Melvin Van Peebles, godfather of Black cinema, dies at 89

Melvin Van Peebles, the groundbreaking playwright, musician and movie director whose work ushered in the “Blaxploitation” wave of the 1970s, has died. He was 89. His family confirmed that he passed at his Manhattan home.

California court overturns murder convictions, cites racism

The prosecutor in the Contra Costa County case inappropriately questioned the 25-year-old woman’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement and dismissed her for reasons that “were plainly tied to race,” said a unanimous ruling by a division of the First Appellate District of California.

No more Squaw Valley: New name of ski resort revealed

Regional California tribes had asked for the name of the resort to be changed numerous times over the years, with little success. But after George Floyd was killed in May 2020, a growing number of brands began rethinking their marketing.

Robert E. Lee statue removed in Richmond

Virginia brought in a deconstruction crew surrounded by a heavy police presence on Wednesday to remove one of the nation's largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy, a towering statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee.