Three decades after the idea of reparations was first introduced on Capitol Hill to help repair the lasting effects of slavery, a new bill that would lead to the creation of a “reparations commission” is moving closer to a full vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. Juana Summers of…
Tag: Slavery
Evanston, Illinois is First City in US to Offer Reparations to Black Americans
In a historic first, the town of Evanston, Illinois, has become the first city in the U.S. to commit to paying the Black citizens who live within its borders reparations for generations of lost wealth, inequality and systemic racism as an ongoing result of slavery in the nation’s past. The…
New York State Senate Passes Education Diversity Legislation
The New York State Senate voted on Jan. 3 to advance measures designed to improve school diversity, including attracting historically underrepresented talent for teaching positions and improving access to higher education. The “Grow Your Own” initiative for school districts, cooperative education services and higher education institutions is designed to help…
Black History Month Profiles: Martin Delany, Journalist, Author, Physician, Abolitionist, Soldier
During Black History Month, DiversityInc is honoring a series of Black innovators and history makers such as journalist and author Martin Delany who are often overlooked in mainstream media coverage and history books. Check back throughout February to learn about more important figures. Born: May 6, 1812, Charles Town, Va….
Johns Hopkins, Alleged Abolitionist Namesake of Hospital and University, Was a Slave Owner
As universities across the nation have been reckoning with their past over recent years, taking down statues and renaming halls that bore the names of former slave owners, one institution remained untouched: Johns Hopkins. The story, long repeated about the namesake of the Maryland hospital and university, was that his…
Was Abraham Lincoln a Racist?
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s mention of Abraham Lincoln’s name during the third presidential debate on Thursday, Oct. 22, was one of the most memorable exchanges in the final presidential debate of 2020. It also caused Lincoln to become a trending topic over much of social media in the hours…
Colin Kaepernick Wears ‘Kunta Kinte’ Shirt to Public Workout After Skipping NFL Event
Colin Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, wore a “Kunta Kinte” shirt to his public workout outside of Atlanta on Saturday. Kunta Kinte is the main character in the 1976 novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, by Alex Haley, which soon became a popular ABC miniseries called…
A Mother’s Warning: White Teen and Tween Boys Easily Propagandized by White Supremacists Online
California writer and mother Joanna Schroeder had a message to other moms of white teen boys in a tweet that went viral: White supremacists online are paying attention to young men’s social media use, even if you are not. Do you have white teenage sons? Listen up. I’ve been watching…
Plantation Tours Talking About History of Slavery Upsetting White People
Plantation tours across the south are finally including the ugly truth about the history of slavery on their properties––and some visitors are unhappy about it. At Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate in Virginia, where slaves built, planted and tended a terrace of vegetables, a white woman interrupted the tour guide’s explanation….
Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump Demands Galveston, Texas Police Department Release Bodycam Footage of Mounted White Officers Leading Black Man With Rope
A photo of two mounted white Galveston, Texas police officers leading a handcuffed Black man with a rope evoked imagery of Antebellum-era slave catchers for many, sparking an outrage last week that led the Galveston Police Chief to issue a public apology to the suspect, Donald Neely, and his family….