Dontay Brown kept kale salad in the school lunch mix during COVID-19 pandemic
In March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. Nearly everything closed — churches, businesses, stores, and most devastatingly, schools. Our literal futures were suspended and while there was worry about whether our children would be able to handle remote learning there was an even more pressing question: How do we ensure […]
Lakeyshia Cunningham hasn’t had a day off in 3 years
Lakeyshia Cunningham has been working in the cafeteria at Maynard Jackson High School for 18 years. She didn’t set out to provide school meals to students and certainly not for this long, but they were hiring when she needed a job. She stayed because she fell in love with the work and the students. Cunningham […]
Anna Grant lost her daughter and suffered a stroke; then came the pandemic
Anna Grant, who lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, has worked in cafeteria’s for much of her adult life. In 2019, Grant lost her daughter then suffered a stroke, so she was on medical leave at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. She returned to the school’s frontline in the Fall of 2020 when many children had […]
The problem with Adrian Perkins and the neutered Black mayor
Adrian Perkins was riding high three years ago when he defeated the incumbent to become mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana. He was in his early 30s having announced his candidacy while still a student at Harvard Law School. The city’s Black majority was optimistic, but when it comes to police brutality, it seems the former West […]
Ben Crump, Sherrilyn Ifill top Black Lawyers of Decade list
Leading civil rights attorney Ben Crump is ranked No. 1 on Lawyers of Color’s list of the 10 Most Influential Black Lawyers of the Decade. In ranking the attorneys, Lawyers of Color considered each individual’s media reach, legal pipeline influence, social justice policy impact, and the extent to which each inspires. Crump is being honored […]
Seanne Murray’s 1st film has big names attached
After writing the script for Chicago 1919, Seanne Murray is set to produce the project under Seanne N. Murray Enterprises, LLC in partnership with Global Genesis Group, which has worldwide distribution rights. The indie drama is inspired by the race riot that erupted in Chicago in July of 1919 after the murder of an African- […]
Top Black lobbyists and Capitol Hill staffers honored by Lawyers of Color
Lawyers of Color saluted Black lawyers named to its most influential lobbyists and Capitol Hill staffers lists at a reception at Hogan Lovells, an international law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington, D.C. The firm specializes in government regulatory, litigation, commercial litigation and arbitration, corporate, finance, and intellectual property. The firm’s honoree, Ari Q. Fitzgerald […]
Top lobbyists to be honored at Congressional Black Caucus’ annual conference
Lawyers of Color has released its list of the nation’s top Black lobbyists and influencers to coincide with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation,s Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D. C., Sept. 11-15, 2019. Some of the government relations executives included on the list are: Gina Adams, senior vice president for government affairs at FedEx; Fred […]
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s southeastern region supports sisterhood, giving back
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.’s southeastern region is culturally and geographically diverse, encompassing three states and four islands — Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, and Trinidad & Tobago. The sorority’s southeastern region hosted its annual leadership conference in Atlanta on August 3, 2019, with the organization’s international president, Valerie Hollingsworth […]
Lawyers of Color names best corporate attorneys
The best Black attorneys practicing in white-shoe law firms and large companies have been identified by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Lawyers of Color. The inaugural “Nation’s Best” list — presented by Major, Lindsey & Africa with the support of the Diverse Partners Network — hails law firm partners and senior-level corporate counsel. Among the honorees […]
Inspired by bullying, Schembri twins launch modeling careers
Twins Beverly-Claire JoAnn and Madeleine Butigieg Schembri are featured in their first ad campaign just a few weeks after signing with the Atlanta division of bmg Talent. The rising fifth graders will be the faces of P. Sherrod & Co’s summer campaign, which was conceptualized and shot by Fatima Michon Photography. “These girls are beautiful, […]
Of the best law schools for Black students, Howard University ranks No. 1
As president and executive director of Lawyers of Color, I am proud to announce the release of the third edition of the Black Student’s Guide to Law Schools & Firms. Lawyers of Color is a nonprofit devoted to promoting diversity in the legal profession and advancing democracy and equality in marginalized communities, and our annual report ranks the best […]
Black lawyer crisis: Major law firms have no Black attorneys
Lawyers of Color just published the Black Student’s Guide to Law Schools & Firms, the first-ever comprehensive listing of Black attorney percentages at nearly 400 law firms, including the nation’s largest firms. The research revealed that while nearly 40 law firms have over 5 percent Black attorneys, the vast majority of corporate law firms have low […]
Zeta Phi Beta president reflects on her connection with sorority’s founder
On Jan. 16, 1920, Fannie Pettie joined four other Howard University coeds in founding Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. In their organization, sorority elitism and socializing would take a back seat to the primary mission: defeating the prejudices and poverty that acutely affected the Black community. Intent on doing things differently, the women began their […]
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. reflects on activism this Founders Day
This Founders Day, members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. are reflecting on the organization’s roots in social activism. On Jan. 13, 1913, 22 African American undergraduates at Howard University founded Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Their first public act was to march in Washington’s Women’s Suffrage Parade, which erupted in violence. Police did nothing to hold back the […]
Joi-Marie McKenzie pens ‘The Engagement Game’
Joi-Marie McKenzie’s buzzed about The Engagement Game is finally out. Her memoir, which was featured in People and Essence magazines, details the bumpy road to getting engaged. We had some questions for the author.Can you share what inspired you to write such a revealing book? I didn’t set out to write a revealing book necessarily, […]
This homecoming, Howard University is once again on the come up
“Ain’t no telling where I may be/ May see me in D.C.” – Notorious B.I.G This weekend I’ll make the pilgrimage to Howard University’s homecoming. Located in Washington, D.C., “The Mecca,” which National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote of in Between the World and Me, is holy to its graduates and also Black […]
‘Innocent’ on death row: La. Supreme Court justices have harsh words for state
The justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Rodricus Crawford’s appeal of the death sentence he was given in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, the nation’s death penalty capital. Below are a collection of live tweets that suggest the justices have concerns regarding this case, as well. Read more articles from this series: Why […]
Story behind photo in wallet of Chicago victim goes viral
On the day Chicago’s murder death toll reaches 500, the story behind the photo found in a murder victim’s pocket goes viral. Watch to learn Tenisha Taylor Bell’s story. [jwplatform 5FtEJ4Xw]
Adam Serwer is an editor on a mission to empower readers
Adam Serwer Senior Editor The Atlantic Columbia University, M.S. Vassar College, B.A. Adam Serwer is that rare journalist who rather than having to apply for jobs, he is constantly being recruited. He has just began his role as senior editor at The Atlantic where management had been keeping an eye on him for years. In a […]