…
