By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. NNPA Newswire Entertainment and Culture Editor Growing up, Sesame Street was a way of life. Modeled after a brownstone neighborhood in Harlem, it was familiar yet far with a cast of characters who looked and sounded like the melting pot of people growing up in America’s cities at that time. […]
Vel Phillips, Influential Trailblazer and Civil Rights Pioneer, Dies at 94
By Evan Casey and Karen Stokes Velvalea “Vel” Phillips, a Milwaukee legend, an advocate for civil rights who displayed courage under great pressure, died Tuesday. She was 94. Civil rights activist Vel Phillips was the first woman to sit on the Milwaukee Common Council. She was the first woman to serve as a judge in […]
Winnie Mandela Dies at 81
By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) South Africa’s “Mother of the Nation” an anti-Apartheid crusader Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has died, her family confirmed in a statement on Monday, April 2. The ex-wife of the late Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela was 81. In a statement, her family said Mandela “died after a long illness, for which […]
Simeon Booker, an Icon of Black Journalism, Dies at 99
By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Contributor) Simeon Booker, a trailblazing Black journalist, who covered the Civil Rights Movement for the iconic African American magazines EBONY and Jet and who was the first Black person to work as a full-time Washington Post reporter, has died. Booker, who’s credited with playing an integral role in delivering […]
‘A Trusted Comrade,’ Black Press Legend George Curry Dies at 69
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA News Wire Contributor The Black Press lost one of it’s most celebrated warriors when George Curry, veteran journalist and former Editor-In-Chief of the NNPA News Wire, died from an apparent heart attack on Saturday, August 20. Curry was 69. “On behalf of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), we are […]
Inside and Outside of the Ring, The Champ Made a Difference
By Stacy M. Brown The Washington Informer, NNPA Member Muhammad Ali’s historic win against George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire in 1974 was perhaps the greatest of all of his ring victories. Ali dropped Foreman in the eighth round of that heavyweight bout known as “The Rumble in the Jungle.” Foreman was among the first to […]
Wisconsin’s First African-American Judge, Harold Jackson, Passes at 77
Harold Baron Jackson, Jr. was born December 28, 1939 in Washington, D.C. Julia O. Jackson and Harold Jackson Sr. were prominent members of the Black middle class in Washington D.C. Julia O. had big dreams for their son, coupled with his high IQ; so, instead of sending him to Dunbar High School – known as […]
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The “Shining Star” Has Left Us
A Tribute to Maurice White by Harry C. Alford On February 3 my oldest daughter sent me a text saying: “Daddy, Maurice White died this morning.” I conveyed the sad news to my wife and realized that Maurice was like family to most of us. His songs and live performances brought joy to our nation […]
Noted journalist Michael J. Feeney dies at 32
Special to the NNPA News Wire from the New York Amsterdam News Journalist and former New York Association of Black Journalists President Michael J. Feeney has died. He was 32. Feeney passed Sunday from complications while being treated for a staph infection in his kidneys, according to his mother Reba Willis. He previously worked for […]
Emanuel Charlie Brooks
Ambassador of Good Will November 7, 1949 – January 2, 2016 Charlie Brooks’s final curtain call came on Saturday, January 2, 2016, after a long, hard battle with liver cancer. Survivors include children Shawn Okelley Taylor (Terry), DJ Brooks (Heidi), Angelo Brooks (Melissa), Brittany Townsend (Xavier Sr.); grandchildren Jerry Okelley, Jordan Okelley, Amariona Okelley, Desi […]