Race

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland speaks at the Sabinoso Wilderness in Las Vegas, N.M., on July 17, 2021. The U.S. Department of the Interior has renamed five places in four states that had featured a racist term for a Native American woman.

National

The U.S. renames 5 places that used racist slur for a Native woman

11:18am January 13, 2023

by The Associated Press

The renamed sites are in California, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, and complete a yearlong process to remove the historically offensive word "squaw" from geographic names across the country.

The Brownies branch of the Girl Guides of Canada will now be known as Embers, which will use this crest, pictured Jan. 9.

Girl Guides of Canada renames its Brownies after members share experiences of racism

3:28pm January 12, 2023

by Kaitlyn Radde

The new name, Embers, was approved overwhelmingly by members and is meant to be more inclusive. Past and present Girl Guides said the old name caused harm and even prevented or delayed their joining.

Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke (right) speaks next to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, of the California central division, while announcing the redlining case against City National Bank during a news conference on Thursday at the Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

National

DOJ announces a $31 million redlining settlement with LA-based City National Bank

2:02pm January 12, 2023

by The Associated Press

The Justice Department accused the bank of discrimination by refusing to underwrite mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities.

Author George M. Johnson wrote All Boys Aren't Blue, which is on the American Library Association's list of most banned books.

Author George M. Johnson: We must ensure access to those who need these stories most

9:22am January 11, 2023

by George M. Johnson

All Boys Aren't Blue, a memoir for teens and young adults about growing up Black and queer, appeared on many "best books" lists when published in 2020. It's being challenged in some U.S. counties.

Kashana Cauley writes about the unexplored perspective of Black survivalists

4:56pm January 10, 2023

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with author Kashana Cauley about her debut novel The Survivalists and putting her comedy background to work in writing about the unexplored perspective of Black survivalism.

Orrin Jackson, center, is one of the nonprofit Dream.org's network of formerly incarcerated people who lobbied Congress to pass the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act. Shown here are lawmakers and bill advocates from Dream.org and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM).

A bill that would have impacted racial disparity in cocaine crimes died in the Senate

3:15pm January 10, 2023

by Carrie Johnson

A bill that would have erased long-standing racial disparities in federal drug crimes failed to clear the Senate, disappointing thousands of people in prison and their families.

Queue Listen Now

In this image made from Windsor, Va., Police video, a police officer speaks with Caron Nazario during a traffic stop, Dec. 20, 2020, in Windsor, Va.

National

Trial set to begin for Black soldier suing police over violent stop

3:35am January 09, 2023

by The Associated Press

A trial in federal court in Virginia is set to begin Monday for the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Army lieutenant who was pepper sprayed, struck and handcuffed by police during a traffic stop.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., receives the gavel from House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., after McCarthy was elected speaker in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol early Saturday morning.

Politics & Government

Historic House speaker showdown highlighted matters of race and representation

11:39am January 07, 2023

by Juma Sei

Questions about race and representation permeated the debate over who can best reflect the will of the American electorate on the Hill.

A Chase Bank branch is seen in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2022. The Wall Street Journal is asking for answers from the Phoenix Police Department after a Black Journal reporter was handcuffed and detained outside a Chase Bank in November.

National

A Black 'Wall Street Journal' reporter was detained while working outside a bank

6:00am January 07, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

The Phoenix Police Department says that it has launched an internal investigation following the arrest of Journal finance reporter Dion Rabouin, who was conducting interviews outside a Chase Bank.

The Emancipation Statue symbolizing the breaking of the chains of slavery at the moment of emancipation is shown on November 16, 2021 in Bridgetown, Barbados.

How reparation efforts in Barbados found an international spotlight

5:06am January 07, 2023

by Jaclyn Diaz

The online buzz over high profile Britons' ties to the trans-Atlantic slave trade put attention on the ongoing reparations push in Barbados, and other Caribbean nations.