Biden says landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling on school desegregation was about more than education

WASHINGTON (AP) — The landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling that desegregated schools was about more than just race in education, President Joe Biden said Friday as he commemorated the 70th anniversary of the decision. It was about the promise of America, he said — that it is “big enough for...

Last student who helped integrate the University of North Carolina's undergraduate body has died

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Ralph Kennedy Frasier, the final surviving member of a trio of African American youths who were the first to desegregate the undergraduate student body at North Carolina's flagship public university in the 1950s, has died. Frasier, who had been in declining...

He feared coming out. Now this pastor wants to help Black churches become as welcoming as his own

It was daunting when the Rev. Brandon Thomas Crowley, at age 22, replaced a beloved pastor who had ministered to one of suburban Boston’s most famed Black churches for 24 years. It was more daunting — at times agonizing — to reach the decision six years later, in 2015, that God...

Latinos found jobs and cheap housing in a Pennsylvania city but political power has proven elusive

HAZLETON, Pa. (AP) — Latinos seeking jobs and affordable housing have transformed Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in recent decades, but a federal lawsuit argues the way representatives are elected to their local school board is unfairly shutting them out of power. Nearly two-thirds of...

70 years after Brown v. Board, America is both more diverse — and more segregated

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court laid out a new precedent: Separate but equal has no place in American schools. The message of Brown v. Board of Education was clear. But 70 years later, the impact of the decision is still up for debate. Have Americans truly ended segregation in...

Violence rages in New Caledonia as France rushes emergency reinforcements to its Pacific territory

PARIS (AP) — Violence raged across New Caledonia for the third consecutive day Thursday, hours after France imposed a state of emergency in the French Pacific territory, boosting security forces’ powers to quell unrest in the archipelago that has long sought independence. French...

They shared a name — but not a future. How two kids fought to escape poverty in Baltimore

BALTIMORE (AP) — Growing up in the streets of east Baltimore surrounded by poverty and gun violence, two kids named Antonio became fast friends. Both called “Tone,” they were similarly charismatic and ambitious, dreaming of the day they would finally leave behind the struggles that defined...

Texas governor pardons ex-Army sergeant convicted of killing Black Lives Matter protester

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a full pardon Thursday for a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed demonstrator in 2020 during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice. Abbott announced the pardon...

The late Rev. Billy Graham is immortalized in a statue unveiled at the US Capitol

A bronze sculpture of the late Rev. Billy Graham was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, with Christianity's most prolific evangelist once known as “America’s Pastor” immortalized in the halls of Congress on behalf of his native North Carolina. Graham's likeness,...

Texas governor pardons ex-Army sergeant convicted of killing Black Lives Matter protester in 2020