The BSU-UMD Social Justice Alliance Spring Symposium, convened annually to address systemic racism and promote racial healing, was founded in response to the murder of ROTC student Richard Collins III, who was killed on the University of Maryland campus.
Category: National
Posted inNational
HIV Testing and Outreach Falter as Trump Funding Cuts Sweep the South
Community-based organizations in Southern states are scaling back their HIV prevention efforts due to funding cuts from the Trump administration, which could lead to more infections and deaths.
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
Trump’s EPA Really Wants to Get Rid of Climate Justice Grants
The EPA is facing legal challenges over its plans to cancel nearly 800 grants, including those focused on environmental justice, which could potentially be reversed if the court case progresses.
Posted inMental Health
Finally, a Program to Support Black Student Mental Health
The Excellence in Mental Health on Campus program, spearheaded by The Steve Fund, is working to provide mental health support for Black and Brown college students by offering campus-level resources and training for faculty and staff to be more trauma-informed.
Posted inPolitics
Trump Wants to Cancel Veterans Day. This Black Veteran Says No
Donald Trump is attempting to replace Veterans Day with World War I Victory Day, which would erase the recognition of all veterans, including Black veterans who have fought and died for the country.
Posted inHealth
Breast Cancer Kills Black Women More. Will Trump Make it Worse?
Black women are 38% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, and the Trump administration’s defunding of grants that study breast cancer in Black women could exacerbate this disparity.
Posted inSpiritual
Robert Prevost Steps Onto Balcony as Pope Leo XIV
Robert Prevost, an American Augustinian priest, was elected as the 267th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, and is expected to bring a new vision for the Church’s future.
Posted inWord In Black
Post-Floyd, Americans Are More Pessimistic About Racial Equality
Five years after the murder of George Floyd, Americans are more pessimistic about racial equality and the Black Lives Matter movement, with only 43% of Americans believing the nation has not done enough to achieve racial equality and 54% believing police relations with Black communities are no better than before Floyd’s murder.
Posted inEducation
Double Discipline: The New Weight Black Kids Will Carry in Schools
Trump’s executive order to disregard race or equity in disciplinary decisions could exacerbate the existing disproportionate punishment of Black students, while educators and advocates urge for restorative justice practices and courage to protect Black children in the classroom.
Posted inHealth
Why More Black Folks Are Surviving Cancer Than Ever Before
Dr. Robert Winn, director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center, notes that cancer mortality rates have dropped significantly since 1991, with a 49% drop in cancer mortality among Black men, and that closing the racial gap in cancer deaths is possible through increased screening, clinical trials, and other efforts.
