National

Red states are limiting Black history lessons in public schools at the same time scholars are producing groundbreaking new works around art, slavery, civil rights, and the Great Migration. 

Why it matters: A work on Black history has won a National Book Award every year since 2018 as historians find more stories that challenge the popular U.S. narrative. That's sparking a backlash. 

Details: "South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation" by Imani Perry won the National Book Award last year and was an immediate bestseller upon its release. 

Other recent works, like Erica Armstrong Dunbar's 2017 book on Ona Judge, a woman who fled enslavement from President George Washington, also have garnered national attention. 

A biography on Malcolm X and a book on McDonald's historic relationships in Black communities won Pulitzers in 2021. 

"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America," by W. Caleb McDaniel, a meditation on reparations based on the story of a woman who survived kidnapping and re-enslavement, won a Pulitzer in 2020.  

State of play: The boom results from new sources and scholars who entered graduate programs after segregation, Gerald Horne, a history professor at the University of Houston, tells Axios. 

The new generation of scholars also is responding to current events, from the backlash to Barack Obama's presidency to the rise of Donald Trump. "The times impact the way that history is written."

Yes, but: At the same time scholarship is expanding, schools' ability to teach some of the same themes and information is shrinking.

At least 18 states have enacted legislation since last year to limit the teaching of "divisive concepts" or critical race theory, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the American Instructional Resources Survey and an Axios analysis of recent stories.

Amid criticism from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and other conservative politicians, the College Board changed the curriculum for its new Advanced Placement African American Studies course, excluding concepts such as Black Lives Matter and reparations.

The intrigue: The National Council for Black Studies, an organization dedicated to advancing Black Studies, is holding its annual conference next month at the University of Florida. 

It's the first in-person gathering for the organization since the pandemic, Amilcar Shabazz, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, tells Axios.

Scholars in Black Studies are coming to Florida in solidarity with other scholars in the state. 

What's next: Shabazz and Horne said states' restrictions won't stop the momentum of exciting work in Black history, but could make it harder for new scholars to get jobs.

"The discouragement is the highest for folks who are in the pipeline...the dissertation writers and the recent PhDs," Shabazz said.

Of note: The National Council for Black Studies this year is focusing on the 100th anniversary of the Rosewood Massacre of 1923 — in which a white mob violently attacked the predominantly African American town of Rosewood, Florida, and wiped it out. 

It's unclear whether teachers in Florida, under new restrictions, can even bring  up the massacre without facing discipline.

Black history booms as states restrict it

The backlash comes as historians find more stories that challenge the popular U.S. narrative

Illustration of a flower made of text pages that is sprouting from cracked asphalt.

Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

African Americans

Black History Month

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

The College Board's official curriculum for its new Advanced Placement African American Studies course excludes several concepts that were in the pilot course, including topics on Black Lives Matter and reparations. 

The big picture: The changes come after strong backlash from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and conservative politicians who claim it teaches critical race theory, a college-level framework that is rarely taught in grade school but often conflated with teachings on systemic racism.

DeSantis' administration tried to block the course in January, telling the College Board that is "inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value."

The decision to exclude certain topics from the finalized curriculum has since faced its own swath of criticism, with many accusing the College Board of bowing to DeSantis.

Yes, but: The organization rejects that it made cuts because of political pressure.

"The fact of the matter is that this landmark course has been shaped over years by the most eminent scholars in the field, not political influence," the College Board said in a statement. 

Here are some of the biggest differences between a 2022 draft of the curriculum obtained by the Miami Herald and the framework released this week. 

The pilot program curriculum included instruction on "the origins and mission of the Black Lives Matter movement and Movement for Black Lives."

The new curriculum does not require the BLM movement as a topic of instruction, instead noting it as a sample project topic on a list which the College Board says "can be refined by states and districts."

The pilot curriculum included a section focused on "Black Queer Studies," which also included mention of works by writers such as Cathy Cohen, Roderick Ferguson and E. Patrick Johnson. 

The new framework mentions Black lesbians' sense of exclusion from the civil rights movement and the women's movement in a section on Black women but does not include the term "queer studies" and only lists "Gay life and expression in Black communities" as a sample project topic and not a required topic.

Lessons in the pilot curriculum had highlighted the discourse around reparations for America's history of slavery and discrimination. Suggested texts included works by Ta-Nehisi Coates, a journalist and author who in 2014 published "The Case for Reparations" in The Atlantic.

The new framework only includes one mention of "reparations" as a sample project topic and not a required part of the course.

In the pilot curriculum, the course's instructional focus on Black lives today included teachings on the history of Black incarceration from the 13th Amendment to the present as well as its relationship to the larger prison industrial complex. 

Students would have learned about the "relationship between carceral studies and abolition movements" through works by scholars such as Michelle Alexander, who is best known for her 2010 book "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness."

The new curriculum includes instruction on the exploitation of imprisoned African Americans during the early 1900s but mentions incarceration and criminal justice only once — also as a sample project topic and not required teaching.

The unit on "The Black Feminist Movement and Womanism" was renamed to "Black Women and Movements in the 20th Century." 

Several prominent Black women writers, including bell hooks, Audre Lorde and Alice Walker, are no longer in the curriculum. 

The College Board in a statement after the release of the updated framework said that "no AP courses, not one, not ever, has required a list of secondary sources in their frameworks."

Go deeper... Black History Month arrives as teachers' fears mount

Here are some key cuts from the AP African American Studies curriculum

The changes come after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) administration tried to block the course.

Photo of three red textbooks with the words "African-American History" printed on the binding. They are stacked on top of each other.

An African American history textbook sits on the shelf in an advanced placement social studies class at Huffman High School in Birmingham, Alabama on April 8, 2019. Photo: Julie Bennett for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Education

Washington D.C.

Axios D.C.

In celebration of Black History Month, we wanted to find out what happened to D.C. sites listed in the “Negro Motorist Green-Book.” From the 1930s through the mid-1960s, the guides served as encyclopedias of businesses and resources across the country that welcomed Black travelers.

We’ll highlight a few sites throughout February.

Why it matters: Traveling while Black has long been dangerous in America. Green Books made it safer to be on the road, including in northern states where it was harder to decipher which places were off-limits to Black visitors.

📍This week’s stop: Whitelaw Hotel, 1839 13th St. NW, U Street Corridor 

Then: The apartment-hotel on D.C.’s Black Broadway, as 14th and U was then known, was built in 1919. It doubled as a home for Washingtonians and as short-term accommodations for celebrities including Duke Ellington. 

In its heyday, the Whitelaw was a point of pride for Black residents (some purchased shares in the hotel) who could enter through the front door, as opposed to coming through the back.

The building was designed by Isaiah T. Hatton, one of the first Black architects in the country.

Now: The Whitelaw deteriorated in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and rioting that gripped the neighborhood. It was restored in the early '90s. 

Today the building is home to affordable housing. 

D.C. Alerts

Washington, DC Members

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Washington, DC. Written by Chelsea Cirruzzo, Cuneyt Dil and Paige Hopkins.

Axios D.C. Thought Bubble

What happened to D.C. Green Book sites: Whitelaw Hotel

The apartment-hotel on D.C.’s Black Broadway, then and now.

The Whitelaw Hotel in 1979, long after its glory days. Photo: Library of Congress/Interim Archives/Getty Images

Washington, D.C.

A specialized law enforcement unit in the Memphis Police Department has been permanently disbanded after gaining renewed scrutiny in the fallout of Tyre Nichols' death.

The big picture: All five officers charged in the fatal beating of Nichols were part of the Scorpion unit, which is charged with combating violent crime. Civil rights leaders say the deadly assault escalates the need to reexamine these types of forces across the country.

Details: Scorpion — which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods — was a 40-person team created in the fall of 2021 as Memphis reported record-high homicides, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis told the Washington Post this week.

Its officers operated in areas that are considered crime hot spots and primarily dealt with illegal gun possession, carjacking and homicides. They often drove unmarked police cars as they patrolled neighborhoods, typically in 10-person teams.

Since the unit was formed, it arrested over 2,000 violent felons, leading to a decrease in homicides and violent crimes in the city, per Davis, who maintained that the team has been effective. 

Davis and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland have both touted the unit's success, but the department said in a statement Saturday that after discussions with Scorpion members, Nichols' family and community leaders, "it is in the best interest of all" to permanently deactivate the unit. 

Davis and Strickland did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Driving the news: Five Scorpion members — all of whom have been fired from the department — face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression over Nichols' death.

Davis had ordered a review of the unit, which was suspended after the beating, but Nichols' family called for the department to disband it entirely.

An initial statement from the Memphis Police Department said that the officers pulled Nichols over for "reckless driving" on Jan. 7. Davis has since told CNN that her office was not able to substantiate the claim.

Graphic police bodycam and neighborhood security camera footage released Friday shows multiple officers kicking, punching and striking Nichols with a baton as he screams for help and pleads for them to stop. The assault lasted at least three minutes. 

State of play: Scorpion is not the only specialized policing unit that has faced backlash for its officers' conduct.

In 2017, eight detectives in Baltimore's Gun Trace Task Force were convicted of robbery, extortion and racketeering on duty.

A similar unit in Chicago, known as the Special Operations Section, was disbanded after several officers faced charges in 2004 for committing robberies and home invasions.

Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent Nichols' family, say they have also received other reports of Scorpion officers' use of excessive force on Black men.

What they're saying: "'Pro-active policing' or 'saturation unit policing,' whether the officers are in unmarked cars wearing tactical vests or 'jump-out boys' in plain clothes and undercover, is defined by several common and dangerous components," Crump and Romanucci said in an open letter published by ABC News' Memphis affiliate.

The letter cites "wolf pack" misconduct and traffic stops without probable cause, many of which disproportionately target Black people and other communities of color. 

Though some "saturation patrols" can be effective when there's a "clear and controlled mandate" — like DUI checks — too often, "rampant and unchecked patrols taking on other crimes without oversight and transparency are where things go off the rails and officers can act with impunity," Crump and Romanucci wrote.

"These often aggressive encounters flat out destruct trust between police and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve, but as we saw in the tragic and unnecessary death of Tyre Nichols, can also lead to physical injury or death when the culture of unchecked, pro-active policing overtakes common sense."

What to watch: Crump and Romanucci are urging the Department of Justice and the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an organization of police executives in the U.S. and Canada, to open probes into cities that use similar tactics.

They're also advocating for the analysis to include data on injuries and deaths related to these kinds of patrols, as well as a compilation of complaints from impacted locals.

The federal government has already launched an investigation to determine whether the five officers violated Nichols' civil rights during the assault.

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that Chicago’s Special Operations Section was disbanded after several officers faced charges in 2006, not in 2004.

Why Memphis' specialized police unit is under fire after Tyre Nichols' death

Civil rights leaders say the deadly assault escalates the need to reexamine these types of forces across the country.

Photo of people holding signs at a Memphis city council meeting, with one marked "Charge the cops" and the other "MPD Kills"

Activists hold signs to protest Tyre Nichols' death during a Memphis City Council meeting in Tennessee on Jan. 24. Photo: Brandon Dill for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Officer-involved shootings

The Memphis Police Department has permanently disbanded the special unit Scorpion in the wake of murder charges brought against five of its members in connection to Tyre Nichols' death.

The big picture: The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the city released police bodycam and security surveillance footage that showed multiple officers kicking, punching and striking Nichols with a baton as he screamed for help and pleaded for them to stop.

Scorpion, which stands for The Scorpion for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, was first formed in 2021 in a bid to crack down on violent crime in Memphis but has faced controversy over its tactics and police officers' conduct.

Its members primarily deal with illegal gun possession, carjacking and homicides but often drove unmarked police cars as they patrol neighborhoods, typically in 10-man teams.

The police department faced increasing calls, led by Nichols' family, to dissolve the unit after his death — those calls have only escalated since graphic footage of the beating was released Friday night.

