By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media   Seven out of 10 African American youth between ages 12 and 17 who smoke use menthol cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And a higher percentage of Black adults who smoke began using menthol cigarettes (93%) — that’s more than two times higher than the number of White adults ...

By Dr. Lucille Ridgill Alzheimer’s disease (the most common type of dementia) is the 6th leading cause of death among White people, but the 4th leading cause of death for Black people like me. The Black population age 65+ is projected to more than double in size in the next 10 years, which means dementia ...

The University of California Board of Regents announced the appointment of Michael V. Drake, M.D., as the 21st president of UC’s world-renowned system of 10 campuses, five medical centers, three nationally affiliated labs, more than 280,000 students and 230,000 faculty and staff. Drake has a long and distinguished career in higher education, most recently as ...

Myrlene Pierre has been selected as the new assistant superintendent of Student Services for the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, County Superintendent Ted Alejandre announced. “We are excited that Myrlene, who has extensive experience as an educator for three decades in public education, will be joining our organization,” Alejandre said. “She has been a ...

By Antonio Ray Harvey and Manny Otiko California Black Media This past weekend, the Mississippi Legislature approved the removal of the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag. It’s a sign of the times, historians say, that speaks to the turning spirit of the nation – even happening in a state that has remained a proud stronghold, clinging to enduring customs that nod to a romanticized version of the “Old South.” Gov. Tate Reeves said he will sign the bill into law. The deep south state ...

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. Today, Americans are facing unprecedented times. We are in the midst of a global pandemic, our country has fallen into an economic recession, and hundreds of thousands are protesting police brutality and racial injustice. But there is another epidemic in this country that must be addressed, and it must ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent As more corporations jump into the fray, offering statements of support for African Americans in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd and the ensuing protests, a new study reveals that many companies’ actual policies and practices contradict their public statements. With just a small ...

By Allyson Y. Schwartz and Martha A. Dawson News about the novel coronavirus, which has now claimed over 100,000 American lives, is all around us. A subtext told in this reporting is the painful story of the pandemic’s devastating effect on people of color. While coronavirus does not know boundaries of race, income, or ethnicity, its disproportionate ...

Ebone Monet and Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media  Author and investigative journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a staunch crusader against lynching at the turn of the last century, would probably be deeply concerned about the recent hanging deaths of two Black men in California and another in New York.  Wells-Barnett (July 16, 1862 – March ...

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Judiciary Committee discussed the Justice In Policing Act of 2020 in a wide ranging discussion with the National Newspaper Publishers Association–Black Press of America late Wednesday June 17. This is a fact sheet of the bill at the time of the hearing, but it may change in ...