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JACKSON, Miss. — On the last Saturday in January, Johnny Thomas paused as a train snaked through the heart of Glendora, Mississippi. The accompanying roar reverberated through the predominantly Black Mississippi Delta town with a population of fewer than 200 people.“Ever heard of the other side of the tracks?” Thomas, the town’s mayor, asked. “That’s us.”In a community where the nearest hospital is more than 20 miles away, the phrase stretches past the proverbial. More than 50 percent of residents live in poverty.Lately, Thomas has felt pushed even further to the margins. No coronavirus vaccination sites for the general public…

Twin Cities Pride asked Target not to participate this year, while some Black business owners are asking people not to shop at the retailer. MINNEAPOLIS — Andi Otto never imagined he’d be in the position of turning away sponsorship money from Target. Late last week, the executive director of Twin Cities Pride was doing the exact opposite. Otto says he sent his yearly email to inquire about the level of sponsorship support the local corporation would be committing to this year’s celebration. “I got an email back the next morning saying, ‘Hey, do you have a second to talk?'” Otto…

Medical marijuana dispensaries are starting to open across Missouri, but some activists say there’s a big problem — a lack of racial diversity.Marne Madison, Missouri chapter president of Minorities for Medical Marijuana, takes issue with the fact that most dispensary owners are white, even at locations planning to open in predominantly Black communities.She said people of color in urban communities like St. Louis weren’t given enough resources to get involved in the new industry.“I was a little taken back by the picture of the first official sale of cannabis in Missouri, and there were three white people in the picture…

BUTTE – Butte’s African American population is under 200 people, but at the turn of the 20th century, it hosted a much larger population.“Historically, earlier on, we had early neighborhoods that were kind of exclusive to individuals of color throughout our history,” said Butte historian and teacher Chris Fisk.At the time, there were two prominently black churches, social clubs and even a newspaper.“Butte was the home of Montana’s first black-owned newspaper, individuals of color, it was called the Butte New Age. Barbs John Dunton and another guy by name of Chris Dorsey,” said Fisk.A humble little church at Idaho and…

Gov. Jim Pillen appointed Omaha author and performer Jewel Rodgers as Nebraska’s new state poet.Rodgers, 27, is the youngest and first African American person to hold that position.And no one could be prouder than her famous father, Husker Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers. “It’s undescribable,” Johnny Rodgers said.”Humble won’t put no gas in your tank, no pep in your step, no wide in your stride. Humble going to be robbing you. All it do is take, take, take your head held high, take your complement to a thank you. Girl, humble don’t got no gifts for…

The history of California’s rural communities, like the ones in Nevada County, cannot be told without including the role of African Americans who worked the land, built homesteads, and worked to protect equal rights for all people.Art in Public Spaces is a fairly new program of the Nevada County Arts Council, in partnership with Nevada County, that presents quarterly displays at the Rood Center located at 950 Maidu Avenue in Nevada City.This week approximately 50 guests attended the opening reception for an exhibit titled “We Are Not Strangers Here: African American Histories in Rural California” that will be on display…

Get a weekly serving of the hottest NJ food news sent right to your inbox with our Side Dish newsletter. In the weeks since the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Vonda McPherson, chef/owner of the soul food restaurant Vonda’s Kitchen in Newark, has been doing especially brisk business. “People always bought a lot of food, but they’ve been buying even more,” she says.“We’ve always had customers who come from different cultures, and they want you to know that what happened to George Floyd was horrible,” says McPherson, who is Black. “What I’ve been seeing from…

From Nubian Markets to the National Center for Afro-American Artists, a local tour guide offers his picks for the best places to see Boston’s Black cultureBoston is a city of neighbourhoods, and if you wander off the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail that passes through 16 significant sites in US history, you’ll find extraordinary stories tucked in every nook and corner. Getting visitors to explore the city’s varied cultural districts has long been a goal of Collin Knight, who founded Live Like a Local Tours in 2019. As a native of Roxbury, the neighbourhood that’s the beating heart of Boston’s Black community,…

American Experience, PBS’ stellar television series documenting important historical events, has produced a new film that raises issues that have shaped our country and are just as vital to us today. Writer-Directors Brad Lichtenstein and Yoruba Richen’s film “American Coup: Wilmington 1898” is a well-crafted timepiece. It explores a post-Civil War outrage of death and destruction. But just as crucial as baring the roots of American historical injustices, it dramatically focuses on unresolved problems that threaten today’s political and moral fabric. Once and would-be U.S. President Donald Trump threatens a modern reenactment, Wilmington-style, complete with racist, anti-democratic purges. In the…

NEW YORK — Sylvia’s, a soul food restaurant on Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem, New York, saw a welcome bump in donations and revenue from new customers in early June following calls to “buy Black” after the death of George Floyd.But the increase didn’t help the 58-year-old landmark restaurant turn a profit. The coronavirus pandemic has limited its operations, forcing the Harlem staple to lay off most of its staff and slash revenues.Owner Tren’ness Woods-Black welcomed the publicity but said she is more concerned about her core clientele, a devoted group of mostly Black patrons who used to dine at…