Details: Scorpion members met with Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis on Saturday to discuss the unit's future, according to a statement from Memphis Police.

"In the process of listening intently to the family of Tyre Nichols, community leaders, and the uninvolved officers who have done quality work in their assignments, it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION Unit," the statement reads.

"While the heinous actions of a few casts a cloud of dishonor on the title SCORPION," Memphis Police and officers assigned to the unit "agree unreservedly with this next step."

Worth noting: The unit was suspended after Nichols' beating, which spurred Davis to order an independent review of the force.

Several civil rights leaders, including attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nichols' family, have said Nichols' death should prompt a nationwide reckoning with the use of special unit operations.

An open letter penned by Crump and fellow attorney Antonio Romanucci this week also pointed to the ways in which special units enable "wolf pack" misconduct and how these units cause "cause terror in minority communities."

What to watch: Crump and Romanucci have urged the Department of Justice and the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an organization of police executives in the U.S. and Canada, to open probes into cities that use similar tactics.

Memphis Police disband Scorpion unit after Tyre Nichols footage release

The five officers charged in connection to Nichols' fatal beating were all part of the Scorpion unit.

RowVaughn Wells speaks through a bullhorn during a vigil for her son Tyre Nichols at Tobey Skatepark in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 26. Photo: Brandon Dill for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Police

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis on Wednesday said she had fired five police officers who were found to be "directly responsible" for the "physical abuse" of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died days after a forceful encounter with officers during a traffic stop.

Why it matters: Davis said other Memphis Police Department officers are also under investigation for department policy violations during the Jan. 7 stop, though she did not say how many officers in total are currently under investigation.

Per Davis, at least five officers involved in the arrest were fired last week.

The police department previously said that officers involved in the traffic stop were relieved of duty pending the outcome of a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probe.

“Some infractions are less egregious than others,” Davis said of the ongoing investigations.

The Department of Justice and the FBI Memphis Field Office are investigating whether Nichols' civil rights were violated during the encounter with police officers. 

Attorneys representing Nichols' family alleged earlier this week that video from the traffic stop showed police officers "beating" Tyre Nichols for three minutes.

The police department said earlier in January that Nichols was taken to hospital "in critical condition" after two confrontations between Nichols and officers during an attempted arrest on Jan. 7.

The family's attorneys said Nichols died on Jan. 10 and that preliminary findings from an independent autopsy revealed he "suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating."

An official cause of death for Nichols has not been issued by the Shelby County medical examiner's office.

What they're saying: "This is not just a professional failing. This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual," Davis said in a video address released Wednesday.

"As this investigation, and other external investigations, continue, I promise full and complete cooperation from the Memphis Police Department with the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Shelby County District Attorney's office to determine the entire scope of facts that contributed to Tyre Nichols' death," Davis said.

Video of the traffic stop has yet to be publicly released by state and local authorities, though it has been seen by Nichols' family and their attorneys, who said it shows Nichols being subjected to “unadulterated, unabashed, nonstop beating” by police officers.

Chief Davis said the video will show that the incident "was heinous, reckless and inhumane" when it is released "in the coming days."

"I expect you to feel what the Nichols family feels. I expect you to feel outrage in the disregard of basic human rights, as our police officers have taken an oath to do the opposite of what transpired on the video."

"I expect our citizens to exercise their First Amendment right to protest, to demand action and results, but we need to ensure our community is safe in this process. None of this is a calling card for inciting violence or destruction on our community or against out citizens."

Go deeper: 5 first responders plead not guilty to charges from Elijah McClain's death

Memphis police chief: 5 officers responsible for "physical abuse" of Tyre Nichols

Nichols died days after a forceful encounter with officers during a traffic stop.

Tyre Nichols' mother, RowVaugn Wells, and stepfather, Rodney Wells, flanked by attorneys Ben Crump (right) and Antonio Romanucci (left) in a Memphis church on Jan. 23.

