Tag - african-americans

 
 

AFRICAN AMERICANS

Peter Westbrook became the first African American and Asian American to win an Olympic medal in fencing at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
OLYMPICS / Fencing
Dec 2, 2024
Trailblazing Olympic fencer Peter Westbrook dies at 72
Westbrook was the first first African American and Asian American to win a medal in fencing at the Summer Games
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson speaks during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 9, 2024
Authorities probing bigoted text messages that spread alarm across U.S.
The messages urged recipients to report to a plantation to pick cotton, an offensive reference to past enslavement of Black people in the U.S.
Former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison is seen in a booking photograph at Shelby County Detention Center in Shelbyville, Kentucky, in September 2020.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 2, 2024
Former U.S. cop convicted of civil rights abuse in Breonna Taylor case
Brett Hankison was convicted on one count of civil rights abuse, the Justice Department said in a statement.
James Earl Jones in the Broadway revival of "Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater in New York in March 2012. Jones, once a stuttering farm child who became a voice of rolling thunder as one of America’s most versatile actors in a stage, film and television career that plumbed race relations, Shakespeare’s rhapsodic tragedies and the faceless menace of Darth Vader, died on Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York. He was 93.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2024
James Earl Jones, actor whose voice could menace or melt, dies at 93
He gave life to characters like Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” and went on to collect Tonys, Golden Globes, Emmys and an honorary Oscar.
A protest for equal voting rights for African Americans in Washington. Critics argue that identity politics distract from real issues of power, but racial solidarity has played a key role in the U.S. and beyond as a means of liberation.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2024
Two cheers for identity politics
Many people no longer identify themselves with their profession or class but seek meaning and purpose in the traits that make them different from others.
A tribute to Willie Mays behind home plate at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 21, 2024
In Alabama, Willie Mays is the star of the show, one more time
Willie Mays' death added poignancy to MLB’s celebration of the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field — the nation’s oldest professional ballpark.
What often goes overlooked are the contributions made by Black Americans in the founding of the United States.
COMMENTARY
Jun 20, 2024
The United States has forgotten its founders included Black men and women
What often goes overlooked are contributions made by Black Americans in the founding of the United States.
Opal Lee, the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," visited Japan last month shortly after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Jun 14, 2024
U.S. civil rights icon Opal Lee brings her Juneteenth walk to Tokyo
Juneteenth, held on the 19th of the month, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Opal Lee sees it as more than an American holiday.
Negro Leagues uniforms are displayed at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
BASEBALL
May 30, 2024
Negro Leagues stats added to MLB record book in landmark move
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick hailed the move as a "major milestone in baseball history."
Posters of Negro Leagues players are displayed in the outfield stands at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, during a baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves in August 2020.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 29, 2024
Record books to be rewritten as MLB adopts Negro Leagues stats
The news means that some 3,400 players who competed in the Negro Leagues will now form an official part of baseball history.
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 27, 2024
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
The largest solo show ever of a Black artist in Japan is an absorbing history lesson that draws a line between Chicago and Aichi.
Members of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council stage a "menthol funeral" to draw attention to the annual toll of smoking-related deaths outside the White House in Washington on Jan. 18.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2024
Smokes and votes: Could menthol cigarette ban sway U.S. election?
A proposed ban from President Joe Biden's administration on the mint-flavored smokes has miffed some Black Americans, a key Democratic Party base.
Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy (right), had interviewed for several top jobs, but wasn’t hired.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 23, 2024
NFL’s diversity push challenged by teams recycling older coaches
There are seven openings — and maybe more coming — among the league’s 32 franchises, compared to just five in 2023.
Writer Baye McNeil (left) poses for a picture with Cameron Peagler, who organized the Black Gold event in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Oct 16, 2023
An OG's tips for Japan: Create beauty and don't fake your smile
Speaking at Black Gold, an event aiming to connect the Black and Japanese communities, our columnist offered seven tips to enjoying life in Japan.
Emily’s List President Laphonza Butler
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2023
Laphonza Butler tapped to replace Feinstein in U.S. Senate
Butler's appointment makes her the only Black woman in the current U.S. Senate and just the third in its history.
Ryan Christopher Palmeter, 21, is shown in a still image from a surveillance video, holding a rifle outside a Dollar Store in Jacksonville, Florida.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 28, 2023
Florida shooter killed Black shoppers with legally purchased guns
Authorities have described the shooting as racially motivated, saying the man had authored "several manifestos" detailing his hatred for Black people.
The Black unemployment rate fell to 5% in March, the lowest level ever recorded in the monthly data, but then rose to 6% in June, showing how erratic it can be.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2023
The mysterious fall and rise of Black unemployment
After a roller-coaster move this spring, it’s now essentially back to where it was in February. How much is statistical noise?
Alexis Ryoko Nishizawa (left) facilitates workshops for people with curly hair during which she shares the basics with attendees.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 20, 2023
In Japan, curly hair makes you stand out. This entrepreneur says 'embrace it.'
Nishizawa has become a go-to guide for people in Japan looking to tame and style their natural wavy, curly and coily hair.
Japan might change because of you or your actions, but it will not change for you.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Jun 19, 2023
A note to people of color interested in living in Japan
When asked about what life is like here for people of color, columnist Baye McNeil summed it up with a story about sitting on a crowded train.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jun 16, 2023
Allyson Felix demands better maternity care for Black women following Tori Bowie's death
'We’re dealing with a Black Maternal Health crisis. Here you have three Olympic champions, and we're still at risk.'

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?