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Supreme Court allows ‘race neutral’ Virginia high school admissions policy that bolsters diversity. By Lawrence Hurley / NBC News

Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Va.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday avoided another contentious debate over race and education by turning away a challenge to an admissions policy aimed at encouraging diversity at a Virginia high school.

The high court’s decision not to intervene in the case comes just months after the conservative court ended the consideration of race in college admissions. It leaves in doubt whether the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has the votes to strike down admissions policies that do not explicitly consider race but nevertheless lead to a more diverse class. Two conservative justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, dissented, saying the court should have struck down the policy. Read more

Related: Supreme Court Won’t Hear New Case on Race and School Admissions. By Adam Liptak / NYT

The decision, along with an order this month declining to block West Point’s admissions program, suggests that most justices are not eager to immediately explore the limits of its ruling from June.

“The new policy is both race neutral and race blind,” the school board’s brief said. “It was not designed to produce, and did not in fact produce, a student population that approximates the racial demographics of Fairfax County or any other predetermined racial balance.” After the changes went into effect in 2021, the percentage of Asian American students offered admission dropped to 54 percent from 73 percent. The percentage of Black students grew to 8 percent from no more than 2 percent; the percentage of Hispanic students grew to 11 percent from 3 percent; and the percentage of white students grew to 22 percent from 18 percent. Read more

Political / Social

MAGA’s Violent Threats Are Warping Life in America. By David French / NYT

Amid the constant drumbeat of sensational news stories — the scandals, the legal rulings, the wild political gambits — it’s sometimes easy to overlook the deeper trends that are shaping American life. Image The Atlantic

For example, are you aware how much the constant threat of violence, principally from MAGA sources, is now warping American politics? If you wonder why so few people in red America seem to stand up directly against the MAGA movement, are you aware of the price they might pay if they did? Read more

Hitting Trump’s pockets is only the first step. By Chauncey Devega / Salon

Booting Donald Trump off the ballot and fining the Trump Organization into oblivion won’t make MAGA disappear

The unfortunate reality is that Friday’s 355-million-dollar judgment against Donald Trump (and the E. Jean Carroll verdict for more than 80 million dollars before that), as well as his still upcoming criminal and civil trials will only serve to fuel his followers’ fantasies of persecution – which means they will further embrace even more political violence, terrorism, and thuggery as necessary means of self-preservation. Read more

‘I Refuse To Quit’: Nikki Haley Vows To Stay In GOP Race Against Donald Trump. By and

Haley tore into Trump in her most aggressive speech yet, saying that America doesn’t “anoint kings.” Image Yahoo News

“Some of you, perhaps a few of you in the media, came here today to see if I’m dropping out of the race. Well, I’m not… I refuse to quit,” Haley said in Greensboro, South Carolina, squashing speculation that she called a last-minute press conference to announce the end of her campaign. Read more

Fani Willis gets ‘achievement’ award at church, cites ‘weapons’ Bible verses in new video. By Brianna Herlihy / Fox News

They did not say the weapons will not form, and that’s the part I didn’t hear until recently,” Willis said.

Embattled Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis spoke at a church service Saturday insinuating she finds solace in Biblical scripture following her contentious testimony during a court hearing last week regarding allegations she had an ‘improper’ affair with a colleague. Read more

Tim Scott Believes in Systemic Bias—But Only Against Republicans. By Will Saletan / The Bulwark

He says law enforcement isn’t rigged against black people, but it’s rigged against his party.

TIM SCOTT, AMERICA’S ONLY BLACK REPUBLICAN SENATOR, has a message for other black people: Stop whining about systemic oppression, stop demonizing law enforcement, and take responsibility for your actions. But for Republicans, Scott has a very different message: Getting arrested and prosecuted isn’t your fault. The criminal justice system is rigged against you. Read more

DEI Legislation Tracker. By Chronicle Staff / The Chronicle of Higher Education

Explore where college diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are under attack. Image NEA