Tyre Nichols' mother, RowVaugn Wells, and stepfather, Rodney Wells, flanked by attorneys Ben Crump (right) and Antonio Romanucci (left) in a Memphis church on Jan. 23. Photo: Brandon Dill for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Three police officers and two paramedics indicted on charges stemming from Elijah McClain's death in 2019 pleaded not guilty on Friday, CNN reports.

The big picture: McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, suffered cardiac arrest after Aurora, Colorado, police officers put him in a chokehold and paramedics injected him with 500 milligrams of the sedative ketamine. His death came under renewed scrutiny after nationwide protests against police brutality in 2020.

An independent investigation later found that Aurora police had no legal basis to stop or restrain McClain, who was walking home from a convenience store.

Limited video and audio from body-worn cameras also "reveal Mr. McClain surrounded by officers, all larger than he, crying out in pain, apologizing, explaining himself, and pleading with the officers," according to findings from the probe.

He was eventually declared brain-dead and taken off life support. An amended autopsy conducted in 2021 changed his cause of death from "undetermined," as stated in the original autopsy report, to complications from the administration of ketamine after forcible restraint.

Driving the news: Aurora Police officers Randy Roedema and Nathan Woodyard, former officer Jason Rosenblatt and Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec each face charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

Cooper and Cichuniec's trial is set for Aug. 7, while Roedema and Rosenblatt's trial is expected to begin July 11. Woodyard will have his own trial, scheduled for Sept. 18, CNN reports.

Rosenblatt was fired for his involvement in a photo re-enacting the chokehold used on McClain, but the other four remain on unpaid leave.

Worth noting: At least seven law enforcement officers in Colorado face criminal charges for using lethal force on duty in the past two years, signaling a new push for accountability in contrast to the lack of criminal charges that followed on-duty shootings in the past.

Aurora agreed to pay a $15 million settlement after McClain's family sued the Aurora police department and paramedics.

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5 first responders plead not guilty to charges from Elijah McClain's death

McClain, a Black man, suffered cardiac arrest after police put him in a chokehold and paramedics injected him with ketamine.

Photo of a crowd of protesters, including two holding a banner that says "Justice for Elijah McClain, murdered by Aurora police"

People shut down I-225 in both directions as they demand justice for Elijah McClain on June 27, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. Photo: Michael Ciaglo via Getty Images

The Rev. William Barber, of the Poor People's Campaign, will lead a new Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, the school announced Monday.

Why it matters: Barber is a major figure of the Christian left, and wants to train a new generation of theologians and activists on the social Gospel to fight systemic inequality amid the nation's shifting religious views.

Details: Yale Divinity School said the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy "will pursue teaching, practice, research, and collaboration at the intersection of theology and advocacy."

"The center's scholarly and teaching work will concentrate on expressions of public faith that contribute to movements for justice."

In addition to teaching and research, the center will hold regular convenings and a biennial training summit bringing together scholars, interfaith religious leaders, economists, activists, lawyers and students.

The intrigue: The establishment of the new center will develop a foundational partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the U.S. South, to build pathways for HBCU students to meaningfully engage in the center's work.

What they're saying: "I didn't want to leave this Earth and not participate in helping to train up a whole other generation of leaders and to be engaged with them," the 60-year-old Barber tells Axios.

Barber said he will retire as pastor at Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, North Carolina — a church founded by formerly enslaved people 130 years ago. He will continue as founding president of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. 

"I'm retiring from public ministry after 35 years of pastoral ministry, but I'm not retiring from pastoring the movement," he added.

State of play: The new center comes as surveys and studies show the percentage of Christians in the U.S. continues to decline.

People who are religiously unaffiliated — sometimes called religious "nones" — accounted for 30% of the U.S. population in 2020.

Between the lines: Some historically white denominations and church organizations have yet to come to terms with their links to white supremacy and support for economic inequality, Robert P. Jones writes in "White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity."

The death of George Floyd forced some white churches to confront their legacy with enslavement and segregation, but many have dismissed discussions of the past as "wokeness."

