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A Brief History of the Great Migration, when 6 Million Black People Left the South
Over roughly 60 years from the 1910s to 1970, 6 million Black Americans packed what they could and took the nearest train, bus, or horse and buggy out of the South. Many were searching for better lives for their families, economic parity, to get away from Jim Crow laws — “everything that was stifling to them in the South,” said…
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Williamsburg Museum Honors Black Coachmen of Jim Crow Era
The Black men who drove horse-drawn carriages through the streets of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia were both everywhere and invisible during the Jim Crow era
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The Great Migration Changed America: 1 Reporter Shares Her Family's Story
Over 60 years in the 20th century, about 6 million Black people moved from rural communities in the South to cities in the North and West to get away from Jim Crow laws and search for economic opportunity — including the family of NBCLX storyteller Jalyn Henderson. She shares her aunt’s and uncle’s perspective on the history of this period,...
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Virginia AG Overturning Past Discriminatory Opinions
Virginia’s Democratic attorney general is leaving office in two days, but he’s taking a final, dramatic action he hopes will send a message about the commonwealth’s need to confront racist policies of the past. Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey explains.
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Attorney General Reverses Jim Crow, Pro-Segregation Opinions
Outgoing Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has reversed more than 50 legal opinions issued by predecessors during the Jim Crow and Massive Resistance eras that justified segregation, interracial marriage bans and other racist laws
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The History of the Drinking Fountain — and How Covid-19 May Change Its Future
During a pandemic, drinking fountains now face a new challenge.
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60 Years Later, ‘An Appeal for Human Rights' Still Resonates
Sixty years have passed since Roslyn Pope came home from Europe to a segregated South and channeled her frustrations into writing “An Appeal for Human Rights.”
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Virginia Gov Says He's Restored Civil Rights to 22K Felons
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says he has restored voting and other civil rights to more than 22,000 felons who have completed their sentences since taking office last year.
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Law Requiring Marriage Applicants to Divulge Race Challenged
Three couples planning to get married in Virginia have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a state requirement that they disclose their race on their marriage application.
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Most DC Felons Serve Prison Sentences Outside the Region
A review by the News4 I-Team reveals two of every three felons convicted of crimes in D.C. are shipped across the country to serve their time. Scott MacFarlane spoke to relatives of inmates who say they’re loved ones are too far away for them to visit.
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Black Voters Say They Won't Forget Trump's Racist Tweets
Robin D. Stephens lived through Jim Crow and thought the worst days of racism were behind her. Then President Donald Trump told four American congresswomen of color to “go back” to where they came from . “It was very hurtful to see the person who is the leader of the country that I live in and that I respect and...
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Jeff Daniels: ‘To Kill a Mockingbird' Role of a Lifetime
Eight times a week, Daniels feels the pulse of the play in front of a live audience. While Jim Crow laws have gone by the wayside, he said the story is still relevant today when it comes to racial bigotry.
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Read: Text of Democratic Response to State of the Union Address
Text of the Democratic response to the State of the Union address, as prepared for delivery by Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams and provided by the office of the House speaker
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History of Blackface
An exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture explains the origins of blackface. News4’s Derrick Ward spoke to visitors at the museum about the hurt it still causes.
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Essay: Freedom's Promise Still Denied on Juneteenth to Thousands of Blacks Unable to Make Bail
June 19 marks Juneteenth, a celebration of the de facto end of slavery in the United States. For hundreds of thousands of African-Americans stuck in pretrial detention – accused but not convicted of a crime, and unable to leave because of bail – that promise remains unfulfilled. And coming immediately after Father’s Day, it’s also a reminder of the loss...
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‘The Scottsboro Boys' Musical Opens in Arlington
“The Scottsboro Boys” opened at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, this week.
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Historic African-American Cemetery Becomes Deer Carcass Dumping Ground
Hunters are facing charges after a historic African-American cemetery became a dumping ground for deer carcasses. Northern Virginia Bureau Chief David Culver reports.
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Oprah Winfrey's Full Golden Globes Acceptance Speech
The following is the full text of Oprah Winfrey’s speech as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards:
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Amid Outcry Over Confederate Markers, New Ones Are Going Up
While Confederate statues and monuments around the nation get removed, defaced, covered up or toppled, some new memorials are being erected, by people who insist their only purpose is to honor the soldiers who died for the South. Supporters of these new Civil War monuments describe a determination to hold onto their understanding of history. “What I want to get...
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‘Symbols of Modern White Supremacy': University of Texas Removes Confederate Statues
University of Texas President Greg Fenves has ordered the immediate removal of statues of Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from a main area of campus, saying such monuments have become “symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.” Fenves says statues of Lee, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan will be moved...