The Chronicle is tracking legislation that would prohibit colleges from having diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or staff; ban mandatory diversity training; forbid institutions to use diversity statements in hiring and promotion; or bar colleges from considering race, sex, ethnicity, or national origin in admissions or employment. All four proscriptions were identified in model state legislation proposed last year by the Goldwater Institute and the Manhattan Institute. For more coverage, read the articles in our Assault on DEI package. Read more

‘It All Fell Apart’: Fearless Fund Founder on Impact of DEI Lawsuits. By Brit Morse / Inc.com

As conservative groups continue to go after DEI-based grant programs, the firms that provide them–including Fearless Fund and Hello Alice–are struggling. And they promise to fight back. Fearless Fund CEO Arian Simone. Photo: Getty Images

It’s been roughly six months since conservative groups began suing companies and investment firms that offer grant programs exclusively to historically disadvantaged groups–calling the funding discriminatory and, therefore, unlawful. Fearless Fund CEO Arian Simone revealed in an interview with Inc. that the conservatives’ strategy is essentially working and that her organization is on the ropes. Read more

Conservative group launches a quiet effort to drive Black voters away from Biden. By Ben Kamisar / NBC News

Mailers targeting voters in South Carolina hit Biden on a proposed menthol cigarette ban. The group behind it plans to deploy the issue in swing states next.

A conservative group funded by anonymous donors sent mailers to approximately 75,000 Democratic primary voters in South Carolina, a heavily Black electorate, ahead of the Feb. 3 primary there, criticizing Biden over his administration’s push to ban menthol cigarettes. Black smokers are more likely to use menthol cigarettes, according to research cited by the FDA, and the potential ban has divided civil rights groups. Read more

Watchdog raises red flag on Clarence Thomas again; new research shows patterns of his omission when under fire. By Brandi Buchman / Law and Crime

Background: This artist sketch depicts the scene in the Supreme Court as the justices — Justice Clarence Thomas fourth from left — hear arguments about the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that former President Donald Trump should be removed from the primary ballot on Feb. 8, 2024 (Dana Verkouteren via AP)

Ahead of a significant meeting next month for members of the federal judiciary, a watchdog group hoisted another red flag over U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for what it says is a “30 year pattern” of cherry-picking his financial disclosures once he is raked in the press. Read more

After bruising loss in Houston mayoral race, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee faces her toughest reelection yet. By Sejal Covindarao / The Texas Tribune

Jackson Lee faces off against Amanda Edwards, her most formidable congressional opponent in three decades

In 1994, Sheila Jackson Lee, then a 44-year-old Houston city councilwoman, unseated four-term U.S. Rep. Craig Washington in the Democratic primary, securing a seat she’d come to hold for the next 30 years. This March, former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards, 42, is hoping to replicate that political upset as she faces off against Jackson Lee in the Democratic primary for Congressional District 18. Read more

Homeownership gap between Black and White owners is worse now than a decade ago. By Anna Bahney / CNN

The gap between Black and White homeownership in the US is significant and difficult to narrow, and its persistence has reduced the ability for Black families to create and pass down wealth for generations.

While homeownership rates among all minority groups have increased recently, Black homeownership still lags the furthest behind the White homeownership rate, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors using data from 2022, the most recent American Community Survey from the US Census Bureau. The Black homeownership rate saw a modest annual uptick to 44.1% in 2022 from 44% in 2021, but remains significantly behind the White homeownership rate of 72%, the report found. Read more

Black people have the highest rates of death from heart disease. Could more Black cardiologists help? By Claretta Bellamy / NBC News

Studies estimate that Black doctors make up as little as 3% of cardiologists in the U.S.

Around 60% of Black American adults have heart disease, and heart disease death rates are highest among Black Americans compared to other racial and ethnic groups, according to the American Heart Association. Yet Harris’ experience of having a cardiologist who looks like him is a rarity. A 2021 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges found that only 4.2% of cardiologists are Black. An earlier study, published in 2019 in the journal JAMA Cardiology had similar findings, revealing that Black doctors made up only 3% of the cardiologist workforce. That same report found that 51% of cardiologists were white and 19% were Asian. Read more

America’s second-richest Black man David Steward’s wealth surpasses $10 billion. By Feyisayo Ajayi / Billionaires

Solidifying his status as one of the world’s Black billionaires and reinforcing his position as the second-richest Black individual in the United States, David Steward’s net worth has climbed by $300 million in the last 10 days, surpassing the $10 billion milestone.

