Category Archives: Civil rights movement

Statue of John Lewis unveiled in Georgia to honor late civil rights leader

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Statue of congressman, who died in 2020 of cancer, replaces obelisk erected in 1908 celebrating the Confederacy

A 12ft-tall statue of John Lewis was unveiled in Georgia on Saturday morning, honoring the legacy of the civil rights leader and congressman who died in 2020.

The statue stands in Decatur Square outside the historic Decatur courthouse in outer Atlanta, in a district Lewis represented in Congress from 1987 to his death. Lewis was 80 when he died due to complications related to pancreatic cancer.

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Man who stole Jackie Robinson statue leaving only feet given 15 years in jail

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Ricky Alderete sentenced for three offenses before Kansas unveiling of new statue of baseball and civil rights pioneer

A man who stole a bronze statue of Jackie Robinson that was cut off at the ankles and found days later on fire in a trash can in a Kansas park will spend about 15 years in prison, though most of that sentence is related to a burglary a few days after the January statue heist.

A judge sentenced Ricky Alderete on Friday in three different cases he said in court stemmed from his addiction to fentanyl.

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James Lawson Jr, civil rights activist and nonviolent protest pioneer, dies aged 95

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Reverend, pastor and professor, who was a close adviser to Martin Luther King Jr, dies in Los Angeles after short illness

The Rev James Lawson Jr, an apostle of nonviolent protest who schooled activists to withstand brutal reactions from white authorities as the civil rights movement gained traction, has died, his family said on Monday. He was 95.

His family said Lawson died on Sunday after a short illness in Los Angeles, where he spent decades working as a pastor, labor movement organizer and university professor.

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Ruby Bridges: civil rights pioneer rejects claim book makes white children uncomfortable

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US activist, 69, speaks to NBC amid growing effort to prevent I Am Ruby Bridges and other works being available to school students

Increasingly, the US civil rights icon Ruby Bridges – the first Black child to integrate a school in Louisiana – has seen some adults seek to prevent grade-school students from accessing the books and films that chronicle her story, saying the tale makes white children feel bad about themselves.

But that justification is “ridiculous” because “my biggest fans are kids all around the world”, Bridges told NBC’s Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker in an interview airing on Sunday morning’s episode of the show.

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Martin Luther King Jr’s family to visit Memphis on anniversary of his murder

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The relatives of slain civil rights leader will visit Tennessee city to bring attention to erosion of civil rights in US

Relatives of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr are making a rare trip to Memphis on Thursday on the anniversary of his assassination, to speak on the rising threat of political violence, especially in an election year.

Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the late King, will pay tribute to his father’s legacy, 56 years after the assassination in the Tennessee city.

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John Lewis review: superb first biography of a civil rights hero

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With In Search of the Beloved Community, Raymond Arsenault delivers a fitting tribute to the late Democrat from Georgia

John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community chronicles one man’s quest for a more perfect union. An adventure of recent times, it is made exceptional by the way the narrative intersects with current events. It is the perfect book, at the right time.

Raymond Arsenault also offers the first full-length biography of the Georgia congressman and stalwart freedom-fighter. The book illuminates Lewis’s time as a planner and participant of protests, his service in Congress and his time as an American elder statesman.

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Tom Smothers of sibling comedy duo the Smothers Brothers dies at age 86

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Tom and brother Dick’s groundbreaking CBS show was pulled when they took a stance against Vietnam war and for civil rights

Tom Smothers, half of the comedy group the Smothers Brothers, has died at the age of 86.

Smothers was described as “not only the loving older brother that everyone would want in their life”, but as “a one-of-a-kind creative partner”, according to a statement by his brother Dick Smothers on Wednesday shared by the National Comedy Center.

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Revealed: plan to brand anyone ‘undermining’ UK as extremist

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Leaked documents spark furious backlash from groups who fear freedom of expression could be suppressed

Government officials have drawn up deeply controversial proposals to broaden the definition of extremism to include anyone who “undermines” the country’s institutions and its values, according to documents seen by the Observer.

The new definition, prepared by civil servants working for cabinet minister Michael Gove, is fiercely opposed by a cohort of officials who fear legitimate groups and individuals will be branded extremists.

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‘Racism is still with us’: celebration of King’s 1963 speech shadowed by racist attack

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Martin Luther King’s family decried the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, the overturning of Roe and gun violence in the US

On the eve of the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s legendary I Have a Dream speech, his son and granddaughter have decried continuing racial violence and hatred in the US, lamenting that the civil rights leader’s call for equality and justice has yet to be fulfilled.

Speaking a day after a vast crowd gathered in the nation’s capital in an echo of the 28 August 1963 march on Washington at which King made his famous remarks, his eldest son, Martin Luther King III, warned of a resurgence of hate crimes. Violence against minorities was “unconscionable” and “unacceptable”, he said.

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Jesse Jackson to step down as head of civil rights organisation

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Retirement from Rainbow PUSH Coalition follows several health problems in recent years

The US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson is to step down down as head of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition he founded.

The organisation announced on Friday that the civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate would be celebrated this weekend at the coalition’s annual convention.

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Harry Belafonte, singer, actor and tireless activist, dies aged 96

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Chart-topping calypso singer who supported US civil rights movement and African initiatives dies of congestive heart failure

Harry Belafonte, the singer, actor and civil rights activist who broke down racial barriers, has died aged 96.

