Race

A statue of Edward Colston towers over a square off Colston Avenue in Bristol, England. A small plaque calls Colston "one of the most virtuous and wise sons" of the city. Officials plan to install another plaque explaining his links to the Atlantic slave

World News

An English City Grapples With The Slave-Trading Past Of Its Most Celebrated Figure

10:54am March 28, 2018

He's known as "one of the most virtuous and wise sons" of Bristol, but the philanthropist Edward Colston made his fortune as a 17th century slave trader. Many want his name erased from city landmarks.

Protesters hold up signs at a march and rally for slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., on March 31, 2012.

Trump Budget Would Eliminate Justice Department's Peacemaking Office

6:44pm March 27, 2018

by Samantha Raphelson

In a time of deep political divisions, President Trump's budget blueprint for next year would combine the Community Relations Service with the Civil Rights Division.

Education

Linda Brown Dies. She Was At The Center Of Brown v. Board Of Education

7:29am March 27, 2018

by Frank Morris

In 1954, Linda Brown was the lead plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision that outlawed segregated public schools for black and white students. Brown was 76.

Queue Listen Now

A tearful Sequita Thompson pleads for police officers who killed her unarmed grandson, Stephon Clark, to face criminal charges. Thompson was accompanied at a news conference by Clark's uncle, Kurtis Gordon (left) and attorney Ben Crump (right).

National

Stephon Clark's Family Urges Criminal Charges Against Police Who Shot Him

8:30pm March 26, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

Sequita Thompson, grandmother of the 22-year-old man gunned down by police in her backyard, sobbed while calling for justice. She wanted the two officers who killed him to be prosecuted.

Questions Of Race, Fairness Complicate Student-Athlete Pay Debate

7:16am March 25, 2018

With March Madness in full swing, NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Gene Demby talk about whether student athletes should be paid, and the role of race in big-time college sports.

Clemson's Aamir Simms (25) shoots against Auburn's Malik Dunbar (14) during a second round game of the 2018 NCAA men's basketball tournament last week. The NCAA will make $771 million from this year's tournament.

Why Shouldn't We Pay Student-Athletes?

6:20pm March 23, 2018

The NCAA men's basketball tournament will bring in about $770 million in revenue this year. A writer argues that paying black student-athletes might have unforeseen consequences.

National

Why People Are Reluctant To Call The Austin Bomber A Terrorist

4:21pm March 23, 2018

by Gene Demby

The suspect in the Austin bombings has been described as "troubled" by both police and the media. NPR's Audie Cornish speaks to NPR Code Switch reporter Gene Demby about why people seem reluctant to call him a terrorist.

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Black Lives Matter protesters march Thursday in Sacramento, Calif., after two officers in the city's police department shot and killed Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, in the backyard of his grandparents' house on Sunday evening.

National

In Sacramento, Protesters Shut Down Freeway And Block Entrance To Kings Game

1:36pm March 23, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

Activists demonstrated against the fatal shooting of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, by city police. The Kings owner expressed support for the peaceful protest.

A still from police body camera footage of the officer-involved shooting of 22-year-old Stephon Clark on Sunday in Sacramento.

National

Video Shows Sacramento Police Shooting Unarmed Black Man In Grandparents' Backyard

3:21pm March 22, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

Body camera footage shows two officers firing about 20 shots at Stephon Clark, then waiting five minutes without giving aid. The officers had responded to a 911 call of a man breaking car windows.

"My career defining moment would be covering South Africa," said Les Payne, center, seen here as part of a Meet the Press panel during his time at Newsday.

National

Les Payne, Pulitzer Prize-Winner And NABJ Founder, Dies At 76

2:42pm March 22, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

He committed himself to improving conditions for African Americans saying "I saw myself as a kind of lead pipe in the hands of people who did not otherwise have a weapon to counter such things."