Afro-American Newspapers

By Catherine Pugh Special to the AFRO The African-American community was among the biggest winners in Maryland’s primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. State Delegate Adrian Boafo advanced in the race to succeed longtime Congressman Steny Hoyer in the 5th District, positioning Maryland to potentially add another African American member to its congressional delegation. If elected in November, Boafo would join Congressmen Kweisi Mfume of the 7th District and Glenn Ivey of the 4th District.

University of Baltimore (UB) President Kurt L. Schmoke announced that he will step down in June 2027 after more than a decade of leadership. The former Baltimore mayor informed the University System of Maryland Board of Regents of his intention to retire on June 12. Schmoke has been at the helm of UB since 2014—guiding the school through a global pandemic, enrollment challenges and the university’s centennial celebration.

Though mainstream narratives of rock and roll music often spotlight artists like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, the genre traces its roots to rhythm and blues music created and performed by African-American artists. From Bo Diddley, Big Mama Thornton and Little Richard to Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, Black artists laid the foundation for the heavy drum beats, electric guitar riffs and rebellious, youth-centered lyrics that would come to define rock and roll.

Since its launch in March 2026, the Maryland Christian Chamber of Commerce (MDCCC) has hosted networking events, prayer calls and monthly forums. More than 100 businesses have already joined. Unlike other chambers, MDCCC blends Christian values, like faithfulness and Godly wisdom, with business principles, like innovation and integrity, to advance local entrepreneurs and a shared sense of purpose.

The highly anticipated 2026 World Cup has begun, and the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) has their eyes set on championship gold. In their opening match on June 12, the USMNT was powered by a historic performance from star forward Folarin Balogun as they defeated Paraguay, 4-1. A sold-out crowd of 70,492 packed SoFi stadium in Inglewood, Calif., as the USMNT sported a lineup featuring seven Black starters.

By Sam Mednick, Fay Abuelgasim and Bernat Armangue The Associated Press KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Three years of war have devastated much of Sudan. The impact has been pressed into the skin of survivors, and their memories. Thousands of people are dead. Millions are displaced. Associated Press journalists spent more than a week in and around the capital after the army retook Khartoum last year. It continues to fight elsewhere against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

(Black Press USA Wire) – Fifty summers ago, in 1976, journalist and author Alex Haley published his masterwork, “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.” The timing was exquisite: As the nation celebrated the bicentennial with fireworks and paeans to freedom, “Roots” countered it with a deeply personal, Black-centered narrative of American history that began in Africa and cast the horror of slavery as foundational, not incidental, to the country’s founding and its character.

Morris Brown College, located in Atlanta, Georgia, has announced that its reaccreditation status has been reinstated until 2031. In 2002, the historically Black college lost its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) due to over $20 million in debt and financial mismanagement; however, the college never closed its doors. Enrollment significantly decreased from about 2,000 students to 30-50 during the years without accreditation.

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For generations, Black Americans have been asked to celebrate a nation that did not always recognize our humanity, protect our rights or honor our contributions. Enslavement was not a minor flaw in the American experiment. It was a centuries-long atrocity imposed on an entire race of people who were brought to this country against their will, stripped of their names, families, languages and freedoms, and forced to build wealth they could never claim as their own.