According to data tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Steward’s wealth has witnessed a noteworthy surge of $300 million in the last 10 days. From $9.8 billion on Feb. 9, his net worth now stands at $10.1 billion at the time of drafting this report. Read more

Historical / Cultural

Thomas Jefferson’s White America. By Michael T. Cooper / Patheos

Early American identity was fixated on White Europeans. After the War of Independence and the subsequent Treaty of Peace of 1783 that allowed the newly formed United States of America to occupy land from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River, the government looked for means to rid the region of Native Americans.

The hunter/gatherer lifestyle of the native population was evidence enough for the Enlightenment educated third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), to write, “The end proposed should be their extermination, or their removal beyond the lakes of Illinois river. The same world will scarcely do for them and us.”^[ii] Jefferson believed that even though Native Americans exhibited signs of civilization their ultimate civility in the Euro-American sense might not be in their fate. In his mind one of two things might occur; either they would be assimilated into American society or they would be extinguished. Read more

Black history is under attack — unfortunately, that’s nothing new. By Gevin Reynolds and David Pepper / The Hill

February is supposed to be a time to celebrate Black history. But in recent years, that history has come under attack by extreme Republican lawmakers in state legislatures across the country. In the past year, politicians in 30 states attempted to curtail the teaching of Black history.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time this battle has been waged. In fact, a pattern has been playing on repeat since the end of the Civil War: African American gains, followed by a state-sanctioned backlash and rewriting of history. Recognizing this pattern allows us to put the present attacks on Black history in their proper context and reorient our fight where we should: the state level. Read more

Black Women Were Also Lynched. By Matthew Wills / JSTOR Daily

A case study of the 1912 lynching of Mary Jackson in Harrison County, Texas, provides insight into the contradictory culture of racial violence.

The victims of lynching were overwhelmingly Black men. Black women were also lynched, but this history has received scant attention until recently. As an example, scholar Haley Brown found eleven confirmed cases of Black women lynched in the state of Texas, compared to hundreds of men lynched in that state. Read more

Jim Crow Was Economic Oppression and Domestic Terrorism. By William Spivey / Good Men Project

After the enslavement of Black people ended in 1865, the American economy grew substantially in the north due to increased industrialization. There was initial turmoil with the theoretical loss of enslaved people in the south, but in reality, southern legislators enacted the Black Codes.

The Black Codes reimplemented slavery as best they could under the law. Mississippi and South Carolina issued the first Black Codes. In Mississippi, former slaves were required to show proof of employment each January. Suppose they left their employment before the end of the year. They would forfeit their wages and become subject to arrest. In South Carolina, if Black people worked in any other occupation besides farmer or servant, they were subject to an annual tax. Failure to pay would lead to forced servitude on a plantation. Black people were unable to own guns and knives. Read more

The Life of Betsey Stockton. By Christopher D. E. Willoughby / AAIHS

Gregory Nobles’s new book, The Education of Betsey Stockton: An Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom, is a tour de force. (NYPL Digital Collections)

In this captivating work of biography, the author examines not only his subject’s life and passions but also the communities where she resided and the geographies she travelled. While Stockton’s archival record is relatively thin, Nobles creates a remarkably full picture of her and the world she inhabited. Each chapter provides a window into different social worlds, as we follow Stockton from her enslaved childhood and to her death as a free woman in 1865. Read more

Mary Church Terrell’s Influence on Black History Month. By Joshua L. Crutchfield / AAIHS

Mary Church Terrell between 1880 and 1900 (Library of Congress)

As we celebrate Black History Month, we rightly credit Carter G. Woodson as a pivotal figure who dedicated his life to spreading Black history. The typical story of Black History Month begins in 1926, when Woodson established Negro History Week. However, the seeds of Black History Month were planted decades before by Mary Church Terrell. Terrell is known for her anti-lynching activism and leadership in the National Association of Colored Women. She also maintained a lifelong commitment to disseminating Black history. Highlighting Terrell’s creation of Frederick Douglass Day and her efforts to spread Black history during the late 19^th century reveals her influence on shaping what would later become Black History Month. Read more

Like father, like son: Book explores legacy of first Black general. By Todd South / Military Times

Benjamin O. Davis Sr. and Jr., were a father-son duo who, respectively, went on to become the Army’s first Black general and a four-star Air Force general who led the famed Tuskegee Airmen and helped integrate the U.S. military.

