theGrio

TheGrio Reflects: Malcolm X rails against complacent civil rights activists

By theGrio

2:34 PM on 02/19/2010

VIDEO - At a June 1964 rally, Malcolm X criticizes the Civil Rights Bill emerging from Congress...

TheGrio Reflects: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul

By theGrio

12:48 PM on 02/10/2010

VIDEO - "The Queen Of Soul", "Lady Soul"..."Re-Re"... Whatever you call her... You have got to give her some R-E-S-P-E-C-T...

TheGrio Reflects: Muhammad Ali on Vietnam

By theGrio

7:20 AM on 02/01/2010

TheGrio Reflects - In 1966, Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight champion of the world, was banned from boxing in the United States after he refused as a conscientious objector to serve in the army...

theGrio Reflects: The Story Of Emmett Till

By theGrio

12:10 PM on 12/20/2009

VIDEO - In light of the discovery of raided graves at the cemetery where he was buried, theGrio looks back at the life of lynching victim Emmett Till...

theGrio Reflects: the Underground Railroad

By theGrio

11:42 AM on 08/09/2009

More than 150 years ago this week, the Underground Railroad began, giving slaves in the South a chance at freedom. The Grio reflects with iCue on railroad "conductor" Harriet Tubman's legacy with a look at how it is being remembered today...

theGrio Reflects: The 14th Amendment is adopted

By theGrio

11:06 AM on 07/28/2009

On the 141st anniversary of the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, theGrio reflects with iCue on the revolutionary bill giving blacks full citizenship and the right to vote...

theGrio Reflects: NAACP Founded

By theGrio

12:31 PM on 07/16/2009

In the early 1900s, vicious attacks against African Americans were almost as common in the North as in the South. "Many whites and blacks saw the need for an organization that would be a kind of national presence, both in speaking out against this kind of racial terrorism, but also...

theGrio Reflects: What it took to integrate Central High School

By theGrio

10:50 AM on 07/13/2009

In 1957, the campus of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, became a battleground in the fight for school desegregation. Crowds greeted nine black students, six girls and three boys, to school in September with chants of, "Two, four, six, eight, we don't want to integrate!" These students became...

theGrio Reflects: Bill Clinton visits Ghana

By theGrio

5:00 PM on 07/10/2009

In anticipation of Barack Obama's arrival to Ghana today, theGrio reflects on former President Bill Clinton's twelve-day tour of Africa in 1998. This trip to Africa was the longest foreign-policy journey of the Clinton presidency--the mission, the White House said, was to nurture a new awareness between the US and...

theGrio Reflects: Ghana freed from colonial rule

By theGrio

8:00 AM on 07/09/2009

On the eve of President Obama's visit to Ghana, theGrio looks back to when the country first celebrated its independence from British rule. On March 6, 1957 citizens of the new state of Ghana gathered for a celebration marking their freedom from colonialism. What was once the gold coast of...

theGrio Reflects: Arthur Ashe talks about blacks in tennis

By theGrio

7:15 AM on 07/04/2009

As sisters Venus and Serena Williams battle each other yet again for another grand-slam title at Wimbledon, we look back at black tennis icon Arthur Ashe. An avid civil rights supporter and AIDS activist, Ashe was born on July 10, 1943. He remains the only African American player to win...

theGrio Reflects: The Civil Rights Act signed 45 years ago

By theGrio

7:03 PM on 07/02/2009

July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in the company of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists. Today President Obama released this statement to commemorate the legislation: Forty-five years ago today, President Johnson signed into law historic legislation that moved America closer...

theGrio Reflects: Michael Jackson hits it big with "Thriller"

By theGrio

8:20 PM on 06/25/2009

In 1984, NBC reporter Jack Perkins looks at the rising popularity of singer Michael Jackson and his top-selling album, "Thriller." Archival video provided by NBC Learn, the education arm of NBC News. For more historic video and classroom resources for teachers and students, visit nbclearn.com....

theGrio Reflects: The origins of "40 acres and a mule"

By theGrio

1:40 PM on 06/25/2009

On the eve of Juneteenth, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution apologizing for slavery. The gesture sparked lots of debate about reparations. TheGrio reflects on the original intent of the post-slavery proposal popularly known as "40 acres and a mule". Archival video provided by NBC Learn, the education arm of...

theGrio Reflects: Signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

By theGrio

3:29 PM on 06/22/2009

In light of today's Supreme Court decision to exempt a district in Texas from the Voting Rights Act , theGrio.com reflects on the 1965 signing of the Voting Rights Act and its purpose. Signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 and witnessed by leaders such as Roy Wilkins and Martin...

theGrio reflects: June 11, 1963 University of Alabama integration standoff (video)

By theGrio

12:50 PM on 06/07/2009

theGrio reflects on the battle for desegregation on June 11, 1963 with icue.com. Forty six years ago, this week, Governor Wallace attempted to stop two African American students from entering the University of Alabama. This is what happened as Nicholas Katzenbach, accompanied by two federal marshals, left their car and...