Race

Harlem Hellfighters Will Receive A Congressional Gold Medal

5:39am September 01, 2021

The all-Black infantry unit helped the U.S. win World War I. They fought with distinction in Europe, but were often met with racism. Both chambers of Congress approved the posthumous commendation.

Books

The Story Of J.P. Morgan's 'Personal Librarian' — And Why She Chose To Pass As White

6:16pm August 31, 2021

by Karen Grigsby Bates

For the Code Switch podcast, we talked to authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray to discuss The Personal Librarian — the fictionalized account of the very real Belle da Costa Greene.

A nearly 70-year-old newspaper clipping about infamous "Martinsville Seven" rape case shows the seven Black men convicted of raping a white woman. They were executed in 1951 after exhausting their appeals.

These 7 Black Men Were Executed For An Alleged Rape. Now, They Have Been Pardoned

5:17pm August 31, 2021

by Jonathan Franklin

Gov. Ralph Northam said pardoning the "Martinsville Seven" was the state's way of acknowledging that the men were executed without due process.

Education

What Netflix's 'The Chair' Gets Right About Being A Woman Of Color In Academia

8:54am August 29, 2021

Netflix's The Chair stars Sandra Oh as the first woman of color to chair her department. Real-life academic Dr. Nancy Wang Yuen tells NPR's Asma Khalid about what she finds accurate in the series.

Music & Culture

Your Music Saved My Life: Ledisi Talks With Lara Downes

7:34am August 28, 2021

by Lara Downes

The versatile and impassioned singer was ready to throw in the towel until she heard a message in a Nina Simone song that told her, "You're going be fine. I understand how you feel. Keep going."

This cemetery on the grounds of Carlisle Barracks holds the remains of students from the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

National

Indian Boarding Schools' Traumatic Legacy, And The Fight To Get Native Ancestors Back

6:00am August 28, 2021

by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler

After discoveries of more than 1,300 bodies at Canada's residential schools, the U.S. is now facing a crucial moment of reckoning with its own history of Native American boarding schools.

Many at-home DNA ancestry testing kits require participants to mail in a sample of saliva.

National

The Census Has Revealed A More Multiracial U.S. One Reason? Cheaper DNA Tests

5:00am August 28, 2021

by Hansi Lo Wang

Genetic ancestry tests, changes to how census responses were categorized and more children born to parents who identify with different racial groups led to a 276% jump in the multiracial population.

Who Can Make Social Commentary Using Horror? The 'Candyman' (Well, Jordan Peele) Can

4:31pm August 27, 2021

by Aisha Harris

He has a hook for a hand. He's covered in bees. And we first met him in 1992. The supernatural killer in "Candyman" left a huge impact on Jordan Peele, who has now co-written and co-produced a sequel.

Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech to a crowd at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.

National

Fortnite Is Letting You Relive MLK's 'I Have A Dream' Speech

3:07pm August 27, 2021

by Jonathan Franklin

The video game's new feature takes players back in time to experience Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic 1963 speech. But some people worry it sends the wrong message about the civil rights leader.

Biden Promised Electric Cars, Which Need Lithium. A Proposed Mine Is On Sacred Land

5:13pm August 26, 2021

by Kirk Siegler

In Nevada, tribal opposition to a proposed lithium mine is testing the White House's pledge to electrify America's transportation system and give more of a voice to indigenous people in federal lands.