Doug Melville knew little of his family’s military legacy until he started asking his father, Davis Jr.’s nephew, questions that would lead to a decade of research. Melville combed through presidential libraries, museums and archives in his mission. The result of his work was “Invisible Generals: Rediscovering Family Legacy and a Quest to Honor America’s First Black Generals.” Read more

Harry Belafonte Memorial: Public Celebration Details Announced. Editor at NewsOne

A public celebration of the life and legacy of Harry Belafonte has been announced nearly nine months after the actor, activist and legendary singer died

Belafonte’s family is holding the “Celebration of Life” event on March 1, which would have been his 97th birthday. The celebration is set to be held at the iconic Riverside Church in New York City. The public celebration is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., with doors to the church opening at 5 p.m. Belafonte’s close friends and family are expected to give remarks and musical performances both in person as well as via video, according to a press release sent to NewsOne. Read more

James Brown’s daughters reveal who the Godfather of Soul really was: He ‘was Daddy.’ By Felice Leon / Business Insider

James Brown was the Godfather of Soul. An emphatic dancer, an unrelenting band leader, an astute businessman, and a Black capitalist—but to his daughters, Deanna Brown Thomas and Yamma Brown—he was just Daddy.

“He felt God had a calling on his life. Music really was his purpose,” Brown’s daughter, Yamma Brown, told Business Insider when describing her dad’s driving force. But the icon’s life wasn’t without its challenges, as detailed in the forthcoming A&E limited series, “James Brown: Say It Loud,” a deep dive into the iconic singer’s life and career told through never-before-seen performances and interviews with some of his closest personal and professional collaborations. Read more

Beyoncé Is The First Black Woman With A No. 1 Country Song — And It’s About Time. By

“Texas Hold ‘Em,” the 32-time Grammy winner’s first foray into country music, is a certified smash — despite vocal pushback from conservatives.

Beyoncé’s first-ever foray into country music is making history. On Tuesday, Billboard confirmed that “Texas Hold ’Em,” one of two new songs that dropped Feb. 11 during the Super Bowl telecast, will appear atop this week’s edition of its Hot Country Songs chart. By securing the top spot, Beyoncé becomes the first Black female artist to land a No. 1 on the chart, which measures the 50 most popular country songs in the U.S. Her second new track, “16 Carriages,” will come in at No. 9. Read more

What Happened To Rita Marley After Bob Marley: One Love. By Lynn Sharpe / Screen Rant

Bob Marley’s wife, Rita Marley, continued to do incredible things after the events of her late husband’s new biopic, Bob Marley: One Love.

Bob Marley’s wife, Rita Marley, plays a key role in Bob Marley: One Love and continued to do great things after the events of her late husband’s biopic. Bob Marley: One Love tells the true story of Bob Marley’s life and career, including his rise to fame as a pioneer of reggae music. Starring opposite Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley is Lashana Lynch as his wife, Rita Marley. The couple got married in 1966 and were still together by Bob Marley: One Love’s ending, which depicts the One Love Peace Concert on April 22, 1978, to promote peace in Jamaica. Read more

Sports

Jalen Brunson’s degree gives him an ultra-rare NBA resume. By Stefan Bondy / New York Post

Jay Wright called it an “obligatory meeting” with Jalen Brunson’s parents, understanding the crafty point guard was likely leaving college.

