African Americans
Annika Ashton First Black Woman and Jamaican Broward County Attorney
Annika E. Ashton is the new Broward County Attorney, becoming the first Black woman and Jamaican American to assume the role.
News Observer October 13, 2026
Annika E. Ashton is the new Broward County Attorney, becoming the first Black woman and Jamaican American to assume the role.
The California Endowment (TCE) and nonprofit developer Linc Housing broke ground Oct. 6 on a downtown Los Angeles campus combining affordable housing, health care and employment services near Men’s Central Jail, where numerous investigations and oversight reports have documented overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and violence.
Byron Donalds wants to be Florida’s next governor. Not on our watch. Our stance is rooted in an old saying coined by Floridian Zora Neale Hurston in her final major nonfiction work, Dust Tracks on a Road, set in Florida. “All skinfolk ain’t kinfolk” is an idiom that distinguishes shared identity from shared interests.
For generations, the Black church has passed the offering plate to keep the lights on, pay the preacher, help the poor and carry the Gospel beyond its walls. But what happens when the preacher leaves the sanctuary, takes a popular Christian podcast on tour — and charges admission?
Beatriz Monsivais turns a childhood passion into a 20-year banking legacy of trust, mentorship, and community impact at Springhill State Bank
A new exhibition opening Sunday, Oct. 4, at The Health Museum is bringing Black maternal health into public view through art and personal storytelling.
The Los Angeles Rams came up short in a high-scoring showdown with the Buffalo Bills, falling 37-34 in overtime after a blocked field goal ended their opportunity to pull out a dramatic victory.
Mike Ditka, one of the biggest personalities in NFL history and a defining figure in Chicago Bears football, died Oct. 9 at age 86, his family announced. His death was also confirmed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Rhonda Haymon is a Deputy Public Defender with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office and a candidate for Los Angeles County Superior Court, Office No. 64, on the Nov. 3 ballot.
USC delivered a strong performance in Happy Valley, with quarterback Jayden Maiava throwing for 301 yards and three touchdowns as No. 19 Southern California defeated Penn State, 31-23, before an announced crowd of 114,419 at Beaver Stadium.
UCLA continued its undefeated start to the season Saturday, overcoming an injury to starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to defeat No. 13 Oregon, 17-15, before 59,262 fans at Autzen Stadium.
Republican Mike Collins and Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff are the two candidates on Georgia’s Nov. 3 general-election ballot for U.S. Senate. If neither wins a majority, a runoff follows on Dec. 1.
The majority-Black Alabama city counted 34 homicides through Oct. 1 — down from 129 at the same point in 2024 — putting it on track for its lowest annual total since 1951.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore received a Letter of Reasonable Assurance from the national veterinary accreditor, clearing it to recruit a first class for June 2027 — what would be the first veterinary school physically located in Maryland and the first at a public HBCU.
C.J. Hicks Elementary in Rockdale County, Georgia, opened a no-cost grocery store inside the school with Goodr and Kaiser Permanente in December 2025. School records show total absent days have fallen 43 percent since.
Democrat Rob Bonta, the incumbent, and Republican Michael E. Gates are the two candidates for California attorney general in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Observed makes no endorsement.
Assembly Bill (AB) 2599, the Truth in Disclosure Act, authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights), was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, making California the first state in the nation to require large corporations to disclose historical and financial ties to chattel slavery.
For generations, the conversation about Black wealth has focused on what we do not have: not enough savings, not enough access to capital, not enough homeownership and not enough inherited wealth. Those realities matter, and the disparities behind them are real but there is another question worth asking: What are we doing with the wealth we already have?
California is adding new anti-hate training requirements for elected officials and some private sector employees after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills aimed at strengthening how government agencies and employers respond to hate speech and bias.
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