Posts by amstrat

It was not all that unusual when, in 1892, a mob dragged Thomas Moss out of a Memphis jail in his pajamas and shot him to death over a feud that began with a game of marbles. But his lynching changed history because of its effect on one of the nation’s most influential journalists, who…

With its boarded-up windows and rusting wrought-iron fence, the abandoned three-story mansion in the 4700 block of South King Drive doesn’t look historically significant. But in the 1930s, the elegant greystone was where Melissia Ann Elam, a woman born into slavery and later emancipated, provided housing and social services to other black women and girls who…

Power Rising, a national summit that’s been planned by, and for black women, has kicked off in Atlanta with a roster of celebs, elected officials and influencers slated to attend. The four-day event, scheduled to run until the 25th, is sold out, organizers said. It is expected to draw upwards of 1,000 attendees from all…

In recent months, Corporate America’s corner office has actually gotten a little less diverse — not more — when it comes to the number of African-Americans. With American Express chief executive Kenneth Chenault stepping down, there are just three black CEOs in the Fortune 500. And with the departure of former CEO Ursula Burns from Xerox, announced…

The massive turnout of black women in 2017’s elections was only the start, predicts Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. There’s nothing Republicans can do to win them back, she says, and they’ll keep electing Democrats to push the GOP from power. Bottoms has a distinctive vantage point. In December, she won her first term, making…

One thing that is clear to me following the special counsel’s indictment of 13 Russians and three companies for interfering with our election is that the black vote was specifically under attack, from sources foreign and domestic. And this attack appeared to be particularly focused on young black activist-minded voters passionate about social justice: The “Woke” Vote.…

In the wake of one of the worst massacres in modern American history, our government’s highest leaders will be silent about why things like this keep happening. “Warmest condolences” will be tweeted to families of those who lost their lives, minutes of mourning will pass and murmurs of mental health issues and lone-wolf actors will taper into…

Writer and author Luvvie Ajayi decided it was time to put together a database of Black women running for office in 2018 when she learned no such database existed. With the help of three other women – Sili Recio, Lucrecer Braxton and Candace Jones – Luvvie created the database after combing through Twitter, Facebook and…