It was right after Brunson’s sophomore season, and Wright suggested the NBA as the next move. But Rick and Sandra Brunson had other ideas. “His mom said, ‘Nope, he hasn’t gotten his degree yet.’ And his dad said, ‘He needs another year of learning, he needs another year of basketball IQ.’ ” Wright told The Post. “It was that simple. “I was like, ‘Is that it?’ His parents are like, ‘That’s it.’ I’m like ‘All right, we get him for another year.’” Read more

Giannis Antetokounmpo on His Family’s ‘Decision’ to Tell Their Story (Exclusive). By Natasha Dye / People

The NBA star says his life story, including his family’s struggles with citizenship, poverty and racism as Nigerian immigrants in Greece, has been “told by others” over the course of his rise to superstardom

Giannis Antetokounmpo is opening up about his family’s decision to tell the story of their journey from Nigeria to Greece, and then to Milwaukee, with the world. Antetokounmpo, 29, is the subject of Prime Video Sports’ new documentary, Giannis: The Marvelous Journey, and the NBA star tells PEOPLE that sharing his family’s story firsthand was a decision they all came to together. Read more

Wemby is a boss and Pop is legend. So why are the San Antonio Spurs so bad? By Jacob Uitti / The Guardian

The Spurs boast a generational rookie talent in Victor Wembanyama, a nice young supporting cast and perhaps the greatest coach to ever do it. So why are they this terrible?

Going into the 2023-24 season, the Spurs were the big offseason winners. They’d received the right to select Wembanyama with the No 1 pick in the 2023 draft. The 7ft 4in big man from France has been breathlessly hyped as the best prospect in the history of team sports. He can shoot from the outside, dribble like a wing and defend like a spruce tree. Read more

Tiger Woods withdraws from Genesis Invitational: Golf’s PGA Tour still isn’t ready for his exit. By Alex Kirshner / Slate

I went to watch the game’s biggest draw. I saw a sport facing down a crisis.

The loudest roar came when Woods actually hit his tee shot. He was the second player of three in his group to do so, but the crowd started to scatter after Woods’ shot, because nobody was there to see Gary Woodland. The day was painfully microcosmic of what the Tiger Woods experience looks like in 2024. Nobody in golf has the ability to hold attention like Woods, even now, five years after his last Masters win and during a period in which he struggles to start, let alone finish, tournaments. Read more

Caitlin Clark is one of the best but Cheryl Miller is gold standard. By Mike Freeman / USA Today

Let’s be clear from the jump: Caitlin Clark is an all-time great player. Some people have tried to say she’s not. Oh yeah. She is. A legendary, devastating player. Anyone who says otherwise is a goofball hater.

However, you cannot have the discussion about greatest women’s college player ever without mentioning one name: Cheryl Miller. Some of you may know about Miller, some of you might not. For historical, basketball old heads, no woman player is better than Miller, and I mean no one. There are a number of greats like Candace Parker, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi, among others. But to me Miller tops them all. Read more

Struggling Nets fire coach Jacque Vaughn as playoff hopes dim. By Ben Golliver / Wash Post

In one last break from its failed superteam past, the Brooklyn Nets fired coach Jacque Vaughn on Monday, midway through his second season. The 49-year-old departed with a 71-68 (.511) record during his Brooklyn tenure.

Despite inheriting Brooklyn’s disgruntled stars and a roster that recently lost James Harden, Vaughn briefly brought stability to the Nets, highlighted by a 12-game winning streak in December 2022 and January 2023. However, Durant and Irving succeeded in pushing their way out of Brooklyn before last year’s trade deadline, leaving Vaughn to coach a younger team in transition. Without their headliners, the Nets plunged in the standings and were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers. Read more

Marvin Gaye’s iconic NBA All-Star Game national anthem: ‘He turned that thing into his own.’ By David Aldridge and Marcus Thompson II / The Athletic

For one afternoon, patriotism masqueraded as a Motown kind of cool. The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., was graced by a superstar’s serenade, stirring together hope and love, resilience and confidence, into a concoction delightful enough to be served on the rocks.

For one afternoon, the time set aside to honor America became a historic homage to the rhythm and blues of Blackness, a tribute to the resilient genius of African American culture. And after that afternoon in Inglewood, neither “The Star-Spangled Banner” nor the NBA would ever be the same. Read more and listen here

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