Category Archives: Articles

More Rivers to Cross

Black Faculty and Academic Racism at Penn State University (Part 2) Executive Summary In January 2020, More Rivers to Cross: A Report on The Status of Black Professors at Penn State University (UP) Part 1, an independent analysis of the status of black professors at Penn State’s University Park (UP) campus, was released. Since then, our nation andContinue reading “More Rivers to Cross“

Tribute to Mr. Charles S. Wiggins

Mourning the Loss While Celebrating the Life On September 8, 2020 MR CHARLES STERLING WIGGINS celebrated his 103rd birthday with family and friends. At that time Mr. Wiggins was the oldest living member of ASALH. Just shy of entering his 104th year, on Saturday August 28, 2021, Mr. Wiggins entered his resting place instead. ThoughContinue reading “Tribute to Mr. Charles S. Wiggins”

Her Name Says It All

Zaila Avant-garde zaila: an avant-garde spelling bee champion(I am always amazed at how children’s names often seem to fit them to a tee.) A wonder teen from New Orleans, became the champion of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The winning word: murraya, “a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees (family Rutaceae) having pinnateContinue reading “Her Name Says It All”

Nikole Hannah-Jones Joins Howard University

July 6, 2021: In a surprise move, Nikole Hannah-Jones declines UNC’s tenure offer for position at Howard University. “Award-winning journalist @nhannahjones reveals on @CBSThisMorning she has declined the University of North Carolina’s offer for tenure and will be the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Reporting at @HowardU.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/nikole-hannah-jones-declines-unc-s-tenure-offer-position-howard-n1273116 “Every other chair before me, whoContinue reading “Nikole Hannah-Jones Joins Howard University”

We Must Demand Prosecutorial Reform After Chauvin Sentencing

Thank you for your continued support. I am proud to share my Bloomberg Law article, “We Must Demand Prosecutorial Reform After Chauvin Sentencing.” I wrote this piece after the flaws in America’s criminal justice system were highlighted following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. We Must DemandContinue reading “We Must Demand Prosecutorial Reform After Chauvin Sentencing”

Nikole Hannah-Jones Granted Tenure

UNC board grants tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones amid outcry from Black faculty and students. https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/30/us/unc-tenure-vote-nikole-hannah-jones/index.html The Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch was on the right side of history in advocating and supporting Dr. Nikole Hannah Jones in her battle for tenure. It appears that the Black community did not stand up and protest when theContinue reading “Nikole Hannah-Jones Granted Tenure”

Juneteenth 1865

Free-ish:Thirteenth Amendment Exception Clause. Ava DuVernay’s thought-provoking documentary film “13th” explores the history of racial inequality in the United States focusing on the fact that the nation’s prisons disproportionately house a high percentage of African Americans. Letter from the Ronald Saunders, President of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH On June 14, IContinue reading “Juneteenth 1865”