Yes, but: Barber said it's not just white Christians who need critiques, but the nation needs to wrestle with its long history of misinterpreting the faith to create a kind of dominant understanding of society.

"On the one hand, we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, but then you create a Constitution where women are not treated equal. Black people, Native Americans are not treated equal. LGBTQ people are not treated equal," he said.

Environmental justice is also part of it, he added.

Flashback: Barber joined Rev. Liz Theoharis of New York City in 2018 to lead a reboot of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign of 1968, half a century later.

Organizers of the 2018 campaign said they wanted to use the 50th anniversary of the 1968 effort to restart conversations around the struggles that poor people continue to face.

Be smart: Right-leaning white Christian evangelicals still dominate discussions about religion in the U.S., but Latinos are among the fastest segment of evangelicals.

U.S. anti-poverty advocate to lead new Yale theology center

Rev. William Barber, a major figure of the Christian left, wants to train a new generation of theologians and activists on the social Gospel.

The Rev. William Barber, of the Poor People's Campaign, speaks during a demonstration at the U.S. Supreme Court during the MoveOn and Poor People's Build Back Better Action.

The Rev. William Barber. Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn

Religion

The city of Louisville will pay $2 million to settle two lawsuits filed by the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, his lawyers said Monday, AP reports.

Driving the news: "He will live with the effects of being put in harm’s way due to a falsified warrant, to being a victim of a hailstorm of gunfire and to suffering the unimaginable and horrific death of Breonna Taylor," one of Kenneth Walker's attorneys, Steve Romines, said in a statement. 

Walker filed federal and state lawsuits, contending that officers violated his rights when they entered Taylor's apartment without warning and used excessive force.

A portion of the money that Walker won in the settlement will be used for a scholarship fund for law students interested in civil rights law, AP reports.

Catch up quick: Walker was with Taylor the night of March 13, 2020, when police officers entered Taylor's apartment to serve a no-knock warrant.

Walker, who believed that intruders were entering the home, fired one shot from a handgun, striking one officer. The police responded by opening fire and striking Taylor multiple times.

The big picture: The Justice Department earlier this year charged four Louisville Metro Police Department officers involved with drafting the "no-knock" search warrant that led to the shooting of Taylor.

In September, two of Taylor's neighbors sued a former LMPD police officer who previously pleaded guilty to federal charges, WHAS-TV reports.

Chelsey Napper and Cody Etherton in September filed a civil lawsuit against former police officer Kelly Goodlett. The neighbors filed a separate lawsuit in 2020 against some of the officers involved in the raid, per WHAS. 

What to watch: Two former officers involved in the raid — Detective Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany — are set to go on trial in federal court next year, AP reports.

Go deeper... Ex-officer who shot into Breonna Taylor's apartment found not guilty

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend gets $2 million settlement over shooting

A portion of the money that Walker won in the settlement will be used for a scholarship fund for law students interested in civil rights law.

Kenneth Walker, boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, stands in front of a portrait of Taylor during a protest memorial for her in Jefferson Square Park on March 13, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Kenneth Walker stands in front of a portrait of Breonna Taylor during a memorial for her in Jefferson Square Park on March 13, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo: Jon Cherry/Getty Images

Black History Month

The big picture

Here are some key cuts from the AP African American Studies curriculum

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend gets $2 million settlement over shooting

"Still can't breathe": George Floyd remembered on 2-year anniversary of his murder

New rules are limiting how teachers can teach Black History Month

The major police reforms enacted since George Floyd's death

American society is teetering on the edge

All Black History Month stories

Black history booms as states restrict it

Here are some key cuts from the AP African American Studies curriculum

What happened to D.C. Green Book sites: Whitelaw Hotel

Why Memphis' specialized police unit is under fire after Tyre Nichols' death

Memphis Police disband Scorpion unit after Tyre Nichols footage release

Memphis police chief: 5 officers responsible for "physical abuse" of Tyre Nichols

5 first responders plead not guilty to charges from Elijah McClain's death

U.S. anti-poverty advocate to lead new Yale theology center

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend gets $2 million settlement over shooting