As well as performing global hits such as Day-O (The Banana Boat Song), winning a Tony award for acting and appearing in numerous feature films, Belafonte spent his life fighting for a variety of causes. He bankrolled numerous 1960s initiatives to bring civil rights to Black Americans; campaigned against poverty, apartheid and Aids in Africa; and supported leftwing political figures such as Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

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‘We have to remain vigilant’: Biden warns of ‘hate and extremism’ in the US

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The president spoke in Selma at the site of ‘Bloody Sunday’ that led to passage of historic voting rights legislation nearly 60 years ago

Joe Biden paid tribute to the heroes of the “Bloody Sunday” civil rights march nearly 60 years ago and used its annual commemoration to warn of an ongoing threat to US democracy from election deniers and the erosion of voting rights.

The US president joined thousands of people in Selma, Alabama to mark the movement that led to the passage of landmark voting rights legislation shortly after peaceful marchers were brutally attacked by law enforcement on a bridge though town.

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Malcolm X’s family to sue FBI, NYPD and other agencies over assassination

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One of Malcolm X’s daughters says new details show federal and state agencies covered up crucial evidence

The family of Malcolm X has filed notice that they plan to sue the FBI, New York police and other agencies over his death.

The civil rights leader was 39 when he was assassinated on 21 February 1965, at an auditorium in the Washington Heights neighbourhood.

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Emmett Till relative’s lawsuit seeks to serve white woman’s arrest warrant

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Cousin of murdered Black teenager tries to compel sheriff to enforce 1955 warrant against Carolyn Bryant Donham, now 89

A relative of Emmett Till has filed a lawsuit seeking the arrest of the white woman whose allegations resulted in the 14-year-old Black boy’s kidnapping, torture and murder nearly 70 years ago.

Earlier this week, Till’s cousin, Patricia Sterling, filed a federal lawsuit against Ricky Banks, the sheriff in Leflore county, Mississippi, seeking to compel the elected official to serve a 1955 arrest warrant against Carolyn Bryant Donham, who was then identified as “Mrs Roy Bryant” on the document.

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Biden honors Martin Luther King Jr with sermon: ‘His legacy shows us the way’

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President gave sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and spoke about the need to protect democracy

Joe Biden marked what would have been Martin Luther King Jr’s 94th birthday with a sermon on Sunday at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, celebrating the legacy of the civil rights leader while speaking about the urgent need to protect US democracy.

Biden said he was “humbled” to become the first sitting president to give the Sunday sermon at King’s church, also describing the experience as “intimidating”.

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FBI tracked Aretha Franklin’s civil rights activism, declassified file shows

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The 270-page unsealed file details several death threats and her friendships with Martin Luther King Jr and Angela Davis

The FBI has declassified its file on Aretha Franklin, the late “Queen of Soul” who died in 2018 at age 76. The 270-page document, which includes reports from over a dozen states, shows the bureau extensively tracked the singer’s civil rights activism and her friendships with Martin Luther King Jr and Angela Davis.

The file also includes several credible death threats against Franklin and a potential copyright infringement lawsuit stemming from a Yahoo! Groups message board in 2005. The case, involving a self-proclaimed “anti-fanatic” who sold pirated CDs and DVDs of her performances, never made it to trial.

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MLK’s family and activists honor civil rights leader with voting rights march

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Martin Luther King III said ‘stakes could not be higher to protect and expand’ his father’s legacy of activism and racial justice

The family of Martin Luther King Jr and other civil rights activists in America are honoring the late civil rights leader on Monday by pushing for expanded federal voting rights legislation despite political opposition from Republicans.

Martin Luther King III, King’s eldest son, his wife, Arndrea Waters King, and their daughter, Yolanda Renee King, will lead a march on Monday morning across the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington DC.

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Sidney Poitier, Black acting pioneer, dies aged 94

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The first Black person to win a best actor Oscar gave a string of groundbreaking performances on screen that helped combat social prejudice

Sidney Poitier, whose groundbreaking acting work in the 1950s and 60s paved the way for generations of Black film stars, has died aged 94. His death was announced on Friday by the minister of foreign affairs of the Bahamas, Fred Mitchell.

The Bahamas deputy prime minister, Chester Cooper, said he was “conflicted with great sadness and a sense of celebration when I learned of the passing of Sir Sidney Poitier”.

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Josephine Baker, music hall star and civil rights activist, enters Panthéon

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French-American war hero is first Black woman inducted into Paris mausoleum for revered figures

Josephine Baker, the French-American civil rights activist, music hall superstar and second world war resistance hero, has become the first Black woman to enter France’s Panthéon mausoleum of revered historical figures – taking the nation’s highest honour at a moment when tensions over national identity and immigration are dominating the run-up to next year’s presidential race.

The elaborate ceremony on Tuesday – presided over by the French president, Emmanuel Macron – focused on Baker’s legacy as a resistance fighter, activist and anti-fascist who fled the racial segregation of the 1920s US for the Paris cabaret stage, and who fought for inclusion and against hatred.

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Dancer, singer … spy: France’s Panthéon to honour Josephine Baker

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The performer will be the first Black woman to enter the mausoleum, in recognition of her wartime work

In November 1940, two passengers boarded a train in Toulouse headed for Madrid, then onward to Lisbon. One was a striking Black woman in expensive furs; the other purportedly her secretary, a blonde Frenchman with moustache and thick glasses.

Josephine Baker, toast of Paris, the world’s first Black female superstar, one of its most photographed women and Europe’s highest-paid entertainer, was travelling, openly and in her habitual style, as herself – but she was playing a brand new role.

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