This archive tracks real progress on racial justice — from landmark court rulings and policy reforms to community-led initiatives that expand rights and opportunity. Stories here document what’s working, where, and how, drawing on reporting from the U.S. and around the world.
Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have elected a black woman as president of the Undergraduate Association for the first time in the school’s history. Danielle Geathers and running mate Yu Jing Chen won the student government election earlier this month.
Thousands of researchers and STEM professionals, including two prominent scientific journals, have vowed to not partake in business as usual on Wednesday as an act of solidarity with ongoing protests against racial injustice.
“We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe,” Council President Lisa Bender said.
National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell admitted the league was “wrong” for failing to listen to players who protested social injustice. Goodell said he wants players to continue to speak out through protesting, supported the Black Lives Matter movement, and offered his participation.
The ongoing George Floyd protests have prompted officials in several cities – including Birmingham, Alexandria, Fort Myers, and others – to remove Confederate monuments from public land.
Six years ago, before the nation was gripped by the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, it was Ferguson that served as the nation’s epicenter for protests against law enforcement.
Tens of thousands of protesters have marched in the US for six consecutive nights over the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. Demonstrators now have gathered in London, Berlin and Auckland, among other cities, in solidarity with the US crowds.
The nation’s imprisonment rate is at its lowest level in more than two decades. The greatest decline has come among black Americans, whose imprisonment rate has decreased 34% since 2006.
“It feels empowering. Being Princeton’s first Black Valedictorian holds special significance to me particularly given Princeton’s historical ties to the institution of slavery,” said Nicholas Johnson, valedictorian of Princeton’s Class of 2020.
The CROWN Act updates the state’s anti-discrimination law so that “race” includes “traits historically associated with race,” such as afros and braids.
