NORFOLK, VA – In partnership with Norfolk State University, the Norfolk Public Library is honored to host Charlene Butts Ligon for Women’s History Month on Tuesday, March 24, at noon in the Lyman Beecher Brooks Library Rotunda. Ligon will discuss the book she wrote about her late mother, Evelyn Thomas Butts of Norfolk, FEARLESS: How … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump blocked the release of hundreds of records on the John F. Kennedy assassination Thursday night, bending to CIA and FBI appeals, while the National Archives moved to turn over some 2,800 other records. “I have no choice,” Trump said in a memo, citing “potentially irreversible harm” to national security … Continue reading
Thurgood Marshall, a titan of 20th-century law and a civil rights pioneer, has until now largely eluded Hollywood’s notice. Despite its title, “Marshall,” too, is wary of taking on the Supreme Court justice in full, sticking to a minor case from Marshall’s early career as counsel for the NAACP. That makes, for better and worse, … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of America’s most well-known companies are urging the Supreme Court to rule that a federal employment discrimination law prohibits discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation, a position opposite of the one taken by the Trump administration. The 76 businesses and organizations — including American Airlines, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Starbucks … Continue reading
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A civil rights activist who wrote about challenging segregation in the South was honored in her hometown, two years after her death. About 70 people gathered Friday in the southwestern Mississippi town of Centreville — population 1,680 — to unveil a sign for the newly renamed Anne Moody Street. Moody was … Continue reading
CHICAGO (AP) — Simeon Wright, who was with his cousin Emmett Till when the Chicago boy was kidnapped in 1955 after whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, has died. He was 74. Till, who was 14, spent the summer of 1955 visiting relatives in Mississippi and was kidnapped, tortured and killed after whistling at … Continue reading
PHOENIX (AP) — Politicians have made numerous claims about former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s legal troubles and his immigration enforcement legacy since he was granted a White House pardon last week. Arpaio and others have said he was the victim of a politically motivated prosecution brought by the Obama administration. President Donald Trump said Arpaio deserves … Continue reading
With a new school year dawning, education officials are grappling with whether to remove the names, images and statues of Confederate figures from public schools — especially since some are now filled with students of color. The violence at a white nationalist rally over a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, is giving school … Continue reading
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The word “shame” has been spray-painted on a Confederate monument in Virginia. Media outlets report Norfolk police spokesman Daniel Hudson says officers were called to the vandalism site Monday morning. The Norfolk City Council decided in 2015 to keep the monument, despite pressure from a local civil rights group. At the … Continue reading
by Omar Ross The movie “Get Out” was released on Feb. 24 and received great feedback from viewers. Although the feedback was good, many people criticized the star of the movie for not being “black enough.” Daniel Kaluuya still has to prove his race, although he is a dark-skinned man. “People say ‘You’re too black.’ … Continue reading
LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — In Lexington, Virginia, a city steeped in Old South history, an anti-racism group plans to hold a march on a weekend that honors Confederate heroes, while Confederate flag supporters have applied for a permit to hold a parade on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Both sides say they’re just celebrating “diversity.” … Continue reading
WIGGINS, Miss. (AP) — A south Mississippi high school student has been disciplined following allegations that one or more white students put a noose around the neck of a black football player, a lawyer for the school district said Tuesday. Administrators determined that Stone High School’s conduct code was violated in the Oct. 13 incident, … Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A civil rights group has filed a federal lawsuit against Virginia election officials after the state’s online voter registration system crashed Monday, preventing some Virginians from signing up to vote. Local news organizations report that the lawsuit was filed Tuesday by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on behalf … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — A searing new public service announcement starring Michael B. Jordan, Danny Glover and Michael K. Williams takes on the issue of racial bias in police shootings with a simple message: “Black is not a weapon.” The 4-minute, black-and-white PSA features the actors up against a wall to a soundscape of news … Continue reading
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — At Connecticut College, as at a growing number of campuses nationwide, students are encouraged to speak up if they hear remarks celebrating or condoning sexual aggression against women. In one training scenario, male students ask a peer if he really means it when he boasts of such conduct. So when … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 